Chapter 33

When the train pulled in to Glen St Mary shortly after midday, Susan was there to meet it with a satisfied look on her round face. Gilbert helped Anne down onto the platform, and she was engulfed in Susan's capable arms immediately.

"It's good to have you home, Anne, dearie. Had you a lovely time?"

Anne looked to Gilbert with a smile. "We did, Susan. Was everything well here?"

Susan chuckled, turning to Gilbert. "That horse of yours is an interesting personality, doctor. He got into the washing, worried Guinevere around the yard, but then turned around and stood over her when it rained."

A peal of laughter broke from Anne, and she turned to Gilbert with a merry look. "He is certainly your horse, darling. Well, they had better start learning to live together, it will be a fact soon enough."

Gilbert grinned. "We'll need to find a barn big enough for the two of them- I'll add that to the list."

After a leisurely tea with Anne and Susan, and a kiss goodbye that slightly scandalised the staid housekeeper, Gilbert saddled Hippocrates. As hard as it was to leave Anne, there was work that he was itching to begin. On the train ride back from Avonlea, while Anne slept against him or dreamed, Gilbert had been scribbling in a notebook that was rarely far from him- usually filled with measurements and symptoms, now with lists and timetables for the months to come. He turned the horse towards his house, impatient to put his plans into action.

After a week of busy work, Anne farewelled her last student from the doorway to the schoolhouse. She turned back to her classroom, moving up and down the aisles as she straightened untidy chairs and collected books. Anne smiled at the hurried way her students had exited- so close to the summer holidays, she could understand her students' impatience to be done for the year.

Anne dropped into her chair with a thankful sigh. As the fresh wind blew through open windows, she closed her eyes with satisfaction, pausing briefly to rub her stiff ankle. Her year as the Glen's teacher had been a most pleasant one. Her students had shown such promise, and she had seen much of it come to fruition- and next year she would begin preparing the older students for the Entrance exam. Anne smiled at the thought of their eager faces. Gilbert had teased her about the idea of running her own classroom from their home- Rebecca's students would come to their house for extra lessons each afternoon if the board approved- and they had.

She smiled wistfully. In a few short months, Anne would hand her beloved class over to Mrs Matthews, who had regained a hope in her eyes that had been missing since the death of her husband. After the board meeting at the cottage the previous afternoon, Susan served Anne and her guest tea while the Matthews children played in the blooming cottage garden.

"Anne, I can't thank you enough for this," Rebecca had said in wonder. "It's more than I ever dreamed. I knew I would need to find work again after Tom died, and I was terrified that I couldn't be there for the children. I hardly considered teaching again, after so long."

Anne smiled. "I'm just as grateful to have you, you know. And we will be working together for some time- it eases my own guilt in leaving the school after only a year."

The woman chuckled. "Not that you'd want to postpone marrying the doctor."

Anne's eyes twinkled. "Absolutely not." A shard of pain hit her then- for the children without their father, for the woman who would trade everything to have her beloved husband back. She closed her eyes at the thought of losing Gilbert- no, she wouldn't wait for anything.

She looked at Rebecca, seeing her face become thoughtful. "Dr Blythe never charged us for Tom's care, you know," Rebecca said quietly. "I tried to pay the bill- and he would never let me do it. He told me to go and buy the boys cookies instead."

"That sounds just like him," Anne said, a gentle smile on her face. "I don't suppose he would tell just anyone this- but he had a sick father when he was a child too." She watched the children pat Guinevere over the fence, loving the sound of their childish squeals. "Oh, I'm so glad for your family, Rebecca- and I believe your family will love the cottage here as well. It's close to the school and wonderfully cosy in the winter."

After the board's decision, the two of them made plans to start work on the following year's curriculum. Gilbert, of course, had known that Anne would not simply walk away and leave Mrs Matthews to cope on her own- neither did he believe that she wanted to. He was relieved himself, for the family's sake. Tom Matthews had been a good man- loving of his family, his wife- he had been worried about them. He and Anne had discussed what an early pregnancy could mean for the transition between the teachers, and Anne had assured him with a mischievous sparkle in her eye that she would listen to her doctor- providing that her doctor listened to her as well.

