Part 5 - While we were dancing around us
The sun was setting, and it was time to go to the barn where the county dance was taking place. Anne walked arm in arm with her friend Diana, she had so much to tell her before joining the party, that they had insisted with their families to walk to the barn together. They took a small path through a small grove.
"Oh Anne... I'm so sorry for you. But... something is confusing me...", said the young brunette frowning.
"Confused? Why?", Said Anne.
"Well... If Gilbert is really courting this girl, there are other really surprising signs."
"Oh, don't mention it, Diana, I stopped looking for signs, I've learned there's nothing reliable in there."
"Well, regardless... If I put the facts together, it's a lot."
A bittersweet laugh sounded, the young redhead seemed completely resigned, "Your overactive imagination is playing tricks on you too, Diana, I think it's from being around me..."
"I'm only talking about facts, not about interpretations.", replied her friend who seemed more pragmatic than ever, she then began to enumerate the facts, "First ... You and Gilbert, you took the road this morning only both of you. Then he decides to make you a surprise that I find rather romantic. Oh, Anne, I even think it's outrageously romantic, he picked you a flower! He made this detour just for you..."
"It was just a good luck charm, there was no romantic intent.", Anne pointed out who couldn't convince herself of the contrary.
"Well, suppose you're right. But once arrived at the fair, he stays with you, and even when a certain Lady arrives, he takes care later, to find you to be sure that you are well.", She concluded with a small smile.
"I feel like I'm talking to Ruby... He was acting as a friend, nothing more. Winifred had had to leave, and he was just bringing me my hat back."
"Well maybe, but he invited you aboard the balloon. He invited you, not Winifred..."
"As I just told you, Winifred had left him to join her parents."
The young brunette sighed, annoyed, "When you threw his flower overboard, he stopped talking to you suddenly, there was a coldness between you two. I guess for this, you have no explanation?"
"Oh Diana please, it's completely useless to look for explanations or to analyze his behavior. In any case, it wasn't me he took by the arm, it wasn't me he invited to have tea date. He must have seen her every week...for months."
"Yourself, you see him almost every day..."
"Well...he had even more opportunities to let me know his intentions."
"However what you told me yesterday... You know, the dancing at school, you said that-"
She interrupted her curtly, evidently not wanting to talk about it anymore, "He hated dancing. He said it was a waste of time. "
"He really said that?", asked Diana who didn't expect that, she stopped in her walk.
Anne continued to walk, she tried to explain, her eyes glued to the ground, "I can't blame him, I thought the same way... But then he...", The redhead paused, she suddenly thought back to the young boy's words.
"He?"
"He had said he didn't find it unpleasant to dance with... me. But I can see you coming to your conclusions, there's no way...", She searched for her words again.
Then Diana took the opportunity to give again her perspective about this situation, she seemed upset, "This boy! He has to... He's clearly playing both sides, it's unbearable! He doesn't even realize that..."
"Diana?!", said the young redhead, surprised to hear her friend talking like that.
"How can he be...", The young brunette sighed heavily, she didn't even know how to finish her sentence.
And the two young teenagers continued on their way in silence, pensive... Anyway, it was not tonight that Anne was going to have more clues about this, she was sure of it.
On a different path, in Avonlea, Gilbert and Bash were on their way back in the cart, the young boy was very pensive and silent since the beginning of the trip, and his friend had noticed it. But taking the reins at least helped him to focus on one task.
As for Sebastian, he held his daughter in his arms, while looking at the young man with a suspicious air, "Tell me. You want to talk... about what happened earlier? About Winifred?"
The teenager who had been focused until then shook his head as if to chase away his thoughts, "No. I mean... It's just...", he hesitated for a moment.
Bash looked at him with a small smile on his face, he knew that the young man lacked experience with women, and he was exactly in that period where all these questions were running through his mind, and it was his age. And it amused him that for once he had some concerns that all his other classmates had.
Gilbert sighed heavily before beginning his sentence, he seemed nervous, "I don't understand her... I mean, I don't know what I'm supposed to understand."
"What do you mean?", Sebastian asked with a chuckle.
