"I see that not all the good cooks have escaped to Innsbruck!" Markus said before he downed the rest of his wine.
"Yes, as always, Georg," Elsa said, "this meal was simply too delicious to be good for me."
The Captain laughed as he dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "You all act as if you've never eaten a good meal before."
"Must be the company," Max said, looking down at the children, all of whom were beaming. "Two good meals in one day must be rather exciting, right, children?"
"We always eat big meals!" Gretl declared.
"Then why aren't you children as big as the villa?" Klauss asked, causing the people old enough to understand to laugh.
"Oh, Georg's just trying to impress his friends," Elsa said, a teasing glint in her eyes as she looked over at Georg.
The Captain laughed, looking at Markus and Klauss with feigned apprehension. "Have I been successful?"
Klauss smiled and looked around the room. "Quite, my friend," he said, his eyes landing on Maria, sitting across from him.
She smiled brightly at him. "I must say that I am getting rather used to the food here."
"Nothing better than a traditional Austrian meal to sooth the soul," Max added, scraping up the remnants of his chocolate cake.
"Who knows how much longer it will be Austrian," Markus commented, and a sudden hush fell upon the room.
Maria looked over at the Captain, who stared at his plate. She could see that he was summoning up his composure. Turning to the children, she saw trepidation wash over their faces. While she had a limited knowledge of what, exactly, was happening in the world, she knew that things were going to change rapidly, and possibly forever. What broke her heart the most about the entire situation was how dramatically it changed her employer by its mere mention, and how the change in his disposition affected his family. She was about to suggest that maybe the children be sent to bed, when Elsa broke the silence.
"Sometimes, there is nothing we can do to stop the progression of events," she said.
Maria watched the Captain shoot the Baroness a look that was almost as frightening as the glare that had fallen on his face at Markus's comment. The expression was gone in an instant as he looked over at his friend.
"Forgive me, Georg," Markus said, looking genuinely contrite at causing such tension. "I am merely stating what I see around me."
"I'm afraid it's inevitable," Klauss said, his soft voice filled with the same icy focus as depicted on the Captain's face.
"If it's peaceful, then what else can we ask for?" Elsa continued, looking over at the Captain.
"Elsa," he said, his voice tight, "letting them is worse than inviting them."
"Many disagree with you, Georg," Markus said. "Many want the Anschluss to happen. They believe it will make Austria stronger."
"If the Anschluss happens, there will be no more Austria," the Captain said.
"The spirit of the Austrian people will always be here," Maria finally said, feeling her cheeks burn as everyone's eyes moved to her.
"If only that would be enough," Elsa said, her tone both sad and irritated.
Maria looked down, feeling foolish for saying such a simple thing. She glanced at the children who were watching their father nervously. Following their gaze, she turned to study the Captain, and she exhaled as she saw an almost melancholy smile on his face.
"That's all we really need," she heard Klauss say, and she turned quickly to see him smiling kindly at her.
His compassionate look rejuvenated her. "We have to have faith that everything will be as it should," she said, her convictions clear. She looked at the children, who smiled at her. Winking at them, she was relieved to see less fear on their faces.
"Faith is nice," Markus said, "but the leaders don't rely on their faith, if they even have any. They don't listen to their consciences. They listen to whoever is holding their purse strings."
The Captain cleared his throat, the anger and sadness leaving his face as he looked at his children.
"Perhaps the children –" he started to say.
"Children, it's time to say good-night," Maria said, overlapping him. She turned to look at him, both laughing at their similar thoughts. Turning back to her charges, she smiled and started to rise. "We've had a busy day, and I think it's best we left your father to his guests. We can practice the song for our puppet show before we go to sleep."
"A puppet show?" Klauss said, his interest piqued as he, too, rose from his chair. "What's this all about?"
"Father bought us a puppet show and a stage!" Gretl announced, flying out of her chair and running over to her father.
"It's rented, Gretl," Liesl said, but her correction fell upon deaf ears as the little girl hugged her father fiercely.
"I didn't know you could sing!" Klauss exclaimed, looking over at Georg.
"Fräulein Maria deems it important to their education," the Captain said as he released his youngest. He gave Maria an amused smile, and she grinned back as she pushed in her chair.
"Oh, that's right," Klauss mused. "You did have a guitar case with you this afternoon. You sing, then, Maria?"
Maria looked down quickly, embarrassed. "A little," she said, angry with herself for being nervous. She glanced back up at him and offered a small smile.
"She sings like an angel!" Brigitta declared.
"I would expect nothing less," Klauss said, again smiling at Maria. "I would love to see this puppet show, if I may."
The Captain laughed. "Perhaps we shall sell tickets."
Maria was flattered by Klauss's enthusiasm. "We are hoping to be ready some time next week."
"Will you come, Uncle Klauss?" Gretl asked.
"I would love to, my dear," he answered. "I love the performing arts."
"Oh, don't expect any great arias!" Maria said, laughing.
"I don't know, Fräulein," Max said. "I've heard you sing. You seem quite capable of putting Anny Konetzni to shame."
"Max, don't put any delusions of grandeur into her head," Elsa said, slowing rising and walking over to stand next to Georg. "She is needed here, after all."
"At least until September," Markus said.
"We shall practice extra hard then, for our growing audience!" Maria exclaimed, turning to the children.
"We still need to practice with the puppets themselves," Friedrich chimed in. "They're difficult to work."
"I have the utmost confidence that you all will be wonderful," Max said.
The children became shy, and Maria took it as her cue to guide them upstairs.
"It was nice meeting you, Markus," she said softly. She turned to Klauss and felt her smile widen at the warmth she saw in his eyes. "And you, too, Klauss."
"I look forward to our next meeting, Maria," he said, and Maria felt her cheeks warm. Shaking the sudden unease from her system, she looked over at the Captain.
"Good-night, sir," she said. She nodded at Max and the Baroness and quickly turned to exit before anyone could see her flushed cheeks. Following the children up the stairs, she paused half-way. She turned and looked back into the dining room, unsure why sleeping was the last thing she felt like doing at that moment.
To be continued…