Her eyes were closed as she relaxed in the still classroom, and Anne completely missed the sound of footsteps coming up the footpath. Before she could stir herself from her desk, she jumped at the door opening, and then looked up into the beaming eyes of her fiancée. Anne hadn't seen Gilbert properly in two days and now threw her arms around him with a glad cry.

"Darling, they said yes!" she said ecstatically.

Gilbert grinned. "I assume to the teaching plan?"

Anne rolled her eyes. "Well, of course that, Gilbert. Only last night."

Gilbert laughed then. "Sweetheart, you forget that you've been at work, and so have I- I wasn't privy to your conversation."

Anne scowled at him. "Spoilsport. Well, just give me a few minutes, and we can have a real conversation then."

Gilbert's hands were in his pockets as he watched her move around the classroom. "I stopped by the cottage after my rounds to tell Susan I was collecting you- she's expecting me for dinner tonight."

Anne smiled. "I thought she would- she was terribly disappointed when you had to cancel again yesterday."

Gilbert pulled his hat off with a sigh. "That's what it's going to be like, Anne-girl."

She gave him a twinkling look. "As long as you are coming home to me, I don't mind. And if I know Susan, she will have a meal ready for you at all times."

Gilbert snorted. "That would certainly be different." He moved to wipe the board for her and then turned with a grin. "Mrs Leary spoke to me yesterday, you know."

Anne's eyebrows lifted, and she watched him curiously. "Oh?"

"Well, she scolded me for not being home when I had said that I would be, for leaving my lab coat on the floor when I was called in an emergency, and for not informing her personally that I was to be married soon." There was good humour on his face as he dusted his hands on his trouser legs. "She called it a lapse in etiquette, as she needs several months to prepare the house for my bride, apparently. She heard it from the baker's wife."

Anne was horror-struck. "Gil, you didn't tell her?"

He put up his hands in protest. "In my defence, I've hardly seen her since last week- you know what this one has been like. Apparently, she took offence at me cooking for myself, and decided there was no use in her doing it- if I arrive home at four in the afternoon she's already gone."

"Gilbert, you have to do something about that," Anne protested. "You deserve so much better- especially if you are paying her to care for you."

He sat down on her desk and pulled her close, smiling. "It was my house she was meant to care for, not me, Anne. And I decided that I've been doing fine on my own- so I let her go."

Anne's mouth dropped open. "Really?"

Gilbert grinned. "Yes. I paid her a month's salary, and said-"

"Prosper and be hanged to you?"* Anne quoted cheekily.

This made him laugh. "Well, not in those words- I just said that we had made other arrangements and that our engagement was our business, not anyone else's."

Anne turned and pulled his arms around her, resting back against her desk as well. She smiled at the kiss he pressed against her throat, above the low lace collar she wore. "Well, I'm still sorry, Gil."

"Don't be. Just think of what's coming, Anne-girl."

Of course, what Gilbert didn't tell her was that Mrs Leary had made some acerbic comments regarding Anne herself- thus ensuring that she would be dismissed immediately, in any case. He wrapped his hands around Anne's tiny waist and smiled. Gilbert's week had not spent idly- a chronic patient had required hospitalisation, and two others were displaying the symptoms of scarlet fever. He tended and bandaged his various patients, lecturing about cleanliness and consulting with the Lowbridge doctor about cases in outlying areas. While he worked, however, his mind was rarely far from what needed to be done in the lead up to his wedding.

"Now, I have news for you, darling girl. Come with me to the shore? I think we've earned some alone time before we return for dinner."

Anne blinked slightly. "I would love to. We should tell Susan where we are heading-"

"Done. She knows."

