Hope [anne with an e]

| CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

chapter three: crime and punishment

"I pretended to look around,
 but I was looking at you."

* * *

Caroline walked next to Matthew, her arms folded over her chest as she listened to Mrs.Barry's speech about Anne being a bad influence. The girl wasn't quite ready to go back to the Barry's just yet, seeing as despite how much the two boarders frightened her, she had very much enjoyed her time at Green Gables. Maybe it was Matthews stories of adventure, her moments spent laughing with Jerry in the upper level of the barn, or Marilla teaching her how to properly roll out dough. Whatever it was about the place, it made her long to stay. Her eyes wandered to the exchange going on between Mr.Barry and Nate, a black bag being passed over. She wasn't exactly sure what was in it, money most likely.

There were many opportunities where she had wanted to tell the man that it wasn't a smart idea to put all of his eggs in one basket, but, she wasn't his daughter, and she never would be. He would never listen to anything Caroline had to say, that was a fact.

As soon as the bag was opened, her fear came true. Mr.Barry had tried to convince her to take the money that was left to her and Gilbert and invest it in Nate's idea, to which she had simply shaken her head, claiming that there was no use in giving into false promises. Nate began to walk away, but turned, eyes boring into Anne's frozen ones. Marilla was calling out to her daughter, but it was as if she could hear nothing, almost as if she was entranced. Caroline walked over to Anne and set a hand on her back.

"Anne!", Marilla shouted, causing Anne to finally come back into reality, "Remember to thank your host."

The girl shook slightly, eyes darting from Mrs.Barry to Caroline then to Diana. Furrowing her eyebrows, Caroline released her, looking up to give Matthew a smile, which he returned with a nod, before climbing into the carriage beside Diana. Anne muttered a quiet 'thank you' then ran into her house, not sparing a single glance to anyone else. The girls looked at one another, both sighing as Caroline reached out to close the door of the carriage. Diana lifted Minnie May up into the space between the two girls, watching as her sister began to poke Caroline's arm.

"How was your trip?", she asked, ignoring the tapping from Minnie May.

Diana looked out the window, "It was fine, I will tell more when we get home."

The last part was whispered, making Caroline smirk at how it felt like her beautiful, brunette friend was developing a dark side. She wondered what Mrs.Barry would do if she found out that Caroline was a worse influence on her daughter than Anne was. After all, it was Caroline who taught Diana her first curse word. She'll never forget the look on Ruby's face when Diana simply let the word slip out in front of Mrs.Gillis. It was, and still is, Caroline's funniest memory to date.