Her lips were very firmly set . Something must be done . But what ? Alma 's heart was set on this marriage for two reasons . Firstly , if Anna married Gilbert she would be near her all her life . She could not bear the thought that some day Anna might leave her and go far away to live . In the second and largest place , she desired the marriage because Gilbert did . She had always been desirous , even in the old , childish play-days , that Gilbert should get just exactly what he wanted . She had always taken a keen , strange delight in furthering his wishes . Anna 's falseness would surely break his heart , and Alma winced at the thought of his pain . There was one thing she could do . Anna 's tormenting suggestion had fallen on fertile soil . Alma balanced pros and cons , admitting the risk . But she would have taken a tenfold larger risk in the hope of holding secure Anna 's place in Gilbert 's affections until Anna herself should come to her senses . When it grew quite dark and Anna had gone lilting down the lane on her way to prayer meeting , Alma lighted her lamp , read Gilbert 's letter -- and answered it . Her handwriting was much like Anna 's . She signed the letter `` A. Williams , '' and there was nothing in it that might not have been written by her to Gilbert ; but she knew that Gilbert would believe Anna had written it , and she intended him so to believe . Alma never did a thing halfway when she did it at all . At first she wrote rather constrainedly but , reflecting that in any case Anna would have written a merely friendly letter , she allowed her thoughts to run freely , and the resulting epistle was an excellent one of its kind . Alma had the gift of expression and more brains than Exeter people had ever imagined she possessed .
When Gilbert read XXXXX letter a fortnight later he was surprised to find that Anna was so clever .
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