Chapter 33
Henry and Gilbert watched as Stella embraced Anne with enthusiam on the nearly desserted platform as soon as they arrived in Kingsport. The two girls were boarding together and Stella was a font of information on their landladies, a set of twins. When Charlie Sloan made his way over to greet them Henry rolled his eyes at Gilbert. Both were heartily glad to be boarding with Roger Stuart and not Charlie Sloan.
"Miss Maynard, Miss Shirely," Charlie said pomposly. "Gilbert and Henry are quite looking forward to getting to their boarding house I can imagine, so I shall see you safely to yours. After all I do have a certain responsibility to Anne."
"A responsibility to Anne?" Stella aksed in confusion while Anne, Henry and Gilbert gaped at Charlie in astonishment.
"I couldn't help but overhear you mention your landladies stipulations regarding gentleman callers and I would appreciated it if you restricted those callers to when I am present, considering my standing with Anne-"
"Now see here!" Anne said angrily flying to life realizing just whay googley eyed Charlie was insinuating and attempted to lunge at Charlie. Strong arms wrapped around her waist holding her back.
Gilbert grabbed Anne quickly before she could unleash her fury on the hapless Charlie, giving into the unholy urge to laugh. As he held Anne around the waist pulling her back so her back rested against his chest, he kept laughing while she fumed, sputtering in indignation.
Seeing, depsite his uncontrollable mirth, Gilbert had a hold of Anne, Henry raised his eyebrow and said, "Do you not speak plain English, Mr. Charles Sloan? Anne turned your insulting proposal down. Told you No. Now I am going to nicely ask you to not importune my sister with another one."
"Let me go, Gil!" Anne shrieked at the same time. All the instances Charlie had put himself in her way since her refusal of his proposal taking on new meaning and stoking her fury.
"Not on your life Anne," Gilbert said nuzzling into her hair. He shouldn't do it, but Anne was to fired up and mad to notice and he couldn't resist. He couldn't believe the stupidity and audacity of Charlie. Anne had turned him down in emphatic no uncertain terms. He couldn't help but think maybe Tommy should have let Anne hit him with the dish. Of course, he thought another laugh escaping, someone would probably say he should let Anne loose on Charlie to unleash her fury and then maybe Charlie would get the hint. But he knew Henry and knew that he intended to take care of the situation once and for all. He wasn't going to release the squirming girl in his arms, he was going to let Henry be Anne's big brother, for Henry's sake and he suspected for Anne's as well.
"What do you know of it? I've made my intentions clear to Anne the remainder of the summer and she hasn't seen fit to object again. Its a private matter between me and Anne," Charlie said petulantly.
"Well as Anne's brother, its my responsibility to protect her," Henry said ignoring Anne and Gilbert, focusing on Charlie and what he had just implied, that he had continued harassing Anne after her refusal.
"Your not-"
"Oh but I am" Henry cut him off with. "Anne Shirley is my sister, my family as sure as if we were were flesh and blood. I'm the one that gets to protect her. That's a job Matthew delegated to me when we left. And it was mine before he delegated it. If I catch you importuning her in any way or making implying remarks or insinuations about a relationship between the two if you, I'd be happy to have a discussion with you about it one on one. And there won't be any words involved in our conversation."
Charlie gave a nervous gulp and glanced toward where Gilbert still held Anne, though she had quieted down and was beaming at Henry. Anne had seemed like such a sure thing, she was an orphan. All the other pretty girls had always sighed and dreamed over other fellas, particularly Gilbert Blythe, but not Anne. She hadn't sighed and dreamed over any fellow and Charlie had assumed it was because she knew, as an orphan, nobody would want her. She had seemed so attainable. He wanted a pretty wife, and he had been positive that Anne would have been so grateful someone was willing to marry her that she would easily change and conform to be who he wanted. A pretty female that would see him as her hero and bend over backwards to show her gratitude. It wasn't necessarily Anne he wanted as much as he wanted to be worshipped. But as he watched Gilbert press his face into Anne's hair, he realized it didn't matter if Anne never sighed and dreamed over anybody, Gilbert meant to have her. And even if he hadn't, Anne didn't need a husband for security once Matthew and Marilla where gone. She wasn't a lonely deffensless orphan, her large intimidating big brother had just threatened to beat him up.
