XXIII. Miss Lavendar’s Romance

           “IthinkI’lltakeawalkthroughtoEchoLodgethisevening,”saidAnne,oneFridayafternooninDecember.

           “Itlookslikesnow,”saidMarilladubiously.

           “I’llbetherebeforethesnowcomesandImeantostayallnight.Dianacan’tgobecauseshehascompany,andI’msureMissLavendarwillbelookingformetonight.It’sawholefortnightsinceIwasthere.”

           AnnehadpaidmanyavisittoEchoLodgesincethatOctoberday.SometimessheandDianadrovearoundbytheroad;sometimestheywalkedthroughthewoods.WhenDianacouldnotgoAnnewentalone.BetweenherandMissLavendarhadsprunguponeofthosefervent,helpfulfriendshipspossibleonlybetweenawomanwhohaskeptthefreshnessofyouthinherheartandsoul,andagirlwhoseimaginationandintuitionsuppliedtheplaceofexperience.Annehadatlastdiscoveredareal“kindredspirit,”whileintothelittlelady’slonely,sequesteredlifeofdreamsAnneandDianacamewiththewholesomejoyandexhilarationoftheouterexistence,whichMissLavendar,“theworldforgetting,bytheworldforgot,”hadlongceasedtoshare;theybroughtanatmosphereofyouthandrealitytothelittlestonehouse.CharlottatheFourthalwaysgreetedthemwithherverywidestsmile...andCharlotta’ssmilesWEREfearfullywide...lovingthemforthesakeofheradoredmistressaswellasfortheirown.Neverhadtherebeensuch“highjinks”heldinthelittlestonehouseaswereheldtherethatbeautiful,late-lingeringautumn,whenNovemberseemedOctoberoveragain,andevenDecemberapedthesunshineandhazesofsummer.