Fourteen

It was late in the evening when Max came back to the Von Trapp villa. He had spent the previous night and day in Vienna, visiting his twin sister. It wasn't often that Philomena felt ill, but when she did, it would confine her to bed with a vengeance. Maria had assured him the previous day that she and the children would be fine for twenty-four hours, which relieved both of the twins. Philomena had needed the amusement of her brother to pass the time while her husband was away. Thankfully, she was already on the mend and would be her normal self in no time. She was eager to make a trip to Salzburg, to see the children and again and meet Maria, once she was back to her old self.

Whistling absently, Max drove up to the villa expecting to find it dark and asleep. But when he saw several lights on and Hans Falk's car parked in front of the building, his whistling came to an abrupt stop. Immediately assuming that somebody had taken ill or had an accident, he hurriedly parked his own vehicle, grabbed his overnight bag and headed into the house.

He found Frau Schmidt standing in the hallway, a respectful distance from the drawing room door, waiting to be called – and looking worried. "Oh, Herr Dettweiler!" she said upon seeing him. "I'd nearly forgotten you were coming back tonight."

"Oh, my dear Frau Schmidt, you've cut me to the quick!" said Max dramatically with a hand over his heart. But when he stopped before her, he saw the serious worry on her face and lost any joking mood, remembering that Hans Falk was here. "What's happened? Who is hurt or sick?"

Frau Schmidt quickly explained to Max that Maria had brought home a girl named Mina who had escaped from an abusive home, and was the younger sister of Rolf, the telegram delivery boy. "Now, Maria, Dr. Falk, Rolf and Liesl have gathered in the drawing room. From the looks on their faces when they entered, there is grim news. Why don't you go and join them?"

"Most definitely," said Max, nodding to her before heading into the drawing room.

Upon entering the room, he immediately felt his heart sinking at the sight he beheld. Rolf, whom he had seen only once before, sat in an armchair looking pale and apologetically at Liesl, who was covering her mouth as hot tears streamed down her face. Hans, whom he had known as long as Georg had, sat in another armchair, his jaw tight and his eyes closed in anger. Maria stood apart from them all, standing at and facing the window, and holding the drapes with one trembling hand very tightly.

"My God, what's happened?" he said to the room at large, finally letting his eyes fall on his old friend. Both Rolf and Liesl jumped a bit at his arrival, but Hans immediately stood up and clapped his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here, Max," said the doctor. Turning to Maria, he said, "Fraulein, may we all gather in Georg's office? We need to start acting now, and fast."

"Of course," said Maria, who hadn't moved at all. Her voice sounded dead and hollow. "We will join you in just a moment…tell Max what we've just learned, please…"

Hans nodded and, wrapping an arm around Max's shoulders, escorted him out of the room, already speaking in a low, urgent voice.

There was silence in the drawing room for a minute, and then Maria released the drape and turned around to face the two teenagers. She was more pale than anyone had ever seen her, as if all of the color had been drained from her face. No sparkle was in her blue eyes, and her jaw was set a bit tighter. When she spoke, it was as dead and neutral as ever. "Liesl, would you like to join us in there?"

Liesl stood up with a look of surprise on her face. "Me?" she asked.

"Yes, you," said Maria, who approached the sixteen-year-old and gently wiped the tears from her face. "You're not a child anymore, and you don't deserve to be treated like a child. But you don't have to if you don't feel you can handle it."

Liesl took a deep breath, and then said, "No, I…I want to hear. I want to help, any way I can."

Maria managed the ghost of a proud smile to the eldest Von Trapp child, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Go on, I'll join you all in a minute."

Liesl nodded, and left the room. Maria turned to Rolf, but before she could say anything, he had stood up and spoken. "I want to help, Fraulein. In any way that I can."

Maria looked closely at the seventeen-year-old boy, and took a step towards him. "You do?"

"Yes," said Rolf. "You helped save my sister, and even if you hadn't, I would want to do all I could to help save Liesl's father. You know the only reason I didn't speak of it yesterday was because my sister was not yet safe. Now that she is, I am willing to do anything I can."

Maria gave him a long look, and she could see that he really meant it. So, she nodded, and motioned for them both to leave the drawing room. She led him to Georg's office, where Hans, Frau Schmidt, Max and Liesl were all gathered. Now Max was the one who looked stricken and angry, and was holding both of Liesl's hands, while Frau Schmidt stood behind the girl with both hands on her shoulders looking pretty stricken herself. Hans looked up when Maria and Rolf came into the room, and looked questioningly at the latter.

"Rolf is willing to help in any way he can," said Maria by way of explanation. "You can trust him."

Dr. Falk stood up and looked at the young man. "It would certainly be a great asset to have your help, young man, considering the position you have," he said. "But that would mean putting yourself at risk. Would you be willing to do that?"

Rolf said, "All that I want and care about is for my sister to be safe and sound," said Rolf. "Now, I am close to that goal. She is free from the clutches of our bastard father, and I've raised enough money to get the both of us out of the country and to America."

"Why America?" asked Hans.

"Our late mother's sister lives in a place called Greenwich Village. She owns a bakery there with her husband, our uncle, an American man. She says we will always have a home with her, and that is what my sister needs now. As long as I am able to get her there, I will do whatever I have to."

Maria walked up to Rolf and took his hand. "We will do everything in our power to help you do that, Rolf. It's the least we can do if you help us save the Captain."

Rolf nodded his head earnestly, and couldn't help but look at Liesl. She gave him a tremulous smile.

Everyone then sat down in the small room and began making immediate plans.

