Chapter IV

"United Kingdom and France are officially at war with Germany." Dr James Blythe announced on the 3rd of September at Ingleside.

Grandmother and Granfather Blythe asked their all family members to come for a family dinner that day, and so the Blythes, Merediths and Fords were sitting in the Ingleside's living room with very pale faces when Jem entered the room with a newspaper in his hand.

Una's eyes were filled with a heartbrake she was carrying for over twenty years of her life; Faith grabbed Julia's hand and her daughter could feel how it trembled; Nan's and Di's husbands embraced their wives while the 'Ingleside twins' held each others hands; Rilla filled the air with a loud and terryfying "Oh!" and Gilbert Blythe put his wrinkled hand on his wife's shaking arm.

At the same time, Merry jumped from his seat and took Julia in his arms, waltzing with her for a moment "Yes! Finally I can be a part of something big and important to our country!" he shouted joyfully.

Julia pushed him away and looked at him angrily "Will you stop Meredith Blythe?! Look at your Mother's face!" she hissed with tears coming to her eyes. Merry turned his head towards Faith's golden-brown eyes which were filled up with so much fear that she could hardly hold back her tears.

"Oh, Merry!" she said and stood up to kiss her son's cheeks.

Everyone was silent. Nobody dared to speak for nobody knew what to say, what to wish for or what to predict. The silence was broken by Grandmother Blythe's strong voice filling up the room "We are very proud of you Merry, and may God bring you home."

Dear Blythe,

Merry and Troy enlisted today. They are both so excited and so happy that I'm sure that their faces hurt already from the constant smiling.

I am truly heartbroken. Not only becasue they will have to leave for their training in just two weeks' time but also becasue I can't enlist as a nurse yet. I have to wait until next May. This is way too long! But I know that even if I were 18 today, I would stay at home to help Mum and Dad to cope with Merry's absence. Goodness, and Cee! She was crying for three hours today!

I pray for both of my boys ever since the war was declared. But not only for them, I pray for the poor Polish people as well, who were attacked so suddenly by this horrible Hitler and I pray for all the soldiers from all around the globe who already have or will enlist and go to the front as bravely as my brother and Troy will.

I am proud of them, I really am… but Blythe, will I ever be able to sleep peacefully again when they're gone?

Sorry, I'm so selfish! I didn't even ask you anything about Redmond! Forgive me for being rude, please dear Blythe? How is Redmond-life? Did you learn any new Shakespeare's sonnet? Or maybe you read another Jane Austen's book?

Please Blythe, promise me that you won't join the horror of the war, please, dear cousin and friend!

Yours,

Sheba Blythe

Dear Bathsheba,

Do not fear, I won't join 'the horror of the war'. Now I can almost hear you saying: "But do you promise?", and yes, I do promise you that I won't enlist now or any other day for that matter.

Stop saying that you are being selfish by telling me what you feel! How I wish that I could embrace you in this very moment both of us sitting under the Tree Lovers. I would read to you one of the Uncle Walter's poems and remind you of 'keeping faith'.

It seems as if the war is already affecting my Redmond-life. Gil and Jake are whining about going to the front and I suppose that they will sign up after the first term. You probably ask if your brother Walter fancy enlisting; no, or at least I don't think so, he is actually the only person with whom I don't have to discuss whether I would rather fight in France or in Africa.

You guessed right; yesterday, we read Sonnet 116 written by W. Shakespaere. Julia, I only wish that my sonnets will get half as good as this one, someday in the future.

Jake just came back from the library and was gently reminded by Mr Lawrence (his history teacher) that we have to turn off our lights.

I will write you more soon!

Have courage, dear and if the courage will fail you, have hope for hope is the only thing stronger than fear.

Forever Yours,

Blythe Ford

One day before Merry and Troy's departure, Julia was supposed to meet up with Troy in Rainbow Valley, just for a moment though as he was expected home for most of the afternoon so that his parents could spend last few peaceful hours with their only child.

Both Merry and Troy joined the LFC (Land Force Command) and got their khaki uniforms the day before which they wore proudly for the whole day.

The sunset was just about to start when Julia reached Rainbow Valley that afternoon. Her mind was whirling. Will Troy propose? she asked herself. They never actually talked about a possibility of getting engaged. What would she answer if he did ask her? She didn't know what to think or feel, so she focused on smiling and pretending that her heart wasn't beating as fast as it was.

