- That morning -

It had been a while since Joseph last snuck into a house to steal, and he had missed it.

It was early that morning when he reached the estate. Before Diana had risen, before Jerry had come to ask for her help with Anne. The Barry's was a large manor house, fleecing the place would easily set Joseph up for life. Of course at the moment with all the heat on his tail, he couldn't risk it. A few personal treasures would be a doddle to take though, and were perfect for his plan.

Joseph had cased the place beforehand, and he knew Mr Barry and his staff were out. Diana Barry was asleep and she had forgotten to lock her large bedroom window. There was a large apple tree station right outside, perfect for a skilled climber to scale. Joseph crept up the branches, smiling. It was too easy.

He slipped in through the window, tip toeing across the room. Diana lay fast asleep, a troubled frown creasing her brow. There, beside Diana's neatly-made bed was a small chest. Joseph opened it and discovered a beautiful opal pin in the shape of a heart. He also took a beautiful embroidered red silk ribbon and a delicate necklace hung with tiny diamonds.

Concealing the treasures in his pocket, he snuck back out of the window again, just as the sun began to trickle in through the curtains. To come through the high wall he'd smashed the lock on the back gate. He retreated through the same way, leaving it ajar. Joseph's next destination was Green Gables.

...

Diana told her mum that she needed a break from the party preparations and that she was going out to visit Anne. She met Jerry by the back garden gate where he was waiting for her. The lock on the gate was broken, which was strange. Diana had come through here not long ago and the lock was intact.

"Did you break this?" She asked Jerry.

"No. I wouldn't." He said, holding up his hands defensively. "It was like that when I came."

Diana was confused by this, but let it slide. Accidents happen, maybe her father was aware of it and was getting it fixed. She climbed on the back of Jerry's horse and rode all the way to Green Gables. She was getting much more used to riding as a means of transport, now she was doing it regularly. She used to only ride in a carriage or wagon.

When they arrived, Jerry led Diana to the meadow but Anne was no longer there. They found her in the woods at the bottom of the hill. It was beautiful there, full of flowers with the stream bubbling and rushing clear blue. It lead all the way to the Barry Lake, or as Anne named it - the Lake of Shining Waters. The trees were lush and green, the sun filtering in through the leaf-laden branches.

Diana briefly wished she had more practical shoes. The forest floor was no good on her house shoes. She made her way to Anne, Jerry keeping his distance. He cared about Anne, despite her being irritating.

"Anne." Diana called out.

The red-haired girl was sitting on a mossy fallen tree, leaning back against a thick tree trunk. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes were swimming with worry. Diana approached slowly, growing more concerned as she got closer. Anne looked weak and she held her side where the bandage was. She hadn't seen her friend since she was sleeping in the bed at the Tilderlys farm and she didn't look much better now.

"Anne, my darling friend." Diana greeted and Anne looked up. "How are you?"

Anne watched as Diana sat down on the log beside her. She felt a rush of emotion at the thought of Joseph hurting Diana. It hurt her to even imagine it.

"Diana." Anne murmured.

"You're quite alright?" Diana asked.

"Yes." Anne lied, feeling cautious.

She was afraid to let her guard down with somebody so kind as Diana. She might let something slip and Joseph would find out. Jerry had clearly brought Diana here to make Anne talk. He knew she was upset and was trying to help, but he didn't know he was putting Diana in danger if she discovered the truth.

"How is your wound?" Diana looked down at the offending area that caused Anne so much pain.

"It will be better in a month or so." Anne shrugged. "I've had worse."

"You can't have!"

"Well, maybe you're right. But I've been through things that have certainly seemed worse."

Anne thought of her current moral struggle and being threatened by Joseph. She thought of being forced to picture her loved ones being hurt or killed, and all because of her own stupidity to get involved with a criminal like Joseph. This was worse, in her eyes.

"How did this happen, Anne?" Diana sighed. "Why were you in the forest?"

Anne hesitated, biting her lip. She gazed at the churning stream and the bubbles rushing on the current. Her long red hair was escaping her plaits and she had no energy to redo them. She chose her words carefully.

"I was going for a walk." Anne eventually told her.

"With who?" Diana pryed. "That boy? The one who came to the Tilderlys farm - Joe?"

"Joseph." Anne corrected. "He's my... friend."

The lie felt dirty in her mouth, blazing hot on her tongue as she spoke it. Friend? How could she use that treasured word on somebody so monstrous as Joseph Bines? She felt ashamed.

"How did you meet him?"

"It was... in the library, at work." Anne mumbled. "We started talking about books."

She remembered the day so clearly. She wished she could turn back time and warn herself against the friendship. There was silence aside from the churning stream and birds singing loudly above them. Anne listened to the forest sounds, letting them calm her before Diana questioned further.

"Who hurt you?" Diana asked.

Anne stopped herself speaking just in time. She thought back to what Joseph had told her to say in a scenario of questioning like this.

"I don't know. We didn't see them. They attacked me and then... me and Joseph were separated." She repeated the words he'd demanded she say. "It was during the storm."

Diana pondered this. She had a horrible feeling that Anne was lying to her. Anne had never shown herself to be deceptive or untruthful, why would she start now? She thought of lying as a terrible action and would never do it unless absolutely necessary. What did Anne deem to be so absolute and terrible that she had to lie?

"Me and Gilbert saw something in the forest." Diana said slowly. "We saw a wagon, that had crashed on the side of the road. You must have passed it?"

