Chapter 22 - Thoughts That Assail Us

At the end of the classes at Queen's College, the two best friends were about to leave the institution to return to Blackmore Manor. They were walking down the hallway.

"You know... I've been thinking over what Mr. MacPherson said... " said Anne thoughtfully.

Diana was listening, and she just waited to hear what happened next.

The young redhead exclaimed with amazed eyes, "Isn't it romantic to sacrifice everything for love Diana?!"

The young brunette just nodded with a smile, she who had never really been in love had difficulty understanding what her friend meant. For the girl, her short experience with boys had been a failure, she had only succeeded in making one boy suffer. Part of her still blamed herself, but after all she had only wanted to experience new horizons, Jerry had at least offered her this. For her, it had been just a harmless little game, but for the young man it was much more, unfortunately she had only realised this too late.

The red-headed student continued her monologue, her look suddenly became melancholy, "I wonder... if I would be able to... leave everything out of love. I don't know if I'd like to live in Toronto, although I've never been there. I'm not sure I'd like to live in the city Diana. Charlottetown is still going by, because I'm still on Prince Edward Island, and greatness doesn't have much to do with Toronto I suppose. I hear it's even bigger than Montreal! And I was already impressed by this city! Besides... I think I'd like to live in Avonlea, I can't see myself living anywhere else. But..."

Diana, who saw her friend sink into a deep depression, interrupted her, "You still have plenty of time to think about it. And then Gilbert..."

It was then the young brunette's turn to be interrupted, Anne had just had a revelation, suddenly she became anxious, "He can never live in Avonlea! I just thought about it, but he never stopped saying that he didn't want to be a country doctor, he has bigger ambitions, he wants to change things. What could he possibly be doing here?!", she asked herself in a dramatic tone.

Then sarcastically, Diana asked her friend, "You say you're sure you want to live in Avonlea, but even for you nothing is certain."

"Oh, but I'm sure Diana! I've never known such a beautiful place!", exclaimed the self-confident young redhead.

"That would mean you'd have to take Miss Stacy's place or commute daily to teach in other nearby villages.", relieved her faithful and proud soul mate, certain that she had changed her friend's mind.

"Yeah... I hadn't thought about it like that either, why hadn't I thought about it before...?" She asked herself, still thinking.

The two girls were finally out of the institution when they saw Josie, Jane, Tillie and Ruby, all four sitting on a bench along the walkway leading to Queen's.

Anne decided to pass in front of the girls without even looking at them, you could see Ruby's face full of remorse, as for Josie even if she didn't want to admit it, she felt guilty, she had gone too far this time.

The two soul mates walked with their heads held high and ignored the group of girls. Then Tillie and Jane rose to join them, to the dismay of the two young blondes who were now alone on the bench.

Tillie began to tease the redhead, "So Anne...what did you do with Gilbert this weekend? Oh! Did he ever propose to you?", She asked with a mischievous smile. Jane didn't say anything, but was also particularly curious.

Anne then hastily replied clumsily, "N-No! Absolutely not!"

The young girl with the generous shapes winked back at him, "Oh I see... you can't tell us these things..." She said smiling, allusively.

Diana looked down on the latter.

Jane, in turn, made a thought, "Hmm... And to think that you'll probably be the first of us to get married, you might also be the first to have children. You're not planning to do anything after Queen's, are you?"

That irritated the redheaded student, "Wha-What?!"

Jane continued her resonance, "Well... If you get married and have children, it's okay to stay home. I mean... unless you're like my sister... But Prissy no longer aspires to be a good wife."

Diana interrupted the latter in a dry tone, "Prissy has certainly made the best decision of her life. You can't compare Mr. Phillips and Gilbert!"

Anne was silent for a moment, then suddenly she was carried away, "That's all you have to say! Marriage, children! I'm only going to be 17! Why am I torturing myself so needlessly! Do the boys only think about finding a wife to look after the children at home?!", With those words, the redheaded girl continued on her way to the mansion alone, leaving the three girls behind.

Diana gave the two girls a black look, which made it clear that she disapproved of what had just happened.

On the Toronto side, Gilbert had just finished his classes, he was alone in his room, he was getting ready to study, he was about to reach for a textbook that was on his bedside table, when he hesitated for a moment, and finally opened the drawer.

One could see the small white shell, and right next to it was a small velvet pouch.

