Chapter Twenty
In the following days, Gilbert managed to avoid Anne quite easily. He was up and out of the house early every morning and helping his father on the farm until it was time for the evening meal. When he did return to the house for supper, he turned his face away from Anne, laughing and joking with his parents as though she wasn't there.
Anne felt this keenly, although she never said a word. Gilbert's parents were both kind to her and tried to include her in the conversations, but Gilbert remained stoically indifferent to her.
"Thanks for dinner, Ma," Gilbert would say as soon as he'd finished eating. Then he would rise and place an affectionate kiss on his mother's cheek. "I've got to do some study now."
One evening, his mother grabbed Gilbert's hand to stop him leaving the supper table.
"You work too hard, Gilbert," Edie said. "Why don't you stay and talk to us for a few minutes this evening?"
"You know I'm trying to keep ahead on my studies," he replied, trying not to sound terse. "I'm not sure how much time I'll have for studying while I'm away."
Anne's cheeks flushed scarlet when he said that. It was because of their marriage that Gilbert was having to go away and work on the railroads. She knew he had initially refused Rob Cassidy's offer of work, but now he was suddenly eager to accept the offer. He said it was because of the money, but Anne couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that it was mostly to get away from her.
"Maybe you oughtn't to go, darling," Edie said, not for the first time. "I've heard it's very dangerous and —"
"We need the money," Gilbert interrupted with a frown. He didn't like how his stomach flipped when he said we. "You know I'll earn more in that month than I would in a year at the newspaper. Besides, Rob's expecting me now. I wouldn't want to let him down."
"Well, maybe Anne can help you with your studies tonight?" his mother suggested. "Remember how you used to always study together?"
Anne's cheeks were burning now and her eyes remained fixed on the plate in front of her as she chewed nervously on her lower lip. The half-eaten meal revealed her lack of appetite.
Gilbert's hazel eyes slid to his wife for the briefest of moments. She looked beautiful tonight. He had noticed that she seemed to don a pretty dress to wear every evening for supper. Tonight she was wearing a dress of light green muslin that accentuated her fair skin with charming frills at her slender throat. He longed to unfasten the tiny shell buttons glinting coyly at her nape and then run his tongue along her soft skin, press kisses down her spine and then...
He glanced away from his wife hurriedly, swallowing hard, so he missed seeing Anne's luminous grey eyes when she finally raised them to look at him.
"No, I'm studying Physics at the moment," Gilbert said hoarsely. "Anne's not taking that subject."
"I see," Edie said, casting an appealing glance to her husband. "Well, perhaps you can tell us what you and your father have been doing today?"
"Dad will tell you all about it, Mother," Gilbert said with an affectionate pat on her hand as he kissed the top of her head. "Good night."
Anne couldn't deny the ache in her heart at how cold her husband was in his attitude towards her. His resentment at their arrangement was obvious, although to be sure in stark contrast Edie and John were unfailing in their warmth towards their new daughter-in-law.
As soon as he went to his room each night, Gilbert would breathe a sigh of relief under his breath, finally feeling as though he could relax.
Everywhere he looked there were little reminders of her around the house. The aroma from the tiny bouquet of lilies of the valley in the corner of the kitchen, the satiny ribbon from her hair that he saw in the washroom, her coat hanging by the back door, even the gardening trowel she left on the front porch. So many things reminded him that Anne was living in his family's home, and that everyone in Avonlea believed her to be his loving wife.
Every night as he lay in his bed, Gilbert would try to ignore the noises he could hear from the room adjacent to his. But every night, despite his best efforts, he would lie awake with his erection straining against his belly, his mind filled with images of Anne.
A week after Anne and Gilbert's wedding, the Ladies' Aid was meeting in the Blythes' parlour. To Anne, it seemed as though this was an interrogation rather than a gathering to help those less fortunate.
Anne sat bolt upright on a dining chair placed in the centre of the room, while the other Avonlea matrons were grouped on the sofas facing her and smiling politely as they extended their congratulations to her. She smiled until she felt like a Cheshire cat under their intense scrutiny, grateful that Edie and Marilla were sitting either side of her. Mrs Lynde had gone to visit her daughter for a few days, but the other ladies were relentless with their questions.
"So, I suppose you won't be returning to Redmond, Anne?" Mrs Joshua Pye asked, with her eyes drifting to Anne's stomach as she sipped delicately on her tea. "Now that you're married?"
"Well, no, Mrs Pye—" Anne began.
"Yes, I thought as much," Mrs Harmon Andrews nodded. "What a pity you wasted those three years at college."
"Oh no, you don't understand," Anne replied. "What I meant to say is, I am going back to Redmond in September."
"Pardon?" Mrs Pye exclaimed. Her eyebrows flew up almost into her elaborate pompadour.
All the guests' eyes in the room were now riveted to Anne's mid-section.
"Oh, yes," Anne nodded, her cheeks flushing scarlet at the expressions on the matrons' faces. "Gil – er, my husband and I are both going to finish our studies this year."
Anne folded her hands in her lap. She was acutely aware of Myra Sloane's piercing stare.
"But – but —" huffed Mrs Harmon.
