Anne marched back to the boardinghouse in the dark, angry about the ending to the once promising evening. "My temper always gets the better of me!" Anne thought to herself. "And now Gilbert will despise me for it. I should never have flung my dessert at him! I will have to apologize to him as soon as he returns back to the boardinghouse."
Meanwhile, it dawned on Gilbert, who had just left the restaurant, that he had no idea how to return to his lodging. It was pitch black outside, and there was no way that he was going to spend the night roaming around aimlessly trying to find an semi-unfamiliar building. He reentered the restaurant, determined to ask a resident of Kingsport for directions on how to return to the boardinghouse. He noticed, however, that the Pringle Hotel's dining room was now empty; the only person remaining was Clara. "I will just have to ask her for directions on how to get home," Gilbert concluded.
He stood up from the table and walked toward Clara, who was clearing off a table in the other side of the dining room.
"Clara?" Gilbert asked.
"Why, sir, how convenient it is that you haven't gone home yet. Now that you and I are alone and that tempered redhead has left..."
"Listen, can I have directions to the Kingsport Ladies College boardinghouse?" Gilbert interrupted. "I'm afraid I don't know my way around town," Gilbert stated.
"I would love to give you directions, but I assure you that it would be entirely impossible to walk all the way to KLC in the dark. How about I go retrieve father's automobile and drive you home?" Clara secretly smiled at the opportunity for some alone time with the handsome young man.
"I prefer to walk in the dark, actually," Gilbert mumbled, annoyed at how the girl was trying to lure him in.
"I'm sorry, but I refuse to give you directions. It is simply unsafe for you to be wandering around in the dark."
"Fine. Drive me, then," Gilbert silently cursed himself for giving in to Clara so easily.
"I'll go fetch the car. I will be waiting out front for you in a few minutes," Clara declared slyly, turning her back and walking out the door.
Gilbert sighed and slid his hands in his pockets submissively. Everything had been going well. And now, Anne had left him, and Clara was driving him home. He would have to make things right in the morning.
Soon, Gilbert noticed the car lights appear in the driveway outside of the Pringle Hotel. Reluctantly, he walked out the door and stepped into the vehicle, thinking to himself, "she better not flirt with me." Because even though he was rather infuriated with Anne, he still had strong feelings for her.
"You know, you look extremely handsome tonight," Clara complimented, as if she was speaking right to Gilbert's thoughts and disobeying them.
"Things aren't over between me and Anne, you know," he reminded Clara sharply. "Those types of quarrels happen to be a regular occurrence in our relationship."
"So, where are you from?" Clara said, steering the subject away from Anne. "And I haven't even formally introduced myself. I'm Clara Pringle. I heard from my aunt, who runs the KLC boardinghouse, actually, about a young man who was coming to teach who was supposed to arrive yesterday. That young man would be you, I presume. I'm sure you're well aware of the Pringles by now. We are a very prominent family in Kingsport."
"So I've heard," Gilbert muttered.
"And what is your name, sir?" Clara said rather forcefully, when Gilbert did not introduce himself.
"Gilbert," was all he gave her.
"And where are you from, Gilbert?"
"A wonderful place with wonderful people," Gilbert said dreamily.
"London? New York? Paris?" Clara inquired, convinced that Gilbert must be one of those rich millionaires from Europe or the United States.
"No. Avonlea. It's a small farming town on Prince Edward Island," Gilbert declared proudly.
"A farming town? I didn't know that good-looking boys like you could be raised on farms. But, I assure you, you would never have to set foot on a farm again if you decided to stay here long-term."
"I am only staying here for the rest of the month. There are other things that I intend to do with my life," Gilbert stated bluntly.
"Well let me tell you more about the Pringles. I'm sure that you'll stay after you hear all that I have to tell!" Clara said.
"Uh huh," Gilbert replied monotonously.
"You see, a whole group of Pringles came from England to Canada in the early 1700s and founded Kingsport..." Clara continued to ramble on and on about the history of the town and the wealth of her relatives, but Gilbert zoned out and began thinking of Anne. She had looked beautiful that evening, and Gilbert thought of hugging her and kissing her and doing other things that he had absolutely no right to do.
Finally, Clara pulled up to the boardinghouse. "We're here," she announced, interrupting her story momentarily. Gilbert hopped out of the car and then assisted Clara, though only out of sheer politeness sand nothing more.
"Isn't it a beautiful evening?" Clara said, slowly inching in toward Gilbert.
"Yes," Gilbert said automatically while he continued to think of Anne. How much he wanted to take Anne out on a late night stroll that evening and kiss her as if there was no tomorrow...
"You must be staying in the only vacant room on the second floor," Clara concluded, walking Gilbert up the stairs. She subtly reached her hand out to connect with Gilbert's. Gilbert, who couldn't get Anne off of his mind, did not notice that he was now holding Clara's hand.
As Clara and Gilbert reach the top of the flight of stairs, Anne decided to go over to Gilbert's room and see if he was home yet. She desperately wanted to apologize for her childish actions earlier. As Anne opened the door and stepped into the hallway, she saw Gilbert and the waitress from dinner that evening holding hands.
Anne was about ready to break down and cry and kill Gilbert at the same time. How could he already be pursuing another woman- a Pringle, for that matter! Anne was furious, but desperately tried to hide her feelings and remain calm as to not show her disappointment and vulnerability to Gilbert.
"...and tomorrow I'll introduce you to my mother..." Clara rambled on, inching even closer to Gilbert, who was still lost in his thoughts about Anne, oblivious to his surroundings. Clara's face was now just a mere few inches away from his. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Clara noticed a figure with vibrant red hair. It was the Anne girl who Gilbert had eaten dinner with! Clara immediately decided to confirm her relationship with Gilbert in front of Anne and quickly leaned in to Gilbert, planting a quick kiss on his cheek and muttering, "goodnight, darling."
At the feeling of someone's lips pressed against his cheek, Gilbert snapped out of his daydreams and into reality. "Clara, stop!" Gilbert yelled, pushing the girl off of him. "There's no reason to be ashamed of kissing in front of Anne, silly. Now goodnight, Gilbert dear," Clara whispered loud enough for Anne to hear as she waltzed away. Gilbert just rolled his eyes and prayed that he would not encounter Clara ever again during his time in Kingsport.
When Clara was gone, Gilbert looked up and noticed Anne standing several feet down the hallway. Had she really been watching the entire ordeal?
Gilbert stared at Anne for a moment. She looked shocked and extremely saddened at the same time. Gilbert's heart melted at the sight of her looking so depressed. He began to walk toward her, wanting so badly to comfort her, but before he could say anything, she turned around and ran back into her room, slamming the door with a thud and fastening it shut so he could not enter.
Gilbert had never felt so horrible in his life. Not only had he covered up his true feelings at dinner, but he had caused Anne to think that he was courting Clara! And how absolutely horrible that kiss had felt. He wanted to save his first kiss for Anne, not a stranger who was a Pringle! Gilbert's mind was unable to relax as he found himself upset over the events of that night. As he changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed, he became aware of the sound of quiet sobs coming from the room on the opposite side of his wall- Anne's room. Had Gilbert made Anne cry? He could not fall asleep knowing that Anne was hurting so much because of his actions. Without second thought, Gilbert crawled out of his bed and tiptoed across the room, opened his door, and walked down the hall for a few steps until he reached Anne's room. Despite the late hour it was that night, Gilbert had to mend his relationship with Anne. He took a deep breath and then knocked on her door three times, hoping to relieve her of pain and sorrow and admit to her how he truly felt.