"How does it look, Marilla?"

Marilla went over to examine Anne's cake batter. "Does it need any more eggs or flour or..."

Marilla sampled some. "No. Tastes good. You can put it in the oven now."

Anne sighed in relief and placed her cake into the oven. "Thank goodness. I was so worried I had put something horrible in there."

Marilla smirked. "Liniment, you mean?"

Anne giggled. "Yes. Oh Marilla, I'm so worried I might do something like that with my wedding cake. Imagine if I put liniment in there. Or worse than liniment. Pepper! Or rat poison even!"

Marilla rolled her eyes. "Oh, Anne. The bride never makes her own wedding cake! I will do that when the time comes. Anyway, why don't you go outside now? I can take over from here."

"Are you sure?"

Marilla nodded, gesturing towards the front door. "Off you go."

Anne removed her apron and hung it up before heading outside. She waved over at Matthew. "I'm going for a wander."

"All right. Should I come with you or..."

"No. I'm not going far."

She strode towards the gate, stopping at a small shrub nearby. She knelt and reached into the shrub, pulling out a piece of paper.

My dearest Anne...

Meet me by the lake of shining waters.

It's a hot day. We can go for a swim.

All my love

Gilbert xoxo

Gilbert grew restless as he leaned against the tree, waiting for Anne to arrive. The serene noises of birds chirping and the lake nearby did nothing to relax him. It had been so long since he and Anne got any alone time.

A few more minutes passed, and Gilbert wondered if she wasn't coming. She could have chores to do or…

…but then she appeared before him, looking like a goddess, her red, almost golden hair glistening in the sun. There was such softness in her expression that Gilbert couldn't help rushing over immediately to hold her in his arms.

"I thought you weren't coming," he whispered into her hair.

"Why wouldn't I come?"

He broke away from her but kept her close to him. "Well, I thought perhaps you were busy or didn't get my letter or..."

She shook her head with a reassuring smile. "I check that shrub every day. That was such a romantical idea, by the way, to leave letters there. I wish I came up with it."

He chuckled, nuzzling his nose against hers. "I thought it was a good idea..."

"Oh." Anne broke away from him. "Are you hungry? I should've brought some food. We could have had a picnic or something.

"I've already eaten, and besides..."

He tickled her sides. "Didn't you know it's a bad idea to swim right after eating? How could the smartest girl in PEI not know that?!"

Anne laughed and wiggled away from him, causing him to tug her even closer.

"Oh, no, you don't. You're not getting away from me anytime soon," he whispered huskily. "Come here you."

He tugged her giggling form over to a tree and pressed her against it. But before he could finally kiss her, he stared into her eyes, silently asking permission. And she gave it with a nod, caressing his cheek with the most loving expression he'd ever seen.

"I love you, Gil."

He swallowed, the intensity of his feelings threatening to eat him alive. "I love you too, my Anne." And without another word, he leaned in to claim her lips, pressing her more firmly against the tree.

Oh gods, how he had longed for this and was determined to keep her pinned there for as long as possible. He groaned at the feel of her lips, her body against his, the softness of her cheeks, the silkiness of her hair tumbling down her back, free from its updo.

Gilbert broke away to place opened-mouthed kisses along her neck and throat.

"Gil?"

"Yes," he breathed, nibbling at her earlobe before pulling back to gaze into her eyes. He cupped her cheek tenderly, his thumb brushing away a few stray hairs from her face.

"Good?"

"Oh yes."

And with another groan, Gilbert swooped in for another kiss.

"Oh, but Gil..."

"Anne..." he murmured against her lips. "What is it?" He broke away once more, his body keeping her pinned in place. "Are you enjoying the kisses?"

"The kisses are amazing, but..."

"But..."

She shifted. "It's just the tree."

He broke away to stare into her eyes, confused by the unexpected remark. Yet he probably should learn to expect the unexpected when it came to his Anne. "The tree?"

"Yes, it's hard against my back." She leaned against him and giggled. "I'm afraid being pressed against a tree is not as romantical as Diana said it would be. It's rather uncomfortable, actually."

He chuckled into her hair. "Well then, I'll just have to find somewhere else to press you against."

And before Anne could react, Gilbert had laid her out on the grass, his body covering hers. He swooped down to nip at her ear, smiling when she laughed some more. "Better?"

"Um…stick."

Anne reached around and threw away the stick that was poking her before beaming up at him. "But other than that, much better."

He resumed his impassioned kisses, his fingers undoing the buttons of her dress.

"Uh…Gil? I thought we were going swimming."

"We are. That's why I'm undressing you. Plus, I need all the practice I can get with these layers."

Anne flushed at the implication of his words.

"Oh. Of course."

