Chapter 9
Anne refused to set foot in Gilbert's house so all of their study sessions were held at Green Gables. It was at one of these early study sessions Gilbert got another lesson in Anne Shirley from Henry.
Anne was diligently working when with a large smirk, his eyes glinting with good natured mischief, Henry looked right at Anne and said, "Hey Carrots, did you see they used you in a word problem? If Henry has nine carrots and gives three to Tommy and four to Gilbert, how many carrots does he have left?"
Anne's face flushed and her eyes flashed and Gilbert froze.
"Or perhaps they are beets?" Henry said knowing Anne hated the taste of the purplish red vegetable.
"Radish head!" Anne responded with vigor.
"Ah, ah, ah Pepper,' Henry said in a sing song voice. "All the names we've been called and that's the best you can do?"
"Are we sticking to vegetables?" Anne asked her eyes starting to sparkle, a smile on her face.
"Fruits are acceptable to," Henry said with a grin. "What ya got?"
"Anne had five strawberries, Tommy had two tomatoes and Henry had onions. One less than Anne had strawberries but two more than Tommy had tomatoes. How many onions did Henry have?"
"You just had to go for onions didn't you Anne? Low blow," Henry said good naturedly, Gilbert eyeing both up with confusion amd trepidation, expecting something to come crashing down at any minute, afterall Henry had called Anne Carrots. When he had done so, a slate had come crashing down on his head.
"You started with Carrots deliberately," Anne responded with a scowl towards Gilbert who hadn't moved a muscle since the word carrots fell from Henry's lips.
"No one ever made you choke down a whole raw onion, like I had too," Henry said off handedly. "And it's two. Which is about two onions to many."
Anne rolled her eyes and said, "Three, he has three carrots left."
"Wrong!" Henry declared. "He has five if you count these," he said lightly tugging one of Anne's braids, who swatted his hand and laughed. It was an entirely different reaction then Gilbert expected.
…
As Gilbert walked with Henry to the door that evening, he rubbed the back of his neck and then finally said, "You called her," then his voice lowering he said, "well ya know."
"I've known Anne for years," Henry said with confident authority."There is nothing we wouldn't do for the other. Once you're in Anne's heart, she loves you fiercly and there isn't anything she wouldn't do or put up with for you. She's just as fierce in her likes as her dislikes."
"But, she broke a slate on my head," Gilbert protested.
"And what made you, a stranger, calling her a thoughtless name any better than those that tried to hurt her whenever they could from sheer maliciousness? I know Anne, you didn't. Sometimes we would take names the other orphans called us and turn them into a game to take away their power to sting, to remind us they are just words. Anne hates beets. Hates 'em. Be glad you didn't call her that. She at least likes carrots as far as eating vegetables go. They don't have to be cooked to be palatable she says. Breaking that slate on your head will be something I can tease her about for years. Thanks for that, by the way," Henry said with a smirk.
...
A few weeks later sitting at the Green Gables kitchen table Gilbert listened with rapt attention to Anne argue her point of view on their reading. She was absolutely fascinating and he was dead gone on her, and he wasn't to proud to admit it. Unfortunately for Gilbert she was still dead set against him. Gilbert had always skated by easily in school, but for the first time in his life he was being challenged academicallly and he loved it. It had never occurred to him after three years off when he returned to school two years ago that he needed to more then stay ahead of the class in the reader he had left off in. Now he didn't just want to stay ahead, he wanted to keep up with Anne and Henry, who planned on catching up from where they were behind. In him they had finally sparked ambition. Ambition to do more than to flirt with girls and slid by on his charm and smarts. Anne and Henry shared more than just red hair, they were both smart and determined.
As Henry walked with him towards the doorway Gilbert craned his neck around for one last glimpse of Anne. He could hear Marilla telling her that she could invite Diana to tea and something about rasberry cordial.
"How long as it been mate?" Henry asked with a laugh.
"She talks to me now at least doesn't she," Gilbert pointed out. "She isn't giving me the constant silent treatment like before."
