Maria watched from outside as Liesl and Rolfe sat down at their table for lunch. She had agreed to chaperone a date, the only way she could get Georg to allow it at all...she also didn't mention who the date was with, she only said he was a boy from school; not necessarily a lie. Her husband would have never let it happen if he knew it was Rolfe, and she knew better than to think that telling Liesl no would stop her. She would merely sneak in and out of the house like she used to, and that would upset Georg much more than a supervised lunch date.

She decided to look at some fabric while they had lunch, not feeling very hungry herself. With it being Saturday, the streets were quite busy, but she was glad to get some alone time. She was surprised she could talk the rest of the children into staying home, but Liesl was very adamant that nobody else needed to chaperone her date. Maria smiled at the memory of the serious look upon the girl's face when she mentioned she may bring Brigitta along.

"Maria, how did you get out of the house all by yourself?" She smiled as she turned to see Mia walking toward her down the sidewalk.

"I'm chaperoning a date for Liesl. It didn't sound fun to anyone else." Mia laughed, giving her a quick hug as she approached.

"You're not doing a great job, I'm afraid. You've lost her." Maria laughed, pointing to the direction of the restaurant across the street where Liesl could be seen through the front window.

"I'm doing an amazing job. She thinks I can't see her." Mia laughed, adjusting the basket in her arms. "What are you doing today?"

"Oh, I needed to get out of the house. My husband has been extremely attentive, if you know what I mean. I need a break." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, and Maria laughed when she caught her meaning.

"Well, I may need some help deciding on a fabric, if you'd care to join me?"

"Yes!" She grabbed her arm and led her into the shop, and they began picking through the fabric choices. She liked spending time with Mia, she made her laugh a lot and helped her feel young. She had never had a real girlfriend before, and it was nice to have someone to share things with. Though she had been intentionally distant lately, as she couldn't seem to shake the conversation she had with Brigitta about her friend's prying questions. She was having difficulty trusting her. As if she already didn't have difficulty trusting people, she thought.

They found the fabric she wanted fairly quickly, and Maria ordered the amounts she needed from the shop owner. She was making Liesl and Louisa party dresses for their upcoming birthdays and wanted to make sure she had the perfect fabrics for the job. Georg suggested she take them shopping, but they were both certain that they wanted her to make them dresses. She felt pride at the thought that they weren't even the slightest bit interested in having fancy, expensive dresses to wear. They specifically wanted her to make their dresses.

She and Georg had been ignoring their disagreement, finding it easier to pretend it didn't happen. It wasn't the way they normally would handle disagreements, as they were always open and fully honest with one another, but suddenly everything felt different between them. She didn't feel like she could tell him everything like she used to, for fear that it would set him off yelling or make him angry. He knew how she loved him and would forgive him anything, and unfortunately that had made her the target for his bad attitude and angry words lately. She was becoming quite exhausted by it all.

"Is something troubling you, Maria?" They sat upon a bench outside the shop, able to see Liesl and Rolfe still eating their lunch. Maria pulled her coat a bit tighter around her as she took in the heat of the sun on her face. It was quite cold, but the heat of the people passing by helped a bit as they waited.

"Oh, nothing really. Georg and I have been arguing, which is fairly common for us, actually. It's just been a bit worse."

"About what?" She shrugged, noting the tone of interest in her friend's voice, and feeling silly for answering truthfully. She needed to be careful, just in case.

"I shouldn't have said anything."

"I'm constantly telling you every detail of my life. I think it would be fine for you to share something too, if you wanted." She smiled, meeting her friend's eyes. Perhaps she could share if she remained careful of details.

"You know I'm not very good at opening up. I'm sure that's part of the problem, actually. I tend to brush my feelings to the side until they explode. He only explodes."

"Does he yell at you a lot?"

"It's never really yelling so much, just disagreeing. He's very one-sided and difficult to talk to when he's made up his mind about something." She bit her lip, wondering if anything she had said was too much. She truly needed someone to talk to, but alarms were going off in her head about her choice in company. In all honesty, she missed her sister-in-law a great deal in times like these.

