Chapter 20 - Return to Blackmore Manor
Anne had been waiting for an hour at the port of New Brunswick, her ferry would arrive at any moment, she had managed to escape Miss Blackmore's vision until now by some miracle.
When she saw a lady coming near her, she immediately avoided her gaze, at the moment she thought she was really out of luck, it was necessary for Miss Blackmore to take the train in Montreal and catch the ferry at the same time she did, and then she wait beside her.
But the girl was still far from imagining what awaited her on her return.
The ferry finally arrived, the wait had been a torment for Anne. And Miss Blackmore took a malicious pleasure in torturing the young redhead.
Once on board the ferry, the redhead had settled on a bench on the port side of the vessel, knowing that the elderly lady must be on the opposite side.
She was lost in her thoughts as she looked at the horizon, her eyes still filled with memories of the last two days, finally, she found that it went pretty well with Gilbert, forgetting that famous phrase that troubled her so much that she pretended to be asleep.
What did he mean when he said that? "Anne, I'd like to propose to you"
Was it his way of proposing, or was he just saying that so she'd be prepared? These questions kept running through his head.
For her, the dark-haired boy hadn't been the lightest. It's true that it would have been enough to ask the young man for clarification. But that evening, her mind was not clear enough on the subject, so it was difficult for her to have the right words. Maybe talking about it with Diana would help her to understand, and that's also why she was not unhappy to come home.
"Will this young man have the courtesy to pay a visit at convenient times, or does he prefer secret appointments?", That voice, familiar to the redhead's ears, brought her out of her reverie.
Then, she turned her head and panicked, "Mi-Miss Bla-Blackmore! I, uh..."
The strict looking woman cut her off, "Oh, don't bother to explain yourself, young lady... I know very well what you were doing in Montreal, don't forget I was your age.
"I'm truly sorry Miss Blackmore, I didn't mean to do this behind anyone's back!", she replied, still in such anguish.
"If only I could believe you... It doesn't surprise me that you're the one who acts this way first, because you're the one who gets the most agitated. But please don't give up your studies for a boy, I still saw a lot of potential in you.", She had the gift of complimenting someone while at the same time reproaching them.
This troubled the girl even more, "N-no! That's not my attention at all, believe me! I take my studies very seriously! Did you know that I entered the Queen's College short story contest? Coming to Montreal was very inspiring! It's so modern! Ahh... It brought me a lot! In a way that's why I was here!", She hoped so much to convince Miss Blackmore with that explanation, that she was almost convinced herself.
The young redhead added one last thing in a pleading tone, "I ask you with the greatest gratitude, it's really not necessary for Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert to know, they would imagine things right away."
The lady with the bun toised Anne from head to toe, "Hmm! And they would be right. They are the ones who pay for your boarding house, it's my duty to inform them of your misbehaviour."
The young student panicked even more, and knelt down before the surly woman, "Oh, I beg you Miss Blackmore, I will be punished instead and do any unpleasant work !"
Miss Blackmore did not like to draw attention to herself at all, and so the girl begged her, half of the passengers had their eyes glued to the stage.
"Good heavens! Get up! Everybody's looking at us. It's all right, I won't say anything, at least this time, at the slightest next wrong move, I won't miss it!", She said in a disillusioned tone.
Anne got up at once and thanked her as cheerfully as she could, "Oh thank you Miss Blackmore! I won't disappoint you in the future!"
The lady didn't really seem to believe it, "If you say so..."
The redhead then took a serious look and asked, "Oh, I hope I am not being rude in asking this, but is your friend all right?"
Miss Blackmore sighed, "Well, indeed it does not concern you, but it can be said that he is getting better, at least in the short time I have been able to see him, God knows what will be later."
Anne could see a deep sadness in the eyes of the old lady, it was the first time she had managed to perceive any emotion on the latter.
The two women arrived at the manor in the late afternoon, they had unloaded their luggage from the carriage, Anne walked ahead, she entered the manor first.
Diana, who had heard someone come in, rushed to the lobby to meet the person, she was half happy and worried that she would finally see her come home.
