A Great Engagement Present

"I was afraid to speak further for fear that Gil was mad at me. It had only been seconds since I'd finished my explanation of who Morgan Harris was, but the time seemed to creep by and after an eternity, Gilbert finally spoke… Well, I'm not sure 'spoke' is really the right word for it, dearest of Dianas. It was more of a chuckle, than anything else."

"He laughed?" Diana seemed as appalled as I had been the night before.

"He did indeed," I affirmed. "He laughed so hard he almost had to stop the horse. I could not understand what could have been so blessed funny at that moment; at that moment when I thought that my world had come crashing down and nothing could mend it. But still he went on laughing, and I sat silent, almost wanting to cry. Finally, being able to bear no more of his adorable yet intolerable laughter, I inquired as to the reason."

Diana appeared as though her breath had been taken away. "What did he say?" she almost squealed after a long pause.

"Well, his explanation was quite interesting I think. He concluded that he really had no reason to be mad at me for having a beau since his own name had been associated with Christine Stuart's for so long and because they had been engaged. Morgan and I were never engaged. Gilbert said that it was by no fault of mine that I had stars in my eyes when it came to Morgan Harris, for he had heard that a great many young women envied me in Kingsport. Even Christine Stuart knew of Morgan and was the tiniest bit envious."

By the time I had revisited the entirety of Gilbert's explanation Diana appeared as though she would burst into laughter any moment. "His own fiancé was jealous of you Anne Shirley, while you were also envious of her? Well, isn't that a perfect web you got yourself into?"

"Yes Diana, but at least my mind and heart are once again harmonious and I should like to think that my web has untangled quite nicely."

"Well as Marilla would say, 'you do beat all girl'."

I leaned back into a wicker chair that sat on Diana's green lawn. Her garden had blossomed particularly beautifully that year and it was a perfectly romantic spot for tea. We sat in silence for a few moments, drinking in the fragrances of the early afternoon. We had not been spending as much time together as we had in summers past. Diana seemed to be growing up faster than myself; having children does that to a person I'm afraid. But that afternoon we were perfect children again, giggling and poking fun as we had done so many summers before. Baby Fred awoke from his nap and I knew it was time for me to return to Green Gables. Marilla would be expecting me soon because I had plans with Gilbert later that night. After dinner he planned on taking me to Violet Vale, a place he and I had gone many times in yesteryear. A great deal of our rambles through the woods had been taken, at least in part, through Violet Vale.

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"I have something for you," Gilbert announced as he picked me up for our outing later that evening. He was helping me into the buggy and the sweet smile that almost always illuminated his face had captivated my breath for a moment.

"What might that be?" I inquired after sitting down beside him and linking my arm through his.

"Well, you may think of it as an engagement present I suppose," he responded, smiling as he had after he told me we had tied for first in the Queens entrance exam.

"An engagement present? Gil you've spent enough on this ring, I don't think anything else is really necessary." I was worried that he may be squandering his hard earned money on me, instead of saving it for medical school.

"Well perhaps you'd like to know what it is first," he replied, the smile never fading from his face. "How would you feel about a small vacation?" He held up two tickets to the opera.

"Gilbert Blythe!" I exclaimed. "However did you manage to pay for those?"

"I didn't say it was a gift from me," he said chuckling.

"Well who do we know that has the money to pay for something like that?" I was in shock because I knew that the closest theater to Avonlea was near the gulf and that we'd have to stay the night somewhere because it would be too late after the opera to drive home.

"Ms. Josephine Barry," Gil replied. My mouth dropped at the thought that she would spend that amount of money on me for an engagement present. "Diana wrote to her about our engagement and she said she wanted us to spend some time together before I leave for eight months. We're to take the train to the Gulf a week from Wednesday. She's taken the liberty of paying for two rooms in the local hotel for two nights and tickets to the opera."

"Shame on you and Diana for not telling me!" I exclaimed, taking the tickets from him for further inspection.

"Anne, I'm sorry," he said. His island accent caused him to drag out his o's; something that always melted my heart. "I wanted to tell you so many times but Diana said I should keep quiet and let it be a surprise; and now after seeing your face I'm glad I did."

