"Words may lie but actions will always tell the truth."

...

"Who's this now?" Sebastian asked as Gilbert brought James into the kitchen for dinner.

"This is my old friend James Riley from when we worked on the steamer?" Gilbert introduced them. "Do you remember him?"

James gave Bash a warm smile and shook his hand enthusiastically. "Ah, I remember you. We spoke a few times."

"That's right. I do remember you. We had latrine duty together once or twice." Bash reminisced, laughing.

"That certainly has a way of bonding people together. The smell traumatised me forever..." James indulged in the humour of the story although it was deeply unpleasant to live through at the time.

"Aye, well if you wanna smell something good, do sit down. Both of you. I've cooked a stew." Bash beckoned the young men into seats.

"Thank you, Sebastian." Gilbert said, gratefully accepting his bowl. "So, Bash. I need to tell you something - James is going to be staying with us for a while... He is looking for a job at the moment and will be using the spare room until he gets back on track, so to speak."

"The more the merrier." Bash shrugged, grinning.

"You're in a good mood." Gilbert commented.

"This is the joy of a man who's seen an angel, Blythe. I met the most wonderful woman today in town..." Bash said, his smile taking over his face. "Her name is Mary. I went to a laundry room in a place called The Bog... it's where people like -- like me live. Near Charlottetown. Mary fixed my shirts and we went for a walk together after her shift ended..."

"Good for you, my man." James smiled, tucking into his stew.

"I like her very much. We're meeting again soon, but not nearly soon enough." Bash said.

"That's great news, Bash." Gilbert smiled softly.

After being so happy, Bash had planned on breaching the subject of Anne and Gilbert's heartbreak and see if the boy would open up to him so he could help him. Bash wanted Gilbert to be happy again. But seeing him with James, Bash felt that it wasn't the best time. Besides, James was a good man and it would do Gilbert good to spend time with him.

Scarlett and her gang was still fresh on James and Gilbert's minds but as they glanced at each other across the table they could tell they were both torn between telling Sebastian the truth and possibly putting him at risk and keeping it from him and keeping him safe. Neither spoke of it as they finished dinner.

Afterwards they washed up and thanked Bash, who retired to bed. Once he was gone, Gilbert and James set about to discuss their plan.

Before they got the chance however, there was a knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" James frowned.

Gilbert crossed the room and opened the door, to be met by a large group of recognisable faces. Jerry Baynard and Anne's friends from before... What were they all doing at Blythe farm? The tall girl with almond-shaped eyes spoke first, her jaw tipped up stubbornly and her face alight with a mission.

"Gilbert Blythe,"

"January?" Came a voice from behind Gilbert. James had approached the door to see.

"James?" January was surprised to see James there.

After Jerry mentioned him she knew she'd be seeing him again but she hadn't expected to see him so soon let alone at Gilbert's house... She'd been interested to find out how he'd known so much about the events of last winter and how he tied into the drama that surrounded Joseph Bines and the robberies Anne was framed for.

"Wait -- how do you know them?" Gilbert asked James, gesturing to their unexpected visitors.

"How do you know them?" James shot back.

"That's not important." Jerry sighed in irritation.

"He's right. We need to talk." January said firmly.

- January face claim -

...

"You're saying you were attacked in the woods, and they tried to drown you?" Clarified Gilbert, who was tapping his fingers on the table restlessly.

They were all sitting around the kitchen table, save Peggy who stood near the kitchen door away from the group. After brief introductions, the Wolfsden gang explained to Gilbert and James what had happened the night Gilbert got back and broke up with Anne. James listened carefully, the suspicion that Scarlett was behind it all growing more believable with every passing moment... He felt awful for not telling anyone sooner when she'd broken into his room at the hostel.

"Yes, there was a whole gang of them -- but the leader had a female voice..." January said.

"Anne came out of the woods and helped us from the river." Kes added.

Gilbert's eyes flitted up at the mention of her. He sighed and put his head in his hands, breathing deeply as he tried to think. They'd been attacked by the same people he'd been attacked by on the same day. It was Scarlett. She'd planned it all out.

