Paul Irving—Miss Lavendar Lewis

Paul Irving and Miss Lavendar Lewis become particular friends through a meeting shaped by both imagination and apprehension. When Paul finally visits, Miss Lavendar’s fear that seeing Stephen Irving’s son might hurt her gives way to an easeful afternoon and a moment of striking tenderness: Paul recognizes in her expression the look his mother used to give when she wanted to kiss him, and welcomes her affection despite his usual dislike of kisses.

A Meeting Held in Abeyance

Miss Lavendar first raises the subject of Paul after hearing about Stephen Irving’s son during Anne Shirley’s earlier visit. She has wanted to ask what kind of boy he is, but has not been able to bring herself to mention him before. Anne describes Paul as the dearest, sweetest child she has ever known and adds that he, like Anne and Miss Lavendar, pretends things. The description connects Paul to the imaginative world the two women share, while making him a real child whom Miss Lavendar might someday meet.

Miss Lavendar admits that she would like to see him, but asks Anne to wait. She imagines a little dream-boy who lives with her and wonders whether Paul will resemble him; more urgently, she worries that his resemblance to Stephen might bring pain, while too little resemblance might be painful in a different way. She gives herself a month to get used to the thought. The delay makes the eventual introduction more than a casual visit: Miss Lavendar has time to anticipate it, but cannot know in advance what the actual child will mean to her.

Recognition at the Lane

A month later, Anne and Paul walk through the woods to the stone house and meet Miss Lavendar in the lane. She has not expected them then, and turns very pale. Taking Paul’s hand, she sees him in his fur coat and cap and recognizes a strong likeness to his father. The resemblance that she had feared becomes the first fact of the meeting, but it does not dictate what follows. Paul is at ease, remarking that people call him a chip off the old block; the child’s unselfconsciousness gives the encounter room to move beyond Miss Lavendar’s private memories.

Anne watches closely and draws a relieved breath when she sees that Paul and Miss Lavendar have taken to each other. Miss Lavendar, despite her romantic imagination, is sensible enough to put her feelings aside after that first involuntary response. She entertains him brightly and naturally, as if he were simply a boy who had come to visit. The distinction matters: she does not ask Paul to stand in for his father or for the dream-child she has imagined. Instead, she meets him as himself. They spend a jolly afternoon together and share a rich supper, the sort of feast that would have horrified his grandmother, Mrs. Irving, on account of its supposed effect on his digestion.

A Friendship Made Explicit

At parting, Miss Lavendar asks Paul to come again. Paul gravely offers her a kiss, and she stoops to kiss him. Her surprise at his permission prompts him to explain that he recognized the look: it was like the one his mother used to give when she wanted to kiss him. He adds that he generally dislikes being kissed, as boys do, but that he rather likes Miss Lavendar kissing him. His response makes the affection specific and reciprocal. He is not merely accepting the attention adults give a child; he has observed her, understood what she wants, and chosen to welcome it.

Paul then makes the friendship explicit, saying, “I think I'd like to have you for a particular friend of mine, if you don't object.” Miss Lavendar answers that she does not think she will object, then turns and goes inside very quickly. A moment later she is waving a gay, smiling goodbye from the window. The quick retreat and the bright farewell hold together feeling and self-command: she is visibly moved, yet the meeting ends not in a confession about the past but in a child’s invitation to keep visiting and her happy acceptance of it.

Comfort, Imagination, and Belonging

On the walk back through the beech woods, Paul lists what he likes about Miss Lavendar: her way of looking at him, her stone house, and Charlotta the Fourth. He compares Charlotta favorably with Mary Joe, his grandmother’s companion, and imagines that Charlotta would not think him wrong in his upper story when he talks about his ideas. His remarks show the breadth of his welcome. The visit has given him not only a kindly adult’s attention but also a household and company in which his imaginative talk seems likely to be understood.

Paul also remembers the supper, describing it as splendid and explaining that a hungry boy cannot always help thinking about what he gets to eat. He imagines that Miss Lavendar would not insist on porridge if a boy disliked it, though, in fairness, he concedes that catering to preference might not be good for him. The lightness of this conversation contrasts with the emotional weight Miss Lavendar had anticipated. For Paul, the visit has become an enjoyable afternoon with someone he likes; for Miss Lavendar, his ease and affection have made a feared encounter into a new relationship. His promise to return gives their friendship a future, while the care with which both approach one another lets it begin without erasing either his mother’s memory or Miss Lavendar’s earlier hopes.