Chapter 20

Maria awoke and took in her surroundings. The cold dark walls of the Abbey room were a stark contrast to the brightly lit clean white walls of her room at the Von Trapp villa. A smile came to her face as she glanced across the room and her eyes fell on the beautifully designed white dress and long veil hanging in the corner. Georg had insisted that she meet with the finest couturière in Salzburg to have her dress made. She tried to tell him that she could make one herself, but he insisted that it was his right and desire to pamper her and that she would be way too busy planning other things. In the end she admitted to herself that he was right and was relieved at not having to deal with one more thing on her to do list.

She loved the dress and how it had turned out. It was elegant, yet simple without being too extravagantly flamboyant. It fit her personality perfectly and she hoped that Georg would like it as well. It was by far the most exquisite article of clothing she had ever tried on.

She rose from her bed and walked across the room to where the dress was hanging. She reached up and gently ran her fingers over the fine silky smooth fabric. It was her wedding day, a day that just a few months ago she hadn't even given a single thought to until by fate she fell in love with a man she had once regarded as being impossible to work for. Once he revealed to her his true self and his defenses had been broken down, it was unimaginably hard to not fall in love with him.

She loved everything about him, how strong and steadfast he was, but at the same time extremely charming with a gentle caring side that she found immensely enduring. She loved how he loved his children and how playful he was with them once the hard outer exterior of his broken demeanor had been peeled away. His tenderly soft, yet firm fatherly heart towards them made him even more appealing to her. He was a leader who walked a fine line between discipline and gentleness, fine qualities that made him not only a top naval officer, but also a fine family man. His children looked up to him and respected him and it was clear that they were proud of him and loved him dearly.

Although all of those inner qualities were what drew her to him the most, she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit to also admiring his handsome physical features as well. His eyes were the first thing she had noticed. They were like little windows into his soul that at first were dark and foreboding, lacking any sign of warmth. They were steely blue and could cut like a blade, straight through the heart with intelligent discernment, yet now when her own eyes met them from across a room they instantly softened into a light glow of love and desire for her.

His nose was aristocratically slender and his lips curved upwards into a wickedly mischievous grin that could melt her heart on impact and cause her to blush in an instant. He had a strong chin and a small scar on it that just added to his devilishly good looks. She giggled remembering back to how cute he was when he sheepishly told her the story behind that small scar. She had expected to hear some glorious war story, but instead he admitted to clumsily running up a ladder on a ship during a training exercise before he was assigned to u-boats. Two stitches later he had a permanent reminder of the mishap.

His hair was immaculately kept without a single strand out of place. It was dark with blond highlights and a slight graying at the temples that only made him look even more debonair. He had a strong, muscularly, tall stature that reflected his inner strengths and he carried himself in a proudly sophisticated manner.

She suddenly felt a twinge of nervousness fluttering around in her stomach. She was completely in love with him, but the thought of what was coming once the day was over and it was just the two of them alone in their hotel room together gave her chills. She had been told what certain details and some of the ladies she had met in more recent circles made it sound like less of a pleasurable experience and more of a dutiful one.

She was hesitant to accept that though, knowing how Georg was and how he made her feel. She just couldn't imagine him treating her in such a way; ever. She knew how much he loved her and without saying to much on the subject matter had even told her that he respected her more than anyone else and would never put demands on her or make her uncomfortable in any way. No, she trusted him in all areas of their lives. If she didn't she wouldn't have agreed to marry him.

Looking at the clock on the side table, she realized that the morning was going to go by painfully slow. She headed off to take a quick shower and get dressed and then to have some breakfast with the other nuns in the dinning hall. In a few more hours it would be time to finally put her dress on and make that long walk down the center aisle of the church in Nonnberg Abbey.

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Georg had awakened early in the morning, too excited and nervous to sleep any longer. He dressed quickly and walked down the stairs, careful not to stir the rest of the household. He walked out onto the back veranda and sitting on the steps, he watched the sun rise above the lake, casting a golden hue over the mountain range in the distance as the rays of sunshine lightly filtered through the trees.

It was a gloriously peaceful morning, made even more so by the fact that later in the afternoon he would finally be able to call Maria his wife. He didn't deserve her by any means, but had promised God that if He would let him have her, he would do anything for her and would love and protect her for the rest of her life, providing for all her needs and then some. He was grateful to God for allowing her to live and giving her to him and he loved her so much that it was an easy promise to fulfill.

