Chapter 46 Summary
Fanny anticipates a letter from Mary. Fanny refused Mary’s offer of taking her back to Mansfield Park but hopes Mary will have sought Sir Thomas’s consent to do so. When the letter arrives, there is no such message. Instead, Mary mysteriously tells Fanny that the rumors about Henry should be disregarded. Henry is blameless. She is not to believe anything she hears because all will eventually be proven wrong.
No rumors had reached Fanny, so she is confused by Mary’s letter. Mary had mentioned Maria’s name and written something about the Rushworths having gone to Mansfield Park. Fanny cannot figure out what about those three people would make her worry. She cared little about Maria and Mr. Rushworth, and her sentiments about Henry are well known.
When Fanny’s father comes home, Fanny learns more. She is sitting in the parlor with her parents, looking about at the shabbiness of the house and the dirty dishes on the table, bemoaning the fact that she is confined to such a place, when her father grunts. He asks the names of Fanny’s cousins and where they live, and then he shows her a story in the newspaper. A Mrs. R., the story relates, has left her husband and run away with a Mr. C. There is enough information given in the rest of the news that Fanny immediately realizes that the author is referring to Maria and Henry. This is what Mary had been trying to tell her. Despite the warning, Fanny is shocked. Here is the man she had recently been considering marrying. Although she senses the truth of the story, she instantly tells her family it must be a mistake. The newspaper must be referring to some other people.
Fanny is not able to sleep that night. Her nerves are agitated for several days until she receives a letter from Edmund. He is in London. He has come to find his sister, but Maria and Henry cannot be traced. In addition, Julia has run away with Mr. Yates, who visited Mansfield Park while they were rehearsing the play. They have gone to Scotland.
Sir Thomas is in great distress because of both his daughters’ actions. He has requested that Edmund ride into Portsmouth and bring Fanny home. Sir Thomas has also invited Fanny’s sister Susan to accompany them. Edmund will pick them up the next day.
Torn between her excitement at finally leaving Portsmouth and the shame and disappointment for her relatives, Fanny packs her clothes and passes another night without sleep. She does not want her parents to see how happy she is to be leaving, but they do not seem to mind. They agree to Susan’s leaving, which eases some of Fanny’s anxiety.
The next day Edmund is there before breakfast. He greets Fanny with an embrace and calls her his only sister. They ride home mostly in silence, unable to share their true emotions because of Susan’s presence in the carriage.
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