"What about…" Mrs Jasper Bell waved her hand vaguely in front of her, her pale blue eyes fastened on Anne's belly. "Aren't you…"
The question was left hanging in the air. Anne suddenly understood what the ladies were implying. She opened her mouth to reply but it was Edie who spoke first.
"Yes, Gilbert and Anne are both going to finish their B.A.'s," Edie told the group. "They are both so clever and so close to finishing and Redmond is quite a progressive college, you know. They don't have any rules about married women attending."
Mrs Eben Wright and Mrs Harmon Andrews' expressions exuded their disapproval at the word "progressive" while Mrs Joshua Pye gasped in horror.
"Good heavens!" Mrs Pye exclaimed, with her hand splayed across her ample bosom in dismay. "What sort of an institution is that? Married women not staying at home and tending to their husbands? Why, that sounds positively heathenish. Marilla, how can you allow this?"
"Anne has always been clever," Marilla replied. "And if her husband doesn't object, then I'm proud of her for continuing her studies."
"And he doesn't object?"
"Not at all," Anne gave Edie and Marilla a small smile of gratitude while the rest of the women digested this information. "Redmond College is known for creating some of Canada's most forward thinkers. Did you know, the last gentleman who won the Cooper Prize there is now the -"
Just then there was the sound of boots scraping on the porch outside and firm, quick footsteps striding down the hall. The door to the parlour opened, and Gilbert poked his head through the door before he stepped into the parlour. His shirt was plastered to his back with sweat, damp brown curls in disarray atop his head and he was covered in dirt from working on the farm. All eyes in the room swung around and there was an unnatural silence as Avonlea's matrons all stared at him for a moment.
"Good afternoon, ladies," Gilbert graced them all with his most charming smile. His white teeth flashed even brighter against the smear of red dirt smudged across his cheek, and Anne's heart began pounding in her chest when she saw him. "Don't mind me, I just came in to fetch Dad's spectacles. There's a stone in Bullet's shoe and I..."
He stopped and looked at Anne, who had flown to her feet the moment she saw his long, brown fingers gripping the door and she now stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. She felt her cheeks flaming scarlet again as all the ladies' eyes slid back to her. Anne gathered her skirts and sidled in between the chairs of Mrs Harmon and Mrs Eben and walked to Gilbert's side.
Hazel eyes never left her as she crossed the room and he stood rigidly while she drew nearer to him. Not sure what she intended, Gilbert quirked one eyebrow at her when Anne stood directly in front of him.
Striving to convince the ladies of their affection for one another, Anne stood on her tip toes and placed a feather-light kiss on Gilbert's jaw as her slender hand rested on his muscular forearm.
"Hello, Gilbert," she whispered, her soft voice sending shivers down his spine. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
The frisson from her soft pink lips on his skin had rendered Gilbert mute while he stared into those mesmerising pools of clear grey for a long moment.
Anne's lips were tingling from where they had brushed against the bristles on his chin and the tip of her small pink tongue licked her lower lip nervously.
The spell was broken when Gilbert heard several audible sighs emanating from behind Anne.
"Just look at them," he heard Diana whisper approvingly.
"So darling," someone else murmured.
"Humph," said Mrs Sloane.
Finally, Gilbert cleared his throat and Anne blinked as she stepped away from him slightly.
"Er - good afternoon, Anne," he said in a strained voice. Gilbert cleared his throat again, aware of the ladies watching them both. "Please don't let me disturb your tea, ladies."
He stretched his hand out and picked up a pair of wire-rimmed glasses from the sideboard. Then, with another grin and waving his father's spectacles in the air, he turned to leave.
"Oh no, Gilbert," Mrs Jasper Bell protested. "Please, won't you stay for tea? We're just desperate to hear all about how you won Anne."
"Dad is waiting for me," Gilbert glanced sideways at his wife who was imploring him with her eyes, her hand still resting on his arm.
"Yes, please stay," Mrs Sloane urged. "We'd all like to know how it happened."
"I'm sure it's ever so romantic," Jane Andrews said with an encouraging smile. "Please stay, Gil?"
"Oh, ah…" Gilbert's voice trailed off as he gazed at their expectant faces. Every single one of the women in the room had been at their wedding last week. Every single one of them believed he and Anne to be so madly in love they couldn't wait to get married. He looked down at Anne's pleading eyes and he wavered in his resolve to leave. "Well, maybe I can stay for a few minutes."
His mother's pleased smile told him she was happy with his answer. Edie stood and manoeuvred another chair next to where Anne had been sitting.
"Here, darling," Edie said. "You can sit right here next to Anne. I'll pour you some tea."
Anne slipped her slender hand into the crook of Gilbert's elbow and he walked with her across the room, automatically sliding her chair in courteously before he perched uneasily on the edge of the chair next to hers.
"Perhaps I should wash up," he murmured.
"Nonsense," his mother replied. "We don't mind, do we ladies?"
"No, of course we don't," Diana smiled brightly at her friends. She thought it so adorable how nervous Gilbert was in Anne's presence.
All eyes in the room watched him eagerly as he accepted the tea cup from his mother. Not sure of what else to do, Gilbert lifted the cup to his mouth and took a sip.