Then, she began to say, "Oh Anne! Thank God you came home early! If you only knew what...", She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Miss Blackmore arrive a few seconds later than the redhead.
The two friends looked at each other afterwards, they didn't really need to talk to understand the situation.
The young brunette immediately rectified as courteously as possible, "Oh Miss Blackmore, I hope your journey went well, with the girls we longed to see you again."
But the mistress of the house was not fooled, "Oh, don't embarrass Miss Barry. I know you and Miss Shirley-Cuthbert were scheming. Let's not talk about that anymore."
Immediately Miss Blackmore left for her apartments.
Anne and Diana also went upstairs to their room. But on the way, in the hallway, they met the other four girls, "So... You and Gilbert? Hmm..." said Josie with a haughty look. The other three girls said absolutely nothing, but each had a most mischievous smile.
It was then that Ruby shyly approached the redhead, "I don't know if Diana told you, but I did a terrible thing!", She then took Anne in her arms and continued talking, blubbering, "I'm so horrible! I've ruined everything! I don't deserve you to be my friend!"
The young redhead didn't understand at all what could upset the little blonde so much, but she still wanted to comfort her in a kindly tone, "Oh Ruby! Don't worry... no matter what you did, you will always be a wonderful friend."
Ruby then stopped sobbing and added, "But I still stole your correspondence with Gilbert."
Anne froze for a moment, then she reacted firmly, "What did you do?!"
A few moments later, Anne was in her room alone with Diana, the young redhead was finally able to breathe, her journey had totally exhausted her, not to mention the last events rich in emotion.
She was lying on her back, on her bed, she blew a big blow, then she started talking to her friend, Diana joined her at the same time, "Oh Diana... If you only knew... I have so many things to tell you."
The young brunette sat down beside her friend and revealed a surprise, "Would you rather tell me before or after reading this?", she held Gilbert's five letters in her hand.
The redhead almost jumped out of bed when she saw them, "You got them back! Don't make this kind of secret!", she laughed.
She realized as the envelopes were all opened, "Oh Ruby...", she declared with some resentment.
The young brunette tried to take Ruby's side a little bit, "You know... It's wrong what Ruby did, but she came to me herself, and besides, I'm sure Josie influenced her a lot, you know how Ruby can be sometimes. Nevertheless, she came to her senses, she seemed happy for you, can you believe it Anne?", she concluded with a smile.
The young redhead was still upset with Ruby, but she nodded in agreement with her friend.
"I'd rather put his letters in a safe place, I'll read them tonight.", she said as she pulled out a box that was hidden under her bed.
Diana straightened up and looked intrigued, "So? I hope it didn't go badly?"
Anne came and sat down beside her friend, "Oh Diana, it was... perfect...", She fell on the mattress, a dreamy look in her eyes.
The young brunette smiled mischievously as she listened to her friend, "Well, at least all this hasn't been for nothing. I didn't think you'd get back from Toronto so soon..."
"I've never been to Toronto! Gilbert was coming to visit me! I ran into him in Montreal, when I was about to change trains! Can you believe that?! Sometimes I can get lucky after all!", The redhead was all excited as she told it.
"It's much more romantic! You were in a town you don't know, just the two of you, yes, you're very lucky Anne!", she exclaimed laughing.
"Then we went for a walk to discover the city, and also to find a place to sleep. We had dinner in a charming place, there was a nice park not far away. Aaah... I couldn't have wished for more. But...", at the end of her sentence she took a much less cheerful tone.
Diana was suddenly more attentive, "But?"
Then, the redhead began to go through the facts at breakneck speed, "That night, when we were lying in our room, I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to know what Gilbert had said to me in his 'lost' letters, and that's when he told to me... He said : Anne, I'd like to propose to you. And that's all he told. So I, of course, I didn't know what to say ! What could I have said ! So I pretended to fall into a deep sleep !" She put her hands on her face, telling this moment aloud hit her harder.
The girl with brown hair did not know what to say at the time, she just had her mouth and her eyes wide open.
Then she declared, outraged, "You slept in the same room as Gilbert?!"