Chapter 24 - The Futility and Value of Gossip Exchange

At Green Gables, Marilla swept the floor as she used to do every morning. Matthew was feeding the chicken coop by sprinkling seeds in the feeders.

That morning was one of the Cuthberts' most common matinees.

When a cart was heard coming in the distance, this alerted the brother and sister, they instantly recognized Rachel Lynde driving the vehicle, which was quite rare, and even more surprising when it was only a matter of visiting the Cuthberts, she usually just walked in.

Marilla concluded instinctively that it must be urgent, if she took the trouble to drive to the Green Gables.

The charette passed in front of Matthew very quickly, and as he looked at it, he was confused and his mouth wide open. She was so focused on her task that she didn't even look at the old man.

As for Marilla, she took off her apron and walked out of the house, watching Rachel, hurriedly getting off the cart and tying her horse to a railing.

"Goodness gracious Rachel! What the hell is going on?!", asked the mistress of the house, worried.

"Boil some water for tea, Marilla, I've got things to tell you!", exclaimed the enthusiastic woman, who rushed to sit at the kitchen table.

This made her react even more, "Are you finally going to tell me what's going on, Rachel?!", she walked to the stove to light a fire and boil some water, and then sat down in front of her friend.

The latter resumed normal breathing and calmly replied, "You won't believe what I saw this morning Marilla. I was on my way to take my son to the White Sands station, as he was taking the first train to Charlottetown this morning."

"Good! Good! Get to the point Rachel!", retorted Marilla now impatient.

The gossip continued her story, "I decided to make a little detour to Avonlea's school to tell Muriel, I thought that perhaps she might be interested in my son's departure, since she had spent time with him..."

Her faithful friend looked up to heaven, "Well, certainly."

"Well, believe it or not, the pupils were on their own, there was no teacher on the horizon. They were even starting to heckle!", Suddenly Rachel knocked on the table, "And there! Who do I see coming! Muriel and Sebastian side by side in a charette! They were talking and laughing!", she exclaimed in outrage.

Marilla, who had been waiting for several minutes for the reason for her friend's hurried arrival, was more than disappointed, "Well, so what?"

Rachel replied scandalized, "So what?! Sebastian was clearly accompanying her to work, they were flirting! ยป

Her friend sighed, all this had exhausted her, "We're not at school anymore Rachel!"

Offended, she said, "And you, you are too naive Marilla, when the people in Avonlea find out, they will all talk about it!"

Marilla looked at her old friend with an evil eye, "And talk about what exactly? They're just good friends, they've been seeing each other for a few months now, they have a lot more in common than we think. Miss Stacy understands very well what Sebastian is going through, more than some people I wouldn't mention.", She was clearly implying that her friend might sometimes lack compassion.

"Certainly...It's good that Muriel can share her experience of grief, but I've seen what I've got..", Concludes Rachel, who was adamant about it.

Suddenly Matthew rushed home, "Our Anne! She's coming today!", he exclaimed, even though he was usually so reserved, but when it came to Anne, he couldn't help but show his joy. He was holding a telegram in his hand.

Marilla reacted immediately, "Matthew! What are you thinking about?! I just swept the broom and your shoes are full of dirt ! Let me see that.", She said, pointing to the paper, as she read it, her face lit up.

Rachel watched the brother and sister, and couldn't help but say, "Well, I must admit, I can't wait to see that little one again!"

Matthew had a smile on his face that never left him, but abruptly became more serious, he addressed his sister, "I'd like to avoid a certain subject tonight, if you don't mind... I'm also worried that she might be distracted from her studies, but I trust her.", With those words, he left the room.

Which immediately piqued the gossip woman's curiosity, "What did she do? Could it be that Anne had met a young man in Charlottetown?"

Marilla couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't want to tell you about it Rachel, but I need an opinion."

Her friend was all ears, ready to hear new gossip, "Do, do, do... Of course, this will remain between us."

She didn't really believe a word of it, so she stared at her for a moment, as if to see if she was sincere.

Rachel felt compelled to explain, "Oh come on Marilla, you can confide in me, you know you're my closest friend, I share gossip with you first. What interest would I have in doing it with someone else?"

Then, Marilla began to state the situation, "I had gone to Charlottetown last Saturday to run some errands, I had planned to pay Anne a surprise visit, and it turns out she just wasn't there. However, all of her classmates were there. And I know for a fact that she wasn't just out running errands or whatever. Her friends seemed to know that, but they were trying to protect her. I mean... Josie Pye mentioned a boy. And then I automatically knew why she wasn't there."

Her friend couldn't help but react instantly, "I'm telling you the way I think, this is intolerable behaviour for me. Do you even know the identity of the young man? In just a few weeks a boy managed to turn her head? I admit that I am a little surprised at her, she is a stubborn girl, your Anne, but she is still a girl."

The mistress of the house could not help smiling, "Oh yes, she is stubborn! But this boy took several years to do. Anyway, I don't know what to say to her, should I punish her? She's practically an adult... but she's still a child to me."

Rachel immediately replied, "She's still a child! So beware, Marilla! It is true that she has grown up, that she is probably wiser than before, but she has certainly not finished experiencing the things of life. Explain to her about boys, there are etiquette to be observed after all. You can't venture out with a young man you haven't even introduced to her parents, especially if he doesn't intend to propose to her."

"Oh, but Anne can't get married! She's far too young for that!", Exclaimed Marilla.

Her friend laughs out loud, "So now she's not an adult anymore?"

"She hasn't even turned 17 yet.", Marilla replied firmly, "She has so many things to do, she can't get married now.", She said thoughtfully.

Rachel was suddenly taken aback, "You seem really worried about this, is this a serious candidate? Part of me had always thought that Anne was in love with Gilbert Blythe, you know, since you told me what happened last Christmas. There were other clues, too, but what do you want, fate is out of control."

Sneakily, Marilla started giggling.

"There's nothing funny about what I just said, Marilla!", her friends lose one's temper.

"Well, it's true that last Christmas was really something, it's the first time there were so many of us around a table, when I think back, it's going to be really hard for Sebastian this year. Mary had cooked so well, she had received us so well, as she was about to have Delphine...", Marilla confided sadly.

Then she added with a smile, "You weren't wrong, actually I've known it myself for years... Anne and Gilbert are very much in love with each other and..."

The latter was cut clean by her friend, "Gilbert Blythe! He's your Anne's suitor! But that's wonderful! Anyways, her behaviour remains completely unacceptable! That explains a lot! Now I know why Gilbert didn't continue his relationship with that girl from Charlottetown."

Marilla replied immediately, "I think you can call it a suitor indeed. But don't ever mention that Charlottetown girl again, I've grown a few white hairs..."

"Getting back to your primary concern, I don't think Anne will get married right away. Gilbert is studying medicine in Toronto, right? The distance between them is kind of to your advantage in a way.", said Rachel quite confidently.

The lady of the house finally admitted, "You know that these children deserve to be happy more than anyone else, if they decided to get married I couldn't even oppose it, it would be really difficult for me."

Suddenly her friend called out to her, "I think your water is boiling."

Which brought her out of her reverie.