Chapter 6
Declarations
"Hello," he said softly, wondering what his face looked like to her.
"Hello," she almost whispered. He noted the nervousness in her voice. She looked terrified.
"I thought I just might find you here," he said lightly, trying to ease her mood. He gestured to the abbey.
She remained silent, the fear never leaving her eyes. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. There she was, wearing the same dress she had worn when they had danced the Laendler. She was completely packed and ready to go somewhere, yet the sight of this man standing in front of her left her completely powerless.
"Maria," he started, also starting to look a little hesitant. "Are you going somewhere?"
Noting the loss of "Fraulein" before her name, she looked down at her bag and guitar case. "I don't know, Captain," she confessed. "I guess that depends on if I have someplace to go."
They both smiled nervously and he slowly walked towards her. This time, she did not back away.
"You left," he started "without saying good-bye. Even to the children."
"It was wrong of me, forgive me," she said simply.
He gazed into her eyes. "Why did you?"
She held his gaze. "Maybe for the same reason you came to see me today? The same reason I'm standing right here?"
He nodded, each still unsure to voice their feelings just yet. There was so much to discuss. Taking a step back, he bent down to pick up her belongings.
Wanting to ease some of the tension between them, he offered his arm to her and suggested, "Maria, let's get someplace to talk."
Taking a deep breath, she realized that this was the moment. There would be no turning back now. She could decline, say she was wrong, and head back to the abbey, or she could take his arm and see what happened.
Trusting God, her instincts, and him, she took his arm.
"I had forgotten how bland the Abbey food was!" Maria declared as they exited the restaurant where they had their dinner. They walked over to the cliff wall of Wrinkler Café, enjoying the breathtaking view of the city.
He laughed. "I'm pleased you liked it."
"It's the simple things in life I've always treasured."
Georg decided it was time to start their real conversation. Dinner was filled with pleasantries of two friends. But both knew that the weather was not what had driven him to the Abbey or her out of it.
"The children will be so pleased to see you," he started slowly. "If you're coming to the villa with me."
She looked over at him. "Considering I have no where else to go, that would be nice. I miss them."
"Only the children?"
"No, uh, YES!" She quickly corrected, turning red. "Isn't it right to have missed them?"
"Oh, yes, yes, of course!" he amended. "But, may I ask you something?"
She froze. "Yes," she allowed hesitantly.
"Why did you leave? Why so suddenly?"
She looked away, unsure how to answer that. "I was frightened."
"Of what?" he asked, moving closer.
Too close, apparently. "I," she stammered. "I thought I was disobeying the reason I was sent there."
"And what," he asked, "did you think the reason was?"
Searching his eyes, and deciding that she had to trust him completely, she answered, "To prepare those children for a new mother. I thought you were going to marry the Baroness."
He nodded. "I see."
She continued. "Then I saw all the love that was hidden in those children. They needed you so desperately. I saw that it was my duty to give all of you the push you needed to be a family again."
He touched her arm gently. "And I could not thank you enough for that, Maria."
She smiled warmly at him, grateful that God had reunited the family. The smile faded as she knew she had to answer his question. "Then everything changed."
"When we returned from Vienna," he helped her.
She nodded and swallowed. Suddenly, the good meal she just enjoyed felt like lead in her stomach. "I was only supposed to be there to help your family become close again. I was there to help the children prepare for a mother."
"But Maria," he interrupted her and took her hands in his somewhat urgently. "You did."
She looked at him, confusion mixed with hesitant hope. "I wasn't supposed to feel what I did. To have asked you for anything more would have been wrong. So I had to leave. I couldn't stay. I was there on God's errand."
"And you thought you knew God's plan already?"
She nodded, feeling tears form behind her eyes. "I wasn't prepared for how I felt when we would look at each other. I never felt that way before. It frightened me more than I had ever been in my life."
He released her one hand and stroked her cheek, removing a tear that had escaped. "So, you left, thinking it was all wrong," he concluded. When she remained silent, too emotional to continue, he smiled. "Did you ever think that I might be feeling the same way?"