Rolf held Liesl's hand as they made their way towards Mina's room; he needed to find some kind of strength for what was about to happen. But when they both stopped outside the door, both were surprised to hear happy chatter and laughter. Upon opening the door, they found Mina sitting up in bed and Friedrich in a chair beside it. However, both fell silent when they saw Rolf and Liesl enter; Friedrich stood up.

"Friedrich, what are you doing in here?" asked Liesl. Rolf just looked at Friedrich with suspicion that would make any protective father proud.

"I-I just wanted to be sure Mina was all right," said Friedrich, talking more to the intimidating older brother than his curious sister. "I know her from school."

"Yes, that's true," piped up Mina, who looked directly at her brother with crossed arms. "He was very kind to come and cheer me up, and I don't see anything wrong here."

Both Liesl and Friedrich looked at her in shock. Neither of them knew that timid, shy Mina had it in her to sound so decidedly authoritative and firm.

Rolf's suspicion seemed to wilt under his little sister's challenging gaze. So he sighed and turned to Friedrich. "Then…thank you. It's much appreciated."

Friedrich nodded his head and quickly moved across the room towards Liesl. Rolf turned to the both of them. "I'll escort myself out of the villa after I talk to my sister. I'll see you tomorrow."

Liesl nodded her head, understanding that Rolf wanted to say good-bye to his sister alone. "Come on, Friedrich," said Liesl quietly, and the Von Trapps left the room. Once the door was closed, Rolf came to sit on the edge of Mina's bed.

"How did it go?" asked Mina gently, taking his hands.

Rolf sighed deeply. "As well as anybody could expect, I suppose," he replied. "I'm just glad they understood why I couldn't tell them sooner. We talked for a while, and some plans have been made."

"Plans to save him?"

Rolf nodded. "And plans to get everybody safely out of here."

"Everybody?"

"All of the Von Trapps. Tomorrow morning, all of the children will leave and head for England with Frau Schmidt."

"England?" asked Mina in confusion and surprise. "Why England?"

"Liesl told me their mother had been English; all of them have a basic grasp of the language, in fact. Their grandmother is still alive and living in London, so their leaving won't cause any red flags with the government."

Mina nodded. "That would make sense. Considering the danger the Captain is in, of course they should all be safe." Her expression became confused again. "But what about Maria? Will she not go with them?"

Rolf shook his head. "She wants to stay behind and leave with the Captain after we can get him out of that horrible place. I am too, along with the doctor and another family friend named Max. Apparently, both of the men have known the Captain for years and are his closest friends."

Mina smiled at him and squeezed his hands. "I'm so glad you're helping them."

Rolf nodded, smiling but with sad eyes. "Especially after they have helped you and will continue to help you."

Mina could see something unspoken in Rolf's eyes. "What is it? What aren't you telling me?"

Rolf looked down at their joined hands and sighed deeply before meeting her eyes again. "You're going with them to England tomorrow, Mina."

Her eyes widened and filled with tears. There was no anger in her eyes; only fear. "Without you? What about you?"

"I will follow with the Captain and Maria once he is rescued. We will all gather together in England before the summer is over." Mina's lower lip trembled and Rolf held her hands tighter. "Please, Mina. Go with them. These are good people, and will take care of you. We've always dreamed of escaping, and now we can – just not in the way that we thought."

A tear rolled down Mina's cheek as she nodded, and her hold on her brother's hands were tighter than ever. "Just be safe…please don't get hurt…"

Rolf immediately hugged her tight, as tears filled his own eyes. "I promise, sister. I promise."

After leaving the Grubers in Mina's room, Liesl and Friedrich walked across the house to the corridor that led into the children's rooms. Friedrich looked closely at his sister and said, "What is going on, Liesl? I know something is going on."

Liesl's eyes filled again as she whispered, "You can't tell the others…They're too young and will panic…"

"You know I can handle whatever it is, Liesl," said the young man, and he meant it.

Before she could answer, Liesl hugged her brother as tightly as she could, knowing that neither of them would get a lot of sleep tonight.

Max escorted both Dr. Falk and then Rolf out. Then he joined Frau Schmidt in the kitchen, where both were in need for a dose of strong tea. Neither of them could speak for a while, and finally Max broke the silence.

"It's a wonderful thing you're doing," said Max. "Accompanying the children to London."

Frau Schmidt waved her hand dismissively. "I've worked for this family ever since Liesl was born, and watched those children grow up before my eyes, through the best of times and the worst of times. No dragon will guard them more fiercely in the absence of their father and governess. I'll only start to worry once we reach London – my English could only be considered close to elementary."

Max managed to give her a grateful smile. "I wish the night were longer…we're all going to need to be stronger than ever starting tomorrow."

Frau Schmidt. "I'm not worried about any of the children. They're good and strong, especially Liesl and Friedrich, who have had to grow up so fast. And the Gruber children are made of the same stuff."

Max nodded. "But there is one person in this house I can't help but worry about after this evening."

Frau Schmidt nodded in understanding. "Maria."

Max shook his head sadly. "Poor thing…She did the right thing by remaining calm and keeping everything inside in front of Liesl, but…"

"She's in shock," said Frau Schmidt. "What a cruel blow it is to her, too, considering…"

Frau Schmidt exchanged a knowing look with Max, who soon nodded. "You've seen it, too, then?"

"Every day since he came back from Vienna," said Frau Schmidt. "And from her reaction, I would guess that if she hasn't learned her heart before, she certainly has now…"

Max grimaced, and shook his head at the ceiling. "The poor girl…she will need more strength than all of us when we find him…"

Upstairs, locked in Georg's bedroom, Maria lay on top of his bed. She held his dressing gown pressed to her, and was crying violently without any restraint.

Because tonight, it was the only thing she could do for the man she loved…and that is what angered her the most.