Chapter 26

The December morning was crisp and clear when the postmaster of Avonlea met Gilbert at the desk with a slight smile.

"Nothing today, Gilbert," he said, with a chuckle. "You've had something nearly every day this week. Is there a girl involved from your school?"

"Just checking the mail for the family, Stan." Gilbert said with a disarming grin and turned to go, only to run into Mrs Almira Sloane, who had been listening and looked at him knowingly.

"Yes, welcome back to Avonlea," she said sweetly. "I'm sure your parents must be delighted to have you home ahead of the rest of our students."

Gilbert smiled awkwardly, wondering what the odds were of Charlie keeping his mouth shut in his weekly letters home.

"Who are your parents expecting mail from, dear?" Mrs Sloane said, her wide eyes staring at him. "Someone from Redmond, perhaps?"

Gilbert gave her the blankest look he could muster. "New Brunswick, actually. Mother's cousin writes often, and as you know dad is recovering very slowly. They are quite concerned."

"Yes, I heard that the doctor was suspecting a spinal injury, Gilbert." she said with avid interest.

Gilbert sighed. "They did; however, he was able to walk a little yesterday," he said evenly, inwardly chafing at the spread of news in a small town. He would have to remember that when he was the doctor.

She looked at him sceptically, and he thought that withdrawal was the safest alternative.

"Mrs Sloane, I must get back home to my parents, and make sure my father has been well in my absence. No doubt you have a myriad of preparations to be getting done before Charlie comes home for the holidays." He tipped his cap to her and was gone before she could blink those big eyes.

He moved quickly down the street, slowing as he reached the horse and buggy. The supplies his parents had asked for were already loaded, so he would be able to leave quickly. As far as he was concerned, it couldn't be quick enough. He went to climb into the buggy and then froze as Josie Pye's unmistakeable voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Well, if it isn't the dutiful son." she said smoothly, coming to stand beside the wheel, in an over-embellished bright pink hat that made his eyes ache.

Gilbert gritted his teeth and turned to face her courteously. "Josie. How are you?"

Josie smiled. "Very well, Gilbert. We've been wondering if you would ever return to Avonlea."

"Josie, my family is here." he said calmly.

"You seem to do a good job of forgetting that most of the year."

Gilbert gave an artificial smile. "Have you not heard of getting an education? Avonlea can only take you so far."

"For someone who will only end up becoming a teacher, Redmond seems like a tremendous expense. I wonder at your parents for allowing it."

"I'm sorry Josie, I've got to get going, my parents are expecting me." He climbed into the buggy, and Josie scowled. For some reason, Gilbert Blythe was always trying to get away from her- no matter how engaging she worked at being. Still, she wasn't done yet.

"Well, since you are home for a season, especially if your father doesn't end up walking again, does that mean you will be free for the New Year's dance at the hall this year?" She attempted a winning smile, and for a moment she thought she might have succeeded when she saw Gilbert's eyes light up.

"I didn't think they were doing one this year." he commented.

"Oh, they are. Father made them reconsider after the last town meeting. It's really a disgrace that a town like this couldn't scrape up the funds to amuse the young people of the town better." She looked at him cagily. "So does that mean you are free to take me?" She watched an amused look flit across Gilbert's handsome face. Really, he was the most handsome of the Avonlea men right now.

"Actually Josie, I believe I'll be taking Anne." he said thoughtfully, and an ugly look crossed her face.

"Oh, really, Gilbert. Anne thinks she's too good for the likes of this town. I wonder that she even returns for the holidays. I don't see why you should bother with her. She has that rich Kingsport man that she threw you over for, anyway." she reminded him cruelly. To her dismay Gilbert's smile only grew, and he fixed her with the cocky look of a schoolboy.

"You know Josie; I still reckon I like my chances. I'll be seeing you."

At this, he hit the reins, and Josie watched the buggy move off, her jaw still hanging in surprise.

Gilbert drove off, his mind working furiously. So if the Sloanes knew something, the Pye's certainly didn't yet. That was a good sign. However, he had wasted enough time, he would need to head over to Green Gables sooner rather than later- if Anne hadn't told Marilla yet, he didn't want the news coming from somewhere else in the meantime. Honestly, what were they thinking, to not write home immediately?

