They didn't tell anyone about the baby yet, knowing the moment they did there would be the possibility of gossip. Hede and her husband knew, but no one else. Maria felt sick to her stomach at the thought of telling Georg's mother. As if the woman didn't dislike her enough already.

Four more weeks until the wedding, so she calculated she would be about two months pregnant when they exchanged their vows. She rolled her eyes at the thought, hopeful she was fit enough that she wouldn't show for a long while still. She couldn't believe she was pregnant outside of marriage. It went against every single thing she had ever thought to be good and moral, and it certainly would have disgusted the woman she was before she had become a governess. She thought about that naive, confused woman occasionally; just a girl with no sense of the world, really. The moment she arrived at the villa was when her whole life changed, when she changed.

She had found that being Georg's mistress came fairly naturally to her, for some reason. It made sense to her, she as the governess and he in the position of power and high society. Though, she smiled at the memory, it never really felt like they were from two different worlds or social classes. She always felt that they had been equals; at least he treated her as such. It had all been so perfect in its imperfections.

Yes, being his mistress had been easy and, dare she say, exciting, but being his fiancée had come with its own emotions. Somehow she didn't feel that she fit the mold at all, and it scared her to think about how she would feel as his wife. She desperately wanted to marry him, there was no doubt about that. She loved him with her entire heart and soul, but the life of a Baroness was not one she was doing well wrapping her head around.

She shook her head in frustration; there were a lot of things she was having trouble wrapping her head around these days. The baby, the wedding, the idea of becoming a Baroness...whatever that actually meant. Status wasn't important to her in the slightest, but she knew her title would be important to everyone else. There would be certain expectations, none of which she actually felt she knew.

"Maria, you have got to pay attention." Hede nudged her, and she refocused immediately. She felt a small blush creep upon her cheeks at being caught in her head again.

"Sorry." She whispered, for the hundredth time that day. She and Hede were at a brunch put on by one of the young ladies in their circle who was getting married soon as well. She had managed to talk Georg into allowing Liesl to come with them, since it was a daytime event and strictly for women, so she was dutifully seated on the other side of Maria on a bench. He had trouble allowing Liesl to grow up and become part of society, but Maria stood her ground on the matter, and he eventually allowed it. She did not want Liesl to become a woman with the level of naivety about the world she had herself.

The bride-to-be was chatting endlessly about her wedding plans, all the preparation involved, the details of their vows. Maria found that she simply couldn't bring herself to care. All the topics of discussion seemed so trivial to her, and she tried desperately to pretend she was just as delighted as the rest of the women seemed. Liesl, who truly appeared to be having a marvelous time, leaned to whisper in her ear.

"Is that Baroness Schraeder?" Maria's heart skipped a beat as she looked toward the house where Liesl had nodded. Sure enough, Elsa had just arrived, incredibly late, to share in the celebration.

"Yes, it is. How...unexpected." Maria gave a smile, doing her best not to show she was affected by Elsa's presence. The guests who were part of the gossip chain would have a great time with she and Elsa in the same room if they weren't careful. Elsa must have thought the same thing, as after she greeted many of the guests, she made her way over to Maria, smiling.

"Hello ladies! Liesl, your father let you out of the house?" She laughed, and the girl nodded politely with a smile. Elsa opened her arms, raising an eyebrow to Maria, who stood to cautiously accept her embrace. Elsa whispered directly into her ear. "This is for show. Pretend we're fine."

"It's wonderful to see you, Baroness." Maria smiled brightly as they pulled away, and Elsa nodded her approval before moving on to hug Hede as well, and then she moved on to greet a few others.

She looked great, though she always looked beautiful, thought Maria. But she looked calm and perhaps genuinely happy. The last time Maria saw her was the day she found out about the affair, so she supposed a lot would have changed since then. It gave her a great sense of relief at seeing her looking so incredibly well, though.

"Did you hear she and Herr Zeller are courting?" Maria's eyes widened, and she met Hede's in surprise.

"No, I wasn't aware. Why on earth...?"

"Shh, we're not in good company for politics." Maria nodded, biting her lower lip to keep her thoughts to herself.

"Does Georg know?"