"Does he work a lot?"

"Quite a lot these days. He didn't used to."

"Interesting. What does a retired Navy Captain spend so much time working on?" She heard it in the tone of her friend's voice, the level of interest was just a bit too much for her liking. She had only guessed before, but she knew for certain in that moment that Mia was not to be trusted.

"I don't know, really. I think he says he's busy so he can read books and drink brandy all day." She laughed, noticing the slightest flicker of disappointment in Mia's eyes before she joined her in laughter.

"Well, my husband and I haven't had our first argument yet, not a real one anyway."

"Really? Goodness, we've argued from the moment we met." She chuckled, remembering her first day in the villa as a governess, then remembering the time she and the children overturned the rowboat, and they argued by the lake.

"But the making up afterward is worth it?" She turned and met her friend's eyes, narrowing her own for a moment before smiling as a blush moved across her face.

"Yes, well, we argue before, after, during; we aren't picky on the timing of it all." Mia laughed, nudging her upon the shoulder. Maria sighed, cuddling deeper into her coat to keep the cold out. "I do love him desperately though."

"When did you first know you loved him?" Mia smiled, acting as if they were at a sleepover or something just as juvenile, but she didn't mind.

"The moment I met him, really. I just didn't realize it for quite a long time."

"Until you decided to have an affair?" Maria met her eyes sharply, feeling confused. She wondered why Mia would care at all about such a thing.

"Why is that important?"

"It isn't, I suppose. I've just never heard you confirm or deny that rumor. I'm curious." She shrugged, readjusting her basket upon her lap as Maria kept an eye on her. She supposed everyone knew the truth by that point, really. What would confirming or denying it matter, she wondered. Perhaps she could use it as a test in trust.

"Most rumors wouldn't exist without some truth, I imagine."

"So it is true." She nodded, shrugging.

"It only went on for a few months. I'm quite tired of the gossip about it, honestly."

"It does make it hard for people to see the real you, doesn't it? I remember being so intimidated by you the first time we met." Maria laughed, remembering the terrified young woman Mia had been for a long while. Things certainly had changed.

"I still think that's hilarious."

"Me too, now." They laughed and Mia nudged her shoulder to catch her eye. "You know you'll be fine."

"Yes, I do. We always are."

"You would do anything for that grumpy man of yours, wouldn't you?" She chuckled, supposing it was true.

"There's so much more to him than he shows."

"And you too?" She raised her eyebrows, unsure of what exactly the meaning was behind the words. Was she over-analyzing everything now, or was there a hint of a challenge behind the question?

"I suppose that's how it is with all of us, isn't it?" She looked into Mia's eyes, challenging her right back. Her friend nodded quietly, and Maria knew she got the meaning.

xxxxxx

Maria felt the bed move next to her as her husband laid down beside her, another late night as usual. She had been awake thinking for hours, which was unfortunately becoming quite common lately. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, his lips touching the back of her neck as he held her.

"I'm sorry." She nearly scoffed, but held back.

"For what?"

"For making you feel like I don't care about your feelings. It breaks my heart that you feel afraid, Maria. I'm sorry." She could have cried at the sweetness in his voice. He meant it.

"Thank you." She wasn't sure what else to say, knowing that asking him if they were going to leave would start the argument all over again, but he sensed her hesitation and knew the question on her mind. He kissed her cheek, hugging her close.

"Can we give a little more time before we discuss leaving? I still have hope."

"But you will think about it?"

"Yes, if it's what you want." She turned to face him, looking into his eyes. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss upon her lips, his thumb moving over her cheek. "I love you more than anything. I live for you and would die for you."

"I miss you."

"Soon enough I will be all yours." She rolled her eyes, beginning to turn away, but his hand upon her chin stopped her. "I mean it."

"Then show it." She kissed him once more, turning away and backing herself into his warm embrace as he held her.