Maria was about to confess that the Baroness told her just that. But something held her back. For some reason, she only wanted to talk about him and her, Maria.
Instead, she held his gaze. "You did? And now?"
Again, he smiled. "Maria, you answered more prayers than you'll ever know the day you arrived at our home. You gave my children back to me. You brought love back to our lives. You gave me meaning. And you made me feel something I thought I would never feel again."
At that, Maria didn't even bother to hold the tears in. She simply let them fall, letting them wash her fears away.
"I came to the Abbey to tell you that," he continued. "That we need you in our lives. I need you in my life. I love you."
She smiled with unbelieving joy. "I can't believe this is happening to me," she confessed. "I love you too!"
Georg smiled faintly as he traced the lines of her face. Then his face grew serious, as he moved closer to her. She held her breath as he softly placed his lips to hers. Tentatively at first, their embrace grew more intense as they gathered each other in their arms. Feeling his hands caress her back, Maria realized she finally had an answer to Mother Superior's question: she knew where she would be happiest.
They pulled away, still staring into each other's eyes, as if they were the only two people in the world. Feeling at peace with herself for the first time in weeks, she laughed softly.
"Reverend Mother always says when the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window."
Returning her laugh, he cupped her face in his hands. "What else does the Reverend Mother say?"
"That you have to look for your life."
"I agree with her," he said. "That's why I came to find you."
She smiled brightly. "Thank you for being braver than I was. Please forgive me for not trusting you. For not believing you."
He tsked her confession away. "Not without a fight, Maria. I wasn't going to let you go without a fight. You're too important."
"Excuse me, sir," a tentative voice from behind Georg said. "But we're closing soon, and -"
"Oh, forgive us," Georg said quickly. As they picked up her belongings, they heard faint music down below. He caught her glance and smiled. "Come. I don't want this evening to end."
As the festival in the market place started to die down, Maria and Georg remained on the dance floor. Aware of the fact that it was nearing midnight, the Captain walked to the band and asked them something. Maria, still standing in the middle of the dance space, could only guess what he had requested.
As he walked towards her, he smiled sweetly as he handed her a small bouquet of flowers and bowed to her. To conclude the evening, the soft strains of Edelweiss started to play.
"We never got to dance at the ball, Cinderella," he said, with amusement. "Will you please give me the honor of the final dance of the evening?"
Smiling broadly, she tucked the flowers into her pocket so the blooms were showing. Accepting his arm, she closed her eyes in contentment as they began to sway in place for the final time that evening.
Holding each other close, she could hear and feel the hum of his voice as he sang the words softly. Feeling safe and at ease in his arms, she didn't want the moment to end. It was a perfect way to conclude what had been the most unexpectantly blessed day of her life. Sighing in happiness, she let him lead her across the floor as if they were floating. All she could hear was the soft piano and violin and the comforting sound of his voice. She snuggled her head against his neck, and she felt his arms close tighter around her.
As the song ended, they stayed in that pose for a long time. The musicians tactfully packed up their instruments, and the other remaining attendees distracted themselves by speaking to each other quietly.
Finally parting, he patted his jacket pockets somewhat comically and chuckled to himself.
"Please forgive me for not doing this properly," he confessed, "But none of this has turned out exactly as I had planned it would."
She shook her head, not knowing where he was going. Finally choosing to use the military ring on his own hand, he pulled it off. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Maria," he took her hands in his and stared very earnestly into her eyes. "Is there anyone I should go to ask permission to marry you?"
Her face lit up in a huge smile as she replied, "Well, why don't we ask-"
"The children?"
"Yes," she said happily and smiled as he held her hand to put his ring on it. Despite the romantic mood of the moment, she couldn't help but giggle at the awkwardness of it on her hand.
"It's too big," she declared.
"It'll do," he said, also laughing. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her fully, making her completely forget about their surroundings.
The sounds of applause of the remnants of the crowd echoed through the Market Place.