"A wagon?" Anne frowned. "I didn't see a wagon."

Diana's heart plummeted. Anne was definitely lying. There was no way she could have ended up where she did without passing the wreckage of the wagon.

"Anne, we saw pieces of fabric that had caught on the crash site. The fabric belonged to your dress."

Anne's heart thundered. Lying made her so anxious. "I don't know how that could have happened..." She mumbled.

Diana gazed at Anne for a long while, Anne avoiding her eyes. Anne was waiting with bated breath, while Diana just felt hurt and worried. Did Anne not trust her? They had always shared a close relationship of honesty and openness. Diana valued it very highly and was upset that Anne did not feel that she could reveal whatever troubles which had forced her to lie.

"Anne, you're my best-friend." Diana sighed sadly. "Why are you lying to me?"

...

The town of Avonlea was bustling with the search.

A dozen men from the Barry household had arrived that morning, flooding through the town like a wave. They had been sent by Mr Barry himself to find the culprit responsible for taking his precious wagon. The men were scouring the town and asking everybody for any information available, for which they were offering handsome rewards.

There was rumour of a detective being sent in if nothing progressed soon. Nobody knew what the wagon's contents was, but it must be very valuable to warrant a search this thorough and hurried. The ears of petty thieves pricked up at the word of a valuable loot somewhere near Avonlea. Missing, perhaps abandoned... ripe for the taking.

It was late afternoon when the horse rode into town. It was hungry and desperately tired, covered in road dust and it's mane matted. It was a brown, beautiful horse with a seat and reins. It must belong to somebody. The man who first caught the reins and attempted to calm the horse was a kind storekeeper named Mr Dalton. He didn't recognise the mare but he spoke to it softly, feeling sorry for the frightened horse. It had clearly been through an ordeal.

Gilbert Blythe happened to be in town at that time, trading eggs and milk for bread and apples. He had just finished his jobs when he heard the thundering of hooves on the ground. Shouts rang out and fearful neighs chorused among them. He exited the shop, looking up and adjusting his cap. He saw the horse, running. A man stepped out and held his hand out. The reins caught on his fingers and he grasped them firmly. He was calm and spoke softly to the mare.

Gilbert approached curiously and suddenly recognised it. "Belle?" He breathed.

He walked over, slowly so as not to spook the horse. Mr Dalton glanced at the handsome boy and smiled in a reassuring way. The chestnut horse had calmed a lot by now. Gilbert smiled softly too. He carefully drew out a large golden apple from his pack. He held it out to Belle and saw the horse hesitate. She was eager and hungry but there was a clear sign of recent stress making her cautious. Eventually, Belle gave in and began to eat the apple from Gil's hand. Gilbert and the storekeeper chuckled in relief.

"Is this your horse?" The storekeeper asked.

Gilbert shook his head. "It belongs to a friend of mine."

One of Mr Barry's men was nearby and his first thought at the sight of the horse was - was this one of the horses from the wagon? He was eager to please Mr Barry and find any clue as to where the precious cargo had got to. He rushed over, addressing the storekeeper and Gilbert.

"Where did this horse come from?" He demanded.

"Don't ask me. Just seen it charge into town, same as you." Answered Mr Dalton.

Gilbert frowned. "It must have come from the woods..." He realised.

The last time Anne had Belle was when she rode it to work and after work she went into the woods with Joseph, therefore she must have taken the mare. During the storm they were surely separated. Poor Belle.

"Why do you say that?" Asked Mr Barry's man.

"Oh... well, it belongs to my friend and she was in the woods when the horse ran away." Gilbert told him.

Mr Barry's man looked the horse over and pulled out of the seat a strip of dirty brown cloth. Gilbert recognised it. It was identical to the fabric Gil and Diana had found on the crashed wagon in the forest. It was from Anne's dress. This meant Anne had definitely been at the wagon crash site. Maybe they rode into the woods on her horse and got into a crash? If that was the case then why didn't Anne tell anybody?

"Who are you?" Gilbert asked of Barry's man, eyeing Anne's dress fabric. Why did he want the scrap of cloth?

"I'm Thomson. Mr Barry sent me to uncover what happened to his missing wagon." Said the man, holding up the fabric. "This could be evidence."

The missing wagon belonged to Mr Barry? It must be the same one they had seen crashed. This was not looking good for Anne. If they linked the crashed wagon to Anne then she'd be pinned as guilty. He might have already given Thomson too much information, telling him Anne had been in the woods.

Gilbert had to go and see Anne. He needed to get the truth, warn her before Barry's men connected her to the incident. He wanted to talk about everything that happened now that they were both somewhat level-headed, in comparison to the emotional arguments they'd shared when she woke up at the Tilderlys.

"I must search the woods." Thomson stuffed the cloth in his jacket pocket and rushed off.

"I will return the horse." Gilbert told the storekeeper. "Thank you for your help calming her."

"You're welcome, lad. Good luck." Mr Dalton retreated to his store.

Gilbert threw his bread and apples in his pack and mounted Belle, steering her out of town and setting off on route to Green Gables. He was determined to get to the bottom of this whole fiasco with Anne and Joseph and the truth of what happened that fateful night.

A/N hi sorry for the long wait! This chapter took so long to edit I never had enough time to finish it in one go.

(I'm sorry if the time setting is a lightly confusing, before Jerry came to get Diana's help was when Joseph snuck in.)

Lemme know what you think! Shirbert in the next chapter (((((: vote and comment! I love you guys so much xxx