Chapter 2

When Marilla came home with not just Anne and one boy, but two, Matthew looked at her enquiringly but said nothing.

"This here is Henry," Marilla informed Mathew briskly. "And this one is Tommy. This is my brother Matthew Cuthbert," Marilla informed the boys.

Anne, upon stepping down from the buggy, had skipped over to Matthew and grasped his hand in her own. He had glanced down at her, a smile crossing his features, and she happily said, "Marilla has adopted all of us on trial. Tommy just turned 9, but he can still help out and Henry will be 15 in a week, so I imagine he will be awful helpful right off the bat."

"15!" Marillla exclaimed. "I thought you said he was 14."

"Well he is," Anne said looking at Marilla with wide fearful eyes, all of a sudden afraid that Henry would be sent away because of his age and perhaps her and Tommy as well.

"Well, there Marilla, I guess it don't make to much of a difference," Matthew said.

"No I suppose it don't," Marilla said grimly. "You'll be expected to attend school and learn your lessons," Marilla told Henry expecting a protest.

"I like learning, mam," Henry confessed. "I'd be right pleased to but I'm a little behind," he said turning pink.

"Me and Henry are both in the fifth reader. I didn't get much regular schooling before the orphanage and there wasn't always enough readers to go around there so we are a bit behind. And some of the others weren't to keen on us learning. But I've been instructing Tommy and he is right where he should be," Anne said proudly.

"Well you will finish out your schooling at the school house here and it won't be irregular. We'll expect your attendance at it on a regular basis regardless of your age until you complete the eigth reader, Henry. As long as we can see eye to eye on that, we should be just fine."

"I'd like that," Henry said smiling shyly.

"Well let's not stand around out here. In with the lot of you. Anne is already in the East Gable. Tommy and Henry, you'll be sharing the room off the kitchen for tonight and we can see about a different set up tomorrow," Marilla said briskly.

"I don't mind sharing with Henry," Tommy said innocently. "I always shared with him at the orphanage, that way none of the other boys could mess with us. We snuck out the dormitories and slept with Anne all the time too, since she was all alone in the girl's dormitory and the head girl was always locking her out. We'd all pile together and keep each other warm. We was safer that way."

"Well you'll all have your own beds here," Marilla said firmly. "We will just need to make some adjustments first and get things settled."

"We could set 'em each up in one of the empty chambers once we move a bit of furniture in and some beds built," Matthew said reffering to the two small rooms that had been designed as sparse bed chambers but had never been used. The main reason they had been included in the design was so the house could boast 6 bedrooms to triumph over old Mr. Cuthbert's cousin's house who only had 5 bedrooms.

"That's what we will do," Marilla said with a nod.

Over the course of the next week the three orphans, lead by Anne, xplored their new surroundings in odd half hours or so of free time, becoming acquainted with every tree and shrub, but none of the indigenous natives, known as the local school children, who had a fortnight to go before school was let out for vacation.

One day while the three were out at various activities, Mrs. Rachel Lynde hurried up the walk to Green Gables. Before she felt she could get to the real reason of her call, the orphans, she felt it would only be neighborly to inform Marilla of her own goings on, focusing primarily on her reccent suffering of ill health. To ask straight away about the situation with the orphans would have been nosy in her mind, and while no one else might agree she did not consider herself to be a nosy woman, she was too neighborly for that.

"I've heard some mighty strange things of you an Matthew," Mrs. Lynde said suddenly feeling she had been neighborly enough and it was now time to satisfy her curiosity.

"I imagine so," Marilla agreed.

"Three of them, is what I hear. Two boys and a girl. What were you thinking?"

"That's right. The older boy is at a good age to be real helpful on the farm right now to Matthew and the youngest will be learn farming and in a few years when Henry is grown, he will be able to assit. It's an investment in the future."

"But what about the girl? Couldn't you have sent her back?" Mrs. Lynde pressed.

Nothing and no one could ever compel Marilla to admit, to Rachel Lynde of all people, that her adoption of the three orphans had been an impulsive act born out of fury so she said, "Well Matthew had a hankering to keep her, and I like her myself, though she has her faults, we all do. She is a bright little thing and makes the place brighter."

