The winter weeks wore by, and soon the sprouts of spring began to pop up here and there, just as the three babes of the House of Dreams grew. Before anyone was aware of it, April was already there, and Dr. and Mrs. Blythe were preparing to take a long vacation in Avonlea.
The ladies of Ingleside, the House of Dreams, Hillwynd, the manse, McGowan Farm, and the general store were spending an afternoon together on the Ingleside verandah, preparing various gifts and such for the doctor and his wife to take with them to Avonlea.
"It has been so long since I have been Anne of Green Gables, I don't exactly know what I shall do with myself," Anne admitted to her company.
"I imagine all those grandchildren, new or not, will keep you fairly busy," Rosemary Meredith said, picking up the bedimpled Owen Ford. "Of course, you're used to that"
"I know that I shall miss you and Dad tremendously while you are away," Rilla admitted. "I believe the children shall be lost."
"Oh Rilla, we'll only be away for a little over a month! We won't possibly be gone for more than two months at the most," Anne reassured her youngest. "Besides," she looked to Una, who was rapt in holding Constance Douglas, "there is a wedding we must attend in June."
Mary Douglas perked up, "Speaking of your wedding, Una. Don't you think that it's about time we started putting it together?"
Una never took her eyes off the baby sleeping peacefully in her arms. "I-I suppose we should. There isn't really much planning to be done, though. Samson and I just want to have a simple wedding."
"That may be, but you will still want to wear a nice enough dress, and everyone will be wanting some food," Mary reminded her.
Leslie Ford asked her, "Have you decided whether your father or Jerry will perform the ceremony?"
Faith sat next to Persis and informed the room, "From what I've heard, there's still a question as to whether or not Father will give his blessing, and it won't be easy for Jerry to come all the way here so soon after Nan has the baby."
Rosemary shot Faith a glance that implored her to hush. "I'm sure your father will give his consent. He is just taking his time about it because Una is his last daughter. Anyway, he had years to come to grips with giving you away, Faith."
"I was so wild, I imagine he was glad to give me away," she laughingly admitted.
Rosemary shook her head. "No, actually he had a very difficult time reconciling himself to the fact that you weren't that harum scarum child that you once were. However, when both Jerry and you married, he knew your prospective mates, their family, and most importantly, he knew them. He doesn't know Samson Bell enough to be comfortable with everything yet. By the time the wedding is here, he will be more than prepared to give his blessing and his daughter."
"Speaking of the potential mates of the minister's children, haven't there been a great many letters from Montreal for you, Persis?" Rilla asked.
Little had anyone known; Walter was squatted on the verandah steps, just as he did when he was a child, hidden away by a curtain of vines, listening in to the conversation. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop as he had at a certain Ladies Aide years before. He had returned early from spending the day at the newspaper office with Ken, working on a new project that Persis had brought to his mind, when he noticed the gathering at home. He didn't wish to intrude, and he wasn't yet ready to share with the world his new project, so he sat back and let the ladies freely talk.
Just as Persis was about to tell Rilla about her recent string of letters from Montreal, Hope and Graceful Anne walked toward Walter, with Noel and Holly faithfully trotting alongside their girls. Lest the girls give him away, he met them before they could say anything.
"How are the two prettiest girls on Prince Edward Island this fair Saturday afternoon?" he asked.
"We would be better if we were going to Avonlea with Grandmother to see Cecilia," Hope answered.
Walter was growing tired of hearing Hope hint how she wished to go to Avonlea with her grandparents. He was also wishing to go for a walk to clear his mind because the things he had heard jumbled it up immensly, so he suggested to them, "Why don't you ladies join me for a ramble along the shore?"
Both girls though it was a wonderful idea. "Go inside," he instructed them, "and let Grandmother and Rilla know where we are going so they'll no worry, and then we shall be off on a great adventure."
The girls quickly ran inside then back, and Walter found himself in the company of two rather intuitive and interesting young ladies.
The three along with the dogs, walked quite a distance that day. Along Four Winds, they waved to Mr. Marshall Elliot who was reading a book on his porch. The passed the light, and Walter shared stories from The Life Book of Captain Jim. They finally stopped along a piece of beach, secluded I a little corner Walter have never before visited. They all told stories, sang songs, and threw driftwood for the dogs to fetch.
Once, Walter threw a stick of driftwood a little too hard, and it landed off into a thicket of trees. Noel, the twins' dog ran off to chase it, and didn't return directly.
