"Thank heavens that everyone's finally tucked into bed!" Anne said.

Gilbert said, "It's been a wild day. Nothing like starting off the morning with a call that one of your patients died that shouldn't have died! Miss Cordelia nearly gave me a heart attack."

Anne said, "Yeah, she said that she was sorry about that. Still. She needs to think harder before she goes off running her mouth like that."

Gilbert climbed into bed. Anne climbed in with him. Anne tried to cuddle. Gilbert didn't cuddle back.

"Gilbert, what's wrong?"

"So, Anne. Were you going to tell me that Ford's articles about the island got published?"

"I set out the magazine for you."

"Which I obviously didn't read! I'm a busy man, Anne. I don't have time to read every random think sitting around our house."

"Gil – "

"It's just that I don't like when you keep things from me, Anne."

"What do you mean, Gilbert?"

"You were keeping Owen Ford's magazine articles from me, Anne."

"Gilbert, I wasn't trying to keep it from you. I just didn't want to bring it up. His name, I mean. You were pretty put out when he came over to our house last fall."

Gilbert said, "If you'll remember, I came home, soaked to the bone, looking forward to seeing my beautiful wife, and found an unplanned guest."

Anne said, "Well, okay. I told you back then that I was sorry about that. Also, I'm sorry about the article. I didn't mean to keep that from you. I'm sorry that it looked that way."

Anne put her arms around Gilbert's neck.

Gilbert had a flashback to his entrance into Ingleside that afternoon.

Anne sat very close to Owen Ford. Were they touching hands?

"It was very brave of you to tell me that, Mrs. Blythe," Ford said.

And then Anne replied, "I don't know if it was brave or foolish of me to tell you that, Mr. Ford. Please don't tell Leslie. The doctor can't ever find out about this."

What was it that Anne was either brave or foolish to tell Owen Ford? What was so terrible that they couldn't repeat to him or Leslie?

Gilbert told himself to stop this. It HAD been a very long day, and he was just too tired to think too hard anymore. Something was not adding up in his brain, but now was NOT the time to reason it all out.

Besides, what Anne was doing to him now felt really, really good.

Gilbert said, "Oh, Anne. I shouldn't have gotten upset. I overreacted. Peace?"

Anne said, "Peace."

She reached down and pulled Gilbert's nightshirt over his head.

He stuck his hand through her thin negligee and caressed her breast.

Anne looked into Gilbert's hazel eyes. This was the man who had been in her life for her through every crisis since she was a teenager. The death of Matthew, his own near death, the death of baby Joyce, her own near death several times.

Gilbert Blythe had never written Anne a sonnet. However, Gilbert HAD given up the teaching job at the Avonlea school so that she could stay close to Marilla. He had forgiven her after she told him that she could never love him, and then taken up with Roy. Gilbert had saved her life that day in the pond when she was Elaine in Mr. Barry's dory. He saved her life again when Joy and Shirley were born. He worked himself nearly to death to pay the mortgage on Ingleside and provide for her and the six kids. He made it possible for them to employ Susan.

Anne kissed Gilbert as she ran his hands up and down his chest. She rubbed his nipples.

Gilbert pulled Anne's negligee over her head.

Anne pulled down Gilbert's underpants.

Downstairs, the telephone rang.