A/N: Thank you all for the fantastic response, and has promised here is the next chapter. It will probably take me a little while longer to bring you the next though, but I leave you in a good place... Please do stick with this story as I am wanting to explore all their lives beyond this point.

Twenty One: Dinner in the Gazebo

As soon as she had found comfort in the car, Maria found the time to appreciate his appearance. His focus on the road allowed her eyes to wander over his appearance quite a lot during the ride. Maria duly noted that this was the most casual she had ever seen him – wearing a pair of light brown trousers and a white shirt, no tie. She even noticed that some of the top buttons of his shirt were undone, leaving a few hairs sticking out, and Maria could not comprehend the feeling she had to discover even more. But one thing was now apparent to her, and that was that the two of them must not have been going anywhere too elegant or expensive, otherwise Georg would most likely have felt obliged to dress formally.

Maria sighed in relief – because that had been one of her primary fears – and smiled to herself, turning around to look out of the front window.

Georg heard her sigh, and witnessed her smile out of the corner of his eye. He looked around, raising his eyebrows ready to tease her.

"Fraulein?" he asked her teasingly, having heard her.

Maria looked around and noticed his expression. Somehow, she could read him like one of her favourite books, and she smiled at him knowingly. "Well, I know now that we're not going anywhere too formal…"

Georg looked at her questioningly, although still managed to keep an eye on the road.

"Through process of elimination," she answered his silent plea.

"And how are you managing to do that?"

"You're not wearing a tie."

Georg laughed heartily, and Maria relished in the sound. He then continued to focus on driving, but not without reaching his arm out to take her hand.

The couple remained that way until Georg turned down a familiar street, causing Maria to look around at him, confused.

"Captain?"

Georg looked at her with a mocking, stern expression, scolding her for the slip of tongue. She often slipped when using his name, although it would often be purposeful to tease. "For what seems like the thousandth time, it's no longer Captain. You're not an employee anymore," he smiled at her softly.

"Fine, Georg," she responded, the name just slipping off her tongue. It felt so natural to be calling him by name – it was a lovely reminder of how much their relationship had progressed over the last several months. But once Maria began to think about the months that had passed since she had left the villa as governess, she realised that it must have been around this time last year that she had arrived in the first place. Smiling softly to herself, she decided she would bring up the subject later in the evening. But for now, she returned to her initial question. "Now, what are we doing here?"

The car had pulled up outside the villa; the gates had already been open for them.

"The children they, um, wanted to contribute to tonight."

Maria looked at him, slightly confused. The children had never really professed any type of desire to contribute on their dates in the past.

"Why?"

Georg did not answer her verbally – he only smiled, which further increased her confusion. His smile, as well, caused an increase to the number of butterflies in her stomach.

Throughout his silence and Maria's confusion, Georg had left the car and gone around to her side. He opened the door – ever the gentleman – and offered her his hand. She took it willingly and let him pull her out of the car.

"Follow me," he whispered.

Maria obliged, fully aware that she could trust him.

He led her around the back of the house and through the gardens. It was a familiar route for Maria, because she had walked this way plenty of times during her stay here. But when the two began to become closer to Georg's intended destination, Maria saw something flickering in the distance and gasped.

Georg was leading her to the gazebo, and inside was the most marvelous of sights. It was evident that he had been hard at work, because the inside of the beautiful glass structure was filled with candles. There were candles along the seats going all around the circle-shape, each perhaps an arm's length apart. They lit up the entire scene around them, and also illuminated the floor of the gazebo where a picnic blanket and basket lay. Beside it was a bottle of wine and two glasses, ready to be drunk.

To save herself from gasping, or even collapsing, at the sight, Maria began to laugh lightly.

"Oh my…"

Georg smiled at her, looking down at his side.

"Oh my goodness…"

"Do you like it?" Georg asked.

Maria nodded, hardly able to speak. "It's so… it's lovely."

"I think this is all down to our little bookworm, only she could think up something this romantic," Georg spoke, laughing with her.

It was only when he had paused for a moment and silence descended around them that both noticed his use of the word our.

Maria turned to him, almost looking lost but still overjoyed all the same. "Georg, why are we here?"

"Well," Georg breathed in, squeezing her hand and guiding her to sit down on the picnic blanket on the floor.

The two of them sat down, facing each other, Maria's eyes never leaving Georg.

"Well, I just thought this night should be special."