Soon, her dress and petticoat were off. Followed by her corset, which she sat up so he could unlace it more easily. He removed his own clothes until they were both down to their underpinnings.

Gilbert jumped up. "Come on! Race you to the water!"

Laughing, Anne ran after him until they reached the lake. Gilbert grinned in triumph as she came up to stand beside him. "Beat you!"

Anne rolled her eyes with a smile. "You only won because you have longer legs than I do! And you got a head start, so it was hardly fair. Bet I can swim better than you!"

Gilbert's eyes lit up at the challenge. "Let's see, shall we?"

And he jumped in the water, soon followed by her. However, that proved to be a bad idea. She broke the surface with a gasp. "Oh, it's so cold! I think I jumped in too quickly! I should've taken my time getting in. Oh, dear!"

He swam over to her and looped her arms around his neck, holding her close to his body. "Here. Hold on to me. You won't be so cold this way.

He smiled in satisfaction when she relaxed into him. "Better?"

She nodded, leaning into his shoulder. "Yes. Much better. I love being in your arms."

"If it were up to me, you'd never leave them."

"Fine by me."

And he held her even tighter, the both of them remaining like that for a while.

After a few minutes of peaceful silence…

"Gil?"

"Hmmm.

She sighed against his shoulder. "You know I'm going to have to explain to Marilla why I'm wet."

He pulled back to stare into her eyes. "You could tell her the truth, you know." He brushed some wet strands away from her face. "She already knows we're engaged, Anne. And we're doing what most couples do. I'm sure she will understand."

"That's easy for you to say. You only have Bash and a toddler to contend with when you get home."

"And Hazel…and Mrs Lynde, who comes by often."

Anne shuddered at the thought of Rachel Lynde catching them.

"Oh, of course. Wouldn't that be thrilling?!"

He smiled reassuringly, nuzzling her nose with his. "Don't worry, Anne. I'm in the same boat as you." He sniggered. "Oh, but we're not in a boat. We're swimming."

Anne laughed, slapping his chest playfully. "Oh, honestly! Is that the best the brightest boy of PEI can come up with? I'm very disappointed in you!"

And he tickled her again in response, swallowing her laughter with his hungry lips. Soon gossiping old biddies catching them was the furthest thing from their minds.

"Marilla, where is Anne?"

Anne stopped short as she returned to Green Gables and groaned at the sound of Rachel's voice. She crept around the side of the house, trying not to be seen.

"She went for a walk."

"Yes, I know. I saw her go off. But that was ages ago!"

Anne groaned again, wishing that woman would mind her own business for once.

"Look, Rachel. Anne is a grown woman. She can make her own decisions about what she does with her time. End of conversation."

Anne smiled in gratitude.

"Marilla, did you ever consider that she's likely rendezvousing with Gilbert? Before they get married?!"

Anne peeked through the window to witness Marilla placing a hand to her cheek, a look of fake shock on her face.

"Oh, a rendezvous with her betrothed! How shocking! Gather everyone together! The world's about to end!"

Anne bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

Rachel stood from the table and put her hands on her hips in outrage. "Marilla Cuthbert! Don't tell me you condone this! I honestly don't know who you are anymore! You're becoming way too soft if you ask me!"

Marilla rose from her chair, using her height to her advantage. "And you, Rachel Lynde, are a hypocrite!"

Rachel gasped. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, Rachel…I can't count how many times I saw you dragging poor Thomas off during your courtship! I caught you fooling around just about everywhere! Against trees! In lakes! On the grass in broad daylight. That I will never erase from my mind any time soon!"

Rachel's face reddened.

"Oh, and there was that time that I found the both of you rolling around in a haystack. In a barn. My barn! Green Gables barn!"

Anne laughed harder into her hands, trying her best not to attract attention to herself. She looked over her shoulder at her beloved barn, thinking she'll never look at it the same way ever again.

She turned to see Rachel sigh in defeat, her face as red as a tomato.

"Well…I guess I'll take my leave then."

Marilla handed Rachel her hat and coat with a smile of triumph. "Goodbye, Rachel. Same time tomorrow?"

Rachel didn't answer her. Instead, she grabbed her things and left the house in a huff. Thankfully, she left Green Gables in such a hurry she didn't notice Anne standing there, soaked to the bone.

"Anne?"

Anne found herself face-to-face with Marilla. "Where were you? You've been gone for so long, and…why are you wet?"

"I…uh…went swimming."

Marilla raised an eyebrow. "Alone?"

Anne blushed, knowing it was no use lying to her. Fortunately, Marilla, the absolute angel she was, let it go with an amused chuckle.

"Come on inside. I'll run you a bath."

Anne followed Marilla inside.