Chapter 1 – Old Friends

Ingleside's garret was always a delightful place to cuddle up in and dream, with rays of sunshine through the big windows mingling with friendly little shadows peeking out from corners and behind the big, soft armchairs. When the manse and Ingleside clans had ceased going to Rainbow Valley, they had implanted themselves in the garret, and much laughter was heard drifting down the stairs to the kitchen where Susan Baker reigned supreme and smiled fondly at the joyous sounds.

It overlooked both the sun-dappled Rainbow Valley and the gleaming blue harbour beyond and was, to quote Nan Blythe, "the sweetest place in Ingleside." In one corner there was the museum of curios that Captain Jim Boyd had bequeathed to Jem when he died, and there was no end of cushions for those who had to sit on the floor. Mrs. Blythe had authorized the consumption of food, and after being mildly rebuked for leaving crumbs behind, the occupants had learned how to clean up after themselves.

Right now the occupants were four girls, all young and fresh with girlish hopes, expectations and ambitions…among them, the famous Blythe twins: the first, red-headed Diana Blythe, otherwise known as Di, seated on a large cushion and helping herself to chestnuts as she talked. She was a very clever, sensible girl, and, although she was not as pretty as Nan, she was nonetheless very attractive with her milky skin, clear green eyes, and exquisite charm. Nan Blythe, at eighteen, was one of the prettiest girls in the Glen with her smooth nut-brown hair and, beneath pointed brows, demure glancing brown eyes that played havoc with the hearts of hopeful suitors. Yet, for all her popularity with the men and gossip mongers, Nan was not quite as popular with the girls. Her way of carrying herself with her head held high gave way to rumours of her having "airs" and walking around with "a nose that practically snubbed you."

The other two girls were the equally famous minister's daughters, the elder of whom was Faith Meredith, lounging in a huge chair that seemed to swallow her up. The headstrong, free-willed girl who had once scandalized the Glen with her misadventures had blossomed into an energetic, delightful young woman who was the pride of the community. She carried off to perfection all the advantages that youth and Nature could bestow, being a vividly beautiful girl with the wittiness, charm and glamour of all the Glen girls combined. Startling confidence took the place of either airs or vanity, and Faith was as much of a social leader in Redmond College as in little Glen St. Mary.

'Little' Una Meredith was quite the opposite. Her black hair, as straight as ever, lay in strict disobedience of the latest fashion; her shy blue eyes were as timid as a child's, and her figure was scarcely formed. Altogether, Una was a very unprepossessing young woman; and yet something about her stood out as clearly as Faith's beauty. Many years ago, Mrs. Blythe had prophesized that Una Meredith was "sweetness personified" and would "make a most lovable woman". Anne Blythe was not known for her expertise in the prophesizing line, but she had certainly hit the mark here, for Una was the sweetest, most obliging, most sensitive girl in the Glen, with a quiet, iron-clad strength that everyone who knew her subconsciously felt. It was a strength that would make itself even more apparent in the years to come; but nobody suspected what the future held, most especially the four girls who were too concerned with the present and the enjoyments of their vacation.

"No matter what, dear P.E.I. is still the only home," Nan averred, and the others agreed whole-heartedly. During other parts of the year they, and the boys, were scattered throughout the country – or, as disapproving Glen folks put it, the "entire globe" – but none ever failed to come back during the summer.

"It's been a very inclusive year," Di said as she popped a chestnut into her mouth. "Or maybe I feel it's that way because of Walter getting the typhoid…it seemed to take up such an awful lot of time, somehow."

"It was quite an awful lot of time," said Faith somberly, remembering the amount of sleepless nights both she and Jerry had gone through in Kingsport, while Jem had flown back to the Island in case the tide went the other way with his brother.

Una said nothing, but she, too, was thinking of the agony of the days when they'd thought Walter was about to leave them.

"Walter will be fully recovered soon, though," Nan said. "He'll be coming with us to Redmond when vacation ends. I do wish," she added wistfully, "that I could have another year with my pupils. I was beginning to like all of them and then I had to leave."

"I don't see why you can't stay for another year," Faith said, raising her eyebrows quizzically. "There's no real hurry for you to go to college; Walter was bound to come with us next semester, anyway, but all of us thought you and Di would come only the year after next. Won't your mother be lonesome with only Rilla at Ingleside?"

Nan shrugged. "There was no arguing with father. Once he puts his foot down, we know that a matter is settled. You'll finally have us at Redmond, Faith, and you can stop scolding us for being a year younger."

Faith laughed. "I was rather vocal, wasn't I? Don't feel so bitter over it, Nanny. Redmond is lots of fun – different fun from teaching, but fun all the time. You'll have Jem, Jerry and I, not to mention crowds of new friends to make. Think about it from that perspective and you won't feel so badly over having to leave your pupils."