The shore was breezy with rollicking winds that day, and Anne breathed in the salt air with a smile. She sat down on the sand and removed her shoes and stockings, much to Gilbert's amusement, and sighed in contentment as they looked out towards the afternoon sunshine.

"So I found us a house," Gilbert said conversationally.

Anne turned to him in delight. "That's wonderful, Gil! How?"

His arm came around her waist, and he smiled at the way she reclined against him. "I heard about it only yesterday- Mr Morgan came to see Andrew about selling his late mother's property, and I went to look at it today. It's been empty for some time- and it has plenty of rooms for us to fill," Gilbert teased, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "It has a walled-in garden, an orchard and a grove of trees for my dryad, a big garret, a study for me, not to mention a kitchen that even Susan will adore."**

Anne sighed happily. "It sounds lovely, Gil. And we can afford it?"

He chuckled, then. "More than afford it, actually. People don't want such a large house in the village, so it's going quite cheaply. I have the key to show you through tomorrow if you like."

Anne turned in Gilbert's arms then, impatiently tugging on her skirts to move. As they swirled on the sand around her bare feet, Gilbert's eyes were warm, and he smiled into her earnest face.

"The only stairs I have gone up recently were the ones to your bedroom," she said hesitantly. At the bright grin on his face, Anne covered her flushed cheeks in embarrassment. "You know what I mean, Gil."

Gilbert chuckled, pulling her close to him. "I do, sweetheart. I was only teasing. I went over the place from top to bottom. The stairs are manageable, I think, but I would want to put rails up to assist you- not to mention the little ones who will need some help climbing at first." Anne smiled at the thought, and he continued gently. "However, there is room to extend the house in any way that we need to- including space to build a large bedroom suite downstairs if we wish."

Anne's mouth fell open. "For us?"

He grinned, his eyes loving. "For you and me. We can even put a nursery beside it. It all depends on whether or not you like the house."

Anne studied him with narrowed eyes, her fingers moving to smooth his shirt. "Won't that be terribly inconvenient for you?"

"Well, let's see," Gilbert stated. "Firstly, we already know that I'll be in and out of the house at all times of the day and night." He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped strong arms around her waist. "So, I won't be able to wake the entire household when I come and go, will I? Secondly, my wife will be more comfortable." Broad hands ran up her back, and Anne sighed in contentment. "And lastly, our housekeeper's room will be all the way upstairs."

Anne's glance was cheeky. "Is that what worries you? I assure you, that Susan will have her own etiquette when it comes to protecting our privacy- she said as much to me yesterday."

Gilbert grinned sheepishly. "I won't lie, it occurred to me. What did she say?"

Anne giggled then, her arms sliding around his neck. "Oh, that a husband and wife needed their privacy and space- and I quite agree." She sobered then, her eyes wistful. "I'm sorry, Gil. We should have had some time on our own- I would have been the one keeping our house, if-"

Gilbert's voice was firm. "As long as you and I are together, I don't care. Besides, what if it had been me that got hurt?" he asked belligerently. "What if you had found me in a wheelchair? Would you have cared?"

Anne scowled. "Alright, no. Only for your sake."

"Thank you. I'm usually right, you know that," he commented, grinning when Anne tried to swat him. He picked up her left hand in his, the sparkle of his emerald catching the afternoon light. He looked down into the grey-green eyes that he loved. "You are the most precious person in the world to me, Anne," he said softly. "And as to how our lives might have been different- I don't care anymore. You're going to be my wife."

He bent down to press a swift kiss to her lips, however before he could move, she cupped his face in her hands holding him close as her lips caressed his own deeply. The sound of the waves, the airy call of the gulls all faded, and only the sensation of breath, of hands and bodies blissfully moving against each other remained.

Gilbert, at last, pulled away, reaching to touch her lips with a dazed look on his face. "I still can't believe it, Anne. That you loved me all along."

"For many years, Gil- longer than I know, I suspect."

