Anne spent that summer close to home in every sense. When she wasn't helping Matthew with the farm and Marilla with the homestead, she could be seen walking the fields and the forests adjacent to Green Gables with her book in her hands and a melancholy expression.

One part of her solitude could be explained by Diana's absence. Anne's bosom friend was in Paris for the entire summer; the deal she'd struck with her parents allowing her to enroll at Queen's also stipulated that she willingly summer with relatives in France learning etiquette and meeting eligible bachelors. She and Anne had conspired to take the trip together some day, but this time around Diana was on her own. Miss Stacey was also away for most of the summer, visiting family in New Brunswick and captaining a women's field hockey team of all things. Anne exchanged letters with both, and stayed in touch with some of her friends from the drama guild out of obligation more than anything else.

The other part was plain as day to anyone who crossed Anne's path and had a look in her ocean blue eyes: her heart was broken. She had been almost inconsolable until word reached her that Gilbert's fever had broken and he was out of the woods. Doctors said his recovery would be a long one, but he was expected to build back to his previous strength and live a long full life. At that, Anne turned inside herself, packed her things, and boarded the next train to Carmody. Her prompt exit caught her classmates and school administrators off guard. She entirely missed the announcement that she had won the Avery Scholarship which was awarded annually to the first year student with the highest standing in English literature and there was to be a reception with Mr. & Mrs. Avery who sponsored the prize which had to be cancelled.

Matthew and Marilla were delighted to have so much of their beloved daughter to themselves that summer, but they worried about her terribly. There were moments of levity and an abundance of flowers and other greenery arranged throughout the house, sure, but there was no denying that Anne's light had dimmed. She opted out of joining the ladies sewing circle with Marilla and the Avonlea Village Improvement Society with her old classmates, preferring instead the quiet solitude of home and the company of a good book. She read abundantly, reading and re-reading every novel she could get her hands on. It was as though she lost herself in the characters on the page, preferring to disappear into their worlds than be present in her own. The only time Matthew and Marilla saw some of her old zest for life was when she played with Delphine. A baby no longer, Deli was walking and stumbling about and the two friends spent hours playing together in the Cuthbert barn and just generally enjoying one another's company. Anne's reluctance to visit the Blythe-Lacroix's meant that she had to rely on Elijah to bring Deli to Green Gables, which limited their playtime to two or three times a week. Still, the afternoons Anne spent with Delphine were the happiest of that summer and something she carried close to her heart for the rest of her life.

"Oh, Deli, how I wish Mary were here with us now!" Anne would exclaim warmly, having recounted another story of Mary overcoming adversity and loving directly and without reserve. She knew Mary was with them in a way, as her parents were, but it wasn't the same.

Bash had stayed in Toronto for two weeks, which was about a week longer than he could be spared at home. When they were alone, he pleaded with Gilbert to hold on, to push through. Their collective grief and frail family unit could not, would not, survive another loss. Gilbert must live, he must. When Gilbert finally awoke, Bash was overjoyed but the two friends had no more than an afternoon together before Bash had to leave. Gilbert hadn't mentioned his engagement, but it was clear that he and Christine - the dark-haired woman - were close; the gentlemen in Gilbert's group deferred to her almost entirely so far as anything to do with Gilbert's treatment and recovery were concerned, and Bash had overheard him call out "I love you" and "marry me" in his sleep on more than one occasion. Bash hadn't spent any real time with Christine; their visits almost never corresponded and Christine had classes and other commitments. They'd been introduced, though, and Bash had said something about how he looked forward to getting to know her over the years and decades to come, which had puzzled her slightly.

July turned to August and the air across Prince Edward Island cooled as it sometimes did. Most evenings, Anne could be spotted walking the shoreline as the sun set, sporting one of Matthew's heavy woolen sweaters, her hair tied up in a messy bun and her arms wrapped around herself, gripping tightly. She was wrestling with the pain of almost losing Gilbert to death, and the grief of letting their life together slip through her fingers, but also with her professional future and her very identity. She had been offered the internship at The Globe but hadn't yet accepted it. She'd received the Avery scholarship but hadn't yet registered for classes. She'd identified Scotland as the birthplace of her origin story but hadn't capitalied on the discovery in any way. She was standing on a precipice, and the decisions before her weighed heavily on her heart and mind; so much more so, because she was acutely aware that she was making them on her own. Some nights, the loneliness of it all almost gobbled her up entirely.

A few weeks before Queen's was to resume, Anne received a letter from the Academy's President informing her that the Avery family was hosting a fundraising event at the White Sands Hotel and that they'd requested she perform a recitation as part of the formal program. Word of Anne's theatrical talents had been received by the family and there was an implication in the President's letter that Anne simply must accept the invitation to make up for the debacle with the reception. Reluctantly, Anne agreed and the process of choosing and preparing the text infused some purpose to the tail end of her summer. Instead of clutching her heart, Anne could be seen gesticulating wildly the evenings that followed and it seemed that some light was creeping back in and Avonlea's pride and joy was opening up again.

The day of the fundraiser, Anne was a mess of nerves and anxiety. Sure, she's performed before, but never by herself. She loved Avonlea but there were more than a fair share of skeptics and busybodies who would be all too thrilled to see everyone's favourite orphan tumble off the pedestal her academic success had put her on. Principle among them were Mr. and Mrs. Pye who've never forgiven Anne for undermining their plan to have Josie marry into the Andrews family with her scandalous article in the Avonlea Gazette. All of this was racing around Anne's mind as she sat atop her bed all dressed and reyad to go in the moments before they were set to leave for the hotel. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in" said Anne, a quiver in her voice. "Matthew!" She smiled, hIs very presence calming to her.

Matthew was completely taken by the woman sitting before him. Anne was a vision in white taffeta and lace. Her hair was pinned up in a french twist with wild flowers tucked in it to and fro. She was a vision and Matthew's breath caught in her throat.

"You .. you look …" He took a breath. "Beautiful."

"Thank you, Matthew," said Anne, beaming. She rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him in the biggest hug.

"I have something for you."

"Matthew, you shouldn't have. Really." From his pocket, he pulled a string of beautiful white pearls.

"For you. They were our mother's."

"Oh Matthew! They're beautiful! Thank you so much!"

"May I?" he asked.

"Please." Anne turned away from him, and Matthew wrapped the necklace around her neck and connected the clasp. She turned back, her hand on her throat.

"Thank you so much, Matthew." He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. Then he said in the quietest of voices:

"You will survive this, my girl. This heartbreak. I love you so very much."

"Thank you," she said, just as quietly. They stayed there with their heads touching for a few moments until Marilla hollered upstairs"

"Time to go, you two! Come along. We don't want to be late" They both smiled.

"Shall we?" said Matthew extending his arm as a gentleman would do.

"We shall," said Anne, taking his arm. "Indeed we shall."