"Marilla, can I go over and see Diana just for a minute?" asked Anne.
"I don't want you going out after dark," said Marilla.
"But she has something important to tell me," cried Anne.
"How do you know?"
"Because she just signaled me from her window.
We make flashes with the candle by waving cardboard in front. It was my idea, Marilla!"
"That doesn't surprise me, Anne," Marilla replied.
Anne dashed over to Diana's and dashed back.
"Oh, Marilla! You know that tomorrow is Diana's birthday?
Well, she asked me to stay at her house, in the guest room!
Her cousins are coming with a big sleigh, and we are all going to the Debating Club concert—if you'll let me go, that is. You will, won't you?"
"No, you can't go. Little girls should not go to concerts at night," Marilla said.
Anne, with tears rolling down her cheeks, went upstairs. Meanwhile Matthew slept on the sofa.
Matthew opened his eyes and said, "Marilla, I think Anne should go to the concert." He had not been asleep.
"Well, I don't," snorted Marilla. "Who's bringing up Anne, you or me?"
"You are," admitted Matthew. But he kept asking, and eventually Marilla let Anne go to the concert.
On the day of the concert, Diana did Anne's hair in the new style, and Anne tied Diana's bows in a special way.
Anne felt a little sad when she compared her plain black dress and shapeless coat with Diana's pretty green dress and smart jacket.
But Anne remembered she had an imagination and she could use it.
Early in the evening, Diana's cousins arrived, and they crowded into the big sleigh.
As they drove through the snow, there were tinkles of sleigh bells, and the night seemed magical to Anne.
The concert was thrilling too. Only one item on the program failed to interest her—Gilbert Blythe reciting a poem.
Anne picked up a book and read it until he finished, but Diana clapped and clapped for the performer.
It was eleven o'clock when they got home, and the house was silent.
Anne and Diana tiptoed into the guest room.
"Are you ready for bed?" Anne asked. "Let's race to the bed!"
The two girls ran and jumped on the bed in the spare room. And then . . . something moved under them.
There was a gasp and a cry, and somebody said in a muffled voice, "Oh my goodness!"
Anne and Diana dashed out of the room and up the stairs.
It was cold and they were shivering.
"Who was it? What was it?" whispered Anne.
"Oh, Anne, it was Aunt Josephine. She'll be furious," answered Diana.
"Who's Aunt Josephine?"
"She's my father's aunt, and she lives in Charlottetown.
She's really old—seventy—and I don't think she was ever young. She's very strict," Diana said.
Miss Josephine Barry did not appear at breakfast the next morning.
Mrs. Barry smiled kindly at the two girls.
"Did you have a good time last night?
I meant to tell you that Aunt Josephine came and stayed in the guest room, but I was so tired I fell asleep."
Diana and Anne just smiled at each other.
Anne went home after breakfast, and then later went to Mrs. Lynde's house on an errand.
"So you nearly frightened Miss Barry to death last night?" said Mrs. Lynde.
"Diana's mother is very upset. Josephine Barry came to stay for a month, but she changed her mind and is leaving tomorrow!
And she had promised to pay for Diana's piano lessons, but now she isn't. She thinks Diana is a tomboy.
Old Miss Barry is rich, and the Barrys want to keep on her good side.
Anne, you should look before you leap.
Especially into beds!" Mrs. Lynde laughed at her own joke, but Anne saw nothing to laugh at. Anne went back and saw Diana.
"Anne, after you left, Aunt Josephine woke up and she was so angry!
She won't stay, and I don't care, but Mother and Father do," said Diana.
"Diana, didn't you say it was my fault?" asked Anne.
"I'm no tattletale, Anne! It was my fault too."
"Well, I'm going to tell Aunt Josephine myself," Anne announced.
Diana stared. "Anne Shirley! Why . . . why, she'll eat you alive!"
"I must, Diana. It was my fault and I've got to confess. Luckily, I've had practice at confessions."
Aunt Josephine was knitting by the fire. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"I'm Anne of Green Gables," said the small visitor, "and I've come to confess."
"Confess what?" Miss Barry asked.
"It was my idea that Diana and I jump on your bed.
Diana is a very ladylike girl, and it's not fair to blame her," Anne said.
"Diana jumped too," said Miss Barry.
"It was just for fun," persisted Anne.
"Diana really wants to learn the piano. If you must be angry, be angry with me.
Mrs. Hammond and Mrs. Thomas were always angry at me.
I am used to it, and I can endure it better than Diana."
The old lady was not angry anymore.
In fact, she was interested in this strange redheaded girl.
"Two girls bounced on me in the middle of the night!" she said sternly.
"You don't know what it was like."
"I don't know, but I can imagine," Anne said eagerly.
"It must have been very disturbing. Do you have any imagination, Miss Barry?
If you do, imagine you are Diana and me . . .
We didn't know there was anybody in the bed, and we nearly died!
And we couldn't sleep in the guest room.
You're probably used to staying in a guest room.
But imagine you're a little orphan girl who's never stayed in a guest room."
Miss Barry actually laughed. Diana, listening outside, was relieved.
"My imagination is a little rusty," Miss Barry said.
"But sit down and tell me about yourself."
"I'm very sorry, but I can't," said Anne.
"I would like to because you seem like an interesting lady.
You might even be a kindred spirit, though you don't look like one.
I must go home to Miss Marilla Cuthbert.
She is a very kind lady who is bringing me up.
But before I go, please say you forgive Diana and me."
"If you come and talk to me sometimes, I will forgive you both," Miss Barry said.
That evening Miss Barry gave Diana a silver bracelet and decided not to return to Charlottetown.
"I'm staying in Avonlea so I can get acquainted with Anne," she said frankly.
"She amuses me, and at my age, an amusing person is a rarity."
Miss Barry stayed for more than a month, and she and Anne became firm friends.
Anne confided to Marilla, "Miss Barry was a kindred spirit, after all!"