"Speaking of Rilla," said Di…rather belatedly, it must be admitted, "she's so excited about the Lewisons' dance at the light tomorrow. Mother didn't want to let her go at first, but Walter talked her over, and this is going to be Rilla's first grown-up party. She's been thinking and planning for weeks about what to wear to it. Personally I don't think she needs to fuss over herself so much; she's so pretty and gay that there'll be loads of boys after her."

"Rilla has become very pretty," Una said.

"Not to mention incredibly vain," Nan added. "Don't look at me like that, Di; she's my baby sister and I love her, but you have to admit that she's vain. When we were fourteen we never bothered about what dresses we were wearing."

"She'll grow out of it," Di said wisely. "Everyone pets her a wee bit too much, except Jem; he teases her to no end when she's off on a vanity spree."

"Jem would do that," Faith remarked, smiling. "He has no use for girls frolicking in front of the mirror and fishing for compliments."

Nan shot her a look. "You would know that, of course," she said slyly. "I fancy there isn't much you don't know about my eldest brother, Faith Meredith!"

"No, there isn't," Faith agreed easily, which was a trick of hers whenever anyone baited her. "And it isn't curious, either, taking into consideration how much time I spend with him and Jerry in Kingsport. But I fancy there isn't much you don't know about my brother, either, Nan."

A ripe flush crept into Nan's cheeks. "Trust you, Faith, to turn a bait right back at me!" she sighed, then relented. "Sometimes I feel that perhaps Jerry doesn't care as much for me as I do for him. I know he cares for me, of course, but…there are times when he doesn't take any particular notice of me, when all he cares about are his friends and his work. I never know what to make of him during those times. It's not like you and Jem, Faith; everyone can see how devoted Jem is to you – why the both of you aren't officially courting yet is something I cannot fathom – but Jerry treats me like a very good friend and nothing else."

"Jerry is like that," Faith said, making a mental note to hint to her brother that demonstrating emotions was as important as feeling them. "He's too clear-headed and down to earth for his own good sometimes. But he does care very much for you, Nan; he missed you a lot last year at Redmond."

Nan shrugged and shifted the topic away from herself. "Carl will be going to college too, won't he?"

Una shook her head. "He wants to earn his way through college, so he'll be going to Harbour Head to teach for a year or two."

"I certainly hope he pays attention to other subjects instead of teaching them everything to be known in the fascinating world of bugs," Di laughed. "I wouldn't put it past him to bring a snake into class just to demonstrate how it eats and sleeps. I'm not sure I'd enjoy being in his class."

"Well, there'll be one very definite advantage; he won't whip any of his students," Faith said. "Ever since he threw that eel into Mrs. Carr's buggy and father didn't whip him, he's had a phobia of caning. I think he'd be more terrified of the whip than his students."

"I hope he can maintain order then," Nan commented. "I thought I'd never whip any of my students, either, but two months into the job saw me whipping that insufferable little Pip Owen as hard as my rod could go. I cried after that, but it did do him a world of good, if I do say so myself. The only person I know who can keep order without whipping is Walter; he just looks at them and they're frightened into submission."

"I wouldn't want to be looked at by Walter," Faith said with a shudder. "It would frighten me more than Harry Warren's ghost."

All of them laughed at this reminder of their past. Initially furious over their cowardice in the Harry Warren ghost affair, Faith, Una and Carl had eventually seen the hilarity of it and it was now a standing joke among them.

"Our lives seem mapped out already, don't they?" said Di. "Rilla will stay at home and get married eventually; Una as well, I suppose; and the rest of us will just graduate from Redmond, find jobs…and then get married too. Jem will be a doctor, like father, and Jerry will become a businessman, and Carl will pursue his bug career, and Walter will strive to publish his poetry…and we womenfolk will stay at home and darn socks."

"Oh, don't make it sound so mundane!" Faith cried. "I'm sure there will always be exciting new things that will pop out from time to time. Besides," she added with a laugh, "darning socks can be an adventure too. Just yesterday I attempted to darn one and destroyed it beyond all recognition. I don't understand how Una can be such an expert in household things when I'm such a dud. There's injustice somewhere."

"And also several more hours put in practicing on Una's part," Nan said.

"Una is the only one who doesn't seem to have any ambition," Di said, looking affectionately at the quiet second daughter of the manse. "Una, what does the future hold for you, I wonder?"

Little did any of them know the cheerless answer that would begin at a train station and end in a shell-torn field 'somewhere in France', and perhaps it was best that they did not know, or they would certainly have lost all appetite for the cookies that they suddenly felt hungry for. As it was, they left the cosy garret and trooped down the stairs to search out Susan and get up an impromptu meal of what Shirley Blythe nicknamed the 'Susan-brand' cookies and monkey faces.