"Fräulein Maria, what will Father say when he sees us?" Brigitta asked while shaking a handful of her wet hair towards Kurt. She giggled as she caught him off guard and watched the surprise on his face as the cold water hit his skin.
Kurt frowned at the large wet mark she had left on his arm. With a slight scowl towards his sister, he brushed her away and reached upwards to try to pull her hair.
Intercepting the attack and casting a reproachful glance at both of them, Maria reached forward to take Gretl's hand as the group crossed the street. She instinctively looked behind her for Marta, and was relieved to see that Liesl had led her across the road.
Maria met Liesl's gaze and cast her a thankful look.
"He'll probably be happy that we ruined our clothes," Louisa laughed. As if expecting it, she turned around just as Friedrich was about to snatch her handkerchief off of her head, and glowered at him.
"He never did like our play clothes much," Liesl said with a glance downward at the once-drapes that had been transformed into seven unique outfits.
"No he didn't. Even if he lets us wear them now, I think he'll be glad that they're ruined," Friedrich added in agreement while taking a second chance at stealing his sister's wet kerchief.
Louisa batted him out of the way and cast him a dirty look, as if daring him to try again.
"Oh children, they're just a little wet and dirty that's all. Nothing a soak in the tub won't fix," Maria assured them.
"I hope he won't blame you that we're so messy, Fräulein Maria," Marta told her in a small voice, suddenly looking upwards with worried eyes.
"Well it is my fault," Maria told her with a shrug. "I took us swimming today, I allowed everyone to play in the dirt, I forgot to bring a spare change of clothes for everyone, and I'm returning seven soaked children to him."
Brigitta and Louisa giggled at her frank reply.
"But I hope he isn't too cross with you," Marta said softly.
Kurt waved his sister's statement off sarcastically and shook his head at her. "He won't get mad at Fräulein Maria. He likes her too much," he asserted with a definite nod.
"Oh?" Maria asked with feigned non-chalance.
"That's because we love her," Gretl told him with a roll of her eyes as she tapped her governess on the upper arm and held her arms upwards toward her. "Right, Fräulein Maria?"
"Of course, dear," Maria agreed with a forced smile. Giving in to Gretl's pleas to pick her up, she bent down and scooped the child into her arms, resting her weight on her hip. Out of the corner of her eye, Maria thought that she saw Liesl and Brigitta exchange a knowing look upon hearing her reaction to Kurt's remark. Looking upwards, she contemplated what she had seen for a moment, but quickly dismissed the thought, concluding that she was reading into the children's observations.
Liesl locked eyes with her for a brief moment and gave her a small smile.
Maria returned the gesture feebly. Moving her gaze away, she felt Gretl drawing circles on her forehead among the wet bangs that were matted to her face. Absently, she leaned forward to place a kiss on the little girl's forehead, her mind still contemplative.
"Stop!" Louisa shrieked while turning behind her toward Friedrich, who had finally succeeded in ripping her handkerchief off of her head.
The sound brought Maria's attention back, and she looked upwards right away. "Darling, go down," she told Gretl, placing the child to her feet. Without a second of hesitation, the little girl ran ahead of the group to a small pile of wildflowers growing near the side of the road and began to pluck them.
"What happened?" Maria asked a scowling Louisa and a gloating Friedrich. She stopped walking and placed her hands on her hips, sighing once with impatience.
"Friedrich stole my handkerchief," Louisa grumbled while reaching towards her brother and snatching the cloth out of his hands.
Maria cast a chiding look at Friedrich and returned her gaze to Louisa. "Well you have it back now and it won't happen again," she assured the angry girl while motioning to the fabric. She again looked at Friedrich and gave him a look, forbidding him from taking the handkerchief again.
Feeling a tickle on her leg, Maria turned around and found Gretl running a flower across her skin while she giggled heartily. Marta stood not far behind, observing the scene with her hands to her mouth in order to stifle her giggles.
Maria smiled at the two of them softly for a moment and then her smile broadened. Suddenly, she lunged forward toward both of them and began to tickle both of them on their stomachs.
Gretl made a quick getaway towards Liesl, hiding behind her eldest sister's body, and Marta ran forward giggling. The rest of the children smiled at the display.
Soon the group approached the main gate to the Trapp Villa and Maria stopped everyone, turning to face them. "When we go inside, everyone be very quiet and quickly go upstairs to your rooms and change."
"Are we sneaking in so that Father won't see us?" Brigitta asked with a mischievous smile.
"Well, I wouldn't use the word sneak, but there's no harm done if he doesn't see us," Maria replied.
All of the children glanced sidelong at each other and smiled naughtily, choosing to think of their entrance as a sneak despite their governess' words.
"I'm going to get some hot tea for everyone so that we don't catch a cold and I'll be right up after that to help you get ready for dinner, all right?" Maria said while glancing between all of the children.
Noting their nods and broad smiles, she winked at them and held her hand up, motioning them forward. "Let's go."
The group approached the front door to the Villa and Maria opened it a crack, holding her hand up to her charges, urging them to wait. Not hearing anything inside, she opened the door fully and turned back to the children.
