Joseph Bines thought he had it covered.

He had hid the loot in the forest with the horse. When he was ready, he'd take off. He even convinced the Tilderlys that he was a friend of Anne's. He threatened Anne into silence. The only weak spot in his plan was that tedious boy Gilbert Blythe.

Joseph arrived back at Guardinia Cottage, and groaned internally at the greeting sound of his guardian chopping wood around the back of the house. He had met his guardian when he was only ten years old, a thieving urchin on the streets of New York. Not only did he take Joseph under his wing and teach him a lot but he pretended they were family, so Joseph had the perfect cover if he needed to blend into every day folk during a job.

But Mr Bines was harsh and strict. He only wanted Joseph because he was a useful resource. Joseph was quick and clever and the best thief of his age that Mr Bines had ever met. Despite this, he was sometimes sloppy on big jobs, he forgot the clean up and left clues. That's why Mr Bines never let Joseph tackle big hauls on his own.

Joseph tried to slip into the house unnoticed, but he heard Mr Bines' gravelly voice ring out before he even stepped onto the porch.

"JOSEPH. GET BACK HERE."

Joseph groaned angrily and stormed around the back of the house. Mr Bines was intimidating and loud, but Joseph was used to him. He wasn't afraid of him, he just hated him. Mr Bines used to beat Joseph when he didn't do well on a job. He hadn't done that in a long time, because Joseph had been working tirelessly to impress his guardian. This was partly to avoid the punishments, but partly to lull him into a false sense of security - Joseph had been planning on leaving Mr Bines for a long time. His idea was to get a big haul and disappear. The heist last night hadn't gone to plan, so now here he was to face the consequences instead of being halfway to New York by now.

If Mr Bines was angry, he must know about the wagon heist. Joseph knew he wouldn't be impressed this time.

"This town is pretty small." Mr Bines said, levelling Joseph with a hard stare. "That was meant to be a good thing. We'd blend in and lay low until the steamer heist rumours cooled down. But because it's so small, word travels fast. Which means I heard all about something bad that happened last night. A wagon of gold and valuable goods bound for a very important, well-respected, rich toff has turned up missing."

Joseph's heart sank. He wasn't getting out of this one.

"You were out all last night." Mr Bines said slowly. "Please God, tell me you had nothing to do with this sloppy, amateur heist and that you have no idea where that very valuable wagon-load of loot is now."

Joseph bit his lip. He said nothing at first. Then, "I don't know where it is. I had nothing to do with it."

Mr Bines stared at Joseph for a moment, his eyes flickering. It was times like this when he seemed taller and broader and more powerful than usual. Joseph felt small and he hated it.

"Don't lie to me." Mr Bines growled.

"If I was going to tackle something like that, I'd do it with you." Joseph muttered. "I don't work alone anymore."

Mr Bines slammed his large axe down into the huge wood-chopping stump. Joseph flinched. Mr Bines walked over to Joseph, big stomping foot steps. His dark eyes flashed in the afternoon sun. Joseph tried not to stumble back away from the huge man. He wanted to hold his ground.

"If I find out that you did this..." He whispered deeply. "You're going to be wishing you'd stolen that wagon horse and rode out of town far, far away from me."

...

Mr Barry sat in his tidy, sunlit study. He was lost in thought. He was usually a very busy man, constantly working on his business with no time for pondering. But his eldest daughter, Diana had run away in the dead of the night. True, she had come home again... But he felt that he was disconnected from her and he didn't know her very well anymore. This idea upset him.

There was a sharp knock on his door.

"Come in." He said, with little commitment.

His Butler opened the door. "There's a messenger here to see you - from the docks." He informed Mr Barry.

"Let him in." Mr Barry said, sitting up straight.

He was expecting a large delivery of valuable goods and gold from the docks. He had ordered the goods and land exchange to gold weeks and weeks ago and had eagerly awaited it's arrival. It was a big boost for his business. It was coming all the way from New York on a steamer.

A bedraggled-looking man entered the bright study. He was wearing riding clothes, but was covered in dirt and his whole attire was torn and dusty. He approached Mr Barry's desk, with a worried and foreboding expression.

"It's gone." He said breathlessly. "We were attacked - My partner is gone. The wagon crashed and I couldn't find it. Somebody must have taken it!"

Mr Barry stood up, shocked and confused.

"Everything is gone." Said the rider.

...

Gilbert had returned home that afternoon, with a mind dragged down by worry. Mrs Grey had been terribly worried for him and was desperately relieved to find him safe - completely exhausted and a bit shaken, but safe. He had spent the whole day in bed, yielding to a broken and restless sleep.

Monday morning he was due in school. He wondered if Anne was alright and when she'd come back to school, if she ever would. She was taking a break from work, surely, considering her injury. He thought of Diana and hoped she'd be there. It would be a blessing to see a friendly face. Especially after his rough past few days.

On his arrival through the school doors, he overheard a group of boys talking. Their conversation was on the topic of girls. Gilbert paused on the steps to listen. The group spoke eagerly on the likes of Josie Pye. The coverse soon turned upon unfavourable girls that they didn't like. Not unsurprisingly, Anne's name came up. Gilbert's ears pricked up.

One boy said, "I'm glad she doesn't come here anymore. She doesn't belong here. She belongs in the orphanage."

"I bet she doesn't come anymore because they sent her back there. They finally realised she was a thieving criminal."

"She's so smug for thinking she's clever. She's not clever, she's just an ugly brat. She needs to learn her place."

Gilbert felt anger tingling his body. He wanted to yell at the boy. Anne had been through so much and she was still good despite it all. She didn't deserve this kind of talk.

