Diana has received a letter from her Aunt Josephine, inviting her and Anne to visit her in town. Anne is so excited upon hearing this news that she must lean against a tree for support. But Anne fears that Marilla will not allow her to go; Anne expects Marilla will find the trip frivolous. Marilla had refused to let Anne travel with Jane Andrews’s family the week before when they wanted to take her to a concert. However, Diana believes she has a plan. She will have her mother ask Marilla. In this way, maybe Marilla will have more trouble refusing.

Diana’s plan works, and on the following Tuesday, Diana’s father drives the girls the thirty miles to Charlottetown. Anne is dressed in a new coat—Matthew had insisted that Marilla have it made. Since Matthew had gone to Mrs. Lynde to make Anne’s Christmas dress, Marilla had decided that she would make Anne more fashionable dresses. However, she was not up to the task of sewing the coat, so she had a professional seamstress do that. Anne is thrilled with her new outfits, though she knows (because Marilla has told her) that it is wicked to spend so much thought on clothes.

Aunt Josephine is pleased to see Diana and Anne. She is also amazed at how much the girls have grown. Anne is actually taller now than Aunt Josephine is. When the elder woman leaves the girls in the parlor to check on dinner, Diana and Anne are astounded by the splendor of the large house. Diana thinks it looks like a palace. It is the first time Diana has visited her aunt. Anne says she has dreamed of places such as this, with velvet carpets and silk curtains, but she never imagined she would actually see a real house so richly decorated. However, the more she looks around the more she feels uncomfortable with all the riches. She thinks rooms that are a bit more bare leave more room for the imagination.

While in Charlottetown, the girls are kept busy. On Wednesday, Aunt Josephine takes them to the Exhibition grounds, which Anne describes as a type of county fair. On Thursday night, they go to a concert at the Academy of Music to hear a prima donna sing. This pleases Anne so much, she later tells Marilla that she could not speak. After the concert, Anne tells Aunt Josephine that after having experienced so much splendor, she does not know how she will ever be able to return to “common life” again. Aunt Josephine suggests that they walk across the street to a restaurant to have some ice cream, which might help Anne come back to her world.

On Friday, as the girls ride home with Mr. Barry, they are a little sad to leave Charlottetown—but they find they are at least equally happy to be returning to Avonlea. Anne feels so happy when she gets home, she tells Marilla she could kiss everything in the house, including the clock.