In the Woods When First We Met

41. Broken Trust

When Anne didn't come down to breakfast, Marilla finally went upstairs to see what was taking her so long.

She gasped. Anne hadn't even gotten out of bed yet!

But that wasn't the worst of it.

Spread out around Anne, from her bedside table to her desk, were six lit candles, melting rapidly, wax dripping over the edges of the candlesticks and sticking to the wood tables.

Anne's hair cascaded over the edge of the bed, dangerously close to one of the low-burning candles.

"Anne!" Marilla gasped.

Anne stirred in her sleep and moved.

As she woke up, her elbow nearly knocked over her lamp, and her hair missed one of the candles by mere inches.

Marilla leapt to her, catching Anne's hair in her hands and shielding her.

She quickly blew out the candles.

"Wha- what happened?" Anne asked groggily.

"What happened is that you nearly set yourself on fire and could have burned Green Gables down to the ground!" Marilla's voice shook.

Then she looked down. "Oh, Anne."

Anne's eyes followed Marilla's down to the copy of Tales of Christian Endurance.

"Oh, no," Anne breathed.

The book, once pristine, was smushed underneath Anne. The page that was open- where her face had been resting after she'd fallen asleep- was crinkled and torn, and there was a wet spot in the middle where she had drooled in her sleep.

Anne and Marilla both stared at the book in silence for a moment.

Anne regretfully picked it up and shook it out. She tried to dab at the drool with the edge of her sheet. She felt awful.

Marilla took a deep breath. Without even looking at her, she could tell Marilla was really angry.

"I...I meant to take good care of the book," Anne said, her voice shaking.

"I am not upset about the book!" Marilla said incredulously.

"You're not?"

"No," Marilla took a deep breath, calming herself. "Of course I'm not happy about the damage you've done. Of course not. But that's beside the point. I decided I was fine with you taking my books up to your room, Anne. I know I didn't say it, but had you asked me I would have said yes. But the fact is, you told me no less than two days ago that you would not remove the books from the parlor. How can anyone ever trust you if you don't keep you word?"

"I know I said I wouldn't," Anne began. "It's just that I needed something to read last night, and-"

Marilla threw her hands up in frustration. "Yes, and you put your desire to read ahead of all sense and reason. You put your safety and ours at risk!"

Anne looked at her with big eyes.

Marilla looked exasperated. "I try and try to instill in you the values of integrity, trustworthiness, responsibility. Yet you thwart me at every turn."

"Marilla, I...I don't know what to say."

"You don't know what to say," Marilla repeated. "Well that's a first for you, isn't it?"

Her harsh words stung Anne.

Marilla turned on her heel and left, saying, "Hurry to wash and dress or you'll be late. I'll fix something you can eat quickly on your way to school."