"It's a real risk you've taken, Marilla" Mrs. Lynde said. "Taking on an orphan boy, which would have been bad enough. But two boys! And a girl to boot! When you know nothing about raising children. It's sure to end in sorrow for you. But I don't want to be discouraging you so I won't say another word. You would have done better to ask my advice, I would have told you not to do it, Marilla. Three of them!"

"Well I won't let myself feel to discouraged, " Marilla said wryly. "The boys are out with Matthew, but I'll call Anne in, so you can meet her."

As soon as Anne entered, still wearing the short tight wincy dress from the orphanage, her hair a wild red mess and her freckless in pronounced prominence, Mrs. Lynde took one look at her and said, "They sure didn't pick you for your looks. Just look at all those freckles and that hair as red as carrots! Carrots! Are they all this under fed and homily, Marilla? Come here, child."

Flying across the kitchen flushed with anger and trembling, Anne stomped her foot angrily, her voice choked, she gasp, "I hate you! I hate you! You're rude, impolite and unfeeling!"

"Anne!" Marilla gasped in horror.

"How dare you say such things about me! That I am skinny, ugly, red headed and freckled! How would you like it if I said you were fat and clumsy, without a spark of imagination? I don't care if I hurt your feelings saying so. I hope I hurt them. You've hurt mine terribly. Worse than anything and I'll never fogive you for it!" Anne declared hotly before whirling around and running towards the door where she collapsed against Henry, who was just coming in. "That horrid woman called me ugly and redheaded," Anne sobbed. "She is mean and I hate her! I hate her!"

"Well I never!" Mrs. Lynde said with horror. "Has anyone ever seen such a temper?"

"Anne Shirely," Marilla said recovering her ability to speak. "Go up to your room this instant and stay there until I come up."

"That was a mean hateful thing to say," Henry said with a glare towards Mrs. Lynde as Anne flew sobbing up the stairs.

"Henry!" rebuked Marilla.

"Sorry mam," Henry said contritely. "I'll be headed back out to Matthew." Henry turned and headed back outside but mumbled under his breath that Anne was pretty enough and anybody would be skinny off what they had to eat before.

"Well I don't envy you one jot bringing that up," Mrs. Lynde said drawing herself up. "And if the whole lot is like that one I'm sure you'll come to sorrily regret your decision. I guess I should consider myself lucky the other one didn't come up to the house to insult me as well."

"You shouldn't have disparged her for her looks, Rachel," Marilla said surprising herself.

"Oh defend her why don't you? Think nothing of such a fit of temper? What next?"

"Well, no. I don't hold with the temper she displayed. Nor Henry's words to an elder. I'll be having words with both. But allowances need to be made," Marilla said slowly. "They've had no proper bringing up. Nor proper nourishment or attire, its no wonder they all look skinny and underfed. They are. You were to hard on her, Rachel and that's that."

"Well I see I'll have to be careful what I say after this, heaven forbid the fine feelings of a lot of orphans from goodness knows where be offended. What's next? Setting out the finest china for them?" Mrs. Lynde demanded with an air of great offense. "Don't you worry, I'm not vexed. Ive got to much pity for you and the trouble that red headed vixen will give you. All I'll say is you ought to do that talking to with her with a birch stick, a good stout one. That's the only way to get through to a child like that.. Her temper matches her hair, and you've got three of them! I do hope you'll come down to see me as often as ever Marilla, but I'll tell you here and now I won't be coming back here. I've never been flown at and insulted in such a fashion and I won't be in rush to repeat the experience. Good evening Marilla," Mrs. Lynde said as she exited the kitchen. Outside she found herself under the glaring gaze of the red haired boy from the kitchen and a younger boy, who also bore a shock of red hair and was being held tightly by the arm by the elder.

Henry watched Mrs. Lynde depart Green Gables with a dark look on his face. He and Tommy had heard her words to Marilla and Henry had to grab Tommy to make sure he didn't go flying in ready to defend Anne from the proposed birch switch. Henry was confident Marilla, who had broken the Matron's ruler, would not resort to whipping Anne in such a fashion, though he'd offer himself up in place of her if it did come to that. He was angry on Anne's behalf though. Matthew had sent him amd Tommy back ahead, and the two had been racing. Henry figured with a inner smirk, if Tommy had of been with him, it would have turned into an all out war. The older woman would have found herself besiged on all sides. If Marilla hadn't reprimanded him, Henry knew he would have said more in Anne's defense and Tommy would have flung himself at the older woman shrieking.