He had been angry with God for so long that he had missed the blessings that were still clearly in front of him. It took God sending a young postulant into his life through his children to shake him up enough to open his eyes to what was right in front of him. Little did he know in the moment of a heated argument with that woman on this very spot that he would fall madly in love with her.

She was everything he wanted and needed. She had a penchant for putting him in his place and standing up to him in a way that no other woman would even dare to. At the same time she showed him great compassion and grace with an extremely caring, nurturing nature. She was his equal in every way despite the class difference.

Beautiful on the inside as well as the outside, she loved the children as if they were her own and even though he had doubted her abilities because of her youthfulness she had proven him wrong time and time again. She was a tom boy at heart with a vivacious amount of energy, but she sang like an angel and had the most infectious laugh that filled his heart with joy every time he heard it.

She had a cute button nose and rosy cheeks and deep blue eyes that danced with a sparkle whenever he gazed into them. He could get lost in those eyes and never be found. Her golden hair, although short, softly shaped her face and added an air of femininity to her without overdoing it. Even though she was extremely shy and modest about herself, she was gorgeous and awe inspiring to him and he drew from her strength when uncertainty over interacting with the children entered his head.

He was startled from his musings when he heard footsteps falling behind him. He turned around to find Liesl walking towards him, "Good morning father." She made her way down to the steps and took a seat beside him and stared out at the lake in front of them.

"Good morning, sweetheart. You're up early. Are the others awake as well," he asked.

"No, they're all still asleep, but I was too excited to sleep another wink. It's not everyday that a daughter gets to see her own father get married."

"We haven't had a chance to talk a lot lately, have we Liesl."

She shook her head, "not really father, but it's all right. I know you and Fraulein have been busy making lots of plans."

"Mm, yes...tell me Liesl, how do you feel about your old man getting married again?"

"Oh I think it's wonderful father, we all do. We all love Fraulein Maria and we could tell you did too, a long time ago, even if you weren't ready to admit it."

He chuckled, so everyone had noticed it long before he and Maria had. He should have known that his children would have figured it out. Brigitta and Liesl, especially. Neither one of them missed very much and were pretty observant. "You're growing up way too fast Liesl. I feel as if I blinked and you're now almost a young woman. Your mother would be very proud of the young lady you have become."

She smiled and looked down towards her feet. It made her happy that her father could now share things about her mother without feeling hurtfully lost and just getting angry. "Father, she would be ecstatic for you, you know. Mother wouldn't have wanted you to be unhappy and lonely and I know that there are just some things that my brother's and sister's and I just can't provide for you. Fraulein Maria loves you and I know you love her too."

He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "My dear Liesl, when did you get so wise?" He sat there thinking for a moment before moving to stand up, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

He ran up the stairs to the master suite and crossed the room over to his dresser, digging through the bottom drawer he pulled out a small jewelry box and opened it. He took out a long gold necklace with a heart attached to it. He ran back down the stairs and out onto the veranda where Liesl was still sitting and sat down beside her again.

"Here," he said while handing her the necklace, "I want you to have this. It was your mother's. Open it, it's a locket." She carefully opened the heart and stared at its contents. Inside were two small pictures, one of her father and the other of her mother. "Your mother put that one of me in it when I gave it to her for our first anniversary and I put the one of her in it the other day. I had planned on giving it to you and then I got so busy that I had almost forgotten about it."

Liesl was overcome with emotion. It had been years since she had seen a photo of her mother and she knew what it must have cost her father emotionally to painstakingly find the photo and add it to his photo in the locket. "Oh father," she gasped through the silent tears, "it's beautiful, but are you sure?"

"Yes Liesl, you are the eldest and I want you to have it." He helped her put it on and then she turned to him and threw her arms around his neck and gave him a huge hug. On the verge of tears himself he quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject to bring himself back to being in control, "Well it should be almost breakfast. I think I smell bacon cooking and if I'm not mistaken I do believe that we may have some fresh crepes with strawberries this morning as well. Shall we go wake the others and get this day started?"

"Absolutely Father," she responded while standing, "after all we do need to get you to the church on time."

He stood, grateful for the small shared moment with his eldest daughter, "You know Liesl, maybe you are old enough to have your first taste of champagne at the reception this afternoon."

She looked up at him with a surprised look on her face as a smile slowly crossed her features. "Really father," she asked excitedly.

"Yes, really," he nodded in affirmation and gave her a small wink. She beamed back up at him and he put his arm around, guiding her back into the house for breakfast.

TBC – Thanks for reading and I hope you all like it, please review.