A/N

I didn't mean to keep you waiting for so long! It's just that I'm sooo busy over the summer… But I'm resolved to finish this story now! Not a lot happens in this chapter, but I promise to make up for that in the next, and I won't keep you waiting for that too long!!!

PassionChild

Chapter 5

After a moment that seemed like a lifetime, Dr. Schwindler stepped back from Georg's embrace. They shared a look that was so deep that it brought tears to Maria's eyes.

Suddenly, the young man's attention turned to Maria.

"It was you, I have to thank you," he blurted out, and quickly walked up to her to pull her close in a tight embrace. Maria's stunned expression only became stronger when he kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you, " he said again, letting her go. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd never have dared to tell the truth."

Maria didn't know what to say and only produced some stuttering sounds, before she was interrupted by Dr. Schwindler.

"I do have to go now… there are other patients waiting for me."

"Oh yes, of course," Georg nodded, and took his arm to guide him to the door. "But you must come over for dinner tonight and tell us all. We have a lot of catching up to do!"

The young man nodded. "Certainly! I would love to be your guest tonight," he agreed.

"Don't you use that word again," the Captain told him in mock warning. "As my son, you are not a guest in this house." He looked quickly at Maria, who gave him a warm smile in return.

Then, Georg walked his son out of the parlour and toward the stairs. Maria went with them and opened the door. Together, she and the Captain watched from the as the Doctor walked toward his car.

"Wait!" Maria suddenly called out, and both men looked at her in surprise.

Smiling apologetically, she gestured to the Doctor. " We don't even know your first name!"

He smiled in surprise. "How could we forget! It is Heinrich." And with that, he got into his car and drove off.

Maria and Georg watched as he exited the gate and turned right in the direction of Salzburg. Then, they turned to face each other. Georg put his arms around Maria and smiled at her.

"You know, he was right," he whispered softly. "I'm sure that if you hadn't asked all those questions, he would never have told me his identity."

Maria rested her head on his shoulder and shrugged. " What can I say?" she asked. "The resemblance was so strong, I could not let him leave without asking questions!"

The Captain stroked her hair and pulled her closer to him. "That's the third time in two days I have you to thank for a miracle," he told her softly. "You saved my daughter, you declared your love for me, and you gave me back my son. I will be grateful to you forever."

As they stood in each other's arms for a second, Georg realized that he indeed owed his life, his sanity, everything to Maria – and he had not even asked her the most important question of all.

"Maria… will you marry me?" he asked softly, his voice almost a whisper. He knew what she would answer - yet the moment before she spoke seemed to last a lifetime, waiting for the one word that would secure his future and make him the happiest man on earth.

She looked him in the eyes and nodded, a smile spreading over her face.

"Yes, I will marry you, Georg," she whispered back, and as they kissed passionately, she hugged him even tighter to her as they stood in the doorway in the morning sun.

Later that morning, Georg and Maria walked out into the garden together. Breakfast with the family had been exhausting: they'd had to tell about Louisa, and the children were relieved to hear that their sister was feeling better. As Georg had decided it would be better not to upset them with the fact that Louisa had had scarlet fever, and that he and Maria had been up all night at her bedside, they children assumed that it had indeed be a simple flu and quickly jumped to the more interesting subject of the Baroness's disappearance.

The children's reaction to Georg's explanation of the missing Baroness, and his engagement to Maria, was one of pure joy and excitement..

"You mean you are going to marry Maria?" Liesl had asked as the truth dawned on her. Five other faces had looked from Georg to Maria and back – and when they saw both their father and their governess nod, they'd ran toward them, nearly knocking them over in their hugs. They had truly felt like a whole, happy family that morning.

Now, walking by the lake together, Maria looked up at her fiancé.

"I'm glad the children were so happy with our engagement," she mused.

Georg squeezed her hand, which he was holding in his.

"I had not expected anything else," he smiled at her.

Maria shook her head. Neither had she. It had been obvious that the children disliked the Baroness – but still, this would have come as a sudden shock to them, and she'd been slightly relieved to discover that their reactions had indeed been as she'd hoped and expected.