The student with the brown curls then took the pouch and opened it, a ring was in it, it had belonged to his mother. A smile appeared on his face, he could finally imagine Anne wearing this ring on her finger one day, he could never have thought of anyone else. He had tried to convince himself otherwise months ago.

But when he was rehearsing his proposal scene, and he thought that Anne had rejected him after that famous night in the ruins, and he imagined with all his strength that it was Winifred he should propose to, the words seemed confused and unnatural. That morning he had thought, "If it was Anne, I would know exactly what to say.", but in his mind the redhead was out of reach at that moment.

Fortunately, today the situation had radically changed. But a fear still persisted, what if Anne rejected him? He knew precisely how to make his request, he had had time to think about it during all his weeks, despite the fact that he was taking all his time studying.

He continued to fix the ring between his fingers, while he was lying on his bed, when suddenly Jack entered the room, Gilbert was not expecting it, he was startled, the jewel then spun from the young man's fingers, it fell to the floor and rolled to his roommate's feet.

The young redhead bent down to pick it up, Gilbert was embarrassed, frowned and had his eyes wide open, he cleared his throat and walked towards his friend, "Hum! That's mine.", he said as he ripped the ring out of his friend's hands.

Which amused Jack, he laughed and said, "I noticed that..."

The dark-haired boy wanted to change the subject because he was much too modest to confide in the moment, "So... Do you think you made a good impression earlier at the Stuarts? Well, especially with a certain person?", he asked amused.

"Please don't tell me about it, I tried not to think about it the rest of the afternoon..." The young redhead had a look of desperation on his face.

Jack sat up on his bed and then pulled himself together, "So... are you going to the Stuarts' this Saturday?"

Gilbert moved to the desk that was close to his bed to study and at the same time answered in a neutral tone, "Yes, I do.", Then a mischievous smile appeared on his face, "Would you like to join me...?"

His roommate then became nervous, "N-No no! I think it would be better if I abstained this time, if it's to stay silent for a whole afternoon, it wouldn't do any good!"

The dark-haired boy laughed out loud at his friend's remark, then took his pen in his hand and began to study.

In Charlottetown, Anne had rushed home from her last conversation with the girls, all her remarks had gone to her head, .she needed to be alone, and quiet, to be left with her thoughts.

She crossed the threshold of the manor door, and was about to start up the stairs, when she was interrupted in her walk, "Miss Shirley-Cutbert.", That very firm and authoritative tone which could only come from Miss Blackmore.

The young redhead turned around and politely replied, "Yes, Mrs. Blackmore.", but repressed a certain annoyance at being once again hampered in her quest for isolation.

Miss Blackmore stepped forward and declared, adamantly, "I have thought over your weekend getaway, and I think I should be a little tougher on you, so I have decided that until the Christmas break you shall have a different curfew from the other girls. You're not allowed to hang out after school, you should go straight home, and I won't accept any late arrivals."

Anne's face, which until now had been as neutral as possible so as not to convey the slightest negative emotion, was about to fail, but she pulls herself together, "Mrs. Blackmore, I had thought about going to Avonlea this weekend, you're not gonna stop me from getting there?"

The strict lady took a deep breath and replied, "Well, you can imagine, I won't allow any more escapades. Since there's no guarantee that you're going to Avonlea to visit your family. I can consider having someone escort you to the station to make sure you get on the right train."

The redheaded girl had been holding back so hard from not reacting for several minutes, this time it was too much, impulsively she let go, "Do you think boys have so many restrictions in their residence? I'm sure that my...friend had no worries when he came back, and absolutely no one asked him any questions! Oh yes! I'm sure no one cares what a boy can do while girls must be discreet and docile! Miss Blackmore, I find it unacceptable that you should intrude on our lives in this way! And you should know, that I also don't accept that our mail should be opened in this way before you hand it over to us! I would leave Friday afternoon for Avonlea, by the way, with or without a chaperone, I don't suppose you also want to sequester me in my room so I can't come out anymore?", This last question was asked haughtily.

The mistress of the house lost her words for a moment, she didn't expect the young redhead to react this way, so she simply replied, "Let it be.", And then she turned around.

Anne took a deep breath, she didn't believe it herself, she had just reprimanded Miss Blackmore. But this time it was too much, she wanted to get her strength back in Avonlea, and no one could stop it.