In the Woods When First We Met

170. Anne is Away

In the late afternoon, Marilla answered a knock at the door and found Gilbert standing on the front porch.

"Oh, Gilbert," Marilla said. "I'm afraid Anne isn't here. I left her at the Perkins, she's visiting with Emily and getting acquainted with her baby. Do you have notes for her? I'll give them to her when she comes home."

Gilbert nodded, "Thank you, Miss Cuthbert," he said, handing them to her.

She glanced through them before looking back at him. "Gilbert..." she began.

"Yes?"

"The last time you left notes, I noticed what looked like an invitation in them."

"Oh," Gilbert breathed, looking down with a bit of a blush. "That was...Ruby, she...she got wind of all this and kind of got carried away. She's been planning all kinds of things- pink roses and punch bowls and working on a menu. ...I'm sorry-"

Marilla said, "Ruby Gillis is a nice girl, but she is prone to flights of fancy. I suppose I can't say I'm surprised."

"I can try to get her to stop, but...well, to be honest, I haven't been fighting her too much on it because she seems to like Anne better if she thinks she's planning a wedding for her. She didn't exactly get along very well with Anne before, so I hated to do anything to make her go back to her old ways. And...it'll make things easier with her mother."

"With her mother? What do you mean?"

"...Mrs. Gillis won't let Ruby be friends with Anne unless there's going to be a wedding."

Marilla looked confused.

Gilbert took a breath. "Ruby overheard Anne telling me some of the fears she had, and Ruby thought they were definite. So she told Josie, and Josie told her mother, and...the Pyes have everyone in town believing Josie's lies...I mean, that's why I had to come tell you quickly in the first place, because of the rumors..."

Marilla nodded, looking displeased with him. "Yes, I know, but when you told me, you didn't mention that a part of those rumors were about having a baby. I found out about that part from the Andrews, no less. The rumor appears to be that you and Anne are...together, but are trying to pin the blame on Billy in order to get money from them."

"I meant to tell you everything," Gilbert said quickly. "I would have explained about the baby- if Anne hadn't walked in then. Really I would have. I'm sorry you had to hear about it that way."

Marilla nodded, accepting that.

Gilbert told her, "Mrs. Gillis believes the truth- that Billy attacked Anne."

"That's a relief to me," Marilla breathed out. "It's nice to know we have someone in our corner."

Gilbert nodded, but then said, "But Mrs. Gillis won't let Ruby be friends with an unwed mother. She knows it's Billy, not me, but when she heard the part of the rumor about Anne and I marrying, she said she didn't care who Anne was marrying, as long as there was a marriage certificate before a baby arrived."

Marilla nodded slowly. "I see," she said regretfully. "I suppose a lot of the parents must feel that way. I expected that Mrs. Barry would storm over here to tell me Anne can't be friends with Diana, but there's only been silence."

Gilbert said, "...Diana told me at school that her parents said not to come here...and that if Anne goes back to school she's not to speak to her at all."

Marilla's eyes were sad.

"I hope it won't stay that way. ...It's just that right now Diana's mother and father can't decide whether to believe Mrs. Pye or Mrs. Gillis."

Marilla stood in the doorway, looking up at the porch roof as if God Himself might be sitting up there, ready to direct her.

"Miss Cuthbert," Gilbert began, "I was going to ask if Anne could come over to my house?" Seeing her face, he explained, "Not for me. For my father. He wants Anne to visit."

Marilla nodded. "Yes, then. That would be fine."

"And of course you could accompany her. Not that we'll be alone," he rushed on. "My father will be there the whole time. But if you'd feel better about it-"

"No, Gilbert, I feel quite safe about her being with you."

"Thank you."

"Don't give me any reason to change my mind."

"I won't," Gilbert promised. "...I guess I haven't made myself look very good to the general public, have I? What with being in the privy and being seen in the woods together and now the rumors...I'm sorry, Miss Cuthbert. I lo- um, admire Anne very much, and I hope you know I never had even one impure thought. Truly."

"I believe you," Marilla said kindly. "If you had any bad intentions with her, she'd notice. But I see how much she trusts you."

Gilbert was relieved.

"Gilbert," she said after a long moment, looking at him seriously, "It's only natural that the two of you have grown close. And that's all right...as long as you both understand you're too young for anything more than friendship."

Gilbert bit his lip. He didn't know what to say, so he just nodded.

Marilla changed her tone, saying, "Shall I tell her you're coming tomorrow then?"