Maria swallowed nervously. She imagined that it would be something serious that would lead him to be talking about this as he was, and since their relationship had progressed in such a manner, she could only imagine… Maria stopped herself from thinking too much, telling herself to save this pace and not to get ahead of herself.

When it became evident that Georg could not form the words he wished, Maria spoke up, "You know, I was thinking in the car… It would have been around this time last year when I first came here…"

Georg looked surprised that she had even thought about this, and Maria blushed at the sight.

Georg was still holding her hand at this time, so he squeezed it gently. When Maria responded to his affectionate touch, it seemed to bring to him a newfound confidence.

"Well, I do hope you like it all…" Georg gestured to all of the candles and the food.

"It looks lovely," Maria replied sincerely. But there was also something in her tone that urged him to continue.

He did.

Georg shifted as he began to mumble, and looked nervously down at the food in their basket. "Well, I was going to ask you something tonight; we have been spending a lot of time with each other in these recent months…"

Maria smiled and held his hand tighter.

"Well, there's no use denying how important you have become in my life… in all of our lives," he reiterated. Suddenly, his nerves departed from him – almost as though a fresh sea breeze had washed over him and given the retired sea captain the means to continue. "I love you, Maria. I may have once told Elsa that she had brought meaning back into my life, but you brought love. The love for my children, the love of life... You helped me cast aside that sense of loss I still felt."

It was true. Maria had sealed off the wounds to his heart, and during that process had reshaped it for herself – for him to love her.

Maria was in a state of rapture as she listened to Georg's words that she did not see him pull out a box from his trouser pocket.

She gasped as he brought it into her line of sight. "Georg…"

"Marry me, Maria. Become my wife."

Georg opened the small box, and the sparkling ring that appeared was illuminated courtesy of the flickering candles and the bright moonlight around them in the gazebo.

It was no more a mystery to her now. All that she had once feared had disappeared once she had become lost in his gaze and the two of them had declared their love, and now this…

Her hands subconsciously rose to her mouth, her eyes sparkling with tears.

"Oh, Georg…" she whispered, shifting her eyes to look straight up at him. The sight she saw in his eyes was one which she could never forget. It was one which would remain with her for the rest of her life – the life she would live with him. Maria raised her hand to cup his cheek, "Of course I will… Yes!"

She then leaned forward, wanting to feel his lips against hers, but he met her there half way. It was a searing kiss; one which spoke of their feelings and these new revelations. It spoke of a promise; the promise of a new life together from this day forward.

Once the kiss ended, the two pulled back, but only far enough so that their foreheads were still touching.

"I love you," Maria murmured, closing her eyes.

Georg rejoiced at those three words, and knew he would never grow tired of hearing them. Moving his head and his lips, Georg began to plant tentative kisses across her forehead, moving to her hair until he eventually placed a kiss on her temple. "Oh, my love…"

A moment of silence passed between them.

"I'm surprised the children haven't broken free from the house and run to greet us yet."

Maria moved her head away from their close position and looked at him, surprised. "The children know about… this?"

"I did say they helped prepare," laughed Georg, noticing her sudden lack of memory. But he affectionately leaned across and kissed her forehead. "Well, I also thought I should ask them first. It's going to be their new life too, and–"

Maria prevented him from continuing by bringing her hand back to his cheek and guiding his lips down to meet her own, knowing that he was rambling.

Once they had parted again, Maria spoke up, "And how did Brigitta want you to propose?"

The two shared a laugh, aware that the eleven-year-old was indeed engrossed in the fantasies of her novels, and more than likely knew of a fair few proposal lines.

"Well, there was I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool, among others. For some reason, she finds that line utterly romantic and endearing."

Maria smiled softly at his response and subconsciously began to rub the back of his hand with her thumb.

But soon a low rumbling broke their trance, and Georg laughed heartily. "Hungry?"

Maria nodded meekly. "I haven't eaten since lunch… in case you were taking me to a fancy restaurant."

Georg laughed even harder, but then turned his head to the food and began to take the lead.

He began to list the various foods that had been arranged for their night, providing Maria with a nice variation to choose from. Eventually Maria settled for a few of the cheese sandwiches and some fresh fruit – the foods she had eaten before on their picnics to her mountain. She was ultimately touched at the gesture.

Georg also began to pour the wine into the glasses, but careful to pour Maria only a small glass and asking her prior to doing this.

