Since she had been told not to return to Green Gables and Gilbert had also been thrown out of his own home, they had to scramble to find somewhere to stay until they managed to get the marriage license, see a pastor to marry them, obtain wed, and decide what to do next.
No one in town or the surrounding ones would house them due to the scandal surrounding them. The couple had to go to Halifax to complete their necessary tasks. They found a cheap hotel where they could rent two separate rooms for the week. The rest of their objectives proved much harder. The minimum age to get married in Nova Scotia is 19. While Gilbert maybe 20, Anne was only 18 and needed a guardian's permission to acquire a license. This was going to be a massive issue because this meant that she would have to go and beg Marilla to sign some documents for her. Anne was unsure she could face Marilla after their last encounter at Avonlea Hall.
"Can we not just forge her signature? How would she ever know?" Anne complained to Gilbert while sitting on a bench in a park near the hotel after he delivered the news he could not get the license.
"I think we are already in enough trouble with everyone else; I do not think it would be a great idea to get the law involved now, too," Gilbert reasoned. However, he knew how hard this would be for her, "I will be right by your side the whole time; you do not have to do this alone. We are a team, remember?" He finished.
"Thank you, Gilbert; if it were not for you, then I would have no idea where I would be right now," Anne said, grateful that her best friend was with her during these trying times.
"Yeah, if it were not for me, you would be happily preparing to go to Redmond, not begging Marilla to let you get married to someone you do not love," Gilbert said solemnly, still feeling immense guilt for everything that had gone down despite doing nothing wrong.
"Oh Gilbert, this is not your fault at all. Again, we did not do anything wrong, and like you said, we are in this together; this is neither of our faults," Anne reassured Gilbert, hating to see him disparaging himself like that.
With that, they had to travel back to Avonlea using what little money they had to spare. The whole trip, Anne was strife with anxiety, fearing seeing Marilla again and what would happen. Though she had lost most of her naivety after everything that had just occurred to her, a part of her was hopeful that Marilla would have come to her senses and realize that Anne was telling the truth. They would be a happy family again.
However, when Marilla fails to open the door after knocking and calling her name, Anne loses all hope of a pleasant reunion. Eventually, Mrs. Lynde answered the door, looking positively perturbed at the disturbance.
"Oh, it's you," she stated simply enough. What is it you want now? And it better not be to plead innocence again because we are not falling for that."
"Hello, Mrs. Lynde. We just have some business to discuss with Marilla. Is she home? I promise it will be swift," Gilbert said, trying to remain as poised as possible and not let his nerves show.
"She is here but is not taking visitors at this moment, especially not the two of you; now go on before she hears you," Mrs. Lynde scolded them.
"We really need her right now! We can not get married without her signature giving me permission because I am underage. Please, Mrs. Lynde, let us see her so we can get married and stop sinning!" Anne dramatically pronounced, hoping to appeal to her in this way. At the same time, Gilbert handed Mrs. Lynde the paperwork Marilla needed to sign as proof.
"Hmph. Very well, I suppose. I am glad you two chose to do the right thing by getting married. But you are still not going to see Marilla. I will take this inside and give it to her to sign and bring back, alright?" Mrs. Lynde explained to the two youths in front of her. With that, she closed the door on them before they could get a word in.
While Anne and Gilbert patiently waited outside for her to return, Mrs. Lynde was inside, committing a sin. She had no intention of bringing the paperwork to Marilla, who, while she never shared her feelings, Mrs. Lynde knew was very upset over the recent events. So, instead, she forged Marilla's signature on the kitchen table where they had once sat as a happy family.
Anne and Gilbert, all the while, stood in an uncomfortable silence, which had always appeared when they had been together since the storm. Anne was about to start making small talk because she hated silence when the door swung open.
"Now off you go, you two. You got what you wanted, and I wish you both the happiest of lives," Mrs. Lynde said, shooing them off.
Before she could slam the door on them, Anne said, "What did Marilla say? Please let me see here, please."
"She said nothing. The documents were signed, but were they not? Now, stop asking questions. Goodbye," she said and promptly closed the door on them.
Next on their neatly organized to-do list, courtesy of a stressed Anne was to find a pastor willing to overlook the unfortunate circumstances.
This proved to be much easier than expected, for news had not traveled quite as fast as Anne and Gilbert anticipated, and people in Halifax, much larger than Avonlea and farther away, seemed to have little concern for a small town on the island's drama.
That was until the pastor asked why two young students were getting married before entering university and why none of their family or friends would be around. Being good Christians, Anne and Gilbert were beyond hesitant to tell a lie to a pastor of all people. Ultimately, they told the truth of all that had happened to them. To their most pleasant surprise, the pastor believed them.
Pastor Elton had seen a lot in his days as a pastor. From people confessing to murder to-
Okay, no one really ever confessed to murder. But as a city pastor, he had seen some odd things, but nothing quite as strange as the couple begging him to marry them. It might not have appeared all that odd at first glance, but as he grew to know Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, it became all the more confusing. How could such fine young adults not be believed? He severely questioned those in Avonlea and made a mental note to visit someday. He was willing to marry the two of them and prepared to help them in any way he could.
"Okay, so what will you do after your marriage?" Asked Pastor Elton.
"Uhhh, well, we have to continue our education. I plan on becoming a doctor, you see. We both have money saved up, and Anne has a scholarship to Redmond, of course, so it should not stress us financially," Gilbert began before being stopped by the look on Pastor Elton's face.
"Son…I am not sure if that is going to work out. Once Redmond hears of your "scandal," you will surely be asked not to come to school. Second, I do not know of one institution in Canada that would accept a married woman as a student," he informed them regrettably.
"What do you mean? I have worked my whole life to go to Redmond! So just because I am to be married, I have to sit at home while he fulfills his dreams!" Anne all but shrieked in her surprise and agitation.
"Anne, we will figure it out; do not worry," Gilbert said, trying to console her. "So what do you suggest, Pastor Elton? What should we do?" He finished trying to be pragmatic, but inside, he was nothing like his calm demeanor.
"Well, Gilbert, I would start by immediately writing to some other colleges or universities and asking for admission, preferably the farther, the better. If all goes well on that end, you can move there, settle down, and then make the case for Anne to also gain admission. All will be well, you two," Pastor Elton assured.
And with that, Anne and Gilbert began to telegram every school they knew of outside the province, asking for admission to their school despite the very late application, which was within their slim budget.
A few days later, all they had to prove for it was a pile of rejections.
"So, who have we not heard from?" Gilbert asked Anne who was sorting the telegrams in her state of stress organizing.
"Umm, The University of Toronto," Anne said without looking up.
"And?" Gilbert replied.
"That is it, Gilbert. Every other school has said no." Anne said, trying not to cry, for things were not looking good for them.
"Oh. Well, I have a good feeling about that one…" Gilbert said, trying to be cheerful and optimistic when he did not feel that way.
In the end, Gilbert's premonition was correct. He was accepted into the University of Toronto.
"Well, I guess this is it. We are going to Toronto," Gilbert said in awe.
"Yeah, I guess," Anne started. "Do you think we will ever come back to Avonlea?" She asked hesitantly.
"I am sure we will, Anne; this is temporary. I am sure that they will learn to forgive us before long, and we will have such a homecoming as the prodigal son," Gilbert said confidently and, for once, actually believed his words. "Now, let us get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
With that, Gilbert went back to his room, leaving Anne to cry herself to sleep as she had every night, except tonight was worse because she knew it was the end of life as she understood it.