Okay, guys, just so you know, I am going to be finishing Manhunt too, but the way my mind works, once I start working on something, I get an idea for something else, so here's that something else!
The lyrics that start each chapter (which will probably be short) are not owned by me; they are owned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. They actually came out in the 1960s, but I think that they illustrate the mood of each chapter well. I also don't own The Sound of Music. I only own the DVD.

Make believe
that you don't see the tears
Just let me grieve
in private 'cause each time I see you
I break down and cry

Walk on by, walk on by

-"Walk On By," Dionne Warwick

Liesl watched as Rolfe walked away, her vision blurred a bit by the tears welling in her eyes. She scowled and mentally scolded herself for letting herself cry in public. She was supposed to be the tough one in the family, the caregiver, and she felt she couldn't do all those things that had fallen on her shoulders if she got all swallowed up in emotion. She looked down at the cobblestones as she swallowed and tried to regain her composure, and then turned and walked back towards the car.

Gretl, in her own special inquisitive way, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Liesl said, with a smile on her face that she hoped looked real. She marveled at Gretl's immediate ability to see that something had gone wrong. It seemed like a gift that all young children seemed to have, yet it caused Liesl to be amazed, regardless. If anybody was going to find out, she would have expected it to be Brigitta; she had a romantic sensibility that seemed to make her more receptive to matters of the heart.

As if reading Liesl's mind, Brigitta said, "Yes, there is. What is it?"

"Ummm…" Liesl said, mentally scrambling for an answer. "I was thinking about… I lost my favorite ring somewhere. I was just thinking about where it could be."

Brigitta gave Liesl a look that told Liesl that she had better quit now, before she dug herself even deeper into a pit. Uncle Max was just as oblivious as Liesl had expected him to be, just laughing and shaking his head about something. Uncle Max never seemed to care about much of anything; he seemed to wander through life in a fog. Liesl thought about how nice it might be to go through life in such a way.

xxx

Liesl needed to go somewhere to think; so much had happened today. Her nerves couldn't take too much of the kind of drama that she had been going through today. It was funny how fleeting happiness was; all that she had had from singing in the festival was gone now, but the sadness she had felt was still there, driving her into exhaustion.

Brigitta sat on the bed on the other side of the room, her nose in a book, as usual. Liesl smiled; that was one thing she loved about Brigitta. It didn't matter what kind of a book it was, if Brigitta could get her hands on it, it was legitimate reading material. As a result, Brigitta's reading ranged from such diverse authors as L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll to Jack London and Dashiell Hammett.

Liesl suddenly noticed that Brigitta was staring at her, with a questioning smile on her face. Liesl smiled back. "What are you reading?" she asked.

Brigitta showed her the cover. "It's called Washington Square," she said. "It's about a heiress who falls in love with a beautiful, charming young man."

"Is it a happy story?" Liesl asked brightly.

"Well… not so far," Brigitta said. "It turns out that he didn't love her, he just wanted her money. He's just abandoned her because her father's threatened to disinherit her."

Liesl's smile faded. "Oh," she said, trying to continue to sound happy. She rolled over on her bed, facing the wall, and began to sob softly. Did anybody really love anybody?