"This morning all was going well and then...", He paused pensively.
"And then?"
Gilbert cleared his throat, "It's like she wants to avoid me now."
Sebastian frowned, "I don't want to defend anyone, but she just felt offended, I probably would have felt the same way she did."
"Why? I just did what I thought was right, I cared about her like a friend would.", The young man almost blushed as he admitted these things, he wasn't used to admitting his innermost thoughts, not even to Bash who he considered as his brother.
"I'm not sure... Are you still talking about Winifred?", his sidekick said with a teasing smile.
The dark-haired boy did not answer, he pretended to be concentrated on his task, and the cart should not end up in the ditch after all. Then, after a brief silence, he answered, "I was talking about Anne... since the beginning..."
Nothing but birdsong could be heard, a silence reigned again in the vehicle, and even Delphine had fallen asleep in her father's arms. For once Sebastian did not know how to respond to this revelation.
Gilbert now felt as if he had revealed something awful, "So... you think Winifred was offended?", he asked with a grimace.
"Oh...? Are you interested in Winifred again?"
"Obviously, I didn't intend to hurt anyone's feelings."
"Of course, Blythe. But it's inevitable. I haven't known her as long as you have, but for some reason I'm coming to understand her. I mean... Anne's expression... I noticed it well when you came on Winifred's arm. I recognized it in her eyes, I had felt the same way when I thought Mary had another man in her life. My reaction had been quite shameful, well you remember how miserable I was. But Anne's reaction... She did it her way. I don't know what happened between you two today. But if this girl has no particular feelings for you, then I don't understand women anymore.", He concluded with a small nervous laugh.
"Anne was never 'women'... She's elusive...", Gilbert laughed at his own reflection, "It's not possible that she...", He didn't know how to finish his sentence.
"Blythe... what are you still doing here?", Bash asked with a serious look.
The teenager remained pensive for a moment, as always his friend had the capacity to point out something. And even if he thought he knew Anne, a doubt invaded his mind, how could he know what she was feeling? Besides, despite Bash's speech, he himself could not guess the feelings she had. Feelings... what did that mean in the end? Is it a passing emotion or is it something that never leaves us, no matter where we are or what we are doing?
As night fell on Prince Edward Island, many residents were gathered in a barn where one of the biggest events of the year was being celebrated. The lights were warm inside. They were illuminated by several dozen lanterns hanging from the beams. Banners that were of all colors, also made the atmosphere festive. There were not only the locals from Avonlea, but also some people from the surrounding towns.
Anne was sitting on one of the benches that surrounded the dance floor, she was next to her friend, Diana.
"Why did she have to be here too...", Declared the young redhead with a desperate look.
"At least Gilbert didn't come, imagine if he had come too.", retorted her friend.
Suddenly, a blonde head stood up in front of the two teenagers, "Anne! Diana! Get up and dance! Moody is on the stage and will be playing with the other musicians most of the evening! Isn't he wonderful with his banjo?!"
The two girls exchanged glances, full of innuendo, Ruby's new crush was something, because the young blonde had not stopped talking about Moody for days. It made you wonder if she'd completely forgotten about Gilbert. But at least the crush was mutual, and it was nice to see the girl more than enthusiastic, but unfortunately Anne, was not really in the mood tonight.
Indeed, Winifred was present to Anne's great surprise, she wondered why on earth she had come? Gilbert was not even there, and besides it was really strange. This made the teenager doubt the intentions of the young man towards the Lady.
Nevertheless, the redhead stood up, and took Ruby by the hand, "Fine, I hope you'll save the next dance for me.", she said to the young blonde with a small smile.
"Oh Anne... I'm sure Charlie would love to give you this one!", Ruby replied.
At these words, Anne turned to her friend Diana, hoping that she would come and rescue her from this dreadful trap. But the young brunette just laughed, and left her friend in the young blonde's hands.
Among the musicians, there was a dance master who was spelling out the moves to be done during the dance, suddenly he began to announce, "The next dance is the Circassian Circle!"