He opened the door to the cloakroom and the boys instantly fell into silence. He stared at them all, his dark brown eyes seemingly calm but full of warning. They gazed back at him, unsure if he'd heard their discussion. They knew Gilbert had spoken kindly of Anne in the past, and even stood up for her against Prissy Andrew's brother Billie. Had he heard them?

"What are you boys talking about this fine morning?" Gilbert said in a low, dangerous voice.

His knowing eyes dared them to speak more on the subject of the red-haired orphan girl. They squirmed under his gaze. One boy went hurriedly into the schoolroom without saying a word more.

Another said, "Nothing at all." and scurried after his friend.

The third boy was different. He smirked and said, "That dirt girl, Anne Shirley. I'm glad she's gone. I hope she's dead in a ditch some place."

Gilbert abruptly shoved the boy hard against the wall, causing him to cry out in shock and pain and tumble to the floor.

It was at that moment when the new teacher, who's name was Mr Kaine, reached the school house and came through the door. He caught Gilbert pushing the boy back and instantly he grabbed Gilbert by the wrist and dragged him to the front of the schoolroom. He was surprisingly strong and Gilbert struggled to get free. Everybody turned around to see what was happening.

Gilbert was pulled up to the chalkboard in front of the whole class. There was hush as Mr Kaine held Gil tightly by the wrist.

"This boy was seen performing an... obstinate and unacceptable show of violence towards another of my pupils." Spoke Mr Kaine in a dark, commanding voice. "Let this be a lesson that no such violent behaviour shall be tolerated. Not in my schoolroom."

The school had never been so silent. Every single pupil sat up pin straight, eyes wide. Mr Kaine had not displayed his full discipline yet, he'd only taught at the school for a month or two and nothing bad had kicked off for him to punish. Everyone waited with baited breath to observe his actions.

"Therefore... as a warning to anyone thinking to follow in this boy's footsteps - I will show you all what happens." Mr Kaine drew out of desk a long, hard ruler.

The pupils shrunk back, some of the older ones remembering their first teacher who used the cane to punish students. That was a long time ago. Corporal punishment was frowned upon in the general opinion of the town.

Gilbert's arm was pulled outstretched and his hand pressed palm up on the table. He struggled, knowing what was coming. Mr Kaine was too strong. His face was emotionless, only a hint of determination showing.

Without warning, the ruler struck down hard on Gilbert's hand. He flinched back, pulling at Mr Kaine's restraining grip on his wrist. It stung worse than any physical pain Gilbert had felt in a long time. His father never did this type of thing and he'd been lucky to escape the teachings of the previous corporal-punishment-approving school master.

The second strike was harder and Gilbert's cry caught in his throat. His cheeks burned with humiliation. Everyone watching was silent, wincing at each strike. Nobody said anything. Nobody did anything.

Mr Kaine struck down the third time and Gilbert's skin grazed open. Gilbert pushed his face into his shoulder, not wanting Mr Kaine to hear his groan of pain. He didn't want him to see how much it hurt. He wanted to be stronger.

There were five blows in total. By the end, Gilbert's hand was stinging with pain, there was a deep graze and it had started to bleed. Gilbert felt shaky and furious. He wanted to badly to run away, hide and cry out. But he didn't want them to see that Mr Kaine had won.

It was an hour until break time and Gil was the first out the door. He made his way to the water pump at the edge of the school yard, behind the out building. He ran the cool water over his wound and moaned a sigh of relief. It was a slight comfort. He needed to wrap it up, but he had nothing at hand.

"Gilbert?" Came a familiar voice.

Gilbert looked up, wishing to be alone. It was Ruby. He relaxed a little. Her pretty face was pained with empathy. She was still small and slight, despite the long time since he'd been away. She hadn't grown much. Her face had changed though, she seemed older in her face. She wore her long blonde hair differently too.

"I'm sorry... about what happened." She murmured.

Her high voice sounded clearly nervous, and Gilbert wondered why.

"It's my own fault." He muttered.

"I saw what you did for Anne. How you defended her against those... boys." Ruby whispered. "You were brave."

Gilbert looked up. She was holding out a clean, white hanky. It was richly spun soft cotton, with pale pink embroidered flowers around the end. It would work well for a bandage, but it was too expensive to soil with blood. He glanced at her expression, hesitant.

"Please take it." She said breathlessly.

"Thank you, Ruby." He said softly, taking it.

She stood there a moment, staring at him with bright eyes. She looked dazed. He began to wrap the cloth around his hand, trying to ensure it was tight enough. Ruby watched him. After a minute, it was clear Gilbert was struggling to do it with only one hand. She reached out.

"Would you like me to help?" She murmured nervously.

"Please." Gil sighed.

Ruby took the cloth and gently wound it round his damaged palm, drew it tight and tied it up in a strong knot. He wondered where she learnt how to bandage somebody. She didn't seem the sort to read books if she didn't have to, or have worldly experiences to learn from. Perhaps Anne showed her how to, just like she showed Diana.

"Is that alright?" Ruby whispered.

"That feels better. Thank you." Gilbert told her, his voice sounding weaker. He felt tired still, and upset from the morning's events.

"Don't let Mr Kaine get to you." Ruby said all of a sudden. "You're better than he is."

Gilbert was about to reply, but then Ruby took off. He watched her run back to the school yard and join the other students. He stood by the pump, hand still stinging. He sighed. At least he knew he had friends, even in a world of horrible people like Joseph and Mr Kaine.

A/N this was such a long chapter! I wanted to make it longer to make up for the ridiculously long wait for it. Hope you liked it, let me know your thoughts!! Comment and vote :) missed you guys xxx