"You were friends with -- Anne in gaol?" Gilbert asked quietly, before looking up and fixing the Wolfsden gang with a hard stare.

January nodded loyally. "We are still friends with her. She helped us escape, we'll always be her friend."

"They can be trusted." James told Gilbert softly, reading his mind.

Gilbert looked at James, and he could tell they shared the same thought - could they be trusted with the truth? Gilbert's truth?

"How do you know?" Gilbert asked James bluntly, not caring that they were there to hear.

"I have a feeling." James said and his eyes flickered up at January.

"Trusted with what?" Kes spoke up indignantly. "You got a secret?"

"He's hiding something." Jerry agreed, sullen-faced. He had his arms crossed and had been scowling at Gilbert ever since he arrived.

"We would never betray Anne." January said fiercely, leaning forward.

Kes nodded fervently. "Red is one of us."

Peggy nodded too, her wide eyes shy as she stepped into the group.

"The gang, the woman... we know who they are." Gilbert told them in a rush. "James told me her name is Scarlett Bines, she's the daughter of Redmond Bines and the ex-partner in crime of Joseph Bines. She's come back to Avonlea to find her father and now she wants revenge for his death. She's taking it out on you, on Anne... on me."

"She's dangerous, ruthless, she's clever." James explained. "She isn't afraid of anyone."

"She knew Joseph?" Jerry said. "That's not good news."

"What did she do to you?" Peggy asked quietly, speaking up for the first time.

Gilbert looked at her in surprise and mild confusion at her question. "What do you mean?"

January understood. "Peggy means - Scarlett is taking it out on us you said. So what did she do to you?"

Gilbert met her gaze. Anne saved her. I can trust her.

"She came out of nowhere -- she had a knife... she said she'd kill Anne if I didn't -- if I didn't end our relationship." Gilbert spoke slowly, finally confessing the truth that had eaten him alive for days. A lump came in his throat. "A-Anne had to suffer like Scarlett's father had. To lose somebody she loved, like she had..."

"Kill Anne?" Jerry exclaimed. "This makes sense now."

"We couldn't understand why you said what you did, after what Anne had said about you before... it didn't make any sense." January explained to Gilbert.

"I couldn't risk her life. Not after everything she went through... I couldn't bare the idea she was in danger again." Gilbert seemed drained.

"It's alright Gilbert, we don't blame you for what you did." January said.

"Yeah it was brutal but we get why ya did it." Kes nodded.

Peggy watched on silently. She could see Gilbert was a good, kind-hearted person the same way she'd seen James was. It made sense they were friends, it made sense Gilbert had to do what he did for Anne. It all made sense and came together like a puzzle.

"I have to make this right somehow." Gilbert exhaled a shaky breath. "I thought breaking off with her would make it okay but --  but Anne is still in danger. I saw Scarlett -- she's been watching us. I saw her on my way to school and in the woods trailing me home."

"She could be here right now." James said quietly, glancing at the windows with paranoia clear in his eyes.

Gilbert nodded. "Just you being here puts you at risk. You understand why it had to be a secret?"

The others nodded.

James put his hand on Gilbert's shoulder. "We're in this together now. You all are too. She's seen you with us, with Anne. You're connected."

"What do we do?" January asked gravely.

"We gotta take Scarlett out." Kes said enthusiastically, grinding his fist into his other hand.

"I'm not killing anyone." Gilbert said firmly. "We are going to the police this time. Last time this got messy, and it didn't end with Joseph's death. It has to end this time."

"Agreed. Nobody dies." James said firmly.

January met his eyes. There was a dark shadow of emotion behind his words. She wanted to know the shadow. To read his story, turn the pages and examine the things he kept close to his heart. James intrigued her more than anything or anyone had in a long time. The kind, charming man with the blue travellers coat and wild hazel curls, wrapped up in mystery with honest eyes.

"Well, what cops will listen to us?" Kes asked. The expression etched on his freckled face revealed he was not entirely convinced of their plan.

"I'll sort that out," Gilbert said. "I know somebody that will help."

"What do we do?" Kes asked.

