Wow! I never expect such kind words from people! I am glad people are enjoying it so and people are still finding it!
People are having such mixed opinions on Roy... I have to admit I had a plan on how this story is going to go I keep on chickening out then saying to myself "no that's the plan..." I don't know if I have the strength to go with it... I have been assured should by one of you I should... deep breaths!
All the unnamed guests... thank you for your reviews... I'm glad you keep coming back..
Maya: thank you for the lovely review
Oriachick: so glad I had you hooked so fast!
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Kim Blythe:my kindred spirit I'm glad of your support my dear!
There was still plenty of time for one of Miss Barry's men to go ahead and let Marilla expect Anne later to Green Gables.
Anne was quiet in the way back in the buggie, she hasn't spoken two words together since being picked up. Gilbert was amused by the change in demure in Anne.
Anne, relax, you know my parents, they love you."
"As your friend, but as a beau it's a different matter."
" no it isn't, you're still Anne and you forget..." He whispered so his father couldn't hear " we've been together the whole time." He lazily wrapped his arm round her back and he relaxed back to enjoy the ride back. He decided to change the subject to make the ride home more comfortable and pulled out his copy of Tennyson from his back pocket.. get her face brightend.
" do you always carry this?" she asked him.
" well put it this way wherever I go it's never far behind." He said with a grin, "I can't miss the potential opportunity to impress you can I?"
She started to flick through the pages now filled with annotations from both Anne and Gilbert (as most if their books were) and they picked ' the charge if the light brigade.'. They talked and laughed over the poems looking at the notes they had made.
When they arrived at Blythe's farm Anne felt a dread come over her like never before. Gilbert looked down at his companion and smiled. He took hold of her hand.
"You'll be fine." He said with a smile and a wink as they entered the kitchen.
"Oh there you both are," She said upon seeing the pair hugged them both. "John what took so long?" she reprimanded her husband.
"oh it was my fault." Gilbert told his mother. "don't blame papa, one of the latches was loose on my case and everything came out I had to repack the case again. I'm sorry."
"I can't believe its only been two weeks, it feels like an eternity, the house has been too quiet without you Gilbert."
"Sorry to cause such a rumpus that you can't even last two weeks without me. What are you going to do if I get into Queen's full time?"
"Oh what any mother does I suppose. So how did you find the exams?" she asked them both.
Gilbert looked to Anne to speak first but her mouth seemed to be glued shut in a fear he read in her eyes, he smiled slightly "Well my French has something left to be desired I'll tell you. I'm sure I got at least half the paper wrong."
"Your French?" Anne asked. "You've never breathed a word of worry about any of your exams."
"I've always had to work harder at it, to get any of it right." He said quietly. "You've never noticed?" he asked.
she shook her head. "No, not once. I always thought you were naturally good at everything!"
"he used to come home from Green Gables and that's all he used to do, is mutter things in French." Mrs Blythe said with a smile "Well if you fooled Anne..." Mrs Blythe trailed. "What about you Anne?"
"My Geometry will be the death of me, if I fail it will be because of that." she paused. "I just can't get it there's no scope for the imagination in it." she admitted.
"Isn't there beauty in that though Anne? Everything within a set rule?" Gilbert counteracted. As they sat at the table.
"Well I suppose so, I just fail to see it." Anne smiled.
"I bet you'll both be looking forward to the results and the sands concert." Mrs Blythe asked them as casually as she could contain.
"Oh yes, but then I should be nervous of them too." Anne said. "Miss Stacy asked me to perform a piece at it just before we were dismissed from school, she's going to the concert too Gilbert, we'll see her one last time."
"Well that splendid!" He exclaimed. "You sly fox you haven't breathed a word! What have you chosen?" he asked her.
"The Highwayman, don't you think its dramatic?"
"The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. " Gilbert quoted. "Yes that will do nicely I think, you shall have to practice on me."