People began to look for a partner, and then began to stand in a circle. Ruby didn't even have time to ask Charlie Sloane to dance with her friend when she saw him with another girl.
Anne was not displeased, she had no desire to dance with Charlie, why would she dance with him? He had reproached her for being too sensitive and intelligent, and that this could affect her ability to have a child... Moreover, because of him, she had begun to believe it. Fortunately Gilbert had been able to reassure her on this point one Sunday after mass. Even though it was probably the most embarrassing moment of her life, or at least one of the most embarrassing, at that point it was impossible for her to make a choice.
But the latter did not have time to think longer about it, when another young man presented himself in front of her. Ruby was in ecstasy, she immediately whispered in the ear of the young redhead.
"Oh Anne, that has to be the cutest boy I've seen all night."
The young boy was quite tall, dark blonde hair with a lock falling in front of his eyes, he was really charming. He was also modest looking, he was wearing a vest that looked holed and very worn.
He addressed the redhead, "I... I think I can guess that you have no partner for this dance, would you agree to allow me?", he asked with some hesitation while passing a hand in his hair, to top it all off, he had a charming French accent, how could she refuse?
The teenager who was about to accept, with some enthusiasm, suddenly had her eyes drawn to the entrance of the barn. Without any warning, Gilbert had just arrived, even though he had said earlier that he was out of the question for him to come dance tonight.
Anne gasped for a few seconds, needless to say she had completely forgotten about the young man with the French accent. At that very moment, only a young boy with brown curls had the girl's attention. He looked so elegant tonight with his black suit, as well as his impeccable hairstyle.
Gilbert seemed to be glancing around, as if he was looking for someone. Suddenly, an elegant blonde walked towards him.
"Gilbert, I didn't expect to see you tonight. ", said the lady.
"Winifred. Well, I had not planned to come indeed, the dance is not my favorite activity. ", Answered the young man with a chuckle, he continued however to look around him.
"It's a pity. I thought that to make you apologize for the affront of earlier, you'd invite me to your first dance. "
The brown young man did not know what to answer to this, he could not admit that it was not at all the reason of his presence. Really, he had not come to dance.
"That was my intention. ", he finally said with a polite smile, he held out his arm.
Anne who was standing behind her dancing suitor who was two heads taller than her, could observe the scene from afar discreetly without being surprised.
The charming young man was waiting for her answer, without understanding why the girl was taking so long to answer, and then he was suddenly jostled by a panic-stricken Diana.
"Oh Anne... You mustn't pay any attention to it but..."
"I know, Diana, I saw the whole thing.", the young redhead started to answer with a disappointed look, then her eyes suddenly became sparkling, "It doesn't matter! I'm going to dance with...uh...I'm sure you're a wonderful dancer! Aren't you?! "
But her friend was not fooled, she could see that she was still trying to hide her huge disappointment. It was all Anne in a way, as soon as it was about Gilbert, she wanted to never show her real emotions, it was as if her part of denial was still trying to take over. So she gave up in a way, she withdrew to join Jerry.
The young guy nodded, then with a small smirk answered, "My name is Jamy Baynard. But if you had asked me..."
Anne's face lit up again, "Baynard... like-"
He interrupted her, "My little brother..."
"How did-"
"There aren't many girls with red hair around here."
Laughing, she immediately retorted, "So, Jerry talks about me a lot, I'll be sure to remind him."
After these words, Jamy happily held out his arm, and Anne hurried to slip hers in. This evening was going to go very well, she had decided. Gilbert could do whatever he wanted, she didn't care. Tonight, she had a pleasant partner, and that allowed her to forget her problems for a moment.
The couples were now formed, Ruby had expressly asked Moody not to play during this first dance, to dance with her. Josie formed a couple with Billy, the pretty blonde's look was prouder than ever. Tillie had to choose between one of the two Pauls, the other Paul had Jane as his partner. As for Diana, she was at the side of Jerry, she had taken advantage that this evening her parents did not keep too much an eye on her to enjoy the evening at best.