"We're going to find Scarlett's den and all of her little gang... We need something to start with when the police begin their search." January said. "If we find her den we could smoke them out. Catching rats is easier in the open."

"I'll come." James offered instantly.

January looked up and his eyes caught her again magnetically. "Sure."

Jerry rolled his eyes at the pair and cleared his throat. "This is good. We have a plan. But did anyone think of Anne?"

Everybody turned to look at him.

"Is nobody going to tell her?" Jerry said. "She's broken over this. Now we know the truth and have a plan to fix it we should tell her."

Gilbert swallowed hard as they all stared at Jerry, lost in thought. Jerry was right, it was cruel to leave her in the dark and it hurt Gilbert more than all the rest of them, but it was dangerous... Scarlett was still at large, still watching. Just them all being there together was dangerous. If Scarlett suspected anything, connected the dots...

"We can't." Gilbert's voice dipped.

There was silence. Jerry wasn't happy with that answer but he remained silent. He did understand the danger, he just hated that Anne was upset. Although now that he knew the truth he didn't blame Gilbert anymore. He knew that Anne would have done the same thing to protect Gilbert.

"Anne is clever - she's going to wonder where everyone is if you don't go to school," Jerry gestured to Gilbert. "And you are out every day looking for Scarlett's den." He pointed at the Wolfsden gang. "What is she going to think?"

"Well if she asks just tell her you saw me leave town doing work experience with the Doctor. She'll believe that, besides I'm meant to be working with him this week anyway." Gilbert said.

"If she asks we can tell her about looking for Scarlett." Kes said. "She'll understand that we wanna find her, after all it was us what she tried ta drown!"

"You can't say that, she'll want to come with you." Gilbert shook his head, his face concerned. "I'm not putting her any more risk than she already is."

"I can't believe she believed you when you said you didn't love her." James shook his head slightly, in awe of Gilbert's devotion to Anne and how clear as day it was.

Gilbert glanced at him, guilt showing in his eyes. "She didn't believe it at first." He looked down at his hand, which tapped anxiously against his leg. "I had to keep saying it."

"Well somebody must keep an eye on her, in case of Scarlett attacking." Jerry reminded them all.

"I know somebody," James spoke up suddenly. "But I don't know if you really want to involve her."

They all looked at him. "Who?"

"Diana Barry."

"Diana? To put her at risk too... I don't like it." Jerry fretted. He'd long harboured a soft spot for Anne's beautiful and kind friend.

"I don't like it either. But Diana would want to help." Gilbert told them.

"Well I will help. I can keep an eye on the girls while I work at Green Gables." Jerry suggested.

"Alright." They agreed.

"I can go and ask Diana, and meet you three at the Avonlea crossroads in an hour." James suggested to the Wolfsden gang. "Jerry, you better head to Green Gables before they miss you."

"Alright." January nodded. "It's a plan."

It was all set. Yet Gilbert had a terrible feeling of dread in his chest, clenching his heart. Something was going to go terribly wrong, he just knew it.

James saw Gilbert's troubled expression and leant down to comfort his friend quietly. "This is going to work, Gilbert."

"I know," Gilbert sighed deeply. "Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if it doesn't."

...

It was after dinner when Diana's visitor arrived.

The knock startled her from her reading, sending her book tumbling to the floor. The young woman climbed off of her bed and crossed the floorboards to the window. Who could it be at this time of night? Drawing back the curtains she saw a pale-faced man with familiar wavy hair and a dark-blue coat.

What was James Riley doing in her tree?

Diana pulled open the window and whispered to him, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Princess Barry." James grinned. "Or should I say Sleeping Beauty? Nice nightgown."

"I'm serious. Tell me what's going on. I know there must be something if you went to the effort of climbing." Diana said coldly, although she was secretly pleased to see James.

"I'll tell you when I come in. As agile as I am, it would be more comfortable in your room than balancing on this branch..."

"You're not coming in, what if my father caught you in here?" Diana exclaimed in a loud whisper.

James chuckled. "Did I wake you up? Is that why you're grouchy?"