One hand ran up to stroke her waist, and he gave her a wistful grin. "So if I'd had the sense to meet you that night at Andrew's decently- been a little less bitter, a little more the boy my parents raised-"

Anne sighed and smiled herself, her fingers wandering into his thick hair. "You mean if I'd known there was no one else?" She chuckled then. "I might have thrown myself at you, and horrified your friends by kissing you in front of them. Not to mention you."

Gilbert began to laugh. "I wish that had happened- just seeing the look on Andrew's face would have been worth it- although I suppose it wouldn't have been fair to him or Penny." He sobered then, seeing a startling look of insecurity flash in Anne's eyes. After a moment, she spoke quietly.

"She could have made you happy, Gil. If I hadn't come here."

Gilbert shook his head in disbelief. "No, Anne. How could she have? I wasn't happy with myself- I'd only have made her miserable as well." He lay back on the sand with a sigh, and Anne rested on one elbow to study him wistfully.

"You made me feel ashamed of myself when you said months ago that you'd never settle," he said in a low voice, and Anne paled. "You'd never marry someone without love. Of course you wouldn't- it isn't who you are." He swallowed, wanting her to know the truth. "But it could very well have been me. I was already at war with myself when you came to Four Winds- trying to move on, but seemingly unable to make a decision either way. Penny was nice- and I thought she liked me." His voice was brittle, and he made himself continue. "I'd already made up my mind that I would ask her to go for a drive or something, that night."

Anne's eyes were huge, and she pulled away from him slightly. "The same night I came?"

Gilbert's smile was bitter, flinching at the hurt on her face. "Oh, I don't know if I would have gone through with it, I'd already slunk away like a coward any number of times. But instead I was confronted with you, and I behaved like a brute." He swallowed hard and gripped the hand that wore his ring. "I don't deserve this, Anne. I'm so sorry."

Anne blinked the tears from her eyes and leant over so that her face was close to his own. "Gil, why do you think I wouldn't settle for Owen, or anyone else?"

"Because you're better than that," he grumbled, his hands caressing her back.

Anne frowned at him, then. "No! Because I almost did it once. You know that. You know I didn't love Roy- you know I was beginning to realise it- but I wouldn't back down, either. I kept telling myself that it was foolish to walk away from my ideal. I was willing to go through with it anyway. Why? Because I didn't understand that I was settling, Gil. When he proposed it was like a dash of cold water to my face- and I woke with a vengeance. I'm not better- I'd done it once, and it taught me that I could never do it again."

Gilbert's face had softened. "Anyway, I daresay I didn't look much like a suitor to you at the time."

Anne moved to kiss him then. "Because I was blinded, dearest."

He gave a half smile. "So in Summerside- you never-"

Anne chuckled. "Oh, after a few years I had some space to think about it- not that it went anywhere. You- you were so far from me. I knew there was no chance to repair things then, you were already married."

"I beg your pardon-"

Gilbert smiled at the way her laughter moved through his body. "I meant that I thought you were." She sighed then, her grey eyes distant. "You could say that I considered it in a hypothetical sense- although you can imagine that I was closely scrutinized as a female school principal. The school couldn't afford the gossip, to be honest." She moved up to kiss Gilbert's chin, stroking it with her fingers. "And- I believed that I would simply love you for all time." Anne's cheeks were pink, as she shared feelings that she had never verbalised before. "I imagined that it would hover over you like a benediction through your life- guarding you against evil, dimly felt, although never consciously understood."*** She smiled then. "It was a romantic thought- in what had become a very practical life."

Gilbert raised one eyebrow. "I can't imagine that lasting with you, Anne-girl."

"It didn't. You brought romance back to my life again."

"You made me come alive again, period," Gilbert said with a grin. "I was quite cross at you for that- you were so different to the girl I remembered, but nevertheless still the girl who could slap me awake again."

"I never actually slapped you, Gil." Anne reminded him cheekily. She was silent for a moment then, and suddenly frowned. "Do you still think me so different?"

