Our eyes lock and I feel my pulse begins to race.. He touches my chin and his lips reach down to meet mine. I close my eyes as he kisses me gently on the lips. Our lips part and as I open my eyes he puts his hands on my shoulders and pulls me towards him. He places kisses on my forehead and I slowly place my head on his shoulder. His arms embrace me and I sigh. I feel his heart beating and I close my eyes. I feel his hand caress my neck and my breathing becomes rapid. I am surprised at the emotions I am feeling. Having never kissed a man I don't know if these feelings are normal. Feeling as if I am floating I say to him" Reverend Mother always says when one door closes another opens. He reaches up and takes my face in his hands and looks at me smiling. "What else does the Reverend Mother say? he whispers.
I smile at him and say "she says you have to look for your life."
He looks at me intently and asks" have you found it?
Looking at him I say" I think I have". He looks at me and I know now that I never want to be without him. I say "I know I have. As he pulls me towards him he looks deeply into my eyes and tells me that he loves me. As his lips touch my neck I gasp. He continues to kiss my neck and then brushes his lips against my cheek. I say to myself" can this be happening to me? I pull back and softly sing to him. The song speaks of the love I have for him. As I sing to him he holds my hands in his. The first part of the song ends and we walk to the middle of the gazebo.
"Do you know when I first started loving you?" he asked. I shook my head. He continued" that night at the dinner table when you sat on that pinecone." We both laughed and I said" I knew the first time you blew that silly whistle. He laughed and shook his head. He reached up to my cheek and whispered" oh my love".
I leaned into his hand and kissed it. He took my hands in his and this time he sang to me. As the song ended he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. This time I responded eagerly. He started to pull away but I wanted the kiss to go on forever. He whispered my name "Maria" I moaned "yes"
He whispered in my ear" is there anyone I have to ask for permission to marry you?" I looked up at him and said" well' then we both said the same thing" why don't we ask the children?
He pulled me to him again and kissed me again. His lips left mine and went to my ear." I love you and I can't wait until your my wife" he whispered. My whole body shuddered as his hands caressed my back. My heart was pounding and my pulse raced. I found myself reaching to him and this time it was me who kissed him. His lips were warm and soft. He pulled away despite my protests.
"Maria I want you more than anything but I think we both need to slow down" he said as he took my hand and we started to walk back to the house. I knew he was right. As we walked back to the house we decided to tell the children when we got there.
Before we went in he stopped and took my hands in his. He brought them up to his lips and kissed them.
We walked into the house. The children were upstairs. We walked into the playroom where we found them reading and the younger ones were playing with their dolls.
"Hello children we were looking for you" I said. They all looked up. "I didn't say or do anything to make her leave" said Louisa.
"Who are you talking about "their father said. Why Baroness Schraeder, we all saw a cab come to the front and she got in and left. Uncle Max said she was going back to Vienna" said Kurt.
"Yes she is leaving and no Louisa didn't do anything. We called off our wedding ."he said. The children looked at each other and just smiled.
"I have something important to ask all of you and it concerns Maria" he says.. The children look at each other and then at us.
"As you all know Maria has come back and in order for her to stay I need your permission for me to marry her" he says. He takes my hand and the children jump up and shout yes. They surround us and they hug and kiss me. We say goodnight to them and we walk to my bedroom door. He kisses my forehead.
" I will kiss you and say goodnight" Tomorrow we will start to make plans for our wedding" he says as he gently kisses me on the lips. "Soon we will say goodnight and still be together" he says. My cheeks flush and I say "Goodnight Cap- I mean Georg." I kiss him on the cheek and open my door . I give him one last smile and close the door behind me. I go to my bed and kneel in prayer. I thank God for Georg and for my new family. I slip into my nightgown and slide into bed. I close my eyes and dream of the wedding soon to come.