After supper that night, Gilbert walked out of the front door in the suit his mother had insisted on his wearing for the occasion. She was still brushing it down as he went, and instructing him on the finer points of social etiquette with regards to asking for your intended's hand. Gilbert's father only chuckled, protesting that all Marilla would want to know is that the two of them loved each other- something that would be blindingly obvious.

He took a deep breath as he walked up the familiar path, finally alone with his thoughts. He was nervous, he had to admit to himself. It wasn't that he thought she would say no- no; his fears were more subtle than that. Offering himself as some kind of prize- a student without an income, reliant on scholarships to ease his way, for what would already be more than a three-year engagement. A man with big ambitions, who often feared he would have to let them go in the cold face of reality. Doggedly he set his feet on the path though- Anne was at the end of it. She had always been there; she was the prize he ultimately worked for. All he could tell her guardian was that.

At the other end of his journey, Gilbert stood in front of the door to Green Gables waiting for- well, he wasn't actually sure what he was waiting for. Something to occur to him, no doubt. He had been planning this particular conversation for a long time- how had every single word fled him so easily? And so the lack of knocking continued, until Marilla Cuthbert opened the door to step out, letting out a sharp cry of surprise at his inexplicable presence.

Marilla sized the boy up with a startled look. "Gilbert, what on earth are you doing here?" she said, her hand on her heart. When the boy only floundered to speak, she continued, trying to recover her equilibrium. "Gilbert, Anne isn't home for almost a week." she said, perplexed.

"Yes, Miss Cuthbert, that's why I'm here." he said, in a feeble attempt to recall the purpose of the said visit.

Marilla looked at him curiously. "I see. I hope your father is recovering well, Gilbert?"

He smiled. "He is. He's not enjoying being an invalid, and my mother is hard pressed to keep him from leaping out of bed every morning- however he is getting better."

Marilla smiled. "Yes, that does sound like your father, Gilbert. Now, what can I do for you? Would you like to come in for some tea with us after I finish the chores?" she asked cordially.

Gilbert gave a little smile. "I'd actually hoped to speak with you alone, if I could." he admitted, and Marilla nodded.

"Rachel is visiting someone, and Davy is at Ralph Andrews' house for a bonfire until tomorrow. Dora is the only one at home, and you know how quiet she is."

Gilbert laughed. "Well, I don't need to fear Dora giving anything away like I would the others. How about I assist you with the chores? Dad's had me working so hard that I'm almost as quick as I used to be."

Marilla chuckled and showed him where to find the food for the animals.

Half an hour later, Dora served them both tea in the little kitchen and took herself into the parlour to read.

Gilbert had relaxed a little by now, however, some of his nerves returned in the stillness after Dora left. The silence lengthened as he stirred his tea distractedly. He had rarely been here without Anne, and certainly not to do what he was about to do. As Marilla watched him calmly, Gilbert began to sweat, momentarily second guessing himself. Was he supposed to have already proposed by this point? Was it consent to marry he was supposed to be after, or permission to ask?

"Marilla smiled. "Gilbert, whatever it is you wish to say, I suggest that you simply jump in," she said comfortably.

He laughed then, feeling foolish, but chose to do as she suggested.

"I suppose this would be more natural if I hadn't been absent for the last two years." he said at last. "I would guess that you figured out why I stopped visiting."

Marilla sighed. "Yes." she said simply. "If you will permit me to say it, I was very sorry."

Gilbert nodded, the words sticking in his throat.

"Miss Cuthbert, I believe Anne has written to you that we have- well, that she and I- that we are-" he faltered.

Marilla smiled. "That things are the way they were between the two of you?"

Gilbert's relief was obvious. "Yes. We've spent most of this term together, in fact. It's- it's been wonderful." He sighed. "Miss Cuthbert, I need to ask you a question- and I need to ask for your forgiveness for not asking you properly last time.

Marilla's eyes widened, however she stayed silent.