They had reached the gazebo and together, they sat down on one of the stone benches.

"There is more news we need to tell them, Maria," Georg began, more seriously now.

She nodded.

"Heinrich," she said, and Georg nodded in agreement.

"It will not be easy to tell them they have another sibling," he thought aloud. "Especially for Friedrich. He will no longer be the oldest son."

"It will be easier for them to understand when you explain as many facts to them as possible," Maria said. "And speaking of that, I would like to hear more about the story of Heinrich, too. Tell me about his mother, this Lola."

Georg looked at her in surprise, turning slightly so that he could face her.

"Are you sure you want to hear that?"

Maria nodded, and put one hand on his knee in reassurance.

"There is so much about you that I don't know," she sighed. "And I want to know it all. Every part of your life – including Lola."

"All right then," Georg yielded. He stared ahead of him, not seeing the lake that was in front of his eyes, but obviously reliving some of the memories of his youth. Maria looked at him, patiently waiting for what was coming, understanding his need for a moment to collect his thoughts. As s wistful smile adorned his lips, Georg took a deep breath and began to tell his story.

"When I was 19 years old, I joined the navy, and during the first year we made regular voyages on the Mediterranean. One of the ports we visited often was Genua, in Italy."

He stopped for a second, staring into the distance again as he remembered.

"The boys who'd been in the Navy longer than I convinced me to go ashore with them, to meet some, eh, girls. Of course, this was long before I was married or even had met Agathe! I didn't want to go with them at first, but a group of men and one glass of beer too many can be very convincing."

He looked at Maria from the corners of his eyes to check if she was very shocked by his confession. She noticed his hesitation and smiled at him.

"Georg, you were young. I understand," she comforted him, taking his hand in hers.

He needed no more encouragement to go on.

"They took me to a large brothel and asked to owner to arrange a girl for me. They must have told her I was completely clueless, as she gently guided me to the room of Lola. Lola was slightly older than most of the girls who worked there. I thought that there would be no harm in talking to her a little. She was gentle, and sweet, and it so happened that she was born in Salzburg. She made me feel… secure. I was young, away from home, and lonely. Lola helped ease some of the pain."

He paused, remembering that first meeting with Lola.

"Well, I think it's enough to say that I visited her a number of times, before the war began and we stopped coming in to Genua. I have not seen her since before the war," he concluded.

Maria bent over to him and put her arm around him.

"I'm glad you were able to share that with me," she said, seriously. Then she turned to look at him.

"Wouldn't you like to see her again?" she asked. "After all, it turns out she is the mother of your child!"

Georg considered this idea for a moment. He had never thought of Lola in that way, but yes, she was. And yes, he would like to see her again. He nodded, slowly.

"We could go into town this afternoon," Maria suggested. "It can't be difficult to find her. You must find her! And talk to her!"

Georg looked into her bright, honest face and realized she was right. He grabbed her hands and shook his head in gratitude, knowing that without Maria, he would never have had the courage to do what he was about to do.

"You are right," he said. "I must see her again. But you must come with me!"

It was only a few hours later that Georg turned the car into a narrow street in the poorest part of Salzburg. It had not been hard to find out where Lola lived – the telephone directory had easily provided her address. Upon reading the name of the street and realizing exactly in which part of town Lola lived, the Captain had sadly shook his head, and was even more strengthened in his resolve to find Lola.

The Captain parked the car near the end of the grimy, depressing cul-de-sac, and both he and Maria got out of the car. Maria looked around with a sympathetic expression. She, too, had been brought up poor – but living on a farm in poverty had been much better than the way life seemed to be in this dirty, sad environment.

Georg walked around the car and placed his hand on Maria's back, guiding her to the door of number 26. Indeed, the sign near the bell said "Schwindler". Once more, Georg looked at Maria for confirmation, and when she nodded her head silently, Georg reached up and rang the bell. In a few moments, he'd be face to face with the mother of his eldest child.