After some minutes passed, Hope became terribly worried over the fate of her dear new canine friend.
She tugged at Walter's shirt, "Daddy, I'm afraid that Noel is lost. We have to find her. She's not a wild dog. She doesn't know how to live without us."
Walter agreed, and they started to search through the thicket which became more and more dense. Walter began to wonder if the girls shouldn't have stayed on the beach, but he needn't worry about them. Hope held tightly onto Walter's hand, Grace held onto Hope's, and she also held very tightly onto her own Holly's fur.
Walter was about to give Noel up for lost when he heard a bark in the distance. Then several other barks came, and they followed them until the thicket cleared. Suddenly, the sun began to shine brightly again, and they found a clearing in the thicket. There they found a lush green glade where wildflowers grew abundant. A glistening brook ran alongside a grand Queen Anne style Victorian House with a wraparound porch, a three-storied tower, varied roof pitches, and gingerbread detailing, and large Weeping Cherry Trees blossomed along the walk. The glade was actually a cove that opened up to another secluded beach where the morning sun would easily shine upon the Glen in the distance.
All three were so enamored with the house, that they barely noticed Noel joining them again. "Uncle Walter, what is this place?" Grace asked.
"I-I don't know, Gracie. I thought that I knew every nook and cranny this side of the island. It is beautiful, though, isn't it, girls?"
Graceful Anne quickly agreed, but Hope only said, "I want to live here some day."
Walter smiled at his little girl, dreams whisting away in her eyes. He had been thinking the same thing, only someone had to own this place. It looked loved and well taken care of. On that thought, he said, "I'm afraid we've been away long enough. Rilla and Grandmother shall be looking for us, and we wouldn't want to get in trouble for trespassing, would we?"
The girls agreed, and the group found a narrow red road, lined with apple trees that connected to the shore road. They each walked away, never to forget the magical house hidden away in the cove.
Walter may have lost himself in his own dreams had he not heard the girls' conversation behind him.
"I think that house was wonderful, don't you Gracie?" Hope asked her cousin.
Graceful Anne readily agreed. "Yes, it was."
"Wouldn't you like to live there?"
That however, is where the two forked in ideals. "I can't imagine living anywhere as wonderful as The House of Dreams. It is splendid to live there with Gilly, the babies, Mummy, Daddy, and even Aunt Persis is there to help with the babies. I don't think anything would be as wonderful as how things are now."
Hope was a little disgusted with Grace. Sometimes she had no imagination at all! Of course, one needn't much imagination when you already had everything you've ever wanted, mother and Dream Home included.
Walter heard his daughter let out a sighful grunt in jealous frustration. He knew what she was thinking. They were very much of like minds and kindred spirits. Then Grace said something more to upset Hope.
"Did you overhear everyone at Ingleside planning Miss Una's wedding to that awful Mr. Belle?"
Hope nodded, and then Grace added something she had heard her Mummy and Aunt Persis say at the House of Dreams. "It won't be long now until he marries her and drags her away to that divinity school to be his slave of a wife."
Hope stopped dead in her tracks. "It's not true! She won't leave! She can't leave! What will I do without her?" Her chin began to quiver and her eyes liquefied before them.
Walter picked up his daughter and carried the heart-wounded child back to Ingleside with Grace following behind; sorry she said anything to upset her closest companion. Walter said soothing things to her as they walked, and in his mind an idea formed in his mind. He had been considering it since overhearing the ladies' conversation earlier, but now it was cemented in his mind. Lest anyone who was so attached to Una even he be hurt more when she did go away, they should separate themselves from her and her wedding plans and go with Anne and Gilbert to Avonlea.
Here is a short update. To all who have faithfully and so kindly reviewed, thank you. I have to admit that relationships such as Di and Jack's and Carl and Persis' only seem to belong because others ( you know who you are) seem to have made it where they just wouldn't belong any other way. Also, I intend for there to be continuity between all of my works, so what you see here is how things will end up in the other two I am now writing. Also, what themes there are, should remain, though of course time and circumstance change people. That is why we write; to show these changes and how they've come about. I overly anxious to come to the conclusion of this work. I don't want to rush it though. A lot needs to happen while Walter's in Avonlea. Mr. Meredith needs to decide whether or not he will give his blessing to Una's marriage, and Una must decide if not, if she can still marry Samson. We will eventually see more of him, and if you think you hate him now... I'm just excited to focus on other works and start sequel (s) to this. As always, please read and review, I love it. I love to see those new messages pop up. They really do inspire me to write more.