#cuthberts

In hindsight, Gilbert can see where he screwed up. College was done for the summer, and he was meant to meet Anne outside of her last class. Since his ferry had arrived about an hour before that time, he decided to take a stroll through town. The last person he had expected to see was Winifred Rose, who he knew had taken up residence in Paris. Initially, he tried to avoid eye contact but when she noticed him and began making her way in his direction he realized there would be no avoiding this awkward conversation.

"Ms. Rose, nice to see you." Gilbert was unsure how etiquette would call for him to behave here.

"Please Gilbert, we know eachother to well for such formalities. Besides, it is Mrs. Blanchet now."

Gilbert breathed a sigh of relief hearing this. It was clear that Winnie was happy and had moved on.

"Congratulations'

"Thank you. We have decided to return to Charlottetown for the time being, as it'll do us well to have my parents near to help out." at this, she placed a hand on her stomach, and only know did he realize that while it had probably only been few months, she was clearly with child.

"Now you must come to tea with me so we can catch up. I ran into your Anne the day I left for Paris and I simply must now how that turned out. If it worked out how I hope it did, I do believe I deserve most of the credit, as she informed me that you had told her nothing at that point."

Chuckling, Gilbert was glad to see that it seemed she wanted to remain friends. Leading her to the café, he began to tell her all about Anne.

There seemed to be some irony in the fact that he got so distracted gushing about Anne, that he was late to meet her. He ended up going to her boarding house once he realized she was not waiting outside of the building she'd had class in. With all the other girls there, he didn't want to bring up who he had been with so he simply said he was hungry after his long trip and had stopped to eat. Luckily, Anne only teasingly chided him for his rudeness, before planting a hello kiss on his cheek. Gilbert had visited both Charlottetown and Avonlea a few times over the course of the school year, and the couple had got to spend a glorious two weeks together for Christmas. They naturally still got into small arguments, after all, they were still Anne and Gilbert, but after the first fight they had had as a couple, they made it a point to always talk things through before saying goodnight. As nice as the following morning had been, Gilbert's back was sore for days after he slept on her front porch.

The Cuthbert family was having dinner at the Blythe-Lacroix home that evening, and it was going quite well. That is, until Mrs. Lynde entered unannounced with the glint her eye that Gilbert knew meant she had some gossip she was dying to reveal. She, of course, had some excuse or another for stopping by, but Gilbert couldn't pay attention after looked at him in such a way that he immediately knew that what she had to say would be getting him in trouble.

"Oh Gilbert, how is Miss Rose doing?" Gilbert choked on his water a bit at this, and as he recovered and replied.

"What do you mean, Ms. Lynde? Winnifred is in Paris."

"That's what I thought to, my dear. But I ran into Mrs. Gillis just a little while ago, and she heard from Mrs. Andrews, who heard from her daughter Jane, who heard from Josie Pye that Gilbert had tea with Miss Rose this afternoon."

"Ah, yes… uh, she seems to be doing quite well, but she's actually-"

"Gilbert, can I have a word with you outside?"

And that is how Gilbert found himself standing on his front porch being shouted at. In the back of his mind he thought that everyone inside could most certainly hear her, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he was getting quite frustrated himself.

"Why can't you just trust me? I ended things with Winifred, because I love you! I don't know what more I'm supposed to do to prove it to you!"

"How am I meant to trust you when you lie to me? If you had simply told me the truth in the first place, I wouldn't have care. But don't worry, you needn't worry about proving anything to me anymore." With that, she turned and ran.

"Anne, wait! Please, I don't want to fight."

Anne seemed to pause, and for a moment Gilbert thought his words had gotten through to her. But then, she shook her head and continued to walk away. He found himself frozen in place for an instant, before making to go after her. He was stopped abruptly as he felt a hand wrap around his arm.

"I think it's best you give Queen Anne some time to cool off." and with that, his brother pulled him back into the house. It seems that during the fight, the Cuthberts had prepared to leave. Marilla only gave a polite thanks and goodbye, but as she left her brother lingered for a moment.

"I, uh, I'm certain the two of you will work things out. You always have before." With that, he gave Gilbert a sympathetic smile and followed his sister.

The next morning, Gilbert went to Green Gables. Marilla immediately invited him in in her usual polite manner.

"I assume you’re here for Anne?" Gilbert nodded, and the older woman continued. "She's still up in her room, no doubt sulking." With that, she walked to the staircase and raised her voice slightly. "Anne, Gilbert is here to see you."

Gilbert could hear her walk to top of the stairs, but he resisted the urge to immediatley go to her.

"Tell him to leave!"

At this, Gilbert looked to Marilla pleadingly.

"I am sorry, but you heard the girl. I'm sure she'll come find you when she's ready to talk."

