Chapter 18
"Miss Stacy," Anne exclaimed happily upon seeing the teacher in the parlor with Marilla and a nervous Matthew, Miss Stacy being a brand of female that Matthew regarded warily.
"You and Henry take a seat," Marilla directed."What Miss Stacy has to say effects both of you. She has a proposition to put forward."
"Well Anne, Henry," Miss Stacy said with a smile. "I've come to seek permission for you two join the Queens study class I am arranging for after School."
"Queens?" Anne asked breathlessly.
"I'm honored you thought of us, Miss Stacy, but ya see. We. Well. I. I'm afraid it just isn't possible, " Henry said miserably.
"Not possible?" Miss Stacy asked confused, having already been told by Marilla that if Anne and Henry wanted the chance, they would both have it. All had assumed the two would given their studious natures.
"Well Marilla and Matthew, when they took us in. Well, I agreed to help out on the farm in exchange for a home, food and some education. A place like Queens was never part of the deal," Henry said quietly. "I'm real grateful for what they have given us and to be here."
"Not part of the deal?" Marilla said briskly. "What deal? When we took you on you became ours. If you want to go to Queens you'll go to Queens. Same for Tommy when his time comes and Anne if she wants to go."
"But-" Henry said in confusion.
"Don't you worry about the expense. Me and Matthew have always lived real frugally and put a bit by. It isn't doing much good just sitting. This seems like as good a use for it as any," Marilla said firmly. "The question is do you want this chance?"
"Yes, mam," Henry said flushing as Anne declared, "More than anything, Marilla."
"Then you'll study hard and to Queens you will go. It will do you both good to further your education. A man or woman needs to be able to make their way in the world," Marilla said in a no nonsense voice.
…
That night for the first time in a long while, Anne snuck down to Henry's chamber to discuss matters over with him, to excited by the prospect of Queens someday to sleep.
"Henry?" Anne quiered from his doorway.
"Come get in here, under the covers. You'll freeze standing out there," Henry said raising the blanket and making space for her.
"Queens," she whispered. "You know what this means?"
"It don't mean that, Anne," Henry whispered.
"But it could," Anne whispered back. "You could go on further and someday become a lawyer just like your pa and show them that-"
"It takes an awful lot of schooling to become a lawyer. My pa's family had the money for it and they disowned him as soon as he said he was marrying my ma. Even if the Cuthberts can manage to send us to Queens, I couldn't expect them to help me anymore than that. It wouldn't be right if they did."
"But once we get our teaching licenses you could save up and eventually go. You could do it, Henry. We were in the fifth reader, about two thirds through when we arrived. After Diana lent us hers we made it into the sixth reader by the time school started. Then us and Gil did two readers in one year so we could be in the eighth reader now. They offer an accelerated one year course rather than the slower two year course to get licensed. You heard Miss Stacy mention that. It would mean half as much money. If anybody could do it in one year, it's me, you and Gil," Anne argued.
"So you plan on Gilbert Blythe being at Queens with us, Anne?" Henry asked smirking.
"I don't plan on Gilbert Blythe in anything," Anne said testily. "What he does, or if he even goes makes no difference to me."
"Calm down, Anne," Henry said with a chuckle. "It might not make a difference to you, but I imagine Gil will take the one year course same as us."
"Good," Anne said. Then after a beat she said, "We'll do it?"
"Yea. But remember first we have to get in. One step at a time, Anne."
"Don't worry, I won't mention anything about you being a lawyer someday to anyone," Anne promised.
"Ya know, Anne, girls go to college nowdays too," Henry said absent mindedly.
"I don't want to be a solicitor," Anne scoffed.
"You wouldn't have to be. It's just something to think of someday down the road. Don't dwell on it now. For now let's just focus on Queens."
…
The Queens class ended up with Anne, Henry, Gilbert, Ruby Gillis, Jane Andrews, Josie Pye, Charlie Sloan and Moody Spurgeon MacPherson and met everyday after school for an hour. Anne, Henry and Gilbert decided to continue their own meetings in the Green Gables kitchen a few times a week.
Miss Stacy rearranged the seating to accommodate the Queens class scholars. Anne was devastated when this meant she no longer sat by Diana. Diana had been invited to join the class, but her parents had refused permission, seeing a Queen's education as unnecessary for her. Mrs. Barry having determined Diana did not need that particular type of education to become a house wife. Now Anne sat with Jane Andrews. When Diana left with the others at the end of the day Anne would watch her go with sad eyes. Gilbert and Henry both tried to distract her, seeing her woebegone expression, but their efforts met with little success the first week. By the second week Anne had adjusted and she would begin diligently working rather than stare after Diana, looking ready to cry.
Gilbert watched Anne work at her math, a frown marring her features. Knowing she needed help, but was to proud as usual to admit it, the tall, broad shouldered, good looking boy did what he always did. He used his body to invade Anne's space so that she couldn't ignore him. Leaning down, bracing his hands on her desk, his shoulder brushing her, his face next to her's,he whispered playfully by her ear, "The letters don't matter, Anne. Just substitute them for X and Y." Jane blushed at Gilbert's nearness to her and her seatmate, but Anne snapped her head toward Gilbert her nose now inches from his own. "Or A and G if you prefer," he said with a wink, that caused a stiffled giggle from Jane.
"I was just about to remember to do that," Anne said haugthily.
"It's about time you started using the A and G," Gilbert said smirking at her, not backing away, but rather enjoying having her face so close to his.
"The X and Y," Anne hissed with exasperation, before turning back down to her math and replacing the letters that had left her feeling puzzled with the familiar X and Y, as Gilbert had taught her to do when she had complained that she would have it all figured out if all the letters would just stop changing from X to C to L to M from problem to problem.
Seeing Anne's frown vanquished, Gilbert sauntered back across the aisle to his seat next to Henry who rolled his eyes at him, to which Gilbert gave a lopsided grin and shrugged.
Miss Stacy saw the encounter but said nothing. It hadn't taken ber long to determine the lay of the land in the Avonlea school house. She had been a bit surprised that some of the students, particularly the Pyes and Sloans, were ademant that Anne hated Gilbert and he was only nice to her because she was his best friend's sister. Miss Stacy was regalled with the story of the slate incident when on Anne's first day back, Gilbert had grabbed her slate and knocked on the back and said, "They make these things thicker than they should."
"Give me my slate, Gil," Anne had said her eyes shooting sparks at him.
"I dunno, last year when you had one of these it didn't end so well for me," Gilbert teased.
Henry had then reached around Gilbert and tugged Gilbert's curly hair saying, "String bean! String bean!" before laughing hysterically.
Anne had snatched her slate out of Gilbert's hand her nose in the air and Gilbert had said his eyes twinkling, "Hey, I might need that. Isn't this the part where I break it on his head?"
"And cost me another broken slate!" Anne had exclaimed. "I think I'd rather not have to replace this one too because of you, though I was awful fond of that one now that I think about it. It did me a great service."
"Well I think it would be nice to get through a school year with out Anne breaking her slate on someone's head," Josie Pye said primly. "It was uncalled for."
"Ignore her," Diana whispered to Anne. "She's just bitter."
Now Miss Stacy watched as her two brightest students made sparks fly off each other on a regular basis. She suspected at least one of them knew his true feelings, though Anne seemed to be content in her denial. It couldn't be argued that the two pushed each other to be even better academically, and really that was all that mattered as far as being their teacher meant from an academic standpoint. Even though a small corner of Miss Stacy's romantic heart was thoroughly touched by the two's relationship and she couldn't help but cheer them on just a little bit, even if it had nothing to do with academics.
