“Judy knew it would come to pass. She sent me this. I got it in Japan after months of delay. I would have started for Silver Bush at the moment if I could have, but it was impossible to arrange. And anyway…I thought I might have a better chance if I waited a decent interval.”

Hilary had taken a cheap crumpled envelope from his pocket book and extracted a sheet of bluelined paper.

“Dear Jingle,” Judy had printed on it in faint, straggling letters, “She has give David Kirk the air. I’m thinking you’d have a good chance if you’d come back.

Judy Plum.”

“Dear, dear old Judy,” said Pat. “She must have written that on her dying bed…look how feeble some of the letters are…and got somebody to smuggle it out to the mailbox for her.”

“Judy knew that would bring me back from the dead,” said Hilary with pardonable exaggeration. “She died knowing it. And, Pat,” he added quickly, sensing that she was too near tears for a betrothal hour, “will you make soup for me like Judy’s when we’re married?”

Just as they had admitted they must really return to Swallowfield a gray shadow leaped over the paling, poised for a moment on Judy’s slab and then skimmed away.

“Oh, there’s Bold-and-Bad,” cried Pat. “I must catch him and take him back. He’s too old to be left out o’nights.”

“This evening belongs to me,” said Hilary firmly. “I won’t let you go chasing cats…not even Bold-and-Bad. He’ll follow us back without any chasing. I’ve found something I once thought I’d lost forever and I won’t be cheated out of a single moment.”

The old graveyard heard the most charming sound in the world…the low yielding laugh of a girl held prisoner by her lover.

About the Author

L. M. Montgomery achieved international fame in her lifetime that endures well over a century later. A prolific writer, she published some 500 short stories and poems and twenty novels. Most recognized for Anne of Green Gables, her work has been hailed by Mark Twain, Margaret Atwood, Madeleine L’Engle, and Duchess Kate, to name a few. Today, Montgomery’s novels, journals, letters, short stories, and poems are read and studied by general readers and scholars from around the world. Her writing appeals to people who love beauty and to those who struggle against oppression.

Discover beautiful new editions of the beloved Anne series

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Avonlea

Anne of the Island

Anne of Windy Poplars

Anne’s House of Dreams

Anne of Ingleside

• • •

“One of the most extraordinary girls that ever came out of an ink pot.” —New York Times

“The dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice.” —Mark Twain

• • •

Find a new heroine in the Emily trilogy

Emily of New Moon

Emily Climbs

Emily’s Quest

• • •

“I loved Emily.” —Madeleine L’Engle

• • •