Gilbert chuckled, but his look was tender. "No. Although you have changed- we both have. But somehow you are still the Anne I've always loved, too."

"Perhaps you and I have simply grown up." Anne rested her head on his shoulder, and his hands tucked her in close to his side. "I wanted to dislike Penny for her proximity to you," she admitted. "But you simply can't. She was lovely, and she became a friend- even when I thought you were together. I could hardly have blamed you for liking her- I liked her myself."

Gilbert laughed then. "I know. But she didn't love me, and I didn't love her. Your arrival showed me that I wasn't over you in the slightest- however hard I worked to deny that." He gave her the twisted smile that made her heart beat faster. "Besides, Penny figured out what was happening between you and I quite early- and set to work pushing us together."

Anne smiled. "I confess that her tactics quite escaped me at first."

Gilbert shifted her to sit up then with a contented look. "It would have happened anyway, Anne-girl. It's always been you and me."

When the wind on the shore began to pick up suddenly, Gilbert looked around them with a start. "Does that look like rain?" he asked, frowning.

Anne got to her feet with his assistance and looked out to the horizon. "I think so- although I haven't been able to get to know this shore so well as I would have liked," she said good-humouredly. "Shall we go, dearest?"

Gilbert bent down to pick up a laughing Anne, and the two of them made their way back to the buggy, shaking the sand from their clothing, and with Gilbert running back to find Anne's missing shoes and stockings.

Gilbert left Anne at Rosewood Cottage while he went home to freshen up, and returned in due course; tidy, and followed by a beaming Andrew. While Anne was surprised to see him, Andrew insisted gravely that his company would prove most valuable.

Gilbert smiled as he took in Anne's fresh dress. More ornate than she usually wore for school, he studied the floral gown, flounced and laced to perfection on her slim figure. Before they could enter the dining room, he reverently touched the short, puffed sleeves. "It's pink," he said in satisfaction.

"It isn't," Anne protested, beginning to blush. "It's a rosy kind of purple-"

He laughed. "You can't pretend that's not pink, sweetheart. I always hoped you would cave one day- and I was right. It suits you."

"Doctor Blythe, I never knew you spent so much time thinking about my clothing," she muttered, ignoring the raised eyebrow that belied her words. She led the way into the small room to lay the table, while Andrew chatted with Susan in the kitchen. Gilbert watched Anne with a smile on his face.

"I found it in a small boutique in Summerside, shortly before the end of my fifth year teaching," Anne said consciously. "It was so pretty- and the white roses made it a little less pink, I hoped. I thought I would see how well it fitted- and much to my consternation, it was perfect." She chuckled, passing Gilbert the cutlery to lay beside the plates. "I must have driven the seamstress slightly mad- I kept coming in just to look at it. In the end, she told me that every woman should know how to break the rules- and encouraged me to break one of my firmest over this gown." She laughed then. "I put it on so many times without wearing it, Gil- it took me weeks to get up the courage to wear it to church."

"And people would have loved it on you," Gilbert said with a grin. "I don't suppose you were subconsciously rebelling against society, were you?"

She shrugged her shoulders at Gilbert with a twinkling look. "Perhaps. I had just come from a meeting of the Summerside school board if I remember correctly- and they often had a contrary effect on me."

Gilbert laughed, pulling her close. "In that case, I'm extremely pleased with the effect. I hope you do it again."

After Anne and Susan had settled their guests in the sitting room after dinner, Andrew turned to the women with a smile. "Thank you for allowing me to invite myself for dinner this evening- I had a letter from my family that I wanted to talk to you both about. Firstly, my parents send you good wishes on your engagement, Gil, heartily echoed by Penny- three pages worth, in fact-" he said dryly. Anne chuckled, having received her own overflowing letter from her some days earlier. "I took the liberty of speaking to them about your upcoming trip to Montreal- and while I know you haven't yet made definite plans, my parents have asked that you would stay with them."

