₁.₀ SUPERCUT; gilbert blythe ✔

046.

At the fair, Marianne finds herself practicality squeezed between Edward and Teddy, the three watching Marilla take part in a... well, whatever the competition of throwing a saucepan is actually called.

The boys arrived last evening, bursting through the kitchen door. Weary after the the journey (no surprise, considering Teddy managed to forget his gift for Anne and they had to rush to the station after going back to get it), yet in the most pleasant of moods. Giggling like schoolgirls and shoving each other, they didn't allow Marilla's disapproving stare get to them. An admirable thing to so, anyone knowing Miss Cuthbert could attest to that.

"It's nice having you here," says the girl now. "Especially since you couldn't come on Easter. Mr. and Mrs. Barry lend us their garden so we could organise a party for... for Mary. You weren't here for the service, either, Ed-"

"I'm afraid it's just me."

"I'm sorry?" Her head turns abruptly when Teddy motions to her right; the girl suddenly taking notice of her brother being gone from his spot by her side. "Where's Edward?", she asks, turning around, searching for the boy's familiar posture somewhere among the crowd.

"Busy being an idiot, if you ask me."

"Hey, don't..." and she trails off, unable to believe her own eyes.

"So... I presume that's Prissy Andrews, hmm?"

In disbelief, Marianne cannot tear her sight away from Edward, the boy's back facing them as he stands in front of the Andrews sisters. Saying something, he swings on his heels - a nervous habit he picked up in his childhood years - and Jane is rolling her eyes. It's obvious that the younger girl feels slightly annoyed by the boy's presence, but Marianne notices a soft smile on Prissy's lips.

Edward nods, then, saying goodbyes. There's a certain look adorning his features, as though he was trying his best not to grin happily, his steps long and springy as he returns to them.

"Did you-"

"I think I might have just asked Prissy Andrews whether she would be interested in taking up a position of an assistant in our office in Charlottetown?" It seems like he's asking a question more than telling a statement. "I told her Mr. Gardner is looking for someone to hire-"

"Um, I know for a fact that he's not," interjects Teddy.

"-and that I remembered that she's currently living there, so I thought I would ask, just in case, no pressure. I mean, since it's usually easier to get in touch with someone you already know. And, uh, I always admired her when we were in school together, however short that amount of time was, so... Anyways, she said she would consider it."

"Consider it?"

"And then I asked if she would allow me to invite her for tea, sometime. She said she would consider that, too."

Marianne stares at him with her eyes wide, a ghost of a smile over her lips. However, her brows furrow soon after Edward stops speaking, a certain thought appearing in her head. "You offered her a job and then invited her for tea?" she asks slowly, casting a look at the blonde girl around his shoulder. "I, uh, I am happy for you, for I wish you all the best and I know you have long been... infatuated with her, if I may use such a phrase. And, as you know, our parents' relationship began in quite a similar way. But I can't help recalling something mother would always add upon telling that story - she did warm up to father eventually..."

"But at first she worried that he might take advantage of the fact that he's her employer, that me might pressure her into accepting his advances because of that," Edward finishes. A worried expression crosses over his face and, suddenly, he becomes anxious as he casts a look over his shoulder; Marianne has no chance to even attempt to calm his nerves before he asks, "Do you suppose Prissy might share that point of view? Because I would never..."