All went merry as a marriage bell until Anne s layer cake was passed.
Mrs. Allan, having already been helped to a bewildering variety,
declined it. But Marilla, seeing the disappointment on Anne s face, said
smilingly:
Oh, you must take a piece of this, Mrs. Allan. Anne made it on purpose
for you.
In that case I must sample it, laughed Mrs. Allan, helping herself to
a plump triangle, as did also the minister and Marilla.
Mrs. Allan took a mouthful of hers and a most peculiar expression
crossed her face; not a word did she say, however, but steadily ate away
at it. Marilla saw the expression and hastened to taste the cake.
Anne Shirley! she exclaimed, what on earth did you put into that
cake?
Nothing but what the recipe said, Marilla, cried Anne with a look of
anguish. Oh, isn t it all right?
All right! It s simply horrible. Mr. Allan, don t try to eat it. Anne,
taste it yourself. What flavoring did you use?
Vanilla, said Anne, her face scarlet with mortification after tasting
the cake. Only vanilla. Oh, Marilla, it must have been the baking
powder. I had my suspicions of that bak--
Baking powder fiddlesticks! Go and bring me the bottle of vanilla you
used.
Anne fled to the pantry and returned with a small bottle partially
filled with a brown liquid and labeled yellowly, Best Vanilla.
Marilla took it, uncorked it, smelled it.
Mercy on us, Anne, you ve flavored that cake with _Anodyne Liniment_. I
broke the liniment bottle last week and poured what was left into an
old empty vanilla bottle. I suppose it s partly my fault--I should have
warned you--but for pity s sake why couldn t you have smelled it?
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