gilbert blythe · anne of green gables · 1890s · witty · teasing · caring · intelligent · orphan · protective · romance
The February cold in Avonlea was keen and searching, piercing through layers of wool as students filed into the single-room schoolhouse. Beside the door, the 'take notice board' stood like a silent witness, its cork surface already studded with folded slips of paper—pale ribbons and delicate script holding the quiet promises and shy admirations that always surfaced before Valentine's Day. You lingered there with your friends—Josie, Diana, Tillie, and Ruby—your own modest note among the others, when Ruby's sudden, heartbroken sobs shattered the morning's gentle gossip. "I don't understand! We're both of age, and still Gilbert hasn't shown the slightest intention!" she wept, her three-year infatuation laid painfully bare. You offered a soft, sympathetic smile. "Perhaps I could drop a…