"Go on," she whispered.
The two little ones nodded at her with wide eyes and serious faces and the others merely smiled. Everyone began to move into the main foyer of the house. Looking from side to side, the children tiptoed to the stairs and walked quietly up them.
Maria watched them ascend the stairwell and one by one head off in the direction of their rooms.
"Fräulein Maria, we made it!" Gretl whispered in a slightly louder voice than necessary when she reached the second story, the last child in line.
Maria blew her a kiss and nodded enthusiastically at the child. Seeing that Gretl's movement had been sidetracked by the proud grin she was giving to her governess, Maria waved her on.
Gretl's eyes suddenly widened and her lips formed a surprised look at the reminder. She nodded her understanding and smiling even more broadly, hurriedly turned and ran after her siblings.
Maria stared upwards in their direction for another moment, before shaking her head slightly and smiling to herself. She began to walk straight ahead towards the kitchen to look for Frau Schmidt, when the slightest sound caught her attention. Approaching the salon, she stood just before the entrance when low murmuring caused her to stiffen in her tracks outside of the door.
Instinctively glancing upwards towards the sound, Maria froze at the sight. In the middle of the room was the Baroness, who was leaning seductively towards the Captain as he sat on the sofa with his back to the doorway. Maria felt her stomach knot and feared that she'd be sick on the spot when Elsa began placing soft kisses on his left cheek.
"Oh Georg, I missed you today," she purred with a coy pout. "But it must have been such a relief to be rid of little, old me for a full day, hmm?" The Baroness chuckled softly and placed another kiss on his cheek.
The Captain leaned slightly away from her, but out of habit took her hand in his. He patted it reassuringly and gave his fiancée a forced smile. "The house was quiet today with everyone gone."
Maria would have turned around had her whole body not been paralyzed with shock. Instead, she absently gripped the side of the doorframe to steady herself.
"Well Gretchen's a dear, but I just couldn't wait to get back to you," Elsa whispered in the Captain's ear as she lightly nibbled on his earlobe.
"Elsa," he interrupted with an awkward smile, moving his head to the side slightly out of her reach.
"What's the matter, Georg?" she asked with a raised brow that melted into a flirtatious smile. "Your little dears are out."
Maria's eyes welled with tears and her breathing increased as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes. She absently raised her hand to her mouth and backed up away from the doorway, desperate to get away but not composed enough to turn and run out of sight.
She stayed still for another moment, taking in the nightmare before her and feeling her heart break a little more at each movement she saw. Finally able to calm her initial shock and compose herself enough to move, she turned around and took a step toward the stairs.
However, her footsteps did not go unnoticed, and almost immediately she heard him call her name.
"Uh Fraulein, I hadn't heard you enter." The Captain stood up and Elsa reluctantly followed his lead.
Maria closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath, praying that she'd have regained enough composure to speak coherently without her emotions taking over. Slowly, she turned to face the man she loved and his fiancée.
"Good evening, Captain. Baroness," Maria forced herself to say.
The Captain looked at her and they locked eyes for a moment before Maria looked away. His gaze was filled with apology, compassion, and love, but Maria's own eyes were too clouded to notice.
"How was your day with the children?" he asked her in a low voice, his eyes silently pleading with her to talk to him.
"My dear, you're soaking wet," the Baroness interrupted with an appalled look.
Maria glanced upwards toward the Baroness. She reached toward her sopping hair and fingered it absently. "Yes. Uh, our day was fine. We went swimming," she said in a small voice.
"Frau Schmidt should bring you some tea. If not, you'll all catch a cold before you know it," Elsa suggested with a disapproving shake of her head. "Shall I have her bring some up for you?"
Maria nodded vaguely. "Yes, Baroness. That would be lovely."
She paused for a moment and nobody in the room spoke at all. "The children will be downstairs for dinner in a while after they've dried off, but if you'll excuse me, I won't be joining everyone tonight. I must be run down from a full day," Maria lied, looking directly past the Captain and Baroness.
The Captain's face softened with concern and he was unable to look away from Maria, despite her diverting gaze.
"So much child's play can do that, even to someone as used to it as you. I'm sorry you're not feeling well, dear," the Baroness said with a forced frown and insincere smile.
"Thank you for your concern, Baroness," Maria whispered. She had a sudden feeling of lightheadedness as she felt the Captain's eyes boring into her profile. Looking upwards, she met his gaze one final time. Her voice caught slightly as she spoke. "Good night. Now if you'll excuse me."
She turned and quickly walked out of the dining room, praying God for the strength to keep her tears from flowing until she had reached her room. However, as she climbed the stairs, her shoulders slouched and her entire body was shaking uncontrollably.
The Captain remained stationary, stunned by the scene that had just occurred. Despite Elsa's animated chatter in the background, Georg did not take his eyes off of the doorway. His fiancee's attempt to distract him faded away and all Georg could think about was that for the second time since Maria had arrived, he needed to do what was right and he needed to do it soon. But this time it would not involve the children.