"Yes, because Anne arguing with you is so much better?" Henry asked raising his eyebrows.
"Yea, it is," Gilbert said with a grin as he thought of just how pretty Anne was when she was arguing with him, her eyes flashing and that red hair practically crackling with life. Arguing with Anne had quickly become one of his favorite activities. Of course he would like her to talk to him as well and be friends, but he'd rather argue with Anne than talk to any other girl. Sometimes he took an opposing viewpoint just to argue with her. He hoped Mr. Philips never reassigned her to a seat not next to him.
"So what's that about?" Gilbert asked curiously indicating Anne and Marilla.
"Dunno," Henry said with a shrug and a smirk.
"Henry," Gilbert drew his name out plantivly.
"And why do you care so much what Anne is up to? I can guarantee your presence wouldn't be welcome at any tea party between her and Diana to her," Henry ribbed his friend.
"Well you wouldn't want to end up alone at tea with just two girls and Tommy now would you?" Gilbert said wheedingly.
"Well even if Marilla is out, Matthew would be there now wouldn't he, and Me and Tommy will be helping him out outside, not in there with Anne." When Gilbert just grinned at him, Henry said with a good natured sigh, "I suppose you could come round and join us tomorrow while Marilla is in Carmody."
"Thanks mate!" Gilbert said grinning.
"Say, you plan on marrying Diana?" Henry asked smirking at the complete look of revulsion on Gilbert's face.
"Why would you? Who? What?" Gilbert gasped out.
"Well Anne had decided that she absolutely hates Diana's future husband. She imagined it all out and everything-"
"And she thinks I want to marry Diana? When I spend all my spare time here?" Gilbert asked in disbelief.
Deciding not to point out just how revealing what Gilbert had said was, Henry said, "She didn't name you as the groom, but she said she absolutely hates him, so I figured," Henry said trailing off expectentally.
Gilbert did not disappoint him. "Well you figured wrong," Gilbert declared hotly with a scowl. "Diana Barry's a nice girl and all but she couldn't hold a candle to- Well I'm not gonna marry her, that's for sure." With emphatic defiance he added, "And Anne doesn't hate me!"
Henry burst out laughing. Sometimes he thought it just really wasn't fair to bait Gilbert about Anne, but Henry had to admit, Gilbert made a great target. He never baited him in front of the other boys. He knew Charlie Sloan was considered dead gone on Anne, but personally Henry couldn't see Anne ever giving him the time of day, unless it was to make Gilbert mad.
…
Gilbert hoped the fence at Green Gables and called out a greeting to Henry and Matthew. With a quick word from Matthew, Henry loped over to him.
"Matthew said to go on ahead and he'll finish up. Tommy is up at the house with Anne and I saw Diana arrive a bit ago."
"What are we waiting for?" Gilbert said with relish.
"Just one thing, Matthew says Marilla will be livid if you do or say something to cause Anne to break one of the dishes over your head," Henry said with a straight face.
"I think I've learned my lesson there," Gilbert said dryly.
"She threw an apple at you, my apple mind you, at lunch last week," Henry reminded him.
"She should have known I didn't actually believe what I said," Gilbert protested. "Besides I only said it-"
"Because you like provoking her," Henry cut him off with.
"I don't do it to be mean or malicious or anything," Gilbert said quickly.
"I know you don't. You like to make her really think through her opinion and argue it. She'd kill me for saying it, but you challenge her and she thrives on it. But just be nice today, okay?"
"Gladly," Gilbert said. If Anne would allow it he'd be nice every day to her. Instead the only way he'd managed to get her to talk to him was to argue with her.
When Henry and Gilbert made it to the house they were surprised to find that Diana Barry had just left after insisting she didn't feel well and needed to go home. Tommy was giggling and Anne was looking disappointed and mistiffied. Gilbert's heart instantly went out to her to see the object of it's affectioins so down and woebegone.