"I remember that first concert you did The Bingen on the Rhine I asked Diana if she thought we would ever get to perform." she took a deep breath. "I don't know how you did it Gil and a good two years younger then me now...! Now I know how nervous you were that night."
"Well I had my biggest fan there to see me through." He said winking at Anne.
"It'll be nice for so many of you to go all together. Mind you be a gentlemen." His mother reprimanded him.
"Gil has never been anything but a gentlemen Mrs Blythe. Honestly."
"well we'll have to wait and see won't we?" She paused and thought for a moment. "Gilbert can you go and chop some more wood for the fire I'm going to be needing some more soon."
"Sure." He said he stood quietly and left his mother and Anne together in the kitchen.
"I'm glad Gilbert had someone he's so comfortable with Anne, he was always a little shy of really getting close to anyone."
"Gil? Shy?"
"Oh he makes friends easily enough now but he wasn't always like that, and I've always thought he had held back. With you, he has someone to really talk to... what I mean to say is that, I like you, the most actually of all the Avonlea girls, I'm glad you make him happy."
"Thank you Mrs Blythe." She smiled.
Three weeks later
Three weeks later both Anne and Gilbert were nervous. They had been to the post office every morning for the past two weeks lingering and very soon the only thing both Anne and Gilbert could do to keep each other occupied was to hold each others hands.
Neither one of them could comfort the others fears, this was personal. What if only one of them got in? What if neither of them got in.
"You could just try again next year." Gilbert had told her. "This is my one and only attempt, if I fail that's the end of it." He told her."I'll be too old to go back to school and try again"
"You won't fail." Anne had tried to reassure him. I've never met anyone as smart as you." She had always said with a lovers eye and not a rivals.
It was the next late afternoon they both sat on the porch at green gables their hands intertwined with each other fit the first time forgetful of the woes of examinations and the cares of the world, as Anne drank in the beauty of the summer dusk describing it beautifully to Gilbert his own woes melting listening to Anne. They saw Diana come flying down through the firs, over the log bridge, and up the slope, with a fluttering newspaper in her hand.
Anne sprang to her feet, knowing at once what that paper contained Gilbert immediately behind her. " Anne?" he questioned .
"The pass list!" she told him out loud
Neither one of them could move a step. It seemed an hour to her before Diana came rushing a to them
"Anne, Gil, you've passed," she cried, "passed the VERY FIRST—both of you—you're ties—but your name is first Anne. Oh, I'm so proud!" She hugged then once not thinking of showing them the paper in her hands. When she let go Gilbert took the paper and started it with Anne
Diana flung herself into the bench. Anne and Gilbert stared at the paper, Yes, she they had passed—there was their names at the very top of a list of two hundred! That moment was worth living for.
"You did just splendidly, Anne," puffed Diana, recovering sufficiently to sit up and speak, for Anne, starry eyed and rapt, had not uttered a word. "Father brought the paper home from Bright River not ten minutes ago—it came out on the afternoon train, you know, and won't be here till tomorrow by mail—and when I saw the pass list I just rushed over like a wild thing. You've all passed, every one of you, Moody Spurgeon and all, although he's conditioned in history. Jane and Ruby did pretty well—they're halfway up—and so did Charlie. Josie just scraped through with three marks to spare, but you'll see she'll put on as many airs as if she'd led. Won't Miss Stacy be delighted? Oh, Anne, what does it feel like to see your name at the head of a pass list like that? If it were me I know I'd go crazy with joy. I am pretty near crazy as it is, but you're as calm and cool as a spring evening."
"I'm just dazzled inside," said Anne. "I want to say a hundred things, and I can't find words to say them in. I never dreamed of this—yes, I did too, just once! I let myself think ONCE, 'What if I should come out first?' quakingly, you know, for it seemed so vain and presumptuous to think I could lead the Island... we could Gilbert..." She corrected herself.