Troy was already there, waiting for her with a funny smile on his lips and shining black eyes. He wasn't afraid of going to the front (nor was Merry) which Julia took as a good sign. The two of them were very excited and were positive that it is going to be the adventure of their lives.

Julia, although she hid her fear and doubts very neatly, she was in fact very happy for her boys but most of all she was extremely proud of them and what wonderful young men they grew into for those past few days. They were no longer boys after all, but almost grown-up men.

Julia flew into Troy's arms and kissed him on the lips.

"I'm such a lucky fellow to have you by my side tonight." Troy whispered to her ear, putting his arms around her waist.

"And you will have me tomorrow in the morning as well. I will wear my best dress, especially for you, so that I could make every other girl on the station jealous for kissing Troy Rogers goodbye!" Julia said excitedly, hiding all of her nerves inside. Troy chuckled.

He gently put his hand on her cheek and looked at her seriously "Julia, you know that I may not come back…" he started slowly yet meaningfully.

"Don't say that…" she interrupted him but her eyes went wide open.

"I will say it becasue it's true. So…" he sighed and started again "I may not come back and that's why I wanted to ask you to marry me when… if I come back." he said and took out the small diamond ring from the pocket of his uniform.

Julia's face got white and her mouth opened slightly. This was it! This was all she feared the most to happen that afternoon! There he was, the handsome Troy Rogers, standing in front of her, wearing his brand-new uniform and asking for her hand. Why, she vowed that she would never marry! And the vows can't be broken just like that! She couldn't possibly promise to marry Troy! No!

But then… she realised the cause of this sudden proposal; Troy may not come back to her. She may not see his handsome face again or hear him whisper in her ear… Whenever she thought about the risk of Troy or Merry not coming back, she never truly belived in this possibilty. But now she did, she finally realised that it can happen, and there is no way to guarantee that it won't happen. It was almost as two pieces of her heart were borrowed with no promise of returning them back to her.

Julia gulped "I won't promise you that I will marry you." she whispered eventually with her hands shaking from emotions.

"Why not, my love?" Troy asked her in a surprised tone. He was aware of how every other girl from Glen St. Mary would react to his proposal.

"I can't promise you because I don't know if I love you enough to… marry you." she replied looking helplessly at the ground.

Troy put his hand under her chin and raised her head so that she could look in his eyes "Then let's say that we are just engaged; and it will be our own engagement." he whispered and grinned knowingly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes lightening a little bit.

"You will take the ring, and think of me whenever you will look at it. Then, after I come back from the war, you will say either yes or no to my proposal." he said with a smile.

Julia grinned at him and slowly took the ring from his hand "I will put it on a string and wear it proudly as my necklace for we aren't exactly engaged. But I accept your offer Troy." she said and kissed his cheek with laughing eyes.

Troy laughed merrily and bent down to kiss her passionately "Now I have another reason to fight!" he said joyfully.

"Yes, you do." Julia agreed and chuckled quietly.

Troy looked at the sunset behind Julia and kissed her once again on the forehead "I have to go back now. See you tomorrow at the station. Don't forget!" he teased.

"I won't. Farewell, Mr Rogers." Julia said with a shaking voice.

Troy kissed her hands and turned around swiftly. He then marched to the Rogers' Farm, not even once turning around to see his girl looking at his back for another ten minutes until he vanished from her sight completely.

When Julia got home, she found her Mother, Father and Merry chatting together while sitting on the sofa in their living room.

Her parents got over the shock of Merry's new uniform and the fact that he would be leaving the next day. Faith was keeping up with her name and her husband could be nothing else but proud of his son who was so much like himself in his age.

Julia sat in front of them. Although during her meeting with Troy she felt peaceful and calm, now she felt as if her heart was stuck in her thoat making her unable to speak or even think. She was choking with fear of the future ahead.

"I am partially engaged." she announced without any emotions whatsoever.

Her parents looked at her with really confused expressions but Julia explained to them what "partially engaged" means and both of them looked pleased with this kind of engagement, even though they weren't exactly hoping for Julia to marry Troy whatever happens.

