Chapter 4

No sooner had the kids walked into the nursery and taken their school work out than they looked up to see their father appear in the doorway. He stood silently watching them for a minute. They had all grown so much and a wave of gratitude washed over him towards Maria for showing him that he was missing out on watching them grow into amazing young people. Liesl was practically grown now and it wouldn't be long before young suitors were knocking on his door regularly.

The corners of his mouth upturned slightly before he spoke to them, "I have a surprise for you all. You're governess is here and she's waiting to meet you down in the parlor." They all looked warily at one another, exchanging worried glances. "Well come on now, don't be shy. I think you'll like her, she seems very pleasant and I want you all to welcome her with open arms."

Liesl, being the eldest of his seven children rose up from her seat and motioned for the rest of them to follow her. As they one by one exited out into the hallway he could hear his youngest daughter whispering to Friedrich, "No one can be as nice as Fraulein Maria," who quickly hushed her. He couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle for the chaos that was about to ensue.

As the children got down to the bottom of the stares they paused for a moment in uncertainty. Georg walked past them and stood at the door to the parlor. He looked at Liesl and motioned to her with a nod of his head. She looked at her six siblings, sighed, and said, "we might as well get this part over with," and then walked towards the door. She stepped through the parlor door and instantly looked up. As soon as her eyes met Fraulein Maria's she was across the floor with all the other children following. They practically knocked Maria over with their excited hugs and cries of joy.

"Fraulein Maria you've comeback from the abbey," explained Friedrich.

"We've missed you," said Marta.

"Father didn't tell us it was you who would be with us," added Louisa.

"That's because I didn't know myself," said their father who was smiling from the doorway at the scene before him. His children hadn't quite been themselves since she had left and it suddenly felt so right to have Maria with them for Christmas.

"Oh father," cried Brigitta, "we don't need any other Christmas gifts this year. This is the best one we could have received, to get to spend the holiday with Fraulein Maria."

"I've missed all of you too." Maria was standing in the middle of all the children completely overcome with emotion. "I'm glad we have the next few weeks to spend together." She looked up at the Captain for reassurance who winked at her. She broke his gaze as the blood rushed to her cheeks and slowly crept up to her ears.

"Fraulein," pointed out Gretl, "your face is turning red."

Maria smiled gently at her, "I suppose I'm just very happy right now."

They all turned towards the Captain as he cleared his throat from the doorway. "All right children. Lets give Fraulein Maria some time to settle in. All of you upstairs to finish your studies and then we'll all have dinner together. If you finish all of your work, we will pull the Christmas decorations out after dinner and get that bare tree over there in the corner spruced up as well. Now everyone upstairs."

He could hear them all whispering and giggling excitedly as they climbed the stairs. He wasn't sure they would get much work done. He turned to Maria, "Well, I guess you should get settled in. I knew they would be happy to see you...and so am I," he added. He gestured for her to exit the room first. On her way out the door he grabbed her hand and held it there for a minute, giving it a gentle squeeze, "I really am glad you're here, Fraulein. The children aren't the only ones who have missed you."

She smiled back at him as her heart fluttered at the contact between them, "Thank you Captain." He released her hand and gave her a small nod of his head and then watched her as she climbed the stairs to her room.

A few hours later the children were eagerly waiting as the last box of Christmas decorations had been brought down out of the attic. They had hastily eaten their dinner in anticipation. This would be the first real Christmas they had enjoyed since their mother died. Their father hadn't really wanted to celebrate the holiday and had done the minimal amount of decorating for the children's sake at the insistance of Frau Schmidt. Even then all they could get from him was a small tree tucked away in a corner of the nursery, a place that their father had rarely frequented. He didn't celebrate with them, but he had made sure that there were a few presents under it for them each year. This small gesture was all they had to remind them that even through his grief their father still loved them.

