Maria was worried.
During their engagement, while perusing the library under the supervision of an unwanted chaperone, she noticed an open space on a shelf and asked Georg about it.
He sighed and leaned up against the bookshelf.
"It was a book of my father's. He read it frequently, and even marked a page or two. Soon after Brigitta was born, I loaned it to a friend who promised to give it back as soon as he read it. I never saw it again and learned later he had moved out of the country."
Maria squeezed his free hand; it was the best she could do.
"What was it about?"
He gave her the title and a brief description, and then decided they should leave the room since he could not get Maria against said bookshelf, which would have improved his mood.
Now she sat beside the Christmas tree, as the children were opening gifts, and had the sinking realization she had accidentally mixed up her gift for Georg with the childrens' instead of separating it out for later. As she sat, wringing her hands, she remembered her first visit to Salzburg after their honeymoon.
She walked into a bookstore. While nervous and still receiving stares, she knew Baroness von Trapp would get more deference than Maria, the governess.
The shopkeeper's wife knew exactly who she was and beckoned her husband.
After his greeting, she asked if that particular book was in his stock.
"It is not, Baroness, I am sorry."
"Would there be a way for me to find a copy of it? Could you help me?" she asked earnestly.
He smiled.
"Let me make a few phone calls. Is there a way I can reach you?"
"Oh, thank you! If I may, I'll stop by whenever I can."
It took him two months, but eventually he found a copy of the book.
"Baroness, it is currently in Vienna and the store owner says it's rather worn and a previous owner has written in it. I'm sorry, it's the best I can do."
"I'll take it! Thank you!"
And here she was as Brigitta handed the small package to her father, which was the last under the tree.
"Georg, perhaps we could..."
"I told you, darling, I didn't need a gift from you. You're all the gift I need."
She couldn't blush more as he ripped open the package.
Silence.
He stared at the book, then slowly flipped through the pages. She dared glance at him.
He ran his hand through his hair, and stammered, "Where did you find this?"
"I...I..."
"Where?"
"I told Herr Kohl I was looking for a book with that title and he found this at a store in Vienna."
"You found it."
Maria was stunned. The children were confused.
And the next thing she knew, he was embracing her, murmuring, "Thank you, thank you" over and over again.
Liesl motioned for her siblings to leave the room. Mercifully, there were no questions until after the door was closed. Not that there were many answers.
Several hours later, the lost book was returned to its rightful place in the library and the next day Georg explained to the children why it was so important to him.
Brigitta soon after snuck into the library while her father was away on business and her mother tending to a sick Marta and read the book in one sitting. She never told them.
Soon after, Herr and Frau Kohl were delighted to hear that Captain von Trapp had sung the praises of their establishment while at a gathering of some of Salzburg's luminaries.
When the von Trapps eventually fled Austria, the book went with them.