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"Why is it so loud?" Gideon said as he winced. The Edwards' children and Gideon hadn't even entered the town hall as they were waiting in line while the people before them were entering.

"Ms Lynde is here, of course, it is loud," Edward said as he tucked on his collar. He was not excited at all for the upcoming meeting. "Lower your voice down, Eddie. It may be true but you do not want anyone to hear you." Victoria said as she slapped his hand away and fixed his collar properly.

Hamilton, on the other hand, was not paying attention. He kept fiddling with his top hat, making sure that he could hide most of his hair.

"Stop fidgeting, you numpty," Gideon said as he rolled his eyes. When it was their turn to enter, a man by the door was hanging other people's coats and hats against the wall.

"Your coats and hats, please," the man said in boredom. Hamilton froze. "My hat?" He asked and the man nodded. Edward, Gideon, and Victoria all handed their coats.

"Yes, your hat." The man said people lining behind them were groaning. "Is it essential for me to leave my hat behind? You see, it's made of imported silk-" Hamilton lied as he desperately tried to get out of the situation.

"Are you hiding something in there?" The man asked with a glare and positioning himself for a fight. "What? No, it's just-" Hamilton started but could not seem to finish.

"Stop being so vain for a minute and give him your bloody hat, you wanker." Victoria snapped when she heard someone shout from the back. Hamilton took the hat off and shoved it harshly in the man's hand. "Hope you are happy now, you dingpot."

Gideon grabbed Hamilton by the shoulders and guided him into the town hall as Edward apologized for his brother's actions.

When he entered, Hamilton could see and feel people staring at him. "See?" Hamilton asked Victoria. "Everyone is staring at me and judging." Gideon raised his eyebrows as he watched the scene unfold. People were staring at him, yes, but not for the reason Hamilton thought.

The people 'staring' were mostly women, of all ages, looking at him with an adoring look in their eyes. Others were men, who were glaring at him out of spite and jealously.

Gideon tugged on his cravat, feeling uncomfortable as he too was developing a case of jealousy. Gideon was not entirely sure whether or not Hamilton was into men like him, but no one should be that oblivious to the longing looks.

"Oh, look! There's Anne!" Victoria stated as she saw her closest friend. Letting go of Edward's hand, she made her way towards Anne and hugged her.

"I am so glad that you're here! There might be actual gold here, who would have thought?" Anne said as she hugged her friend back. "Not me, it's a bit dodgy though," Victoria said and Anne frowned. "What would make you think- oh, good evening, Hamilton," Anne said when she finally caught sight of the eldest Edwards sibling. She let go of Victoria and straightened herself up.

Anne was almost starting at Hamilton, her face showing slight awe as she searched the details of his face. Hamilton instantly thought that she was looking at his hair. Hamilton went to respond but Marilla Cuthbert halted him from doing so as she and her brother walked into the scene.

"Anne, cease the staring, you're being rude," Marilla warned as she snapped her out of her trance. "Victoria, Edward, Hamilton, nice to see you again. Excuse me, but I am not entirely sure who you are. I'm Marilla Cuthbert."

Gideon smiled, "The name's Gideon Gallagher. I'm a friend of Hamilton and we are residing in an apartment together in Charlotte Town." Gideon said as he shook the old woman's hand.

"It's nice to see a new face, we are always happy to have more people in this small town," Marilla said with a welcoming smile. "And it's very nice to be here. This town is filled with so many magnificent, beautiful things." Gideon replied as he looked at Hamilton from the corner of his eye.

"Come, Vicky, Diana and Ruby are on the stairs," Anne said as she linked her arm through hers. "Seriously though? Gold?" Victoria asked as they walked away from the group. "That is what Nate said, and he is a geologist so he knows what he is doing."

"It is quite exciting," Victoria admitted. Her family in no way needed any money, but the concept of having gold underneath your feet is quite unbelievable.

"The meeting is starting! The meeting is now starting!" Rachel Lynde exclaimed as she rang the bell. People were shouting and asking questions before and the sound only maximised after Rachel's announcement. A cacophony of noises came from the piano at the corner of the room to cease the talking.

Anne continued to drag Victoria towards the stairs were Ruby and Diana were already chatting there.

"All right, all right! He is trying to answer!" Rachel continued. "Fires of London, it's loud in here," Victoria exclaimed, from beside her, Ruby shushed her.

"My name is Thomas Lynde and my wife and I want to know where you sent the gold sample." Rachel's husband, Thomas, asked after Nate gave him an indication to speak.

"I sent the sample to an independent company in New York for testing and confirmation. As I said... I didn't want my employer to know." Nate explained. Victoria's eyes widened, she did not think that the man had any proof. "Where's the proof?" Thomas asked warily as Rachel egged him on.