"I would like to ask for your consent to propose to Anne once again," he said quietly. "I love her, and I always have. When I proposed last time I jumped in because I was afraid of losing her- and I spoke too soon, and she refused me. She also didn't believe she felt anything for me beyond friendship. You know how the rest of that played out."

The older woman nodded, her eyes showing her regret.

"I made a lot of mistakes back then, and I realised that even if she had consented, I should have spoken to you first. For that, I'm sorry."

Marilla shook her head. "Gilbert, I don't believe you need to apologise. And you must have known that I would never refuse if you loved her. I do however want to know how it has come about that you are going to ask her again." she said slowly. "I wouldn't want you to go through the same thing again."

His smile then was genuine. "That's the other reason I'm here. It was our plan to speak to both of our families when we came home at Christmas; however, I didn't want gossip from Redmond to get there before we did." His face flushed, and he floundered a little. "Anne said that she didn't want to tell you in a letter, she wanted us to do it in person."

Marilla sat up, a sudden gleam in her eye. "Gilbert, have you and Anne reached an understanding?" she asked quickly. His bright grin was answer enough, and she let out an obvious sigh of relief. "Well, it's about time." she said, drolly.

Gilbert smiled, and then he took a deep breath. "It is. Miss Cuthbert, there's just one other thing that I wanted to tell you myself. It concerns the night of the storm after Diana and Fred's wedding."

Marilla looked perplexed. "The night Anne took refuge at the schoolhouse?" she asked, unable to fathom why it was relevant.

Gilbert looked at her, his face serious. "She wasn't alone that night. I was there with her." He saw her brow contract, a worried look on her face. "We were both coming home from opposite directions- I was coming from the Wrights, and she was returning from the shore. We arrived at the same time, and were well and truly stuck together." He fidgeted with the cuffs of his shirt, before continuing. "The reason Anne didn't tell you, was because she was so upset by what happened that night." He looked at Marilla then, his shoulders sagging. "I said a lot of things I shouldn't have, and hurt her terribly. And not just then. For the fourteen months we were apart we seemed to hurt each other constantly. I think we lost something of ourselves without each other." he stated, his voice sober.

Marilla sighed, having seen the truth of that in Anne herself. "I think you may be right."

Gilbert paused to rub a hand over his face. "The one good thing that happened that night, was that we started to tell each other the truth. I had never stopped loving her. But I became very good at covering that up to prevent myself from getting hurt; and then she thought that I didn't care about her at all. I didn't know how much she was hurting over what happened between us. I didn't think she cared about me either-"

Marilla looked at him, disbelievingly, and went to protest.

"-and I found out I was wrong." he said, with a sigh. "It was one of the worst nights of our lives. But we came out of that night knowing that we did care for each other." He looked across at Marilla and answered the question she would not ask. "Miss Cuthbert, you have my word that nothing inappropriate happened that night between us; although as you can imagine, it would be seen so if anyone in town were to find out about it. By sheer chance, we had food and a fire to keep us warm. I saw that she was safe, and-" here Gilbert gave a dry smile- "and then we started yelling at each other." He smiled wryly. "Actually, quite a lot. It was very late at night and still raining heavily when we finally went to sleep, and we woke up to get home as soon as we could. Anne assumed she wouldn't see me again- when we parted she was as distraught as I was, the reason she didn't tell you at the time." he said honestly.

Marilla suddenly remembered Anne as she had been that morning, white and shaking. Her clothing dishevelled, and unable to answer more than the most basic questions. Looking, Marilla realised now, as if she had lost someone of incalculable value. She sighed, her heart grieving over the hard pathway this pair had seemed to need to take.

"So you both told no one that you were there that night?" she asked.

"I understand Anne wrote to Diana about it a few months ago; the only one I spoke to was my father that same morning. He listened to me talk for a time, and I told him everything." Gilbert said quietly.

Marilla gave a little sigh of relief and tried to gather her thoughts. "And did you- was there any intention to head into a relationship at that stage?" she asked, her voice crisp.