Seeing them come in, Anne looked up at them with big gray eyes shinning with tears and addressed Henry, "I don't understand it, Henry. Diana went home. She said she didn't feel good. She didn't have anything to eat, just some raspberry cordial to drink."
"And it's right good raspberry co-co-cordial," Tommy said breaking into giggles.
"It is, but it isn't making me feel better like you said it would, Tommy," Anne said sniffling. And then with a sudden wail she said, "I'm a horrible h-h-hostess. My first time having company for t-tea and she went home with no tea. She wouldn't even take a slice of cake. Do you think it is because I told her about the m-m-mouse in the pudding, Henry?"
"I doubt it was the mouse, Anne," Henry said sympathetically.
"You and Gilbert should try this, it's awfully good just like Diana said it was," Tommy said between giggles.
Gilbert with a dawning sense of unease grabbed Anne's tumbler from her as she went to take another sip and ignoring her protest sniffed it and then took a small sip. "This isn't raspberry cordial," he declared.
"Then what is it?" Henry asked taking Tommy's and trying it. Shrugging he said, "It taste real good."
"It's wine, Marilla's current wine I imagine," Gilbert said matter of factly.
Next to Gilbert, Anne's gray eyes went wide at this, a tear leaking out and Gilbert promptly forgot what he had planned on saying about Diana not being ill, that she was likely just drunk and said instead, "It's okay, Anne. Don't cry. Please don't cry."
His words were to late and Anne dissolved into tears, promptly flinging herself at Gilbert's neck and crying on him. Gilbert glanced towards Henry not sure if he was asking what he should do or asking if it was okay that Gilbert's hand was already stroking Anne's back trying to comfort her.
Twenty minutes later Henry had wrestled a giggling Tommy into bed to sleep it off and Anne had cried herself to sleep on Gilbert.
Henry took a look at his intoxicated sister asleep on Gilbert's chest his arms loosely around her as he gazed at her with school boy adoration and let out a laugh. Gilbert immediately tried to shhh him, reasonably certain that if Anne woke up now, she'd break the bottle of current wine on his head, even though she was the one that had flung herself at him in tears and proceeded to fall asleep on him.
"I'd say Anne can't handle her wine," Henry said laughing. "I wouldn't worry to much about her waking up. My guess is she is passed out drunk," he said matter of factly. "But if she remembers any of this you should be prepared for her slate to come crashing down on you head."
"She would find a way to make it my fault," Gilbert said wryly his arms tightening around her.
"Here, Matthew will be in soon. Let's get her laid down on the couch," Henry said pretending his best friend was not hugging the girl that was a sister to him.
…
Despite the fact that he knew Anne was more likely to throw it at him then thank him for it, when he heard that Mrs. Barry wouldn't let Diana associate with the orphans from Green Gables, particularly Anne, Gilbert placed a large perfect strawberry apple on her side of the shared desk at lunch time when the other scholars, including Anne, had gone outside.
Henry opened his mouth, but Gilbert said with a scowl, "Don't say it, mate."
As the two headed to join the other boys Henry whispered so the others wouldn't hear, "Are you sure it is wise to arm her?" before running off laughing.
When Anne saw the apple on her side of the desk, recognizing it as coming from the Blythe orchard she tossed her hair determined to ignore it. Gilbert inwardly sighed. He had enjoyed comforting Anne and holding her. He figured at least she hadn't thrown the apple at him.
When Charlie Sloan offered her a slate pencil with a stripped wrapper and Anne thanked him prettily, Gilbert scowled fiercely. He bitterly reminded himself that he was the one who had held Anne when she cried and she had fallen asleep on him, she had needed him, Gilbert Blythe. Later that day, once the school yard was empty, Gilbert returned and the next day the first take notice with him and Anne's name was seen by the Avonlea scholars.
…
It was unclear if Anne's fierce increase in zest to best Gilbert was a result of that take notice or perhaps a hazy memory of being held tenderly by him and soft words whispered in her ear while she cried her tears of sorrow, knowing Mrs. Barry would blame her for Diana's drunkeness and separate the two girls.
