In the Woods When First We Met

184. Morality

Billy could hide his shirt, but not his face. When he came downstairs, his mother gasped at his swollen, purple nose.

"Billy!" she gasped, rushing to him. "You've been upstairs in your room and you didn't let us know you'd come home?! We didn't know where you went. You just stormed out! I was so worried! Where were you? When did you come back in?" She hugged him tight, but he cringed because he was still in pain from being kicked earlier.

His mother pulled back from him. "What happened, darling?"

"Uh..."

"Sit down," she led him into the parlor.

Mr. Andrews stood up. "Son, where did you run off to?"

"I just...needed a breather," he said, the word coming to him because at this very moment he was struggling to breath normally. God, she hurt me.

"What happened to your face?" his father asked him.

Billy couldn't explain it away, so he decided to be honest. "Gilbert Blythe punched me."

His mother gasped and held him close again.

Mr. Andrews asked, "Where was this?"

Billy shrugged.

"Where?" his father asked, angrily.

"Green Gables."

"Why did you go there?" his mother gasped. "Billy, stay away from there! All they're going to do is try to make things worse for you..."

"I thought that if I could get Fido to forgive me, she'd drop the whole thing."

"Billy," his mother scolded. "No more Fido. Don't be unkind. We've got enough trouble as it is."

"Okay," Billy said.

His father said quickly, "And don't apologize to her. If you apologize, you've just admitted guilt."

"What did Anne say?" his mother asked, frightened.

"She just laughed at me," he said, leaving out what else she'd done. "And Gilbert punched me." He couldn't hide what Gilbert had done to him, but admitting he'd been beaten by a girl was too much for him.

"Gilbert was there?"

Billy nodded.

"And the Cuthberts' weren't..." Mr. and Mrs. Andrews trailed off, looked at each other.

"Harmon- she had a boy in even though they were gone," Mrs. Andrews said eagerly. "While the Cuthberts' are away, she has boys into the house to be alone with her!"

"Yes, that'll help us," Mr. Andrews said to his wife with relief.

Mr. Andrews turned to Billy with a stern look: "Billy, you did a terrible thing and I don't want you to think you aren't in trouble, but our first priority right now is to see that nothing happens to our family. We're not going to let that girl be our downfall."

-

Once Billy was back up in his room- with ice- Jane wandered in again.

"Did you wash my shirt?" Billy asked quickly.

"No," Jane told him. "You only gave it to me a little while ago. It takes more than a few minutes to get blood stains out, Billy. And then it'll take time to sew buttons on, too. I'll have to keep your shirt for a long time."

"Well how long does it take?" Billy asked impatiently.

"I don't know. A long time. Maybe Mother would be able to do it faster? I'll give the shirt to her, and she can-"