"I'm not grouchy. You didn't wake me up." Diana rolled her eyes, blushing in the dark. "If I let you in will you keep your voice down?"

James' eyes twinkled in the moonlight. "I promise."

"Alright. Whatever nonsense has got you here so late will have to be quick." Diana stepped back to let the young man slip in through the window.

"Oh, I've missed you and your quips." James tittered. "So nice to have these jokes with old friends."

"I'm not joking," Diana said. "If my father came in I wouldn't hesitate to kick you out the window."

James was surprisingly careful and quiet as he climbed in. Straightening up he was close, their faces just inches apart. Blushing again, Diana turned and walked to her bed where she stood, arms crossed. James smiled at her, amused. He thought she looked even more grown up than he'd last seen her, with her raven-black hair rippling over her shoulders and her eyes big and reproachful.

"Well what is it?" She prompted.

James's smile fell. "It's not good news. Joseph Bines's ex partner from the city is here in Avonlea. Her name is Scarlett and she's got a gang -- they're dangerous. They attacked Anne's friends from Wolfsden prison and Scarlett bribed Gilbert to break up with Anne or else she'd kill her. But Anne is still in danger -- I don't trust Scarlett as far as I could throw her. We're all worried Scarlett might make a move to hurt Anne."

Diana watched him from across the room, her face a solemn moon in the shadows, framed by billowing black clouds of hair. It was strange, but this Diana didn't feel shocked at all. This revelation didn't come as a surprise. She'd felt for a while that something was up... The rumours about Anne, the break up, it was all leading up to something more. The sinking feeling of dread and fear was back and she bit her lip.

"I thought this was over..."

"We all did, girly." James sighed and pushed his wavy hair out of his eyes as he lent on the windowsill.

"What are we going to do?" Diana's dark eyes met his.

"Gilbert has gone to speak with the police, to find somebody to help apprehend the gang. Anne's friends are searching the woods for Scarlett's hideout, to perhaps give the police a head start when they come. Jerry went to Green Gables to keep an eye on Anne."

"Jerry knows too?"

James nodded.

"Well, what can I do to help?" Diana asked.

James nearly smiled then. Diana was so eager to drop everything for her best friend. It was a very endearing quality.

"We need you to keep an eye on Anne too, perhaps stay with her and make sure she's alright. Just until it's over. She's broken from what Gilbert said and she doesn't know the truth of why he broke up with her yet... If she finds out she'll want to help and it's too dangerous. For now she can't know." James explained.

Diana shook her head. "I can't keep her in the dark. It's cruel, she deserves to know."

"I'm not happy with it either, but it's the only way... You know how impulsive she is, she'd fight Scarlett herself if she could." James sighed. "She just needs a friend right now and you're the best one she's got."

Diana hesitated. She wasn't happy with this plan. Something felt wrong. "I'll look after her." She agreed finally.

James looked relieved. "Thank you."

"Do keep me updated, won't you?" Diana raised her eyebrows with sincerity and James nodded. "Good. Now go, before my father hears us."

"I owe you, Barry." James oathed fervently before climbing out of the window and down the tree.

Diana stared after him, deep in thought. She'd look after Anne, of course she would. Always. But would she keep the truth from her? That she couldn't promise.

...

The next day was cold and crisp, the sun dawning on a sleepy Gilbert.

Tomorrow is Anne's birthday, he thought as he gazed at the rising sun and the beautiful clouds. He wished he could spend the day with her, give her the gift he'd gotten her, lay in a meadow somwhere with hundreds of wild flowers and hold her and kiss her until she believed the depths of his regret and sorrow for his actions and the magnitude of his affection for her.

Gilbert reached his destination in the early hours of the morning when the sky was just waking up, tinged gold and grey. He looked up through the trees and saw it. A small house in the next town over from Avonlea, situated in a dark forest. Gilbert was exhausted from travelling through the night but he positively brimmed with determination - he wasn't going to leave until he got the help he needed. Approaching the house, Gilbert thought back to the last encounter he'd had with the man... Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

It took several knocks before he answered... Tall, broad, imposing, the man loomed into the doorway. Gilbert was surprised to see that he looked haggard and beaten down... He'd lost the authority he once held now he was out of uniform. Yet even with those changes, Gilbert could never forget the man who had changed his life, Anne's life... The man who had literally torn them apart.