Gilbert decided the best course of action was to listen to what everyone was telling him and leave her alone. When two weeks went by and she still had not come around, he assumed she was really done with him. She had stopped even coming to see Delly, which truly shocked Gilbert. Even before they were a couple, Anne was always stopping by for visits with her.

It seems that the old saying is true, that absence makes the heart grow fonder. All Gilbert can seem to think about while he attempts to give her time are all the pleasant memories he had with her. He had been in love with her ever since he was whacked by her slate, though he didn't realize it immediatley. He had very little hope of her feeling the same for a very long time, and one would think that would make him love her less, but instead his feelings only grew. He remembers the first time he felt real hope that she could love him in return, when they danced together in the old school house. Of course, he had made a mess of things then by brining Winifred to the dance. Remembering how badly he had messed up before, he found himself believing that if she still loved him after that, she could forgive him for this. Despite the difficulties associated with a long distance courtship, the past few months had been some of the best of his life, and that was in large part due to her. His brother often called him a sap for how mushy he could be with her, but he couldn't help but shower her with affection when he had hoped for so long to have the oppurtunity to. Mrs. Lynde would say the way he behaved was improper, but he couldn't bring himself to care. So long as it made Anne smile, he could handle a few snide remarks. He knew they'd spent more than a few weeks apart when at college, but something about knowing she was only a short walk away made him miss her more than he ever had before.

Just as Gilbert was beginning to lose hope, he came home from the store to find a letter on the kitchen table addressed to him in handwriting he would know anywhere. Hazel tried to stop him as he headed to his room to read it, saying she needed to talk to him but he brushed her off. He may have been a bit rude, but he was so glad to hear from Anne he couldn't bring himself to care.

Dear Gilbert,

In the heat of our fight, I ran away, and since then I have been rather cold to you. If I haven't made it clear, I was quite angry with you. I'll admit, it may have been a little childish of me to refuse to see you the day after, but I was afraid of my own temper. You see, I was so mad I thought I might've done something idiotic like end things between us. I'm honestly no longer sure which made me more upset, your little white lie or that you didn't chase after me when I left. It's silly, I know, for me to ask you to leave me be and then be sad when you do. But I've come to realize that all I really want is you, though my pride has not allowed me to say it until now. In all honestly, I have been hoping that you'd appear outside my window, throwing pebbles and professing your love. That is to say, after everything I must confess I am still scandalously in love with you.

With love and forgiveness,

Your Anne with an E

As soon as he was able to convince himself that what he had read was real, he ran out the backdoor and took of for Green Gables, only stopping to gather a few pebbles. The joy Gilbert felt in that moment reminded him of the excitement he had felt months ago on the train when Diana had told him that Anne loved him. Once he reached Green Gables, he raced to the side of the house where he knew Anne's window was and began tossing the pebbles. It took three tries for the window to open, but Gilbert was shocked when it wasn't Anne who opened it.

"Diana? Is Anne there?" The girl seemed to need a moment to compose herself before responding.

"Come inside. Bash is downstairs, he can tell you." With that, he could've sworn he saw her wipe away a tear before closing the window.

Upon entering the kitchen, he meant to ask Bash why he was there, but open seeing his face it only confirmed his suspicion that something bad had happened.

"Has something happened to Matthew?" Gilbert knew he had been having health issues lately, and his heart broke at the thought of Anne losing her father.

"No, he's with Elijah. He took Matthew to fetch-"

"Oh no, is it Marilla? I know she isn't exactly young, but she seemed to be in such good health."

"Gilbert, why don't you sit down." Not knowing what to say, he silently took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Anne had scarlet fever-"

"Had? So she's recovered, right? Can I see her?" Bash came and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, leaving the boy more confused.

"Gilbert… she didn't make it." At this, Gilbert jumped to his feet.

"No, your wrong! That's not possible… I just got her letter. She's fine! She has to be!"

"I'm sorry Gilbert, I should've stayed home and told you myself, but I didn't know Diana was here and did not want Marilla to be alone. In my hurry, I must've left the letter on the kitchen table. Matthew found it in her room and assumed she'd want you to have it."

Gilbert did not know how to react to this. He had, of course, known loss in his life, but this felt different. When he lost his father, he had known it was coming and was able to say to him all the things he needed to say. Now, he would never get a chance to apologize to Anne, to tell her he loves her and to beg her forgiveness. He fell back into his seat and dropped his head into his hands. He felt her letter in his pocket as if it burned hi, and soon enough he was gasping for breath, with tears falling from his face onto the table. Bash tried to murmur words of comfort, but Gilbert couldn't process them. Rather, as he wept he only had one thought: Anne was gone and nothing would every be okay again.