𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 (𝐆.𝐁.) (𝐁.𝐀.)

Twenty-three.

Here they were at the Sales floor, where Mrs. Barry usually spends most of her time in when she was mad at her husband.

"Really, do you have nothing more interesting than this?" The married woman scoffed at the worker.

"What else did you have in mind?"

"As I said, something interesting. To clarify: something that doesn't bore me to tears. This velvet has absolutely no drape. What do you have in a higher price range? Something of quality."

Lavinia nodded her head at everything Mrs. Barry has said. The girl was very interested in home decor; she always had a passion for home decor.

Mrs. Barry, who knew about the younger girls interest, engaged with her about the colors of the blankets in the shop.

Minnie May dug her hand on a rug, "This feels like a cat. Meow."

"Oh, Minnie May." Her mother grimaced.

Diana pulled Lavinia out of the conversation she had with Mrs. Barry, much to her dismay. Pulling her to the side where Jane and Anne were waiting.

"I've seen Mother in this mood before. When she's angry at Father, she becomes very passionate about home decor."

"How long do you think her passion will last?"

"Long enough."

Lavinia unknowingly started walking to Mrs. Barry, before she was brought back to her senses by Jane, "Ahem."

The girl frowned as she left the shop, glaring at her friends for not letting her do what she enjoyed doing.

-

The Island Announcer Newspaper receptionist had, very rudely, told them to go to a guy named Malcom Frost. Informing them that he frequents the pub down the block.

Once they entered the pub, they noticed a man drinking beer sitting all alone.

Lavinia grimaced at the beer in his hand. Back in town, alcohol was looked down on.

"Uh, excuse me, sir. We're sorry to intrude." Anne started talking first. "Uh, are you Mr. Malcolm Frost?"

The man held his hand up for the bartender to notice him, "I'll take another."

Lavinia cleared her throat, "Mr. Frost, you covered a story about gold for The Island Announcer 10 years ago?"

"Thirteen. But I don't talk about my work anymore. Good day."

"May I ask why not?"

"See, that question sets me up to talk, which not one second ago I said I would not do."

"I'll talk, then. Everyone in our town - Avonlea - has gold fever. Apparently everyone in Cape Wolfe had gold fever too, but there was no gold."

"Incorrect."

Jane held Lavinia's hand as she spoke, "What part is incorrect? Hopefully the "no gold" part."

"A year of my life that I'll never get back." The guys then looked behind the girls, where the barkeeper was, "Barkeep?!"

Diana huddled all the girls together, whispering, "I'm scared. We should go."

Anne being herself didn't listen to their pleas, "Sir, please. Is there anything you can tell us? I'm sorry you're sad. And I'm also sorry to disturb you from your sadness. I know how difficult that can be. But if you can tell us anything at all about the gold, we'd be much obliged."

Malcolm then got a journal from his bag, "Educate yourselves. Quietly."

"Oh, how beautiful. Your handwriting is so neat. You have an organized mind, Mr. Frost. I admire that. These sketches remind me a bit of the book Nate gave me."

"Uh, Nate's the geologist who found the gold in the soil of Avonlea."

"He showed me the gold under his microscope, but I couldn't see anything."

"You didn't see any gold?"

This made Lavinia raise her eyebrows in suspicion.

"Once I learn more about the topic, I'll be better able to perceive what's right in front of me."

"Gold is very shiny."

"The particles were very small."

"Or not there. You're aggravating but you don't seem dumb, or blind. If there was gold, you would've seen it."

Lavinia let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was right from the start. But, was proving her friends worth it after all? The whole town will be hopeless.

"No, I-" Anne tried explaining but to no use.

"See, right right away! No one listens to reason. I- That's why I didn't want to talk about this. You came here specifically to talk to me about this specific topic. Then I tell you something true, something I know because of decades of research, and you say no. I'll tell you something right now. Since you insist on me telling you something, I'll bet my last dollar that your town will do exactly what everyone in Cape Wolfe did. Yes, there are trace amounts of gold in the soil of P.E.I. No, it is not enough to justify the cost of digging. Even if you mined for 900 years, it wouldn't be enough! Your foolish town will repeat history. What company is this so-called geologist working for?"

"I don't know. He never said."

"Did he ever talk numbers? Calculate how much gold a ton of ore would produce?"

"No..."

All girls avoided eye contact, finally realizing what this all meant.

There was no gold in Avonlea.

-