The awkward silence continued as he glanced around the room at the ladies' curious faces.
"Well, Gilbert," Mrs Harmon said imperiously. "Are you going to tell us how you managed to convince Anne to finally marry you? It did seem to happen rather suddenly, didn't it?"
Mrs Andrews peered accusingly over her glasses at both Anne and Gilbert.
"Ahem, well, Mrs Andrews," Gilbert began, floundering for something to say. "You all know Anne and I have been – friends – for a while now."
Anne tried not to flinch when he said the word "friends" and she slid her eyes towards Gilbert. She wanted to help, so she placed her hand on his forearm, her fingertips lightly stroking the brown skin stretched over the hard muscle exposed beneath his rolled-up sleeve. Anne thought he tensed even more at her touch, and wanted to snatch her hand away again, but she knew she couldn't in front of their audience.
Gilbert could feel the hairs on his arm standing on end when he felt Anne's fingers touching his bare skin.
"Friends?" Mrs Harmon repeated dubiously, her eyes straying to Anne's belly.
Did everyone in Avonlea truly think that he couldn't wait to bed Anne? The humiliation he felt seemed to have no discernible effect on the pulsing in his body.
"Yes, the best of friends," Anne replied with a smile. "And, of course you know we worked on the A.V.I.S. together, and then there was Redmond —"
Anne realised she was rambling nervously.
"I've - admired Anne for a long time," Gilbert continued, wondering how to continue without telling an outright lie. "Her ideals and ambition…"
"Yes, and I've admired him, too," Anne nodded eagerly. Her hand tightened on his arm. "So much —"
Her grey eyes never wavered from Gilbert's face, although he was deliberately avoiding her gaze. Gilbert could feel his skin burning where her slender fingers touched him. A year ago, he would have done anything to hear Anne announce such a thing. But now, it was only rubbing salt in the wound. Now he was smarting under the lies that were building up around him until he felt like he was suffocating. He could feel a drop of sweat trickle slowly down his back.
"Yes, and we have so much in common," Gilbert blathered. "Study and —"
"And – and dedication to family — " Anne continued.
"Family?" Mrs Pye looked at the other women in the room knowingly.
All the other matrons nodded, certain now that Anne must be in the family way. What other possible reason would there be for so hasty a marriage? And anyone could see the seething passion of the young couple in love. Why, the air in the parlour was thick with the tension of it. Mrs Pye drew out her fan and began to flutter it before her face.
"Oh, who can explain the course of true love, Ida?" Edie asked. "Well, Gilbert, I'm sure your father will be getting impatient, so you'd better take his spectacles to him now. Poor Bullet will be lame at this rate."
She stood up and reached for Gilbert's cup, but Mrs Sloane wasn't to be deterred.
"So, what was it that made you ask her?" she pressed.
Gilbert opened his mouth to reply, but it was Anne who answered.
"I think it was a matter of predestination," she said, boldly looking Mrs Sloane in the eye. "Gilbert and I were simply made and meant for each other, Mrs Sloane."
Gilbert was taken aback by the vehemence of Anne's answer, and he raised his eyebrows slightly, but all the ladies in the circle were nodding and smiling broadly. It seemed they were all in agreement. Diana and Jane sighed delightedly.
"But, really, Gilbert," Mrs Eben Wright said. "Are you sure it's quite right that Anne should continue studying? In her condition, I mean?"
"Condition?" Gilbert bristled. The spiteful old cat. Little did she know how far from the truth her insinuations were. "You mean, her married condition? Well, of course she should. Anne's worked hard and deserves to graduate."
"Yes, but what about —"
Unwillingly to stay for any more of the questioning, Gilbert stood up and handed his cup to his mother. Let Anne deal with the gossips, this was all her idea anyway.
"If you ladies will excuse me, I'd really better get back to Dad now."
To Gilbert's surprise, Anne rose from her chair, too.
"I'll walk you out, darling," she said, grasping his hand.
He blinked at how easily the endearment slipped from her lips. And how the mere touch of her hand in his made his stomach flip.
The ladies all smiled and nodded at each other. Gilbert almost expected them to start sighing again. Stupid, romantic biddies.
"Thank you, Anne," Gilbert said. "Sweetheart," he added stiffly.
As Gilbert turned and walked down the hall with Anne, he could hear the ladies' titters of admiration from the parlour.
When they were outside and standing on the porch together, Anne turned her eyes up to Gilbert and smiled gratefully.
Those tempting lips were so kissable. How was it that despite everything that had happened between them, he still wanted to crush her to him and kiss her until those soft lips were swollen and raw? Gilbert clenched his jaw.
"I'm sorry you had to do that," she said in a low voice so that nobody in the parlour would overhear. "I promise you won't have to talk to them again. Gilbert, I —"
"Don't mention it, Anne," Gilbert interrupted her. "I'll see you at supper."
AN: Thanks so much for reading, I love your continued enthusiasm for this story! Be warned, dear readers, I think there's gonna be some more excruciating moments ahead for our pair...
Please leave me your thoughts about this chapter ok?
See you next week!
~ Love to you all from J xxx