"No." He looked her in the eyes then. "All we established was that we were both hurting as much as each other. She thought I was moving to England, and I thought she was with Roy. And within a few days of the storm, neither of those things were true. We returned to Redmond, and we started again. We began to spend time together, to rebuild our friendship. As time went on, I began to wonder if she could possibly feel for me as I did for her." Gilbert smiled then. "And a few weeks ago, I found out that she did. The reason I wanted to tell you all of this, is because if I am asking for her hand, I am asking for your trust." He said, his voice sincere. "I'm asking you to trust me to provide for her, to look after her as she deserves for the rest of our lives. I promise that I will do everything I can to protect her and keep her safe. I love her more than anything in this world, and I know that she loves me as well."

Marilla sat back, astounded at all that had taken place. Was it possible that all would be well, after all this time? Reflecting on what he had shared, she sighed. He could so easily have left this secret, and as uncomfortable a revelation as it was, she knew he would have behaved as a gentleman. And he had only spoken to John.

"Well." she said, some of her briskness returning. "I suppose we just need to wait until Anne is at home now."

Gilbert chuckled. "I have no doubt that Anne will tell you a far more detailed story, she's much better at that than me. And I'm sorry it had to be me who told you about us, I know Anne would have preferred to do it herself. However, as I board with Charlie Sloane, who began to suspect something was happening some time ago…"

Marilla raised one eyebrow. "Oh dear. And if Charlie knew-" she trailed.

"Yes. Then Mrs Sloane would too. She indicated as much to me today." he said, comically. "Hence me not waiting until we were back here together."

"Well, I am glad to hear it from one of you, at least. And of course you have my consent. If I may say so, I think the two of you are meant to be together." she added.

A load seemed to fall off Gilbert's shoulders, his relief visible to the woman across from him.

She gave him an amused look then. "Better?"

He laughed. "Much better." He folded his arms, and grinned at her engagingly. "I told my parents as well, my mother is trying to organise Christmas plans already."

There was step outside, and the two of them turned to the kitchen doorway in surprise. Mrs Lynde had returned, and drew the pins out of her hat as she looked in surprise at the tete-a-tete at the kitchen table.

"Why, Gilbert Blythe! I did wonder if you would be able to come back so soon after the accident- although it's no wonder you were worried; your father is hardly a young man anymore. He'll be lucky if he can ever climb a ladder again, I think. I wonder at your mother for allowing him to do it in the first place." Her hat and coat on the hook, she donned an apron that was hanging over the chair, and began to stoke the fire. "I must say, Gilbert, you have certainly gained some ground since last summer, I thought for certain that you were studying yourself into an early grave. I spoke to your mother about that at the time, however she brushed off my concerns with a worrying confidence. Well, thanks be to heaven that you children can give up this foolishness soon, the school year is almost over." she said affably. She fixed Gilbert then with a beady eye. "And to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? I don't suppose it was mere neighbourliness."

Gilbert looked at Marilla, who coughed slightly. "I spoke to Anne shortly before I left Kingsport, she gave me a message for Marilla," he said evenly.

"Yes, Rachel. Anne will arrive home on the seventeenth."

"Well, we already knew that," Rachel said, with a frown. "I thought it must have been something important. You'd think she could simply write that in her letters- they're certainly long enough."

Marilla stood up then. "Thank you, Gilbert, I do appreciate you stopping. Please give my regards to your parents, and tell them I am glad your father is improving so quickly. I'll see you out, shall I?"

Rachel looked in surprise as Marilla hustled Gilbert out the door, and walked him down towards the gate.

"You do realise she was mere minutes away from asking about you and Anne, don't you?" she said as they walked, amused. "And unless you have a better poker face than I think you do, she would have had the news out by morning. I thought it best to remove you first."

Gilbert laughed. "Well, she'll know soon enough. She can have her fun then."

Marilla turned to go, and then to her own surprise and his, reached out to give the young man a short, restrained hug.

"Thank you, Gilbert. I am very happy for the two of you." she said stiffly, and turned quickly to make her way back up the path to the house.

Gilbert stood still for a moment, still in shock. He had done it. He had Marilla's blessing, and had only to ask the woman he loved now. He headed back down the lane with a slight smile, still in shock at Marilla's brief show of affection.

Anne would never believe him.