Georg Von Trapp had never been a particularly religious man , since childhood he had walked past his local church and wondered how a simple stone building could hold such significance the memories of his mother ushering him through its wooden doors were still clear to his mind , Every Sunday gazing up at its stain glass windows and thinking about the figures looking down on him . Each week His mother would whisper for him to be quiet and he would be left question why exactly they were so important to her.
As he grew older George slowly began to realise that these images of men in robes had not just been that , the words of the of the priest were not simply stories from the bible but things that provided his mother with comfort , comfort in the idea that someone somewhere was looking over her and child . His father hadn't been the kindest of men , Harsh of word and fist Wolfgang had been a stern father and an even crueller husband and as his mother prayed the young boy would often see a tear fall from her eye and squeeze back as the grip of her hand tightened around his .
She had died at home , a long illness drawing her life to a close and after her funeral George had been glad for the sanctuary of the navy .
It was years later that he next entered a church , his wedding day in fact . Other than his mother Agatha had been the only person he had ever loved and just like her was an avid church goer . He figured it only fair to her that they would take their vows there but beyond that Georg could not bring himself to join her for if God did indeed exist how had he allowed his mother to suffer the way she did ? and after she believed so fiercely ? .
It just didn't make sense to his mind .
Despite this Their wedding had of course been wonderful , his Agatha a vision in white , blonde hair perfectly framing her beautiful face it's soft curls swaying as she made her way towards him and into their married life . It had been the first time that he remembered being truly happy and the years followed ? oh how glorious they were .
They had children , Liesl , Friedrich , Louisa , Kurt , Brigitta and Marta a bustling brood of six and eventually George was made Captain , an entire warship at his hand . Life had never seemed so perfect . That was until five years ago .
" Not long now my Darling , you shall soon see our beautiful baby .."
Agatha was never given the chance to see their little girl , Gretl had taken her first breath as her mother took her last and George had cried just as loudly as the new born in his arms .
The funeral had been at the local Abbey but Georg and his children did not attend , He had been taunted enough . His mother , his wife they were so loyal , so pure and yet still punished Georg would not step foot in such a place and he refused for his children to do so . They had stood in the grounds of their villa beside the tallest of trees and simply spoke about her , they wept and they hugged but from then on Georg had not shown emotion , not to his children , not to anybody too angry at the world to allow himself to be hurt again .
He had returned to his ship the next day , His children left at home a governess tasked with their care. that is how it had been for the past five years .
His children had now grown , his oldest now sixteen and as time passed they had managed to get through a total of eleven Governesses the last of which had left that morning .
He had rifled through every piece of paper , every telephone number in order to find a replacement and so far he had had no such luck . Each woman had either been hired before or had point blank refused .
His children were quite the practical jokers .
He had hired Helga sure she would be the one , short and stout she had been firm and although the older children towered above her he could tell that if needed she would be able to hold her ground and for almost a year she had done but after one trick to many just like the others she packed her bags and left .
Georg was becoming irritated , yes he understood seven children was a lot to handle but that's what he had the whistles were for , they had worked perfectly for his crew .
" Captain your children require the patients of a saint "
That is what Bertha had told him , four governesses ago and as Georg looked out across the lake he began to wonder if she had been right , did his children need something more than a governess? .Turning away from the window he sat back down at his desk sighing as his eyes landed on the lone photograph amongst the paperwork . Taking the frame in his hands he looked down at the image , there his wife smiled back at him her eyes bright and full of hope as she held onto his arm .
" What do you think my darling? " he asked running his thumb along the frame "What am I to do with them?"
Agatha had always been the calm to his storm and he knew that she would have known exactly what to do , if only she was here
Married life had been smooth sailing for the couple and looking back he was unable to recall a single argument between the pair , perhaps it had just been in her nature to be so patient with him Or perhaps like his mother the church had allowed her to find the serenity she brought to his life ?
He thought maybe that's just what his children needed , no they wouldn't go to a church , but the guidance their mother found there ? that they could certainly benefit from. So maybe it wasn't another governess they needed , maybe they needed a nun . There would be no talk of God or Jesus that was not the purpose , the children's days would be filled with structure and calm and perhaps just maybe this last resort would finally be just what they needed .