Detective Ellwyn.

"Gilbert Blythe. I never thought I'd see you again." The ex-Detective growled.

Gilbert clenched his jaw. Neither of them were happy to see each other. "Fancy getting your job back?" Gilbert asked.

"How exactly could you help me do that? You're part of the reason I lost it in the first place!" The ex-Detective snarled bitterly.

"Don't lie to yourself. You got yourself into this mess. I'm offering you a chance to crawl back what little dignity you had and possibly earn a place in the force again." Gilbert snapped. "All you have to do is arrest somebody, which if I recall is the part of your job you're actually good at."

Detective Ellwyn glowered at the boy but there was a hint of intrigue in his eyes. Gilbert glared back stubbornly, unmoving and unrelenting. He could tell the Detective hadn't worked since he lost his position and was banned from working a case in Avonlea. It was clear he missed working and was drawn to Gilbert's offer.

Finally, he spoke, "What's your plan?"

...

"Anne, are you not going to school today?" Marilla called up the stairs.

"Do you reckon she wants to go, after what's happened?" Matthew scoffed, as he retreated to the porch.

Marilla shot him a sharp look. "So you suggest the girl lazes in bed all day? Slovenly behaviour is the cure for heartbreak, you say?"

Her strict words didn't reflect her feelings. She was exhausted and worn out. Not to mention the sick feeling in her stomach. After seeing Nancy Phelps on Sunday at church and hearing her recount the fever spreading through the other side of town Marilla feared that Nancy might have carried it over and she could have caught it.

Following Ms Stacy's visit the previous night Marilla had thought a lot about Anne's heartbreak and the rumours. Doubt was still there, hovering below the surface and growing every day but Marilla was a stubborn woman. Just as she had brushed Matthew off, she brushed off Ms Stacy. She stood by her actions. She wasn't regretting her reaction, only feeling under the weather and it had taken all her fight.

"Anne Shirley Cuthbert, do get up before it's too late." Marilla called again, to no avail.

Exasperated, Marilla busied herself with kitchen work. Matthew watched the flustered woman from where he was donning his work boots in the porch. The air was cold and fresh, and it didn't feel like summer at all. The weather seemed to match everyone's mood.

"That girl is sleeping through the day. It's like she's got nothing to get up for!" Marilla tutted.

"From what I can gather from Anne's recitations, that sounds like heartbreak." Matthew commented dryly.

"Oh, bother you, Matthew." Marilla scolded him.

Upstairs, Anne couldn't drag herself from bed. Indeed for her there was no reason to get up. All of the things she loved in life had lost their excitement, their joy, their meaning. Writing, reading, studying, all of it pointless. Seeing friends would be torture when all of them would look at her with disdain after the rumours had circulated. School was a nightmare, with everyone's eyes on her, everyone's whispers... the bullies...

Anne couldn't face her day.

She lay there, bundled up in the sheets with her red hair sprawled like a web across her pillow. Her heart ached hollow and torn in her chest, which itself felt empty and cold like a cave once inhabited and now left barren and dark. She hadn't slept well, captured by dreams of mysterious figures coming from the shadows and tearing her into the darkness with them.

Anne lay stationary, watching the morning sun trickle through the curtains and cast a theatre show of blossom-tree shadows on the wall which danced with more joy and energy than Anne had felt in days. After what felt like an age but was really only half an hour, a knock on her bedroom door shook Anne from her daze.

Anne couldn't manage a greeting but the visitor entered anyway. It was Diana, dressed in lacy blue with a bright smile. Her smile faded as she saw her friend cocooned in bed.

"Anne! Are you not coming to school? I came by early to walk with you."

Anne said nothing, merely looked at Diana from her bundle.

"Of course you're still heartbroken... Oh Anne. You dear thing. You look dreadful." Diana sank onto the bed beside the disparaged figure wrapped in blankets.

"I can't go to school." Anne murmured.

