She put on her best dress...to go shopping for her new best dress. She rolled her eyes at the thought, but was trying to keep a positive attitude. It wasn't as if he were asking her to do anything unheard of, she was only going shopping after all. It at least would give her some alone time with the older girls, she decided as she put on her makeup. She put on a little extra around her eyes, hoping it would somehow make a difference, before she made her way to summon the children for breakfast.

"Fraulein Maria, we're so excited!" Brigitta took her arm as she had finished helping Gretl dress, and they walked together toward the door of the nursery. "It will be my first shopping trip."

"Really? You've never been shopping?" Maria was shocked; even she had been many times by Brigitta's age.

"Well, I suppose no one has been around to take me. And Father doesn't like us out in public, after all." She knew that to be true and wondered why. They were all very well-behaved children, and she always found it hard to believe that he didn't want them leaving the villa very often. Well, she would change that, she thought as they made their way to breakfast. She passed by Georg's chair, giving him a quick kiss before making her way to her own.

He smiled at her from across the table, raising an eyebrow in greeting. She felt herself blushing, even though she wasn't quite sure why. No matter how long they had been seeing one another, he always had the ability to make her blush. His smile grew as he noticed, and he gave her a wink.

When she and the girls were beginning to leave, Georg handed a slip of paper to Liesl, who looked it over and put it in her purse. Maria narrowed her eyes, wondering what he was putting his eldest daughter up to, but didn't ask at the moment. He approached her next and handed her the keys to his car, her eyes widening.

"You trust me to drive your car?"

"Yes. You have your license, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but I haven't driven since I got it. I don't even know where it is, honestly." He laughed for a moment, but she was completely serious. She had a small wallet with her when she had arrived to the villa, and it was likely in there. But then again, she couldn't remember where that was either.

"You're not joking? My God, Maria, that's not something to misplace."

"Thank you, dad." The girls giggled, but quickly stopped when he looked their way.

"Isn't it in your purse...I've never even seen you carry a purse."

"I don't have one." He rolled his eyes, and she felt a bit foolish all of a sudden. It wasn't as though she had a mother growing up as an example to follow. When would she have ever needed a purse anyway, she wondered.

"Liesl, do you have a purse she can borrow, please?"

"Of course, Father." She rushed off, excited to have a task and feel useful. He turned his attention back to Maria.

"Go find your license."

"Georg, I'm not too good to take the bus."

"Please." She rolled her eyes and hurried toward her room. After what felt like an eternity of searching, she finally found her wallet buried in her carpet bag, left there for lack of need. The money she made as governess went mostly to the church, after all. She opened it to make sure her license was still inside, checking the date to be sure it was still valid as well.

When she returned, Georg had pulled the car around and was talking with the girls. Likely giving them many instructions to keep her in line, she thought as she approached. Liesl in particular knew more than she about how she would be expected to carry herself. Perhaps it would do her some good to pick the girl's brain.

"Alright, I found it." She held up her tattered wallet as proof, and Georg groaned at the sight. "What now?"

"Buy a new wallet too."

"Oh, for Heavens sake." She walked past him, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and some money in her hand for lunch.

"And don't wreck my car."

"Anything else, Captain?" He smiled at her tone, clearly frustrated with him.

"I love you." She narrowed her eyes, but couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"I love you too." He kissed her once more, and she entered the car. It had been quite a long time since she sat in the driver's seat, and she was a bit taken aback. She started the car, thankful that going to town was a fairly straight shot, without a lot of room for trouble. "Girls, I'm so sorry in advance for how terrible this is going to be."

They all laughed, but her mouth suddenly felt dry. She took a deep breath and put the car in gear, slowly pulling out of the driveway and turning down the road. It wasn't as bad as she expected, but when it came to stopping, she tended to be quite heavy on the brakes, sending their bodies jolting forward a bit. The girls made light of it all, helping her laugh through it. Laughing about herself had always been a bit difficult for her, but the children had all helped her make progress with it since she met them.

"You see, Fraulein Maria, you didn't even come close to killing us." Louisa smiled as the rest of them laughed, Liesl taking Maria's wallet and putting it in the small purse she brought for her.

"Here you go. You are now fully prepared for the day." She took it from her and smiled a bit, ready to feel silly once again for the words she was going to say.

"This will sound foolish, but is there a special way I'm supposed to carry it?" Liesl looked dumbfounded, trying to decide if she was joking. "Obviously I just put it on my arm, but is there a certain way it's supposed to go? I've never had a purse before."

"You can't be serious. You've never owned a purse?" She rolled her eyes, turning in her seat to face them a bit better.

"Have I ever told you girls that my mother died when I was two?" They shook their heads, looking surprised at her admission. She knew for a fact she had never told them that; she tended to guard herself to a fault.

"You've never really told us anything about yourself." Brigitta spoke up, and with the way she hung on the word of everyone she ever met, Maria knew it was the complete truth.

"I tend to be pretty quiet about such things, I'm afraid. The point is, I never had a mother or any other woman in my life as an example. I lived with my uncle, and there wasn't a lot of good there. I'm going to need you all to help keep me from making a fool of myself." They all smiled, seeming to be excited and ready for the task. She thought briefly to when she first met them and received their "advice" when she told them she would need help as a governess. They had all certainly come a long way since then.

"In that case, carry it on your left arm, since your right handed. It'll make it more comfortable." Liesl smiled, which she returned as a thank you before putting the keys in the purse alongside her wallet.

When they entered the dress shop, she did her best not to let her amazement show. She had never seen such beautiful clothes, not even in the shops she had ventured to when she spent time in Vienna so many years ago. The material was flawless, the cut of the dresses was perfect; she couldn't believe her eyes. She looked down to Brigitta, who seemed just as awestruck as she had been, and she brushed her shoulder with her hand, sharing a smile together as she walked further into the shop.