Maria did accept, reasoning that a little would not hurt.

So they ate the food, sometimes feeding it to each other playfully – causing either or both to laugh at their actions – until no more could be eaten.

Maria had been thinking deeply during their meal, her mind refusing to remain still from its wanderings. The state of bliss and disbelief was still surrounding her, and she had decided she wanted to know all.

"You asked the Reverend Mother too, didn't you? That day I saw you at the abbey?"

Georg instantly knew the question was referring to that surprise meeting between them two days ago, when he had asked the Reverend Mother for Maria's hand in marriage.

Smiling, he nodded.

Maria threaded her fingers through his and smiled back. "You romantic, old fool."

She winked at him playfully; however his eyes seemed to darken.

Maria noticed immediately, and regretted her choice of words instantly.

"Georg," she warned him in a low voice, causing him to look back towards her. She made sure that he kept eye contact with her throat. "I fell in love with you – not the you when you were twenty years old. Your age has nothing to do with the way I feel about you, and it never will."

This seemed to lighten the aspects in Georg's eyes, although she could sense that it would continue to perhaps creep up on him in the future.

Eventually, once their momentary lapse of silence and thought had ended, Maria sighed, "Oh I'm so happy."

There was a sparkling in her eyes that Georg noticed, and this was only enhanced as some of the light from the candles flickered onto the diamond of her engagement ring.

"If you're ever frightened," Georg began, taking her hand lovingly. "If I ever unknowingly expect too much of you, please say."

Georg was speaking of behalf of the side to him that still worried about her former choices in life, and the full extremities of change that had occurred since. The truth was, she had once wanted to become a postulant and devote herself to God – that would surely mean a large leap into a society such as this, as well as a relationship with any man.

Maria, who had been cautious and thinking about this since the beginning of their new relationship all those months ago, finally found the courage to say, "I was frightened once. Well, not frightened, more cautious…"

"Of me?" Georg asked her.

Maria seemed to struggle with finding the words for this answer. "Not you, per say. It was more the relationship you had… with Agathe," Maria's voice had turned unintentionally quiet now, and she looked up to almost await his reaction. But his neutral, and almost pleading, look urged her to continue. "Your love was so all-consuming, it left you so full of grief for so long, and here was me: a young postulant with nothing to her name, believing that you might one day love me. That you could have loved me just as I love you."

Her voice was breaking, Georg could tell. Slowly, he lifted his hand to her cheek and began caressing the soft skin there. As a single tear escaped her eye and slid down her cheek, Georg felt his heart almost pounce out of his chest and into his mouth. But before he could choke himself on these emotions, he brought his lips to her cheek and to the place where the tear was, and kissed it.

He could hear her sharp intake of breath, and knew that in that moment he had reassured her.

Since her confession, he felt he too should reveal those insecurities he once had – almost to highlight the distance the two of them had travelled to end up at this moment. "I was frightened…" Maria lifted her eyes to meet his gaze once these words had left his lips. "… That because of your past, you could not love me at all. Your faith in God and how you once longed to spend the rest of your life as His servant always left me thinking that the love you felt then could never fall upon myself. And with my age, and–"

Maria placed a finger upon his lips and stopped him.

"Now, Captain, we've spoken about that." She reprimanded him, an almost playful gleam in her eye. It was almost to tell him that despite all of these obstacles, the truth was that they had overcome them, and she had an engagement ring to prove it. But then her eyes turned serious again, and she finished by reassuring him as he had done her. She began to briefly explain about her past feelings and the confusion she had felt about her life and the plan God had for her. Maria recalled the times she had spent in the Reverend Mother's office once she had left the villa, and even since then during the times when the two of them had been on dates together and her heart had been beginning to react. "I had pledged my heart to Him, and then I realised it belonged to you."

Georg watched her, reacting with all the empathy he could muster. She must have been through such chaotic times, he thought to himself, as he imagined the issues that had once been in her mind.

They shared another kiss; a passionate and sensual kiss that explored the boundaries they had once lay. As Georg's hands moved through her hair, Maria began to moan lightly. But this stopped Georg, who drew back to ensure that he had not taken a step too far.

Maria simply smiled at him once she had opened her eyes, and took this opportunity to lean forward and press a quick, chaste kiss to his lips. Once she had drawn back, Maria saw an amused expression cross his face. But there was something else. Her future was in his gaze, and as Georg watched her carefully, in hers he saw his.