No one gave Nate a chance as he kept being interrupted by a lot of people, the Minister being one of them. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"How do we know what's real and what is fool's gold?" Rachel asked and Nate smiled at her. Nate walked over to his bag and reached out for something. "I'm glad you asked. I have here a certificate I received in the mail from New York."

Everyone in the audience stood up to get a better look at the piece of paper. "This Soils Report certifies that there is indeed gold in Avonlea. I mentioned I had taken this action earlier to William Barry." All eyes in the room turned to Mr Barry. "Your father knew?" Victoria whispered to Diana in question. Diana shrugged, "He didn't tell anyone."

"Nathaniel told me in the strictest confidence. He was in a moral quandary and it all came out." Mr Barry explained. "There really is gold in Avonlea..." Anne said, mostly to herself. "How come no one noticed before? I am no geologist but you would think that someone would have found out before."

"You think that because you used to live in England where Gold has been and still is being found. And there are multiple geologists there, I'm pretty sure that this is the first time a geologist even stepped foot in Avonlea." Diana explained causing Victoria to turn silent.

"Do you think we'll all be rich like you and Victoria?!" Ruby asked Diana and Victoria.

"Each landowner would send in a sample of their soil to New York for testing. Now, I warn you, it's expensive. It's... $150 per test."

The room went into another raucous at the new news, most of them were a bunch of complaints. "Money! I knew there was a catch!" Thomas Lynde shouted as he tried to make his point. Nate tried his best to put a word in. "It's an investment, fair enough. But an investment in the future." He yelled desperately as he tried to make his voice heard.

"The reward for mining this land - your land - is incalculable." Nate continued to explain the situation at hand.

"You have to write to Gilbert! You have to let him know about the gold so that he can come back!" Ruby said suddenly as she nudged Victoria's side with her elbow. Victoria's eyes widened. "What? Me?"

Ruby nodded excitedly. "Who else? You're the only one who knows where he is." Victoria thought about it. Victoria could tell that Ruby wanted to ask her for his address or something, probably to write to him. Victoria never offered her, because as selfish as it might sound, she didn't want to share something that only she and Gilbert shared.

"$150 is a substantial amount of money. Perhaps I could offer some assistance for those in need?" Mr Barry offered.

"If it seems like an overwhelming proposition, you could consolidate everyone's payment and send it in altogether, as a community. I'd be happy to do that for you."

Everyone in the room looked sceptical and rightfully so. "Look... I don't have a horse in this race. I'm not trying to push this, I'm really not. I'm not from here and I don't mean to poke my nose in your business. This is your decision. Individually. I'm just... I'm trying to offer you an opportunity. It just seemed like the right thing to do."

"Put your money where your mouth is!" Mr Dunlop interjected after Nate tried to leave the town hall with a bag in hand. Mr Dunlop was, along with Nate, staying at Green Gables for the time being.

"I beg your pardon?"

Victoria gasped. "This is more dramatic than the time Othello thought that Desdemona was being unfaithful to him," Victoria muttered underneath her breath only to be shushed by Diana.

"You heard me plain! Now, I'm not from here either, but I'll say out loud, here and now, I love this town. I love Avonlea and I intend to set down roots. I want to be here, gold or no. What about you, Nathaniel?" Mr Dunlop added.

"I-I-I..." Nate stuttered although his execution of it came out rather poorly much to her confusion.

"You just gonna walk away? Stick with that company you work for? A company without morals that would steal the profit from the mouths of good people..."

"It's my job. It's all I have." Nate added.

"So quit!"

The conversation was like a badminton match, going side to side so often that she started to get bored. "Never mind my previous statement. This is getting boring and monotone.

"What?!"

"Make your fortune here. Bet on Avonlea!" Mr Dunlop added much to the amusement of others as the entire town hall started cheering. "Why not be in charge of this-this mining operation? You seem to know the business."

"You've proven that we can count on you, Nathaniel. You are a moral man. I would feel much better about this endeavour if you undertook to oversee it." Mr Barry said, standing up from his seat. "What say you? Will you do it?" Mr Lynde said as he stood up as well while his wife walked closer to Nate.

"If there is a vast fortune here, what have you got to lose?" Rachel added to her husband's statement. "I'm not a betting man. But I'll bet on Avonlea, I'll quit my job!" The applause was heard at that statement and even Victoria clapped once or twice.

At the time being, the Edwards' didn't have a say in the matter since Benedict and Caroline Edwards were still out of town. Besides, it is not as if they needed it, but at least the rest of the town didn't have to continue living a hard life if there is gold. Victoria just couldn't feel as if something was wrong, she read enough stories in her lifetimes to know that one should always expect the unexpected.

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