"To whom are you engaged, may I ask?" Merry inquired with a funny look crossing his face.

Julia turned her head towards her older brother. She would normally jump on him and laugh with him till both of them would lie on the floor together, just like they always did when they were small children. However just in this moment the realisation of what's to come the next day hit her so unexpectadly that she indeed jumped on him but with a horrible sound of sobbing filling up the whole room.

"What will I do without you, Merry?" she cried in his chest.

"You will always be our Bathsheba. And you will take care of everyone, won't you?" he asked her tenderly stroking her hair.

"Certainly better than you ever will." Julia's face lightened up a little bit when she realised that she has to get stronger for her family, no matter how much she felt like crying in that moment, she had to keep a stiff upper lip and dry off her tears.

Merry and her parents chuckled quietly.

"Probably yes, but will you take care of everyone for me?" he asked once more, looking in her eyes with enough strength to make Julia sit up straight and smile.

"I will take care of everyone, I promise. As long as the stars are spread over the night's sky." she vowed.

The Glen St. Mary's train station wasn't exactly full of soldiers, it was mostly filled with the soldiers' families.

Marshall Douglas, Mary Vance's oldest son, joined up just few days before leaving for training and now he was kissing his little mother's hands with greatest dignity, looking from the corner of his eye at Julia's cousin Cilia who also came along to say her goodbyes to both her sweetheart and her cousin Merry.

It was decided that only Jem, his wife and their children will gather on the train station. Everyone wanted to come of course, but then, if the whole clan of Blythes, Merediths and Fords would come to say goodbye to Merry, there probably wouldn't be enough space for at least half of the other soldiers' families to come to the train station.

Julia was dressed in her very best navy-blue pleated dress with a round hat covering her red curls and small black heels on her feet. Her appearence caught everyone's attention and even Mary Vance didn't have anything against the appearance of "Jem's girl" that day.

Julia promised herself that she won't cry nor that she will say that she doesn't won't her Merry or her Troy to go, because it wasn't exactly true after all. She knew that she had to let them go, no matter how hard it was for her to do so. And so the brave Bathsheba kissed her brother's face tenderly and hugged him very tightly with no tears in her eyes.

"Be careful Merry, darling. And write to us!" she whispered to his ear.

"I will be the most careful man in the army." he whispered back.

"If only I could believe that." she laughed and her brother winked at her in his old "naughty" way.

Merry went over to his parents who both had radiating smiles on their faces and hope in their eyes; and to his small sister Cee whose face looked really miserable but, the magnificent thing still managed to grin when Merry lifted her up and kissed her small forehead.

"Well now, my Julia. Promise me that you won't let anyone kiss you until I come back." Troy said decidedly when he held Julia in his arms.

"I promise, dear Troy. And will you promise me the same thing?" she asked him with a grin.

"Of course, sweetheart, but to be honest I don't think I would have a chance anyway." he chuckled looking around at all young soldiers around him.

"If a man wants something desperately, he will do everything to get it, you know that perfectly well." Julia said and smiled calmly.

"All aboard!" the dreaded voice of a conductor was heard.

"Already?" Faith said in despair and kissed Merry's hands once more before he jumped on the train with Marshall and Troy by his side. Julia stepped on the train's footboard quickly and let herself to be completely lost in Troy's last and final goodbye kiss.

"Write to me! Both of you!" Julia said to her brother and her sweetheart with whom she was still holding hands, just before she came back down to the ground.

Her boys nodded gracefully with smiles on their faces and a reflection of an adventure forming in their eyes "Goodbye, Julia!" Troy said eventually when the train started to move. He squeezed her hand assuringly.

"Goodbye. I'll see you soon." she said, no longer able to hold back her tears which started strimming down her cheeks.

"See you soon, sister o'mine! Bye Mum and Dad and Cee!" Merry shouted to his family from the distance. Julia couldn't keep up with the train anymore and her hand gently slipped out of Troy's and Merry's hands.

She was in a complete shock. She could still feel the warmth of their hands on her own hands, she could still feel Troy's burning kiss on her lips and she could still see the awaiting of an adventure in each of their eyes.

And she didn't even realise when the small spot of a train, vanished from the line of the horizon, leaving so many people behind with nothing else but a war between fear and hope in their hearts.