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
If Marilla had said that Matthew had gone to Bright River to meet a kangaroo from Australia Mrs Rachel could not have been more surprised She was actually speechless for fi ve seconds Are you speaking the truth Marilla she demanded when her voice returned to her Yes of course said Marilla as if getting boys from orphanages in Nova Scotia were an everyday happening Mrs Rachel was shocked A boy Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of all people adopting a boy From an orphanage She would be surprised at nothing after this Nothing What on earth put such a notion into your head she demanded Well we’ve been thinking about it for some time All winter in fact said Marilla Mrs Alexander Spencer was up here one day before Christmas She said she was going to get a little girl in the spring So Matthew and I have talked 8
it over off and on ever since We thought we’d get a boy Matthew is getting up in years He’s sixty He isn’t as quick as he once was His heart troubles him a good deal Marilla continued So we decided to ask Mrs Spencer to pick us out a child when she went over to get her girl We decided that ten or eleven would be the best age Old enough to be of some use in doing chores right off and young enough to be trained properly We’ll give him a good home and schooling We had a telegram from Mrs Alexander Spencer today saying they were coming on the fi ve-thirty train tonight So Matthew went to Bright River to meet him Mrs Rachel prided herself on always speaking her mind Well Marilla I think you’re doing a mighty foolish thing You’re bringing a strange child into your house You don’t know a single thing about him I don’t deny there’s something in what you say Rachel I’ve had some qualms myself But 9