Anne was also ready to start the dance with Jamy, she tried to maintain her smile, but her smile faded when she turned her head to the right. Exactly opposite her were Gilbert and Winifred, standing there proudly arming in arm. But the most terrible thing was not that, it was that he did not seem to pay attention to her, he seemed to have eyes only for the elegant blonde.
When the young redhead looked away from the dark-haired boy, he in turn noticed her. He was taken aback to see that Anne was on the arm of a boy he had never seen before. Was she seeing someone...?
The first reason he had come was to see the redhead, but Winifred had come to him first. He couldn't decline a dance with her. So now he found himself in this somewhat strange situation where he continued to be pleasant with the pretty blonde, but his eyes kept drifting to Anne.
He hadn't seen her since he'd arrived, but he'd had to see her on the arm of a charming stranger the first time he laid eyes on her. He didn't feel jealous, no. It wasn't his style to feel such a thing, wasn't it? But she looked so smiling at his side, and then, above all, he felt as if he didn't exist in her eyes. Because not even once the redhead's gaze had crossed his. No, on the contrary, she had eyes only for her dance partner.
The young redhead always tried to observe Gilbert with one eye, she saw his jaw clench, why did he seem so tense? She could see that this tic occurred every time the young man was nervous, she had noticed it long ago. At this very moment, she thought to herself that she had definitely watched him too much over the years. Would he have been as tense if he had danced with her instead of Winifred? Although he said he didn't like to dance, he hadn't been the tense young man at school dance practice. Yet he had been so smiling... so pleasant, even playful this day.
"Whoo-hoo! All aboard! All join hands!" , exclaimed the dance master. And the musicians began to play their instruments.
Everyone then took each other by the hand and walked forward to meet in the center. They then swung one leg forward. Anne couldn't help but laugh, against all odds this dance was really fun.
"Into the circle for four, and back where you were before.", continued to say the corpulent man.
And all the dancers took steps back to their original positions. Anne meanwhile was trying to fight the urge to glance at Gilbert as he fell right in front of her as they approached the center.
"And into the circle once, slide back on the old pine floor."
Unlike her, Gilbert couldn't help but look towards the young redhead as they all gathered towards the center.
"Ladies in and clap."
When it was the girls' turn to walk to the center by themselves, Anne had the proudest expression in the world, she was so proud to be so detached from the situation, and really enjoying herself.
"And ladies we're falling back."
The brown young man was satisfied to smile to Winifred when she returned to his side, what did not escape the redhead's eyes which however had promised herself not to pay attention to him.
"Gentlemen in and clap."
And now it was the boys' turn to move forward, how was she not supposed to notice? The smile of Gilbert should have annoyed her, this smirk that had the gift of annoying her, she wanted so much to hate him, but it was the opposite. Instead, the eyes of the redhead softened. It was stronger than her... She had reached the no return point, she could no longer be in denial, she was... in love with him.
"One two three, then spin her round."
This was the moment when her dance partner had to make her turn. Although Jamy was doing his best, and as charming as he was, there was no way he could make her turn her head too.
"And then, Promenade all over town. Join hands into the circle for four."
One step after another, they met once more in the center, and this time she could not escape. Her eyes had inevitably met Gilbert's. This was something that had to happen, she felt his glances, she had fled them like the plague. She wondered why he persisted in staring at her, when on his arm was probably the prettiest girl of the county.
When their eyes met, their smile had faded, which meant all the seriousness of their exchange, all the intensity, as a mutual fascination was floating in the air. They were as if they were somewhere else, they didn't hear the other dancers' laughs anymore, nor the music that was so loud, as well as the floor that creaked under their steps. It was like...a dream.
"Back where you were before, into the centre once more. ", Then suddenly, the dance breaking their connection, they moved away from each other, taking the steps in the opposite direction, as if the imaginary thread that bound them both had been cut.
"And back where you were before."
"Ladies in and clap."
While Anne walked to the center and clapped her hands, she still seemed to be elsewhere. Why did she still feel this way?
"Ladies move on back."
"Gentlemen in and clap."
Diana was right. Why was he acting like that? One minute he was asking Winifred to dance, and the next... It wasn't his dance partner he was staring at! It was her! Was he kidding her?!
