IX
Anne Shirley and Diana Wright, laughing over little Fred's latest escapade, walked down the main road in Carmody. Samuel Lawson's store had just received some new fabric in from Charlottetown and both intended to purchase material for their banquet gowns.
Anne had related to Diana all that had happened between her and Gilbert, up to a point-a very important point, in fact. Anne, although she certainly adored and trusted Diana to the utmost, had a sneaking suspicion that Diana told everything to Fred, and for this reason had left out one little part-that she, Anne, was in love with Gilbert Blythe.
They made their entry in the store, upon which Diana was instantly captivated and dragged Anne over to a back shelf, "Oh, just look at this print! Isn't it just sweet?"
Anne, in an extremely cynical mood just then, allowed herself a small sarcastic smile. It didn't matter much what she looked like at the banquet. But she should help Diana, whose Fred had given her money to "splurge" at Lawson's.
Just as Diana was telling Anne that she would look "just sweet" in a certain yellow dress-"If I hear the word 'sweet' one more time I'm going to scream," Anne thought-the bell over the door rang, signaling the arrival of another personage into the store.
Feeling a familiar pricking sensation on the back of her neck, Anne turned around slowly to see Gilbert and his friend, David Owen.
"Why, it's Anne Shirley, of the Avery scholarship and Queen's fame!" David exclaimed, striding towards Anne, who threw one last attempt at an apathetic glance at Gilbert before turning her attention to him. David, who had been one of Gilbert's best friends at Queen's, was an extremely bright boy from the east side of the island, who, as Anne recalled, loved to argue. His father, who had inherited some money from European relatives, had sent David to law school in Toronto after Queen's. Anne hadn't seen him in at least five years.
"David!" she said. "How are you doing?"
"Scraped myself through law school tolerably well, thanks. You are now looking at a fully certified lawyer. Oh, don't look so impressed. You were brilliant at Queen's, I'm sure you could have done it. Tell me about your Redmond experience. Gilbert here was strangely uninformative. I can't imagine why. He was there too, wasn't he?"
Anne turned toward David, so as to make sure there was no doubt that she was addressing him, and not Gilbert, who was currently glaring at his friend.
"Well, I took Honors in English," Anne began.
"-And she was proposed to by an extremely rich Kingsport man, but she refused him. He wrote her poems and everything. Isn't that romantic?" interjected Diana.
David just smiled, but Gilbert, speaking for the first time, said coldly, "I regret to say I fail to see the romance in that."
Anne turned towards him, her eyes very green. "You would," she said.
He, too, turned to face her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Anne shrugged indifferently. "Whatever you make of it."
"Just because I can't detect any romance in the fact that you were going to marry some man for his money and then thought better of it--" Gilbert mirrored her unconcerned attitude.
Anne raised her eyebrows, appalled. "I was NOT going to marry him for his money!" she hissed.
"All right, whatever, I'm not going to argue with you," Gilbert responded calmly.
Diana and David watched this rapidly escalating conversation, both with slightly amused expressions and arms crossed.
"No," Anne said, reflecting, "maybe I was wrong earlier. I mean, you do seem to have a habit of finding romance in places that don't warrant it." She smiled sardonically.
Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, taking a step closer to her.
Anne raised her eyebrows and shrugged again. "You tell me."
It was Gilbert's turn to seethe. "I don't know what you're implying, Anne Shirley, but I do know one thing. I never"-he stopped and lowered his voice several octaves-"I never begged."
His hazel eyes glinted dangerously, and his cheeks were red. Anne's normally pale face was glowing with anger.
Diana and David both pretended to busy themselves with something else.
Anne looked up at him and said sweetly, "All right, whatever you say."
They were standing in a narrow aisle in the back of the small store that was blocked off at one end by a barrel of potatoes. Both were breathing rather heavily, and only in the slight pause did Gilbert realize how close he was to Anne. His heart, if not already beating rapidly enough, began to pump faster. A sarcastic retort died at his lips as he looked down at her flushed face.
Anne caught the change in the atmosphere and blushed, not knowing where to look. The tension in the air was almost palpable. Finally Gilbert squeezed past Anne through the narrow aisle, brushing firmly against her and sending sparks of pleasure throughout her body.
"I, um, forgot the barley my father wanted exchanged," he said briefly to David before exiting the store.
"Have fun at the banquet with Josie," Anne, recovering her lost wits, called after him.
"I will!" came the firm response.
"And don't worry about me, because I didn't ride here or anything with you," David muttered, annoyed.
Anne turned to address him. "Oh, don't worry. Diana and I can take you home," she said. Then, frowning, she asked, "Where is home, by the way?"
"Oh, right. Well, I pretty much exhausted my father's inheritance at law school, and he returned to England to take over our family's business. I'm determined to pay him back, and so before I start my practice in the fall, I'm teaching the summer term at the White Sands school."
"And you're not ridiculously over-qualified or anything," Anne smiled.
"Yes, well," he shrugged.
Diana dragged Anne's shoulder over to another shelf of cloth. "Anne, we have to pick out our dress material and patterns now. Your little "discussion" with Gilbert made us pressed for time. Remember I'm to have tea with Fred's mother at her house just outside Carmody at 3:00."
"Oh, I forgot, I'm sorry, Diana!" Anne exclaimed, turning her attention to feminine matters.
David rolled his eyes and waited patiently, leaning against the potato barrel.