Coming to these startling conclusions, Charlie said stiffly, "I'll just be going."
"You do that," Henry said glaring at him.
Seeing Charlie walk off, Anne said, "You can let me go now, Gil. I'm not going to chase him down and attack him."
"I don't know, Anne," Gilbert whispered in her ear and said playfully, "I think it might be best if I didn't, you might decide to attack me for stopping your attack on Charlie." What Gilbert didn't say was that she smelled amazing and fit so perfectly into his arms that he didn't want to let her go. He wanted to plant kisses all over her glorious red hair and tell her now much he loved her. That she was special and precious.
Rolling her eyes, Anne said, "I don't even have a slate on me. I think your safe enough."
"Mmm mmm," Gilbert said in disagreement before giving in and reluctantly releasing her.
Anne quickly dashed to Henry and threw her arms around him. Any of the unease and fretting she had felt since the lawyer had sought Henry out had vanished. "How did you know about Charlie's previous proposal?" Anne exclaimed. She hadn't told Henry, feeling that he had enough to deal with after the lawyer and didn't want to burden him with her problems as well.
"Tommy, who else?" Henry said with a grin. "He thought your request to not trouble me with it was hogwash. We are both your brothers, both of us want you to share your troubles with us so we can help fix them. You seem to have forgotten that we aren't in this alone."
"I guess I had. It just seemed that-" Anne said softly.
"Well it just seemed wrong then," Henry told her. "Next time you talk to me about anything. There isn't a trouble on earth I wouldn't set aside to listen to you, Anne."
"I just assumed all his comments and such were sour grapes and that I would just have to deal with it."
"Never, Anne. No one gets to treat you how I can imagine he has, after his officiousness just now," Henry said darkly. "I expect a full recounting of any incident involving Charlie since his first proposal, Anne."
"I should have told you about it. Or someone, I guess. I just didn't want to trouble anyone. Next time I won't keep a problem to myself. Having an unwanted suitor isn't all it's cracked up to be in novels," Anne said with an attempt at levity. "I've now had my very own Mr. Collins and I don't ever want another one."
"And what about your Mr. Darcy, Anne?" Stella teased, glancing toward Gilbert.
"Oh I'll meet him someday, but he can wait awhile. I intend to enjoy all Redmond has to offer and get my B.A. I will be to busy studying to reform a man."
"And do they all need reforming?" Gilbert ask glibly. He was quick to school his expression so that when she had turned back toward him she couldn't read the longing he felt for her. He had promised himself that he wouldn't try and rush Anne. Gazing at her with raw hunger on his face, would likley cause her to feel pressured and pushed.
"I should hope not," Anne exclaimed. "I'm not even sure I want to reform one. It would be so much more convenient if he just started out perfect, I've always wanted to fall in love at first sight, and if he needed reforming I couldn't do that, now could I? And one is supposed to fall in love at first sight, aren't they?" Anne asked unable to stop herself from glancing at Gilbert, but quickly turning her eyes back to Stella, asking almost pleadingly. "Eyes meeting across a room and he says something romantic and bam, there both in love, right? Or some variation of that?'
"Some variation of that," Stella said dryly perfectly aware that Anne and Gilbert were both in love and Anne was the only one that didn't know it because she hadn't fallen in love at first sight, but only after knowing him. He had said something, not romantic, their eyes had met, and Anne had smashed a slate on his head for the bam Stella knew.
"Now before we find ourselves accosted again by anymore of Anne's admires, let's get you two ladies to your boarding house," Gilbert declared though he wanted to tell her he certainly had fallen in love at first sight and while carrots was perhaps not romantic, the bam had certainly been there.
"He doesn't even actually admire me, he just thinks I'd make an obedient housewife," Anne said with disgust reffering once again to Charlie.
"Which proves he doesn't know you at all," Henry said with a laugh. As the girls moved off in front of them, he whispered to Gilbert, "You two had all but the saying something romantic. Too bad Anne didn't consider being called carrots romantic, the bam was certainly there."
"15 year old boys don't know how to say romantic things," Gilbert protested. "For a 15 year old, carrots was as romantic as there was."