"Turn to the left find a partner new."
It was time for Anne and the other dancers to change partners. She said goodbye to Jamy by giving him one of her most beautiful smiles, and he was very prompt to return it.
Gilbert, who witnessed the whole scene, could not help but clench his jaw again. For a very obvious reason, who was he after all? Why did he allow him to give her this kind of smile, although he did not think he had the monopoly on such interactions, all this disturbed him at the highest point.
Jamy then gave up his place to one of Paul. Although deep down she would have liked a certain young man with brown curls to be her partner, perhaps it was for the best? How would she have reacted in front of him anyway? Would she have gotten lost in his eyes again? And why in the end?
"Step with the new girl."
"Two three four and swing her around."
The teenager couldn't help but watch Gilbert swing around his new dance partner, at least it wasn't Winifred anymore. It was Ruby's mother, and it's a good thing the young blonde had taken a great interest in Moody these past few days, because she would have swooned to see her crush dancing with her own mother. But no matter, Ruby would swoon over anything, as long as it was Gilbert, when she was above such things herself.
As the last note of music sounded, everyone stopped and began to applaud, and Anne immediately rushed to the exit, needing to get some fresh air after so much emotion. Her friend Diana noticed and followed her, while Gilbert's attention was still focused on the elegant Winifred.
Outside, in the moonlight, the young redhead was now leaning against the wall of the barn, her head raised to the sky, she was out of sight, and especially away from the commotion. Suddenly she heard a voice calling out to her.
"Are you all right, Anne?", it was Diana, sounding a little worried.
"Whenever I feel bad, I look up at the sky for a long time, and then I realize it's nothing at all. Do you think the sky has some kind of power? It can be so hypnotic... just looking at it. It's like I'm diving in. Like I can touch those stars with my fingertips...", She paused, then said, "His eyes are so beautiful..."
"His eyes?! Since when does the sky have eyes?", Diana laughed, and sat down beside her.
"Uh... well I was talking about God I guess.", the teen replied as naturally as she could, as she realized she wasn't quite talking about the sky anymore.
"So how many stars does he have in his eyes...?", the young brunette retorted with a laugh.
Anne stared at her friend, "I-I wasn't talking about Gil-"
The young redhead suddenly had a panicked expression, what could have interrupted her like that?
Diana turned around, following her friend's gaze, wanting to understand the sudden change in her attitude.
Gilbert was standing there, just a few steps away, his eyebrows furrowed, he seemed a little worried. The young redhead hoped with all her heart that he had not heard anything of this conversation.
He took a few steps, and cautiously asked, "Am I bothering you?"
Anne cleared her throat, she looked so embarrassed to answer him, "Well... uh, we were just-"
"Not at all!", her friend cut her off, who immediately hurried towards the entrance of the barn, "Uh... my parents must be looking for me.", which was probably not a lie, but the redhead suspected that Diana was acting like this to leave her alone with the young man.
Once the young brunette had left, a deafening silence was felt, they did not even dare to look into each other's eyes. This did not prevent Gilbert to get closer to the girl, and then he finally spoke.
"Actually, I came to ask you... They announced the Dashing White Sergeant. Would you like to come and dance?", The young man suddenly seemed unsure of himself.
"Oh...I think I'll skip a dance, thanks for letting me know. I'd rather stay here for a bit."
"I get it. But...it's unfortunate."
And it was at that moment that Anne realized, he was asking her for a dance? She had so little confidence in herself, and especially today, that she had not even thought about it. Gilbert Blythe was proposing to her to dance?
The young man then began to turn back, "Then, I leave you alone to enjoy the stars, see you later perhaps.", he concluded by giving her a smile that did not hide a certain embarrassment.
"Gilbert! Wait!"
This latter turned around, surprised by the teenager's sudden exclamation.
"I-I hadn't understood, I mean... I want to dance. Well, if you ask me to dance... with you?", She said, more hesitant than ever.
A smile appeared on the lips of the young man, "Of course. That's what I was doing."