Anne blinked in shock. "Andrew, they don't know me-"

"No, but they know Penny and I quite well," he replied with a wink. "And so they love you by extension. They don't live far from the hospital, and are aware that you will need some time to recuperate afterward- Penny is just about wild with excitement. My father will be terribly disappointed if he can't also show you some of his beloved city, he has offered to give you both the tour personally."

Gilbert's lip twitched. "Even though I once lived there?"

Andrew gave him a severe look. "And you never saw any of the sights, did you? That's a crime in my father's book."

Gilbert grinned sheepishly, but soon became businesslike. "So they would like Anne to stay there-"

"No, they want both of you," Andrew corrected. "For however many weeks you will be in the city. The house can accommodate as many guests as are needed, and one of the suites is on the ground floor. And then we come to the thoroughly brilliant side of the plan." He grinned at the young pair then. "I promised Penny that I would visit home this summer- why shouldn't Lizzie and I go at the same time as the two of you?"

Anne looked at Gilbert in surprise. "But- Andrew, are you- would you be able to leave your practice at any time?" she asked him, bewildered. "We need to wait on Doctor Barnes, I should imagine."

Gilbert spoke up then. "He sent me a list of dates to choose from, Anne, it's up to us. I'm to call him when we decide on one."

Andrew relaxed in his chair with a sigh. "My parents have been at me to come home at least once a year- something I haven't managed to do in the past three. I'm due for a break- and Lizzie will be able to meet some of her cousins for the first time."

Anne looked to Susan. "Susan, dear, what do you think?"

Susan put her knitting down with a genuine smile. "Well, it would be real good to know that you are going somewhere comfortable, Anne."

Anne smiled at her understandingly. "And if we travel with Andrew and Lizzie, you would be able to remain here."

Susan's look of relief was obvious to all. "I've never crossed the strait yet- I'm just as content for it to stay that way. And we have two households to clean and ready for the wedding, and another house to prepare for, so there is plenty of work to be done in the meantime." She nodded approvingly at the doctor's contented smile. "The Morgan house is a fine one, Anne dearie, make no mistake about that- and that pantry is a sight to be seen. Marcella Morgan was a great one to entertain, and her house was considered quite modern when it was built."

Anne smiled. "We'll look at it tomorrow, Susan. Are you sure you don't mind us leaving you here? That is, if Andrew and Lizzie are willing to be our chaperones, of course," Anne teased, making Andrew laugh.

"You two may yet find yourself minding me," Andrew said with an impudent look. "A holiday may well make me forget that I'm supposed to be a grown-up. So what do you both say? Will you come?"

Anne met Gilbert's eyes, and she nodded with a smile. Gilbert turned to Andrew gratefully. "Please thank your parents and Penny for us; we accept. I look forward to seeing them again."

Andrew grinned. "They'll be thrilled." He narrowed his eyes at Anne then. "Now, has my sister said anything to you about young Doctor Barnes at all lately?"

Anne chuckled. "Andrew Winston! You wouldn't expect me to tell you if she had, would you?"

His look was charming. "Perhaps not. But the omission is significant, I think. Besides, Dad took him golfing last week."

Gilbert's eyebrow flew up. "Is that important?"

"Oh, he doesn't take just anyone golfing- he must think something of him."

"I think the question is does Penny think something of him," Gilbert commented and laughed. "It would be quite something to see Montreal's most eligible bachelor in love."

"Well, we will see soon enough." He shot Gilbert a curious look- and it was Penny's big brother who spoke then. "Would you trust him with your sister?" he asked his friend quietly.

Gilbert smiled. "I'd trust him with my life- and I am trusting him with Anne's. If the two of them should learn to care for each other, I should consider them both very lucky indeed."

*Quote from Emily's Quest, by L.M. Montgomery- anachronistic, yes, but it always made me laugh.

**Descriptions of Ingleside from Anne's House of Dreams

***L.M. Montgomery, The Schoolmaster's Letters.