𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 ᵍⁱˡᵇᵉʳᵗ ᵇˡʸᵗʰᵉ

35

"What are you..." Charlotte trailed off as he threw the towels in the bin, pulling things out of his bag slung around his shoulder. "Why do you just have all of that stuff in your pocket?"

"After Moody fell I wanted to be prepared," Gilbert nodded. He pulled out cleaning wipes, a small jar of honey, and a roll of bandages. "Good thing I was, right."

Charlotte flinched slightly as Gilbert made a move to hold her hands. He glanced down at her. "Let me know if it hurts and I'll stop."

She nodded while he held her hands, rubbing honey on to her knuckles. Charlotte watched as he rolled the bandage around her hands, ribbing the fabric with his teeth and knotting them.

She couldn't understand why he chose to help her after she had yelled at him... twice. But what she did know what that the feeling of his hands in hers sent electric shocks shooting up her arm.

But she clenched her jaw, slipping her hands out of his grip. He was with Winnifred. He is with Winnifred.

It physically hurt her to walk away, but she knew she had to. She couldn't stand there gazing into his eyes and wishing they would stay on her as long as she lived. There was just something about him; whenever she was around him she felt safer than she did when she was alone.

He had protected her from Billy Andrews once, he had shoved people away when they threatened her. Charlotte wondered if he meant to do those things, or he was just raised well.

Charlotte pulled herself away from Gilbert, towards Ruby and her friends. The blonde gave her a nudge, grinning widely. "Do you understand why I liked him?"

"Absolutely not," Charlotte lied.

—

"I wish I'd had better news." Miss Stacy stood in front of her class. "I think the best option is to play by their rules for a spell, and then maybe they'll reconsider."

"Nobody's forcing them to read the paper," Gilbert spoke, earning nods of agreement from the students. "What are the rules anyway." He glanced over the paper Miss Stacy handed to him. "The weather, hat fashions, and farm stories."

"It's good they fired her."

Charlotte snapped her head beside her to where Moody was sitting, protectiveness clear on her face. Before she could snap at him, Diana did. "What did you say?"

Moody shrugged. "If Anne were here, she'd say use your imaginations. And then find a way to ruin what we have left of the newspaper for the rest of us."

Charlotte scoffed. "You want to talk about ruining things because I can name several times you ruined plans for the rest of us. Ask me to list them and I will."

"Let's not forget where all this started," Gilbert spoke. "It started with Billy Andrews disrespecting Josie Pye."

"Anne should have left well enough alone," Tillie said from her seat, Moody replying.

"TIllie, how would you react if someone you trusted and genuinely liked brought you behind a barn in the dark and touched you when you didn't want to. And even if you said stop, they continued. What would you do?" Charlotte asked, standing up from her chair. "Josie would have been scared and hurt and someone stood up for her when nobody else would."

Tillie glanced down at the ground. Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Think about that before you insult Josie and blame Anne for doing something you didn't even consider."

Gilbert nodded towards her, grabbing Anne's article and reading it out loud. "Woman matter on their own, not in relation to a man. Who here disagrees? We all deserve the right to a bodily autonomy and to be treated with respect and dignity. To say stop and be heard. Woman are not made whole by men. Woman are made whole the moment they enter this world."