Thread by @lainasparetime

Okay, #LainaReadsAnne time! Chapter 28 awaits!

#LainaReadsAnne School ends and Anne's pupils miss her before she's even really gone.

Then we get an interesting scene of Mrs Harmon Andrew, Mrs Peter Sloane, and Mrs William Bell discussing Anne's leaving.

I still hate this way of naming people. THEY HAVE FIRST NAMES.

#LainaReadsAnne But you don't see as many scenes without Anne in them, so this is neat.

Mrs Sloane thinks it's a shame Anne's leaving since the kids like her so much, but Mrs Bell i glad for her since she's wanted to go to college so badly.

#LainaReadsAnne Mrs Andrews says, "I don't see that Anne needs any more education. She'll probably be marrying Gilbert Blythe if his infatuation with he lasts till he gets through college."

Now we don't have time to unpack all that but... it's a lot.

#LainaReadsAnne She also says, " If they taught you at college how to manage a man there might be some sense in her going."

Which. Ew.

#LainaReadsAnne Apparently, "Mrs. Harmon Andrews, so Avonlea gossip whispered, had never learned how to manage her “man,” and as a result the Andrews household was not exactly a model of domestic happiness."

Also kinda ew??

#LainaReadsAnne This conversation also confirms the Allans are leaving, too, and they gossip about Paul Irving's "queer stories" some.

#LainaReadsAnne Anne quietly, and a little sadly, says goodbye to the schoolroom. Overall, she's very satisfied with her two years' work.

She does indeed go to spend two weeks at Echo Lodge, taking Miss Lavendar to town and convincing her to buy a new dress they make together.

#LainaReadsAnne Miss Lavendar is a little embarassed about how much a new dress cheers her up.

Personally I think Miss Lavendar deserves nice things and should enjoy them.

#LainaReadsAnne Anne pops home for a day halfway through the visit, and goes to visit Paul Irving. And to her surprise, who should be there but one Stephen Irving!

#LainaReadsAnne Anne finds him very handsome, and he's very kind and grateful for how much she has made Paul feel at home in Avonlea.

Not inappropriately or anything - he's not creepy, just very nice to her.

Paul is SO excited, lol. It's cute.

#LainaReadsAnne When he goes to bring in the cows, Mr Irving asks carefully about Miss Lavendar - Paul has mentioned her in his letters, not knowing about their past relationship.

#LainaReadsAnne With a "smile, half-whimsical, half-tender", he asks if Anne would ask Miss Lavendar if it would be okay if he visited.

Anne is THRILLED and agrees immediately.

#LainaReadsAnne The next morning, she returns to Echo Lodge, and Miss Lavendar knows right away Stephen is back just by looking at Anne.

Miss Lavendar agrees, pretending she's taking it completely in stride, but Anne knows she's nervous.

#LainaReadsAnne And in fact, she and Anne are both nervous wrecks that afternoon.

Charlotta the Fourth eventually makes Anne spills the beans and is very glad to hear the news.

#LainaReadsAnne She says, "Some women’s intended from the start to be old maids, and I’m afraid I’m one of them, Miss Shirley, ma’am, because I’ve awful little patience with the men."

I love her. That's what I'm going to say now to explain why I'm aroace XD

#LainaReadsAnne She's been worried badly about what would become of Miss Lavendar when she had to go to Boston, as she's the last girl in her family.

She worried Miss Lavendar would be stuck with someone who would laugh at her and wouldn't ler her call them Charlotta the Fifth.

#LainaReadsAnne She says Miss Lavendar would "never get anyone who'd love her better."

I know the whole "hire a 13 year old to be your live-in maid" thing is like. Not great. But they do seem very close and for the time period I can't say this kind of job is awful for a girl tbh

#LainaReadsAnne Stephen comes by after tea and immediately compliments the house, which earns him points in my book. Miss Lavendar loves Echo Lodge so much, so that's important to if we like him.

#LainaReadsAnne Anne and Charlotta the Fourth are both very tempted to eavesdrop on him and Miss Lavendar, so Anne suggests they polish the silver spoons to keep busy.

#LainaReadsAnne An hour later, they hear the front door close and panic until they see Stephen and Miss Lavendar strolling through the garden.

Joyful, Anne grabs Charlotta the Fourth and "danced her around the kitchen until they were both out of breath". Cute.

#LainaReadsAnne She predicts there will be wedding in the stone house before the fall.

Remember that Avonlea note she helped write? Let's go back and see what it said again.

#LainaReadsAnne "Rumor has it that there will be a wedding in our village ere the daisies are in bloom. A new and highly respected citizen will lead to the hymeneal altar one of our most popular ladies."

#LainaReadsAnne Maybe it's a few details off, but it wasn't totally wrong, was it?

And that's it for today! This chapter is very sweet and I enjoyed it a lot.

#LainaReadsAnne If you liked this thread, maybe RT part of it so someone else can find it! And if you want to support me, my kofi is open ko-fi.com/A0602GN