chapter 1 Awaiting a Special Delivery Mrs Rachel Lynde was the town busybody She lived with her quiet husband on the main road of Avonlea It was a small town on Prince Edward Island in Canada Mrs Rachel as she was known would sit for hours on her porch each day and notice everything that went on Nothing got by her eyes If she saw something interesting she wouldn’t rest until she uncovered the whole story And that’s exactly what happened on a warm day in June While knitting Mrs Rachel caught sight of her neighbor Matthew Cuthbert leaving his home Seeing as Matthew was a shy man who never went out this was surprising Even more 4
curious was the fact that he was wearing his best suit Mrs Rachel was determined to fi nd out exactly where Matthew was off to I’ll just step over to Green Gables after tea and fi nd out from Marilla where he’s gone and why she decided Marilla was Matthew’s sister Both had lived in Avonlea all their lives and neither one ever married He doesn’t generally go to town this time of year and he never visits with anyone Mrs Rachel muttered I won’t know a minute’s peace until I know what has taken him out of Avonlea today After tea Mrs Rachel set out She didn’t have far to go The big rambling house where the Cuthberts lived was just a quarter of a mile up the road Once there you had to make your way up a long lane to the house Matthew Cuthbert’s father as shy and silent as his son got as far away as he possibly could from his fellow men without actually retreating into the woods 5
Good evening Rachel Marilla said briskly This is a fi ne evening isn’t it Won’t you sit down How are all your folks An odd friendship existed between Marilla and Mrs Rachel They were very different from one another Perhaps those differences brought them together Marilla was a tall thin woman Her dark hair showed some gray streaks It was always twisted up in a hard little knot behind her head We’re all pretty well said Mrs Rachel I was afraid you weren’t when I saw Matthew leaving today I thought maybe he was going to the doctor’s Marilla had expected Mrs Rachel to drop by She had known that the sight of Matthew leaving would be too much for her neighbor’s curiosity Oh no I’m quite well Marilla said Matthew went to Bright River We’re getting a little boy from an orphanage in Nova Scotia He’s coming on the train tonight 6
