She awoke with a heavy head, her cold only becoming worse as she slept. Typically she was very healthy, and it always surprised her when she was taken down by illness. All she wanted to do was stay in bed all day and sleep, but there wasn't time for that. Frau Schmidt would be the one tasked with looking after the children if she stayed in bed, and she knew after having fired two of her maids, she simply would not have the time to cover for her. She wouldn't have felt right to do that to her.

She sat up, rubbing her face and looking to the clock. She had plenty of time, thankfully, as it was a slow-moving process to get out of bed. She grabbed a tissue and sneezed violently, groaning at the pressure in her head and eyes. Perhaps a shower would help, she thought as she gently stood to do just that.

As she washed her hair and took in the steam of the shower, her body began to relax. She thought back to Georg's way of relaxing her the night before and felt her cheeks burning red, no longer from the heat of the shower. It still baffled her how her body reacted to him, not to mention the fact that a man of his strength and power fell to his knees in an instant to pleasure her. He didn't even expect his own pleasure in return, simply concerning himself with hers.

She thought about him a lot, more than the usual lustful thoughts; she thought about him as a person. It was impossible not to know each other well, given their level of intimacy, and she found herself learning him and wanting to learn him more and more every day. She wondered what a real relationship with him would be like. Would he be as sensual and attentive to her needs if they were courting? Or would he grow cold and distant, as he seemed to act toward the Baroness? She couldn't help but wonder why they were still together, or if he still had intentions to marry her. But she didn't dare ask those questions; it was none of her concern what he did after she left, and she certainly didn't want to give the impression she necessarily cared.

Drying off and fixing her hair for the day, she allowed herself to feel guilty for what she was doing to the Baroness. It didn't take any special powers to see that he all but ignored her anymore, occasionally taking her for a walk or out to supper, but it was all clearly a farce. Maria was the one occupying his mind and his bed, and that knowledge made her feel terrible. She knew she should end things, no, she shouldn't have even let them begin in the first place. But she simply couldn't pull herself away. As selfish as her actions were, she completely craved him. Not just his body anymore, but his presence alone was enough. The thought of him simply taking her hand and walking around the grounds of the villa like he did with the Baroness made her heart soar. She would have loved to share just a moment with him like that.

It had to be her cold making her think such thoughts, clouding her mind. She had the best parts of him, she had to remind herself. He was simply Georg with her, there was no need for the fanfare or public interactions. Besides all that, she had to remind herself that they had an expiration date. She was still very much set on leaving in September, just as she had always planned. She needed to begin her own life, though her heart ached to think of leaving. She had accidentally made a home with the Von Trapp family, and she knew she wouldn't be well for quite a while after she left. Staying wasn't an option either, not with the way things were with Georg. The affair simply would run its course, and then she would move on.

Everyone was suspicious of her at breakfast, seeming to be concerned about her ability to handle herself while she was unwell, but nobody questioned her. She thought she was putting on a pretty good show of feeling well. The Baroness looked at her in her typical, disgusted kind of way, but everyone else was quiet and kept to themselves. Georg tried to catch her eye a couple times, but she ignored him. She knew he would scold her for not staying in bed.

Suddenly, Georg sneezed loudly into his napkin. Her eyes widened, as did his, as they looked at one another. He would have only gotten the cold from her, nobody else had been sick. He kissed her in many places the night before, but she knew the moment he kissed her lips that he was being too risky. Would anyone guess? She looked around, quickly meeting Liesl's eyes, who clearly saw their exchange. She offered a smile, but didn't receive one in return. Instead Liesl's eyes narrowed at her before she lifted her napkin and faked a sneeze.

"Oh goodness, excuse me." She exclaimed loudly. "I'm sorry, Father. I hope I didn't pass this to you too." The Baroness, who had been staring at Georg for what felt like hours, appeared relieved. She redirected her attention to the fruit on her plate.

"It's perfectly alright, Liesl. We must all just be passing this around." He chuckled confidently and went back to eating his meal.

Maria did her best not to look too stunned by the exchange, but knew her eyes would betray her if she looked up from her plate. Certainly Liesl hadn't guessed, had she? Well clearly she had if she was covering for them, but how on earth...she looked up to meet Liesl's eyes again, which were full of frustration. She obviously was not excited about covering for them, and Maria felt her heart break at the notion. She was terribly embarrassed for one of the children to know something so personal about her. She was supposed to be setting the good example for them all.

Georg seemed to believe that her sneeze was real, or he was simply a much better actor than she. It was difficult to say one way or the other, but she desperately felt the need to run away. No, that would absolutely make things too obvious. She needed to pretend the exchange didn't bother her in the slightest. It was easier said than done, she thought.

As she walked outside with the children after breakfast, she leaned down next to Liesl to whisper. She needed some answers for the sake of her sanity.

"Should we talk?" Liesl looked her in the eyes, innocence replaced with something Maria couldn't quite recognize.

"I don't want to talk to you right now." She began to walk away, but Maria gently took her arm in her hand.

"Please."

"I'm angry with you. I don't wish to talk." Liesl pulled her arm away and rushed to join the safety of her siblings in the garden.

Maria felt like crying. None of the children had ever refused to talk to her about their feelings, especially Liesl. She could even get Louisa to open up to her, which was no easy task. Her heart hurt as she approached them in the garden, and it was clear by how happy they all were by her presence that Liesl hadn't shared her knowledge with the rest of them, for which she was thankful. She wouldn't have been able to forgive herself if she caused anyone else pain.

And she was also aware that with Liesl's knowledge of their affair, she and Georg were through.

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I wanted to send out a thank you all for the reviews and continuing support! You all have some amazing ideas out there, and I'm so glad to have you on the journey of this story with me. Thank you!