Chapter 13
The children had woken by themselves and curiously went down to the dining room in search for their fräulein and father. To their surprise no one was to be found and they all sat down without the grown ups.
"I wonder where fräulein Maria and father are" Marta said, her stomach yearning for the delicious food on the table.
"Me to" Gretl replied. Liesl smiled at them, knowing exactly what was keeping the adults in bed, or so she presumed.
"Let's start eating in the mean time; I'm sure they will be here soon enough."
"But Liesl!" both Gretl and Marta complained.
"No buts. Louisa will say grace and then I suggest we start eating before the food is ruined." Everybody did as Liesl said without further complaining and the meal passed uneventfully.
In a bedroom upstairs a couple deeply in love woke for the second time that morning.
"Did you sleep well?" Georg stroke Marias cheek gently while speaking.
"Like a baby. All thanks to you. What time is it?"
"About ten a.m. I think." Maria jumped out of bed.
"What!" Georg chuckled softly at her.
"Don't worry Maria, the children will probably be eating already."
"What if they found us like this!" She pointed to her naked body.
"Or if they see me sneaking out of your room? In case you didn't notice, I am your employee and this relationship is considered quite inappropriate to others." Georg got up and hugged Maria tight to his body.
"Do you really think I care about people gossiping? They are free to feel and think what they want. I love you Maria, nothing will ever change that."
"Are you sure?" Marias eyes filled with tears.
"More than ever." Georg kissed Maria before getting dressed and then walked hand in hand to greet the children at breakfast.
"There you are!" Brigitta came running towards Maria and Georg as they were about to enter the dining room.
"What took you so long? We waited forever when we had finished eating but when you never showed up we decided to go outside and play." Georg opened his mouth to explain to Brigitta but a low rumble emerging from Marias stomach stopped his thoughts and he looked, amused, at her.
"Are you by any chance hungry Maria?" She smiled sheepishly.
"Perhaps."
"You eat like a horse, you know that?" he teased her and Brigitta gave her questioning up. Ever since her father and fräulein Maria had admitted their love for each other they were busy making out or glancing to the other, not a thing in the world able to distract them.
"I'll just go then and leave you two lovebirds alone." Maria got out of her reverie and looked shamefully at Brigitta.
"I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen and I promise we will be better at giving you our attention." The girl beamed at Maria.
"It's ok, we really like seeing you together."
"We like being together" Georg truthfully answered his daughter.
"Now, however, we need to eat because Maria is hungry." Maria swatted him lightly on the arm.
"Georg!"
"What? You are hungry."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean the entire world has to know about it."
"See you later!" Brigitta sang as she left them alone.
Maria could barely stop eating. Her stomach seemed endless and she had already eaten more than twice as much as she usually did. 'What's wrong with me?'
"Are you sure you're full? You're eating more than Kurt."
"I know! Maybe your activities drained my resources." Maria winked at Georg and leaned in to kiss him.
"I love you Maria, no matter how much you eat."
"Well, thank you. I think…"
"Are you ready to face the children?"
"Always Georg." With that they got up and left the room for the lawn.
During the day Georg, Maria and the children went on a picnic up in the mountains, all of them having a marvelous time. Soon it began to get dark though and they decided to leave, all of them famished. As soon as the entire family was washed up and ready to eat they all sat down around the table. Georg clinked his fork to his wine glass and everyone looked curiously at him.
"I want to share a toast with my wonderful family. I hope that we will stay this close and share as much love as we have these past three months." He caught Marias eyes and felt his heart melt.
"I love you Maria." Tears started to fall on her cheek, tears of happiness. He smiled at her and looked at his children.
"And I love all of you. I have asked Frau Schmidt to prepare a special meal for us and I hope you will all remember this day for the rest of your lifes. Cheers!" All of them raised their glasses and drank, feeling a little awkward at Georgs sudden romantic and loving mood. Frau Schmidt delivered an exquisite meal and both Maria and Kurt had double portions. When they were all finished Friedrich got restless.
"Father, may we be excused?"
"Not yet Friedrich. Today we are having dessert." The children cheered.
"It will not be served in here but in the sitting room. You may go there and we will be there soon to join you." The sounds of chairs scraping on the floor and running feet soon disappeared and Maria felt a little nervous.
"Why all the secrecy all of a sudden?"
"You'll see darling, you'll see." He helped her up from her chair and kissed her fully on the mouth before leading her to the awaiting children.
Everyone was chatting during dessert and felt giddy because of this rare event. When all seemed finished Georg stood. Clearing his throat he got the attention he wished for and pulled Maria up to stand next to him. She could feel her cheeks reddening but didn't care because she noticed something she'd never witnessed before. Georg was scared. She could see it in his beautiful eyes, making her curious. 'I wonder what this is all about.'
"For the past four months we've had the privilege of having this remarkable woman in our lifes and Maria and I have decided that she will remain here forever." The children clapped their hands, more than happy with the decision.
"I know you would all be devastated if she left and, frankly, so would I." He turned and took Marias hands in his, finding her eyes. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"Maria, I love you. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. Please, never leave me." He got down on one knee and tried to stop his hands from shaking.
"Will you marry me?" Marias eyes swam over and tears welled down her cheeks. Her throat caught and she could do nothing but whisper.
"Of course I will, I love you too." She flung herself to him and they embraced, happier than ever before. Soon they were joined by the children who couldn't hide their huge grins.
"This is so exciting father, I've never been to a wedding before!" Gretl yelled and they all beamed with happiness. 'A wedding, with me as a bride!' Maria thought and could barely wait until bedtime. That meant she would be able to show her fiancée just how much he meant to her.
"We should go to bed now." Liesl stated and started to drag the others up towards their bedrooms.
"Don't worry mother." Maria smiled at the oldest girls choice of word.
"I can take care of things tonight. Have a wonderful evening." With that the children exited and left Maria and Georg alone.
"When will I have the honor of becoming your wife? I can hardly wait!"
"Neither can I. How about in two weeks from now?"
"Fair enough. That gives us the amount of time we need to deal with everything before the big day." Suddenly Maria felt tired and started yawning.
"Are you tired already?" She nodded.
"Maybe we should follow the childrens example."
"I'm sorry."
"What for?"
"Not wanting to be up all night. I've just felt really tired the last couple of days and feel like I truly need to rest, especially after the excitement of today."
"But I love having you next to me in bed. Never apologize for being sleepy Maria, or hungry for that matter." She laughed at his remark and they went to bed, falling asleep immediately.
Maria woke up in the morning, nausea hitting her like a brick wall. She ran towards the bathroom and emptied her stomach, causing Georg to wake and, alarmed, sprint to the doorway.
"Maria! Are you alright?"
"No. I can't stop throwing up" she weakly replied and leaned over the toilet again. Georg stroke her back softly.
"It will pass soon, I promise." As Georg had said the illness subsided and Maria went to bed again, quite exhausted.
"I'll bring your breakfast up here. Are you in the mood for anything in particular?"
"No, I'll just have some tea thanks."
The following weeks went by similarly and Georg worried she was truly ill. In the mornings she looked like hell but after breakfast she was her normal self, playing with the children.