" oh no Anne its it's your name the top not mine, and I couldn't be more proud!" He said wrapping his arm around her " my girl, the smartest on the island!" they kissed so gently for just a second not to embarrass present company.
" Gil come on we must go and yet tell Matthew!" Anne said happily "Then we'll go up the road and tell the good news to the others."
They hurried to the hayfield below the barn where Matthew was coiling hay, and, as luck would have it, Mrs. Lynde was talking to Marilla at the lane fence.
"Oh, Matthew," exclaimed Anne, "I've passed and I'm first—or joint with Gil! I'm not vain, but I'm thankful."
"Well now, I always said it," said Matthew, gazing at the pass list delightedly. "I knew you could beat them all easy. 'cept maybe Gilbert here."
"You've done pretty well, I must say, Anne," said Marilla, trying to hide her extreme pride in Anne from Mrs. Rachel's critical eye. " you too Gilbert, seems all that studying together really paid off." She looked to the dusk " you should go home and tell your folks they'll want to know."
" we'll come with you Gil, we can go via orchard slope drop Diana off then I'll walk you part way home." Anne offered.
Both elated they walked Diana home then up towards the woods upon finding themselves alone, Gilbert pulled her to him hugging her in " oh Anne I couldn't be happier!" He exclaimed and kissed her. " this is so perfect isn't it?" he asked her.
"I don't understand why my name came first? We had the same mark?" she baffled.
" well thank your stars you were named Anne... A before G... our maybe you scored higher on an essential paper which I made up in a non essential paper? It doesn't matter. I'm proud you are first!" He exclaimed. " and don't you forget it."
They hadn't tried any passionate kissing since that first passionate kiss in pixies orchard. But as their lips met deepened as their mouths opened again. Gilbert felt a good bit braver than he did the last time enjoyed the sensation as they explored each other deeper bringing each other close in their arms, he felt her smiling against his mouth as his heart rate increased and he held her closer. When their lips parted silence engulfed the pair for a few moments as with closed eyes they enjoyed the sensation it left.
" Gil" she whispered all of a sudden afraid of what was coming out of her mouth next. He open his eyes and looked at her again. "I was wondering..." She started, " if it's not too much bother that's to say... if you don't mind if...I think..." She looked away shyly "I might have... fallen in love with you." There was silence for a moment as Gilbert heard the words ring through him. Anne panicked at the pause "I... I.. oh Gil...I'm.."
"I know it." He interrupted.
She paused and looked at him again " sorry?"
"I don't think I might have, I know..." He slipped his hand down her face " I'm utterly and completely besotted with you." He paused and whispered back "that's to say...I am in love with you."
She felt herself in shock. She shouldn't be, the past (almost) 2 years should have borne record to it, but to HEAR it was a different matter. "r-really?" she stuttered.
"I love you." He whispered with the biggest smile on his face Anne had ever seen. He raised his hand to her cheek and gently took it in his hand stroking it as he kissed her lips again.
"Gil, I love you." She whispered to him. He dropped another kiss on her lips "I love you." She whispered again, he smiled and kissed her again, "I love you, I love you I do!" she exclaimed quietly.
"I guess you proved me wrong Anne Shirley, it wasn't perfect before." He said softly. Stroking her cheek again. "this is." He sighed and looked around " it's starting to get dark. Marilla will be worried, you need to get back."
"I don't want to leave you now!" Anne whimpered holding his hand
He chuckled a little " oh Anne have you learnt nothing of proprietary over the past 2 years." He said kissing into her hair holding her in one arm. "go home, we can be together tomorrow. I promise I'll be back first thing." He whispered. "I love you."
" how dare you use logic against me so." She told him. " tomorrow?"
he nodded. " goodnight my love." He said steeping back. They dropped their hands.
" goodnight beloved." He steadily walked away from her, looking back every once in a while until she rounded the corner leading her back to Green Gables. Gilbert couldn't wipe the smile off his face for the rest of the evening.