In the Woods When First We Met

197. Admittance

The buggy drive home was not at all what Matthew and Marilla thought it would be. They'd expected Anne to pepper them with details of the day's events, but instead they were greeted with one question:

"Why didn't you tell me Billy wasn't coming back?"

They were startled. Finally Marilla explained, "We were worried the Andrews' wouldn't keep their word about not sending him back. We didn't want to get your hopes up, only to have to pull you again."

"Oh. All right," Anne said, placated.

"How did you find out about that, Anne?" Matthew asked.

"Jane told me," Anne explained. "At lunch time. I said it was nice to be back, and that I wished I could stay, and she said 'of course you can stay, he's not coming back'."

"Well, that's a relief to me!" Marilla said. "If Jane said that, then most likely her parents mean to keep him out."

"That's not all she said," Anne announced, turning to Marilla. "She said there was a settlement. Something they did so you wouldn't take them to court!"

"We never used the word settlement," Marilla defended.

"But you promised me I didn't have to go to court," Anne said, feeling betrayed.

Matthew spoke in his quiet, gentle voice. "We never had any intention of putting you through a trial. None at all. We just had to have some clout, to get you back into school."

"What do you mean?" Anne asked, already feeling better with Matthew's calming presence.

Marilla explained, "You shouldn't have been kept from school, Anne. It wasn't right. We had to get them to make Billy leave."

"So you threatened them?" Anne asked.

"We...influenced them," Marilla said carefully. "We just mentioned that a trial might be a good way to handle this...unless they felt like making arrangements that would benefit you."

"Is that why there's money, too?" Anne asked, feeling hot.

Neither of them answered her for a moment.

"What about money?" Anne asked, sounding a tad hysterical. "Why are they paying you to hurt me?"

Once the words were out, Anne's eyes were wet, and she realized how upset this made her. She felt confused: She had been hurt, and Matthew and Marilla were making money off of her.

"Anne," Marilla said calmly. "It isn't like that. Calm down and let us explain."

Anne sniffed.

Marilla and Matthew glanced at each other. "Now, first of all, it isn't payment. That's terrible, and we'd never do that to you. Ever."

"Okay," Anne said. "So why did they give you money?"

Marilla clarified, "They didn't give us money. They gave you money."

She paused, then continued, "We just didn't tell you about it, because we didn't want to upset you, and clearly, we were right not to tell you."

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Anne asked, now unsure if she should feel angry or not.

"Yes, of course. We intended to ask you if you wanted to keep what they gave you, or if you'd rather not. But we thought we'd wait a little while-"

"Wait a while for what?" Anne asked.

"Well," Marilla said carefully, "Until we knew for sure whether you'd have...expenses."

It took a moment for that to sink in. Once she realized, Anne felt that feeling of dread she'd become so familiar with. "I am not having a baby," she said resolutely. She crossed her arms. "I refuse."

Marilla put her arm around Anne. "Don't worry about any of that now. The money's just there in the background, if it's ever needed. You don't have to use it."

"If there's no baby, will they take it back?" She begged.

"Yes, I'm sure they will, if you really don't want it," Marilla said calmly.

Anne uncrossed her arms and straightened up. "Well, anyway, I'm glad Billy's not coming back. And I'm glad you pretended you wanted to go to trial, if that's what made them listen."