"I shall have to write Ms. Barry as soon as I get back to Green Gables and thank her. I can not believe she would spend all this money on us."

"Well, you've won your way into her heart just as you've done with practically everyone you come into contact with."

Gilbert stopped the horse and we got out of the buggy. He tied the horse up as I wandered down the small dirt lane, taking in the aroma of the apple blossoms. When he caught up to me he took my hand and we meandered through the woods, lit by the stars and the moon.

"The other evening we decided to think about when we want the wedding to be," Gil began after sitting me down on a fence and leaning against it next to me. "What do you think?"

"Well I've actually given this quite a great deal of thought," I said, trying not to sound too hasty in my decision. "I think that we should set the wedding for early next summer. You will have one year of medical school completed and I can move out to Halifax in the fall and teach at the local college there, if they'll have me of course. We can rent a small apartment in town. During vacations we can come back to Avonlea and after you've finished school we can move back to the island. I remember you saying no place else would feel like home, and I truly agree with you."

Gil sat staring at me, his jaw wide open. "First of all, I guess you have given this a lot of thought. Secondly, that is exactly the way I feel and I couldn't have said it better if I had tried. That was almost exactly what I was planning on saying."

"So early next summer then?" I asked excitedly.

"Early next summer it is, my dear," he responded gleefully. I leaned in to give him a kiss and the railing he was leaning on gave way and he toppled to the ground. Because I was leaning in so far I fell on top of him and we had quite a laugh over the affair. At that moment I had a flashback from when Gil had told me about Diana's engagement and he rode his bicycle into the brook. I laughed even harder then and rolled over onto the grass and began looking at the stars. Gilbert began to get up and I stopped him and pointed at the stars. It had been so long since I'd stared at them; the wonderful majesty of the stars always made me safe in knowing that Providence was making sure the universe and everything in it was running according to His Divine plan.

After staring up at the stars for what seemed like no time at all, Gilbert pulled out his watch and grabbed my arm and practically pulled me to my feet. "It's late," he exclaimed. "I have to get you back. Marilla will be worried about you."

"Not as worried as when Diana told her I had drowned, no doubt," I said laughing as we hurried back to the buggy.

"Oh, you mean the time I saved you? When you first decided that we would be friends?" He pretended to look hurt.

"Yes, if you must hold to the fact that you saved me, than I suppose you may have the satisfaction of thinking that you did."

"Anne Shirley, I'm hurt. You make it seem as though you really would have survived had I not been there."

"Oh Gil," I sighed as we rounded the bend toward Green Gables. "You must know that you have saved me in more ways than one."

"Did you know that the doctor says that I only began getting better after you came to visit me?" He recounted. We were just about to the drive way of Green Gables and I could see that the kitchen light was still glowing softly in the window. As we reached the house Gil helped me out of the carriage and walked me to the door.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" he asked softly moving toward me.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have to see Katherine off. She's leaving for the states. She's decided not to go back to the Kingsport Ladies College. She wants to travel and she's gotten a job at Harvard. She thinks she may be able to make enough money to see the Taj Mahal and the pyramids. I'm bringing her to the train station. But the day after tomorrow I'm free."

"Well I suppose I can't occupy all your time and have you all to myself, as much as I may want to."

"Well you will be occupying all my time three days next week," I smiled. "But I really should be going." I turned to go into the house but Gil took my hand and pulled me back and embraced me. "Trust me, I would stay here all night if I could," I replied after a tender kiss. "But I must go."

I shut the door behind me and floated up to my room on a cloud, or so it seemed. I breathlessly fell onto my bed and stared at the ceiling, twirling the jeweled band that decorated my ring finger. It was several moments before I stood up and got ready for bed. I had wonderful dreams that night, filled with happiness and love; laughter and romance. It was the best night of sleep I'd had in a long time.

A/N: again, sorry for the delay… but you'll be happy to know I have my next chapter halfway finished. I was in a mega writing mood. Alright, so I'm slowly moving the plot along, adding in lots of little fun stuff. I've taken all your suggestions to allow Morgan Harris to make a special guest appearance. Look for him in the upcoming chapters.