The mouth of the redhead half-opened, but no sound came out of it, she simply nodded and moved towards Gilbert, then she stopped in front of him, "It will not... bother Winifred?"
The dark-haired boy was taken aback, he didn't know what to say.
Seeing his embarrassed silence, Anne tried to make up for it, "Oh... forget I asked, it w-was stupid."
"Oh... no, it wasn't! And I don't know if I could affirm it or not. But it's just a dance, Winifred has nothing to be upset about I guess?", he seemed more to question himself.
So Gilbert started walking towards the entrance of the Barn to join the others, he glanced back to check if Anne was following him.
As for the young redhead, she was lost once again in her thoughts, she kept telling herself that she should not get any ideas, because it was only a dance. It was that, only an invitation to dance. He said it himself. She was his friend, it was probably something normal to propose this kind of thing in a friendly way. He had no ulterior motive. She was trying to remember that it was not her, this girl, or rather this woman, with whom he was having tea date and had probably had many dates. No, it was not her that he was courting, she should keep it in mind henceforth.
She finally decided to take a step forward to join the young man, she gave him a polite smile when their eyes met. She should not let appear anything. He should not know that a certain melancholy had taken place in her heart, or even worse, that she had romantic expectations.
When they entered the barn again, Anne's gaze instantly focused on Diana, who was sitting on a bench beside Ruby.
Indeed, the young brunette had also been very attentive to the return of the latter, she made a small smile to her friend, even if she was not wrong to think that she had left them both in an interesting situation, she was far from imagining the torments that Anne was still going through.
After seeing the smile of her faithful friend, the redhead's eyes laid on Winifred who seemed to be waiting for something near a table covered with a checkered tablecloth, on which were drinks and many dishes.
The dark-haired boy had noticed that the elegant lady was staring at him, so he walked towards her. Anne noticed this and was not so surprised by his gesture.
Suddenly the man who was orchestrating the dances exclaimed, "And now, the Dashing White Sergeant! Form up in sets of six!"
When she saw Winifred approaching the dance floor alongside Gilbert, she realized that she would have to share the young man with the pretty blonde, wasn't that ironic? After this day, although splendid at first, she thought she was done with this kind of thing, it was as if the whole universe was playing with her. Could her heart endure it anymore? Anyway, unless she ran away again, she would have to deal with it, she had to face it. Maybe even from now on, it would be like this every time she saw Gilbert, she would have to share him with Winifred.
All the dancers gathered in groups of six, and then split into two, in lines of three. Winifred and Gilbert took their places, and the redhead immediately joined them with some trepidation. Diana was in the opposite line, alongside Jerry and Charlie.
When Anne was finally in place next to the young boy with the brown curls, she realized at the same time that she was going to feel his hand, again. She had been secretly dreaming of this since this morning, maybe even since the day before to be honest. But so much had happened since then. These feelings hadn't changed, they were just bubbling up inside her.
As the musicians began to play the Dashing White Sergeant's first notes, the corpulent man dictated the steps that had to be reproduced, "All join hands!"
Then without waiting, Gilbert hesitantly reached out his right hand to Winifred, he began to think that maybe the situation was a little strange, but he wanted to invite Anne, was it wrong to have done so? He wanted to at least share a dance with the pretty redhead, should he have hoped that fate would do it for him?
He reached out his left hand towards Anne, he saw her slowly extend her hand, she didn't even dare to look him in the eyes, her gaze was riveted to the ground, it was so strange and different... It wasn't like the other day at school, when her eyes weren't afraid to meet his.
It was obvious, the teenager was tormented, she was fighting against her emotions, but especially against the sensation she could feel when Gilbert touched her hand, the touch of his palm against hers, and his thumb brushing her wrist. Why she couldn't help but pay attention to all these details? To the way he held her hand? She felt stupid, since on his right hand was standing Winifred. Did he hold her hand in the same way? Did he look at her and smile at her in the same manner? She should never find out, she had decided, and anyway she would do everything to focus on other people during the dance...
Sorry for the long wait! But I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so there will be one more chapter as you understood! haha! the last one I hope ^^"