"Marilla, can I go over to Diana's?" Anne asked.
"You may," Marilla replied pleasantly enough. "But don't accept any dinner invitations, I want you back before it's dark."
"All right," Anne agreed. But she didn't leave. She stood watching Marilla, who was testing Walter's bottle.
"Maybe I should stay..." Anne said reluctantly. She so wanted to go see her bosom friend, but it wasn't fair for her to go off and... "Or maybe I should take Walter with me."
Marilla raised her eyebrows at that. "Unless Mrs. Barry specifically invited Walter, you're not taking him."
"But-" Anne began.
"No buts," Marilla warned. "If you want to keep seeing Diana, you musn't pester Mrs. Barry! ...Anyway, it's too cold out for you to bring him through fields of snow. I wouldn't let you take him even if she did want him there."
"All right," Anne agreed sadly. She poked at Walter's feet in his booties. But Walter was not paying any attention to her; he was staring up at Marilla.
Anne finally left the room.
Matthew caught her in the doorway, nearly bumping into her.
"What is it?" He asked, seeing her face.
Anne said in a small voice. "I don't like leaving him...it's just not fair for Marilla. She takes care of him so much..."
Matthew turned back and glanced at Marilla, who was now sitting in the rocking chair with Walter, his bottle in his mouth. She was singing softly to him, too softly for Matthew and Anne to hear.
"She don't look put upon to me," Matthew stated with an amused look to Anne.
Anne couldn't help but smile.
She enjoyed the afternoon at Diana's.
Diana, however, would have preferred to spend the day at Anne's, because that's where the baby was.
Diana still seemed to consider Walter to be something like a doll and he was there to be dressed up and played with. Anne knew that wasn't at all what it was really like to have a baby, but she was pleased that Diana took such delight in him.
Happily, Mrs. Barry agreed to let Diana come to Green Gables next Saturday morning and stay all day.
Both girls hoped Mrs. Barry might eventually allow Walter to come to her house, but Anne decided Marilla was right when she said not to try for it. Mrs. Barry wasn't one to be trifled with. If Anne pressed her buttons, Mrs. Barry might only dig her heels in.
---
When Anne returned home from Diana's house, she called out hello to Marilla who was down in the cellar retrieving preserves.
"Did you have a good time?" Marilla called from below.
"Yes," Anne called back happily. "Thank you. Mrs. Barry gave us raspberry tarts and Diana played the piano and we sang and sang and sang and then Minnie May came running in and she said she thought a cat must have gotten stuck in the trellis because of the noise and we laughed and laughed- Marilla, we didn't sound that bad! Mrs. Barry told Minnie May that she knew perfectly well there'd been no cat stuck in the trellis and that she was being awfully rude about our singing and that if she didn't have anything nice to say then she shouldn't say anything at all. You know, Diana really is a good singer, Marilla. She's so lucky she can play music and sing all the time. At Christmas she got new sheet music and-"
"Anne, I can hardly hear you. Wait until I come back up," Marilla called to her.
Anne shrugged. She picked Walter up and hugged him. "I missed you," she said, surprising herself.
He began babbling, happy to be picked up by his mama.
"Did you miss me, too?" Anne asked, smiling. She carried him into the parlor and sat on the floor with him.
"Look, Diana taught me a song," Anne told him. "This didn't come from her sheet music. She saw it in a magazine. It isn't a nice song, and you're supposed to sing it loud and snappy. It goes like this: Five nights ago, when we were all in bed, Mrs. O'Leary took a lantern to the shed. And when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said, It's gonna be a hot night in the old town tonight, fire, fire, fire-"
"Lovely tune," Gilbert said, amused.
Anne turned around in surprise. "Gilbert!" She blushed. "I didn't know you were here."
Gilbert came into the room. He reached out and grabbed Walter's hand, smiling at him.
"Miss Cuthbert let me in earlier- I came by and she said you were at Diana's but you'd be home soon so I ought to just come in and wait. She asked me to dinner. I was out in the barn talking to Matthew."
"I'm glad you're staying for dinner," she told him. Since no one else was around, she kissed him. He kissed back.
When they separated, they smiled at each other and then kissed again, relishing the few seconds they had alone.
Well, not quite alone- Walter finally smacked Gilbert in the cheek and they broke apart.
"Uh oh," Gilbert said. "I upset our chaperone."
But Walter reached toward Gilbert, wanting him as he always did. Gilbert took him up in his arms and held him.
Anne watched the way Gilbert's eyes changed whenever he was with the baby. She smiled.
"I'm glad you're friends with Matthew," she told him after a moment.
"He's been there for me," Gilbert said simply. "He's a good man."
"He likes you, too," Anne told him. "He doesn't always say everything out loud, but I know he thinks a lot of you. ...Did you know he talks to Walter about the cows? He doesn't do it when anyone's around, but sometimes when he has Walter I hear him. He's given them names just so that Walter will be able to tell them apart." Anne smiled, a mixture of love and amusement.
Gilbert laughed. "This little one's tied everyone around his finger, hasn't he? ...What about it Anne- things seem better for you now...?"
Anne looked at Walter. "I still don't think he's cute. Aren't I horrible? Everyone else does."
"Do you love him?" Gilbert asked hesitantly.
"I do," Anne said, feeling peace. "I really do."
"Then it doesn't matter if you think he's cute or not," Gilbert assured. He reached for her hand, their fingers laced together. He pulled her hand up and kissed it. "I'll think he's cute for the both of us."