Anne Shirley and Diana Wright, laughing over little Fred's latest escapade, walked down the main road in Carmody. Samuel Lawson's store had just received some new fabric in from Charlottetown and both intended to purchase material for their banquet gowns.
Anne had related to Diana all that had happened between her and Gilbert, up to a point-a very important point, in fact. Anne, although she certainly adored and trusted Diana to the utmost, had a sneaking suspicion that Diana told everything to Fred, and for this reason had left out one little part-that she, Anne, was in love with Gilbert Blythe.
They made their entry in the store, upon which Diana was instantly captivated and dragged Anne over to a back shelf, "Oh, just look at this print! Isn't it just sweet?"
Anne, in an extremely cynical mood just then, allowed herself a small sarcastic smile. It didn't matter much what she looked like at the banquet. But she should help Diana, whose Fred had given her money to "splurge" at Lawson's.
Just as Diana was telling Anne that she would look "just sweet" in a certain yellow dress-"If I hear the word 'sweet' one more time I'm going to scream," Anne thought-the bell over the door rang, signaling the arrival of another personage into the store.
Feeling a familiar pricking sensation on the back of her neck, Anne turned around slowly to see Gilbert and his friend, David Owen.
"Why, it's Anne Shirley, of the Avery scholarship and Queen's fame!" David exclaimed, striding towards Anne, who threw one last attempt at an apathetic glance at Gilbert before turning her attention to him. David, who had been one of Gilbert's best friends at Queen's, was an extremely bright boy from the east side of the island, who, as Anne recalled, loved to argue. His father, who had inherited some money from European relatives, had sent David to law school in Toronto after Queen's. Anne hadn't seen him in at least five years.
"David!" she said. "How are you doing?"
"Scraped myself through law school tolerably well, thanks. You are now looking at a fully certified lawyer. Oh, don't look so impressed. You were brilliant at Queen's, I'm sure you could have done it. Tell me about your Redmond experience. Gilbert here was strangely uninformative. I can't imagine why. He was there too, wasn't he?"
Anne turned toward David, so as to make sure there was no doubt that she was addressing him, and not Gilbert, who was currently glaring at his friend.
"Well, I took Honors in English," Anne began.
"-And she was proposed to by an extremely rich Kingsport man, but she refused him. He wrote her poems and everything. Isn't that romantic?" interjected Diana.
David just smiled, but Gilbert, speaking for the first time, said coldly, "I regret to say I fail to see the romance in that."
Anne turned towards him, her eyes very green. "You would," she said.
He, too, turned to face her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Anne shrugged indifferently. "Whatever you make of it."
"Just because I can't detect any romance in the fact that you were going to marry some man for his money and then thought better of it--" Gilbert mirrored her unconcerned attitude.
Anne raised her eyebrows, appalled. "I was NOT going to marry him for his money!" she hissed.
"All right, whatever, I'm not going to argue with you," Gilbert responded calmly.
Diana and David watched this rapidly escalating conversation, both with slightly amused expressions and arms crossed.
"No," Anne said, reflecting, "maybe I was wrong earlier. I mean, you do seem to have a habit of finding romance in places that don't warrant it." She smiled sardonically.
Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, taking a step closer to her.
Anne raised her eyebrows and shrugged again. "You tell me."
It was Gilbert's turn to seethe. "I don't know what you're implying, Anne Shirley, but I do know one thing. I never"-he stopped and lowered his voice several octaves-"I never begged."
His hazel eyes glinted dangerously, and his cheeks were red. Anne's normally pale face was glowing with anger.
Diana and David both pretended to busy themselves with something else.
Anne looked up at him and said sweetly, "All right, whatever you say."
They were standing in a narrow aisle in the back of the small store that was blocked off at one end by a barrel of potatoes. Both were breathing rather heavily, and only in the slight pause did Gilbert realize how close he was to Anne. His heart, if not already beating rapidly enough, began to pump faster. A sarcastic retort died at his lips as he looked down at her flushed face.
Anne caught the change in the atmosphere and blushed, not knowing where to look. The tension in the air was almost palpable. Finally Gilbert squeezed past Anne through the narrow aisle, brushing firmly against her and sending sparks of pleasure throughout her body.
"I, um, forgot the barley my father wanted exchanged," he said briefly to David before exiting the store.
"Have fun at the banquet with Josie," Anne, recovering her lost wits, called after him.
"I will!" came the firm response.
"And don't worry about me, because I didn't ride here or anything with you," David muttered, annoyed.
Anne turned to address him. "Oh, don't worry. Diana and I can take you home," she said. Then, frowning, she asked, "Where is home, by the way?"
"Oh, right. Well, I pretty much exhausted my father's inheritance at law school, and he returned to England to take over our family's business. I'm determined to pay him back, and so before I start my practice in the fall, I'm teaching the summer term at the White Sands school."
"And you're not ridiculously over-qualified or anything," Anne smiled.
"Yes, well," he shrugged.
Diana dragged Anne's shoulder over to another shelf of cloth. "Anne, we have to pick out our dress material and patterns now. Your little "discussion" with Gilbert made us pressed for time. Remember I'm to have tea with Fred's mother at her house just outside Carmody at 3:00."
"Oh, I forgot, I'm sorry, Diana!" Anne exclaimed, turning her attention to feminine matters.
David rolled his eyes and waited patiently, leaning against the potato barrel.