"He will when you tell him. I'm not going to be victim to that conversation!" Hede laughed, and Maria gave her a quick shove with her elbow. Victim was right; there was no way the revelation would come without a long, angry speech afterward. Georg's political opinions were very well known, but he had become so much more vocal when the subject arose. He had even had a heated discussion with his mother upon her arrival about their differences in opinions on the matter. Maria had never breeched the subject with him herself, too afraid to say the wrong thing even though she found that she agreed with him.

"I can't wait." Hede giggled, nudging her in return. The party itself was quite dull, though Liesl seemed to enjoy every moment of socializing and the spread of finger foods laid about. Hede took Liesl around to meet some of the other girls her age, but Maria decided to remain seated upon a bench she had found off to the side. The day was hotter than she expected, especially for the time of year, and being outdoors in the sun was beginning to make her feel a bit queasy.

"You look pale. Are you quite well, dear?" She turned from her glass of water to see Elsa approaching again, and she smiled gently.

"Yes, thank you."

"May I join you?"

"Of course." She scooted over a bit so Elsa could sit next to her, but her heart was pounding with nerves. There was no way she wasn't coming with an ulterior motive. "I wasn't aware you knew the bride."

"I wasn't aware you did either." She chuckled, looking to her glass of water again.

"Touché." She noticed several women pretending that they weren't watching their interaction, and she smiled a bit wider as if their conversation was extremely pleasant. "You do look very well."

"I'm merely sitting next to you to help calm the gossip. Don't you know what people are saying?"

"I do not. I've asked Georg not to tell me." Elsa snorted at her words, quickly returning to a smile as she placed a hand upon Maria's back, looking as if they were sharing a fond memory. Maria smiled in return, meeting eyes that did not match the kindness of the gesture.

"Well allow me to enlighten you."

"Please, don't."

"Will you feel too badly for what you've done?"

"I simply do not want to know. I know the truth, what does the rest matter?"

"The truth does not matter in the slightest." Her voice was hushed, and Maria found herself to be intrigued by what people were saying about Elsa that was so bad she needed to seek out an interaction between them. "They're saying I lost my man to a nun, which is somehow the most embarrassing. They're saying you seduced he and I together, and he chose you over me in the end because you were better in bed. Some have said that he thought I was too old and needed a young piece. And, my favorite, that he got you pregnant and brushed me aside."

"Please stop."

"Or that he took advantage of your innocence. He couldn't resist the idea of bedding a virgin."

"Please."

"Oh why? You don't want to hear about how you..."

"No, I don't." She met Elsa's eyes with fury behind her own. She truly did not want to know any of the lies being spread about her, all she wanted was to prove to them all that she was a good person. She could only do that by being involved with parties and events, and generally remaining kind, she decided. "What exactly are you needing from me?"

"You're smile has fallen." Maria smiled wider, doing her best to remain calm and poised. "I simply want you and I to appear friendly. If it looks like we have no bad blood between us, the gossip will calm down."

"I'm happy to sit with you, then."

"And we should have lunch while I'm in town." She thought on it for a moment, not feeling very comfortable with the request. It would have been one thing had she not known Elsa was being courted by a known Nazi supporter. Georg would be furious with her if she accepted the invitation.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. I would like to, but I think Georg would be displeased."

"Do you always need his permission to go to lunch?" Maria wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained.

"I fear he will not approve of the company you keep." Elsa glared at her, surprised by her honesty, as most tended to be. "Your smile has fallen."

"Yes, well." She smiled brightly, patting Maria's hand in forced kindness. "I think you and I are not involved in whatever differences our men have. Lunch is lunch."

"It wouldn't be to Georg." Elsa seemed frustrated, but continued to smile nevertheless. "But I am always willing to sit by your side like this."

Elsa's smile was genuine this time, and Maria returned it. She gave her a nod before standing and walking away, moving to chat with a few other ladies who were acting as if they weren't intently staring at them moments earlier. Maria didn't fully understand the way the gossip chain worked, how everyone seemed to know everyone else's business, but she did know that she would help calm the spread of the gossip anytime she could...particularly when it meant protecting her family. She would be mortified if the children ever heard anything Elsa had told her.