"I understand. It was mortifying yesterday. I can't imagine how you coped." Diana shuddered.

"I didn't." Anne said dramatically.

"Well, I don't blame you and Ms Stacy will understand, I'm sure. You're her best student so there's no concern of you falling behind. Besides, the girls can take notes for us." Diana chattered away.

"Us?" Anne frowned. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't think I'm going to leave you like this do you? All alone in your depths of despair? What sort of bosom friend would I be to do that?"

Anne's heart lifted. "You won't get in trouble just for me, will you? With your parents?"

"Perhaps." Diana shrugged.

Diana took off her shoes, hat and coat and pulled back the blankets. Joining her best-friend in bed, Diana noticed Anne gazing at her thoughtfully.

"You're so different now, Di. When we met you were so..." Anne struggled to find the words.

"Afraid of everything?" Diana chuckled. "You taught me to be brave, Anne."

"I'm afraid I've changed too... I'm not as brave as I used to be." Anne sighed.

"Nonsense. You're braver and stronger than you've ever been." Diana said.

"I don't feel strong." Anne whispered, her heart twinging painfully.

To hear Anne so sad, so broken, it made Diana realise that after everything Anne had been through and all that was kept from her it wasn't fair to keep anything more from her. She had to tell her about Paris, for a start.

"I'm sorry, Anne... I've kept something from you." Diana admitted. "My Mother is sending me to Paris, to Finishing School. I'm not longer attending Queens Academy like we planned."

Anne was silent, shocked.

"It's a boarding school." Diana added quietly, almost answering Anne's wordless questions.

"Oh Diana... this is even more tragical than all of my imaginings." Anne sighed deeply. "Is there no way to persuade them to let you stay?"

"I know they're set on it. I can try but it's been Mother's plan since I was born." Diana explained.

"Fate has an unbearable habit of taking away the people I love the most." Anne whispered.

Diana clutched Anne's hand tightly and the girls leant their heads together. In that moment they were girls, not the women they had grown to be but the young girls who'd met and sworn to be best-friends forever and ever. The young girls who'd drunk raspberry cordial together, dressed up and recited plays together, fought for each other against bullies, spent whole days laughing together, held each other while they cried and formed an unbreakable bond.

They didn't feel like grown up women in that moment. They felt very small and the world felt very wide.

"All our plans, our dreams of rooming together in college... Gone. What will become of you there? What will they teach you? Oh how I'll miss you every day." Anne felt like crying.

"I'm to learn to be a proper woman. To keep a house, to behave elegantly, to converse politely... Sewing and dancing and cooking. All the skills of an accomplished women." Diana's words felt hollow and rehearsed, dragged from her Mother's own tongue and played over and over.

"That's a travesty, Di." Anne sat up, disagreeing with passion. "There is no way to be a proper woman. There are endless ways, endless possibilities for a woman. She must only fight for them and try her hardest. You could do anything. Housekeeping is a good life skill, for sure if that is what you want but there are so many better things you could lend your hand to while you're young. There's plenty of time for ironing and cooking when you're older, if that's even what you are interested in."

Diana felt tears in her eyes as she thought about the future that Anne spoke of. It wasn't her future. It never had been. She was tied into the money, the estate, the legacy... she'd marry a good man and have two children and progress her family. That was her future.

"I don't believe that's my path, Anne." Diana breathed, closing her eyes as she lay there.

For the first time in days, Anne was energised. Energised by the injustice of Diana's future being written for her.

"It can be. You make your own path, Diana." Anne said.

Diana gathered her breath and swallowed her tears. She sat up too and looked at her bright-eyed friend.

"We're not children anymore, we can't keep living in a fantasy. The reality is that I'm going away and when I come back I will find a husband and a house. That is my path." Diana said sadly.

"That's not fair at all." Anne was deflated. If Diana wasn't fighting for her future, how could she?

"Life rarely is." Diana thought about Scarlett and the gang turning up, so soon after it had all ended... that wasn't fair at all.

"When do you leave?" Anne asked quietly.

"September. Same as you."

