CHAPTER ONE
"Anne!" Ruby called from the hallway. "You'll want to hurry up if you want to make the train with the rest of us!" Anne was frantically pacing around the room making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Diana chuckled, already having her case packed and ready to go and waiting by the door. "Excited Anne?" She asked, smirking. "Excited? More like a nervous wreck!" Anne said, packing her hairbrush and looking in the mirror for loose strands. She collapsed against the wall, catching her breath. "How could you be so nervous? You've been keeping up with your correspondence haven't you?" Diana said in an attempt to console her dear friend "And just last week you were speaking to me about how much you've longed to see him." Anne tilted her head up, eyes still closed " but how am I supposed to act with him? I mean, I've always put my foot in it with Gilbert, And now I fear I'll say the wrong thing or get all confused and not speak at all, or I'll just stand there rambling like an idiot about God knows what and I'll mess everything up like I always do. Letters are so much easier than actually speaking face to face, at least I don't have to fear his reaction right away And I can rewrite and take back anything I write."
"Anne, don't worry so much!" Diana said lightly placing her hand on Anne's shoulder. "Gilbert is completely smitten, and I daresay he'll likely let you get away with pretty much anything and still remain in awe of you." Anne opened her eyes and looked at her dear bosom friend. "My only concern is the fact that you haven't told the girls about your courtship. It's been months Anne, you should have gotten around to it." Anne groaned "That's the thing, I'm not even sure if you could call what we have courtship. I mean, Gilbert and I are certainly fond of eachother but he's never specified what we are, and I don't have the wits to bring it up and ask straightforwardly. So how am I supposed to explain to the girls what we are if I'm not even entirely sure myself?" "Sure Anne, but how do you expect to spend any time with Gilbert without raising suspicion?" Anne gasped softly, never thinking about that before. "You ought to tell the girls and be quick about it, otherwise you'll lose their trust." Anne sighed. "But, how?" she asked begging for an answer. Diana looked at Anne sympathetically , and picked up her case to meet the girls downstairs, leaving Anne to think of it herself. How would she break the news, especially to Ruby Gillis. Although she suspected Ruby had moved on to Moody Spurgeon, she still had liked Gilbert for so long, and Anne feared her reaction the most. "Anne!" She heard Josie Pye yell.
Anne quickly snapped out of her train of thought, walked over to her bed to close her case, checked in the mirror one last time and ran downstairs yelling " Coming!"
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Gilbert couldn't think of a single word to describe the way he was feeling as he waited for Anne and her friends to meet him at the train station, though he was sure Anne could have, since she had such a way with words. Gilbert had stopped part way at Charlotte town as Anne had instructed in her last letter, to meet her and the girls so that they could all ride to Avonlea together. Gilbert wasn't so bold as to request that they would ride to Avonlea together without the rest of the group, so he happily obliged as long as he was able to spend any time with her at all. It had been months since he last saw her and he longed to hold her in his arms for as long as she would let him. He couldn't wait to tell her just how much he'd missed her and how happy he was to see her.
His train of thought was interrupted by a group of loud boys calling out his name. He turned to see that it was none other than his old school mates, Charlie Sloan, Moody Spurgeon, and the Pauls. They all embraced him and patted him on the back excitedly. "Gilbert!" Moody called "Oh it's so good to see you again bud! Why'd you have to go so far as Toronto? We've missed your overpowering intelligence!" Gilbert laughed "It's good to see you all. How's it going Moody? I heard you've been seeing our very own Ruby Gillis." Moody blushed slightly and laughed it off "Oh she's really something. She is such a romantic and expects so much from me. But I'm happy to oblige as long as I get to spend time with her. Surely you know what I mean." Gilbert raised his eyebrows. Did Moody know about him and Anne? Gilbert thought the news would probably only get to some of the girls and Matthew and Marilla. He himself had only told Bash in his letters. He didn't expect any of the boys to know. "Say, whatever happened to Paris?" Moody wondered "The fiance changed her mind? Women tend to do that I've learned." He joked. Gilbert raised his eyebrows and nodded in understanding, "Well actually, I'm no longer engaged. I've had a change of heart." He explained. " Oh, I'm sorry man." Moody said. He looked like he was gonna ask more when he noticed something from a distance. " Ah, look! The girls are coming!"
Gilbert looked at the direction that he was pointing and saw Anne walking arm in arm with Diana, not yet noticing him and the rest of the guys. He had never seen Anne with her hair up that way and he was enamored with her all over again. She was wearing a green dress he had never seen before and looked absolutely radiant. He wanted to run to her and thought he just might until he saw something. Her expression changed into an even happier one and let go of Diana's arm to greet someone. Someone else. Another man.
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Anne was happy to be holding on to Diana. She had a way of containing Anne's butterflies just by being there. She was incredibly grateful that her parents had allowed her to receive an education at Queens. She didn't know what she would do without her. All of the girls were walking in pairs behind them, holding on to each other tightly and giggling at each other's stories. Tillie with Josie Pye, Jane with Ruby and, of course, Diana and Anne. Being with Diana helped her almost forget how nervous she was to see Gilbert.
Suddenly she recognized someone from afar "Roy!" She called. The man saw Anne and smiled brightly. ANne let go of Diana and ran to greet him. "Well if it isn't Anne with an E." he said reaching for her hand. Anne took it and smiled politely. "I'm surprised to see you here." "Why?" she asked, confused. "Well I didn't think girls like you ever took breaks. I figured you'd stay at the boarding house studying to make sure you stay ahead of everyone." He chuckled. Anne punched him playfully. "You should watch your back, I'm catching up to you." "Oh, I'm sure you're far ahead of me, Anne." Roy told her. " Well Mr.Gardener you should catch up then or else I'll have to find someone else to rival with." she joked. "You wouldn't dare!" Roy answered in faux shock and Anne laughed. Suddenly her face froze. "Anne?" Roy asked in concern "Are you alright?" Roy looked behind him to see another man walking briskly towards them. He smirked at him and Gilbert picked up his pace.