This year; however, was turning out to be the best Christmas they had experienced in years. Their father had slowly been drawn out of his grief by a very spirited young postulant from a nearby abbey who after leaving them for a few months was suddenly back to celebrate Christmas with them. It had not gone unnoticed to the children that their father's demeanor had become a little more brighter with her return.

The children dug through the décor, pulling out garland and stringing it from one end of the villa to the other. Not a single room was lacking in holiday cheer after they were finished. They hung up the ornaments on the tree while each told a story about why that one or this one was their favorite. Marta and Gretl were enthralled with the manger scene and were content to play on the floor with the figurines. Pretty soon the whole tree was done except for the very last part, the angel needed to be put on top.

Georg grabbed the angel and handed it to Gretl. She looked up at him questioningly, "Me father?"

He tapped her on the nose, "Yes you. Tradition in our family is that the youngest is lifted up to place the angel on top." With those words as a large smile spread across her young face reaching to her glowing blue eyes, he lifted her up to allow her to place the angel in its rightful position.

"Well I think that's everything," declared Maria.

"Not quite everything." Everyone turned towards Kurt who was holding a strange bunch of garland and holly up in the air from a hook that was attached to the end. "Where should we hang this one, father, and what is it?"

Georg looked over to what his son was holding up in the air. "Ah," he began slowly while glancing at Maria from the corner of his eyes. "that is called mistletoe."

"Mistletoe," questioned Marta.

"Yes, you hang it up in the doorway and when two people get caught underneath it they are suppose to kiss."

"Oh, so you mean like you and Fraulein Maria," explained Gretl.

Georg didn't need to look at her to know that Maria's face was crimson red. He cleared his throat rather loudly and quickly changed the subject, "I have an idea, lets turn the lights down and turn the tree on and maybe Fraulein Maria can play her guitar while we all sing some Christmas carols and I think Frau Schmidt might even have some hot cocoa for everyone."

"but, father. "Kurt started, "what about this mistletoe? Shouldn't we hang it somewhere?"

"Um...er...maybe we should just leave that off to the side for right now." Kurt just shrugged his shoulders and placed the funny looking plant on the nearby end table. Neither Georg or Maria saw the mischievous grin that passed between Liesl, Brigitta, and Lousia. When they weren't looking the three of them took the mistletoe and hung it above the parlor room door.

The family sang with one another for a good hour before Georg finally announced that it was time for the children to say goodnight. The next day would still be one more school day before winter recess and he wanted to make sure his children were well rested for it. With some reluctance they finally bid their goodnights and headed up to bed.

Maria had turned to the Captain to say her goodnight as well and was met with a perplexed look. "Is something wrong Captain?"

"Wha...oh no, nothing at all. I was just wondering where that sprig of mistletoe disappeared to."

Maria looked around the room until her gaze fell upon the doorway. She pointed upward towards the upper frame of the door, "Um Captain, is that what you were looking for?"

"Now how did that get up there," he asked.

"My guess would be that the children did it when we weren't looking. I can take it down if you'd like, Captain."

She moved to walk across the floor, but was suddenly stopped when she felt a hand give her elbow a squeeze. "It's all right fraulein. I rather like it there and who knows maybe someone will get some use out of it this season." He winked at her and flashed her a mischievous grin. She impishly looked down at the ground and wondered if he could possibly fall for her the way she had for him.

"Before you go Fraulein. While the children are in school tomorrow I was hoping that you would help me out a little."

"I'd be more than happy to, Captain."

"Good, you and I will do some shopping after dropping the kids off for the day."

"Shopping Captain?"

"Yes, I still need to get a few things and I could use your expertise."

"If I could be of any help."

"Thank you, Maria. I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight and don't get caught under the mistletoe."

She blushed again and swiftly turned to leave, "Goodnight, Captain."

"Oh and one more thing, Maria." She froze when she heard him stop her, "welcome home." She turned and smiled at him in acknowledgment before heading back out of the parlor and up the stairs to her room.