Anne of Avonlea 11 - A Happy Ending
Anne had become a regular visitor to Miss Lavender's since her first unplanned visit in February. One morning Anne realized it had been two weeks since her last visit, so she set off through the woods to Miss Lavender's house.
When Anne arrived, Miss Lavender was wearing a deep red dress with a gray shawl. Anne said merrily, "You look like the queen of the fairies!" Miss Lavender smiled warmly.
The two of them enjoyed a delicious meal and then sat by the fire. "I'm glad you're here, Anne. Did anyone ever tell you anything about Stephen Irving and me?" Miss Lavender asked.
"Yes," said Anne truthfully, "I heard you and he were engaged once."
"So we were . . . 25 years ago—a lifetime ago," said Miss Lavender. "We were supposed to get married the next spring. I even had my wedding dress made, although nobody but my mother and Stephen ever knew that."
"What went wrong?" asked Anne.
"We had just a stupid, silly quarrel," said Miss Lavender. "So ordinary, I don't even remember how it began. After the fight Stephen tried to apologize, but I was still sulking, and I wasn't ready to forgive him. By the time I was ready to forgive him, it was too late. Stephen was too proud to come back a second time, and I was too proud to go to him. So it seems our pride and our anger got in the way of our happiness, Anne.
"My heart broke when I realized that Stephen Irving was not coming back," the older woman went on. "But, Anne, a broken heart in real life isn't half as dreadful as it is in books. It's more like a toothache!" Miss Lavender smiled. "I'm really a happy person in spite of my broken heart."
After a short silence, Miss Lavender said, "It gave me a shock to hear about Stephen's son that first day you were here, Anne. What sort of boy is he?"
"Paul Irving is the dearest, sweetest child I ever knew, and he pretends things too, like you and me," Anne replied.
"I'd like to see him," said Miss Lavender softly, as if she was talking to herself. "Though it might be too painful if he looked too much like Stephen . . . or if he didn't look
enough
like him. Anne, please bring him here in a month."
A month later Anne and Paul walked through the woods to the stone house. They met Miss Lavender in the lane.
"So this is Stephen's boy," she said, looking at Paul. "He . . . he is very like his father."
"Everyone says I'm a chip off the old block!" said Paul confidently.
Miss Lavender smiled and seemed to quickly put aside her feelings of sadness over her old romance.
For the rest of the afternoon, Miss Lavender entertained Paul as if he was anybody's son, and they all had a very enjoyable afternoon together.
As Anne walked Paul home, Paul announced, "I like Miss Lavender! And I like her house too!" Over the next few months, Paul visited Miss Lavender several times, and they became friends.
Spring had arrived, and Anne was walking down the main road of Avonlea. She saw a small boy and a man walking toward her. The small boy ran up; it was Paul Irving.
"Oh, Miss Shirley!" Paul said excitedly to Anne. "Guess who's here! Father is here! Father, this is my beautiful teacher, Miss Shirley."
Stephen Irving came forward to meet Anne with a smile. He was a tall, older, handsome man. "Paul wrote about you in his letters," said Mr. Irving with a hearty handshake. "Miss Shirley, I want to thank you for being Paul's teacher and friend. And in Paul's last letter he mentioned visiting an old . . . friend of mine. Do you know Miss Lavender well?" Mr. Irving asked quietly.
"Yes, she is a very close friend of mine," Anne replied.
"I wonder how much you know," he said.
"I know all about it," replied Anne promptly.
"Anne," Mr. Irving said, "I would like to see Miss Lavender. Could you ask her if I might visit?"
The next day Anne relayed Mr. Irving's request. Miss Lavender calmly agreed, saying "He's only an old friend." But her eyes were twinkling, and she seemed to smile to herself.
A few days later, Anne was on Miss Lavender's porch when Stephen Irving walked up the garden path.
"This house looks the same as it did 25 years ago," he said, looking around with delighted eyes.
"Time stands still in an enchanted place," said Anne seriously. "When the prince arrives, things begin to happen."
Mr. Irving smiled a little sadly. "Sometimes the prince comes too late, Anne."
Mr. Irving walked up the stone stairs and went into the parlor to talk with Miss Lavender. One hour later, Anne was sitting on the porch with Charlotte, Miss Lavender's servant, when she noticed Mr. Irving and Miss Lavender strolling around the garden. Mr. Irving's arm was around Miss Lavender's waist. This was a good sign!
After another half hour of anxious waiting, Miss Lavender and Mr. Irving came to the porch and happily announced they were engaged. Anne and Charlotte were overjoyed, for the love between the couple was obvious. When Mr. Irving told his son, Paul said proudly, "I
knew
Father would pick a wonderful second mother."
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