"I will tell you my truth too, Diana." Anne said slowly. "I'm afraid of leaving Green Gables... Of leaving them -- my beloved Cuthberts. I have an awful feeling that something will happen... I had a terrible nightmare that Matthew died."

"Oh, Anne. After everything that's happened, it's normal to worry about these things. But that doesn't mean you have any control over it." Diana comforted her. "You mustn't worry about things you have no control over."

"I can't help it. My life is going to ruins... first Gil--... now you. What if Matthew or Marilla leaves me to?" Anne mourned, lip trembling.

"I'm not going forever." Diana said brightly, although her heart ached. "I'll be back before you know it. I'm sure you won't even notice. You'll be too busy at college, you'll make new friends and Matthew and Marilla will be just fine!"

"Who knows what the future holds for us?" Anne sighed in her old theatric way.

"Whatever it holds, we'll always be friends." Diana said firmly.

"Agreed."

The two young women entwined their pinky fingers just as they had as young girls, and the sadness couldn't hold back their fond smiles. Anne heard the birds singing outside and she drew upon her last ounce of strength. Getting up, she looked down at Diana and offered her hand.

"Come on, let's go for a walk. We can't stay indoors all day. Let's make the most of the time we have together." Anne said.

Diana was hesitant, fearful of who they might run into but eventually she gave in. The two girls headed out, narrowly avoiding a lecture from Marilla who thankfully decided to hold her tongue on the matter of Anne bunking off school. She was disappointed certainly but a trace of guilt was seeping in and influencing her choices. Besides, she didn't have the energy to argue anymore.

Diana and Anne made their way down the fields, past the grazing cows and into the woods. Anne felt very nostalgic as she roamed the glade with her best-friend. Memories entwined every tree, trickled through every stream, pattered along each path. Even the bird song was familiar, as Anne gazed up into the branches spotting the creatures flittering between nests and trees.

"Can you believe it's my birthday tomorrow?" Anne said quietly as they sat on the grassy bank dipping their toes in the cool water.

"It's come so quickly. I remember the picnic for your last birthday." Diana smiled.

"It feels as though everyone has forgotten. Marilla has been so focused on the rumours and preserving my dignity that she hasn't taken notice of my happiness." Anne said morbidly, feeling sorry for herself.

"Well, I haven't forgotten." Diana said. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh Di, not after you took me to the concert, that trip was more than enough. You didn't have to get me anything!" Anne exclaimed.

"Well, I suppose after my birthday was hijacked by that dastardly Thomson I hoped yours would be more enjoyable." Diana laughed.

"I will try to enjoy it, despite everything." Anne resolved, digging her fingers into the soft earth. "I believe you can enjoy things if you make up your mind to."

Her mind went to Gilbert and how she wished she could see him on her birthday... A picnic with him. Last year he was away travelling and so much had changed since then. So much had changed just since he'd come back from is trip out of town. She remembered how Sebastian had told her that Gilbert had left town and mentioned her. What had he left for?

"Are you thinking of him?" Diana asked softly, reading Anne's mind like only best-friends could.

"Only every other moment. I try not to. I try to think of other things, but he's tangled up in everything I can't escape him." Anne bit her lip, watching fish flit along the sparkling stream. "It was different when I thought he loved me, I could move on with my day but now I just feel that the rug has been pulled out from underneath me."

"I have a feeling it is going to work out, Anne." Said Di, wishing she could tell Anne the truth. "I just know it's going to be alright."

Anne looked at her friend, her grey eyes wide. "How do you know? Because it doesn't feel like it's ever going to be alright again."

"You just have to hang on, believe me." Diana hugged her friend.

Anne hugged her back. "I'm going to miss you so much." She whispered.

...

Things were brewing up in Avonlea. The Wolfsden gang, Jerry and James met at the crossroads to set off the search of the woods for Scarlett's hideout. But somebody was watching the friends on their search, trailing them with ill-intent and fate had it that they wouldn't all make it to the camp.

Meanwhile Gilbert was heading across town with Detective Ellwyn. Another person was riding in search of help, soon to cross paths with Gilbert. It was a young boy who's family was desperately sick with the fever... His name was Cole.