Liesl spoke to the shopkeeper, handing her a the slip of paper that Georg had given her. Maria could now see that it was a list, and she blushed when Liesl told the woman that she was dressing the future Baroness Von Trapp. The woman dropped everything that she was doing and immediately was at Maria's side, leading her to a fitting area to be measured. She looked back to the girls for guidance and was thankful to find them following her closely. She had no idea what she was getting into.

xxxxxx

They all sighed in contentment as they sat down at an outdoor table for lunch, taking in the heat of the sun while placing their order. As guilty as Maria felt spending the money, she bought several new dresses, more than she expected to buy, as well as new shoes to match and a new handbag. She even allowed the girls to pick out a few things as a thank you for joining and guiding her.

"Fraulein Maria, I've always hated shopping until today." She laughed at Louisa's words, placing her napkin upon her lap.

"Me too, Louisa. You girls certainly made it a good time." She took a sip of her tea, taking a deep breath. "Did you enjoy your first shopping trip, Brigitta?"

"Oh yes! I'm so hopeful we'll get to do it again sometime."

"We definitely will. Your father keeps you too cooped up." Their food arrived, and they ate slowly, enjoying the conversation. It wasn't often that she got the opportunity to focus on the older girls with the smaller ones requiring so much of her attention, and she enjoyed getting to know them on a more adult level. Apparently Louisa was even interested in a boy and excited to see him when they returned to school. She would not be sharing that news with Georg, she mused.

As the lunch concluded, she and the girls returned to the car, making sure the bags were secured in the trunk before making their journey home. Maria couldn't believe how quickly the women in the shop began altering clothes for her, most of which required little changes, and she was able to bring them home that day. Her party dresses would have to be picked up at the end of the week, but she didn't mind so much anymore.

"Maria Rainer?" A voice called out from the sidewalk, and she and the girls turned to see who was calling to her. She vaguely wondered if the girls even knew her last name, given that even their father had not until they had been sleeping together for months. A woman, dressed in immense fashion, approached them, but Maria couldn't make out exactly who it was.

"Yes." She answered hesitantly, wishing she could place the woman; her face looked quite familiar.

"I knew it was you! How have you been? Oh goodness, it's been ages." She smiled, certain it had been quite a long time if she had no idea to whom she was speaking.

"Do forgive me, I can't decide where we know one another from." If the woman was offended, she thankfully didn't show it. She simply smiled and introduced herself.

"Charlotte Huber, well Von Bauer now. We went to secondary school together. I used to sit behind you..."

"And tie my hair in knots. I remember quite well now." She smiled, remembering that the girl also used to trip her and pick on her quite a lot.

"Oh I was so terrible to you! I see you've solved the problem by cutting your hair." She laughed, but Maria still wasn't sure why she had approached her. She wasn't sure they had ever even spoken a kind word to each other in the past. "Listen, dear, I read in the paper that you are engaged to be married. I wanted to extend my congratulations."

"That's very kind, thank you."

"So it is you then? I can hardly believe it! It's quite true that there is someone out there for everyone, isn't it?" She laughed once more, and Maria suddenly felt that she knew exactly how every conversation would go when she was introduced to Georg's society acquaintances. It could have either been a compliment or an insult, but she had no idea which by her tone.

"Yes, I suppose so. Well, it was a pleasure seeing you, Charlotte." She began to usher the girls into the car, closing the door behind Liesl as she walked around to the driver's side.

"Maria, I must admit, I also heard a bit of a rumor about you as well." She gave her a look of pity, which made her heart jump. The girls looked to Maria in question, but she was certain she wouldn't even be able to help herself. "Are you with child?"

"What? Of course not." Her eyes sprang wide, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Well, I just heard that there was a mad affair with the governess, and that he had decided to marry her because she was with child. I put the pieces together when I saw your wedding announcement. You obviously wouldn't have met him any other way." She looked to the girls, Liesl obviously knew the extent of her relationship with Georg, but she was certain the other two did not. She would have been mortified if any more of the children found out how inappropriate she and their father had been.

"Who would say such a thing?"

"Well I heard from Helga Von Hiesler, who heard from her husband, who's brother knows Elsa Schraeder..."

"Of course." Maria interrupted, moving back around the car to stand a bit closer to the woman. "Charlotte, I will ask you to please refrain from gossiping about me. The things you say are untrue, and I assure you that the scandal you're looking for does not exist."

"You're certain? Because the affair part of the story has made its way around for quite a while now." Maria frowned, completely unaware how or why anyone outside the walls of the villa would have even cared.

"I believe we must go now. It was a pleasure seeing you." She walked back to the driver's side of the car and got in, closing the door quickly behind her and starting the engine. She didn't look back as she drove away, but could feel the heavy eyes of the girls upon her. She wasn't sure what to say, so she decided she would say nothing at all.

"Fraulein Maria, what did she mean by all that? Doesn't she know you were a postulant? You would never do those things she said." She felt her stomach ache at Louisa's sweet words, and she tried to smile.

"There had to be some kind of affair if Father has already proposed, don't you think? The timeline doesn't really add up otherwise. And of course the day that Baroness Schraeder yelled at her outside." Brigitta's words shocked her. The girl was way too smart for her own good, and it made Maria feel unarmed. "Also the way she's blushing right now."

"Okay, Brigitta, you're way too observant." She gave an uncomfortable laugh, doing her best to calm down. "Let's not worry about any timelines. What's done is done."

The girls remained quiet, and she felt a bit awkward the rest of the drive home. She felt badly for what they had heard from her old schoolmate, and began to understand a bit more about why their father kept them so far removed from society. She only wished she could do the same for herself.