Thank you for all your reviews, they really do keep me writing. The story changes tact slightly after this chapter.

Hope you all enjoy :)

All thoughts are welcome.

The late afternoon sun still glittered in the air, whilst a cool, light breeze filtered through the car's open windows. Max glanced across to where Elsa was sitting in the passenger's seat, her elbow propped up on the window ledge, her hair covered in an elegant blue silk headscarf as she stared quietly out at the blurring green landscape. "No last minute doubts?" Max asked her, his first words to her since they had left the villa, twenty minutes ago.

It was as though he had woken her from a dream, she blinked rapidly and drew her shoulders back as she turned to him. "No regrets," she told him, her lips curling into a small, sad smile.

"Hmmm." Max's mouth gave a small twitch, slightly unconvinced by her words.

Ever perceptive, Elsa narrowed her eyes and asked, "Just what did that noise mean?"

"Well," he gave a shrug. "It is a most surprising turn of events. Less than twenty-four hours ago you were determined to fight for him."

She sighed softly, "The man I was fighting for was a mirage. Anyway," her voice took on a note of steel. "It's not as though she won."

They had not discussed her decision to leave in any depth before now, Elsa had been so desperate to leave as quickly as she could, that she had simply announced her decision to him and then swept away to pack. Max mulled over her words as he stared thoughtfully out at the road in front of him and pointed out, "But their path is now clear."

Elsa gave a short laugh. "Max, you do have quite the imagination at times. I know how they look at one another, but it is one thing to engage in some distant flirtation and quite another to begin an illicit relationship."

"You are right of course."

She frowned at him. "But you clearly don't agree with me," she stated. "Which is odd because you were the one to tell me that Georg wouldn't ruin his reputation."

One hand tightened on the steering wheel, whilst the other the other rubbed at his chin. "I did and I truly believe that he would never have risked your reputation, but now he is completely unattached, I cannot claim the same confidence."

"Georg is a man of honour, he holds himself to the highest standards and he doesn't compromise. If he did then I might not have found myself in this situation," she muttered somewhat darkly, a brief scowl briefly marring her perfect features.

"Men of honour still have their weaknesses and they simply have further to fall my dear." His fingers tapped against the steering wheel. He had seen a change in Georg over the last few weeks, he seemed much more at peace with himself, appeared happier with his life, but then there were also those longing glances. Georg had never been a man to pine after a woman, although he had never needed to before. As a young man he had natural charm and good looks and the women flocked to him. Then when he met Agathe, he had never glanced at another woman, he had loved her intensely. Max had thought he would never see that look on his friend's face ever again, but then he had, just not towards Elsa. It was when he looked at Maria, on the night he sang Edelweiss had been the most striking, but then he had seen it again when he had observed him on the terrace this afternoon, just before the girl ran back into the house. He wasn't sure that Georg's self-control could hold, with Elsa gone, they would naturally spend more time together as he would likely increase his time with the children and that would only enhance the attraction.

Elsa's pink lips thinned for a moment and then she gave a shake of her head, her tone surprisingly light. "Well fortunately it is no longer my concern." She shot him a puckish grin, adding, "Of course I still think that you're wrong."

Max chuckled, "Well it wouldn't be the first time. But I think that perhaps you underestimate the drive of a man in love."

"Love?" Elsa spluttered with an incredulous laugh. "Max, she is a pretty girl in her early twenties who has the added lure of being completely forbidden fruit. Love does not factor into this, it's not his heart that Georg will be thinking with right now."

"I think there just may be more to what is between them than mere lust," Max told her.

I will admit that she is unlike any woman he will find out in society, but whilst to begin with that may very well be refreshing, there is a reason we marry those of the same standing as ourselves, because that innocence, that seemingly wild spirit does not fit into our world. Fraulein Maria would never manage to be the wife that Georg needs, would never be able to negotiate the complexities of running all the aspects of his household. Not to mention the scandal, imagine what would be said!"

"Georg rarely finds himself troubled by what others think of him."

"Perhaps not, but do you think that she could stand in a ballroom while others whisper rumours and half-truths around her." Elsa gave an exasperated wave of her hand. "Believe me, faced with that nest of vipers she wouldn't keep her sunny disposition for long."

"Perhaps," he murmured non-committedly.

Elsa sucked in a breath between her teeth. "What do you know?"

He looked vaguely surprised at that, however his eyes slid away from hers and fixed firmly on the road, his hands tightening somewhat guiltily on the steering wheel as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"You know Max, I have never been able to understand how you manage to talk others into doing exactly what you want them to, because you really are the most terrible liar."

Her words made him laugh and he protested mildly, "I don't lie, I flatter and charm."

"I've always found flattery and charm to be perilously close to deceit."

"Then you need new contemporaries."

"I refuse to let you change the subject," Elsa warned him. "You were just as certain as I was that Georg had a simply infatuation and now you're using the word love, what has changed your mind?"

Max stroked the ends of his moustache thoughtfully with his thumb and forefinger for a second as he considered his next words. "I went to speak to Georg before we left, to tell him that I believed he was being…short-sighted."

Elsa gave a sigh and reached out to gently pat Max's knee. "You know I appreciate your concern, but Georg and I are adults who are capable of making our own decisions about what we want from the future." She gave him a teasing smile, "I have told you once already that we are not your toys."

He gave a snort. "Oh no, he's too stubborn for me to manipulate and you are both clever enough to see right through my machinations. You would be the worst toys."

"And yet you still tried to manoeuvre the situation."

"I thought it was for the best, not just in terms of your potential marriage but also because Georg's current political views might very well end up getting him into trouble."

"That I sadly have no doubt about, but it is his choice, not ours." She leaned back in her seat. "So, did you see something between them on the terrace?"

"Oh no, nothing quite so scandalous, just a look and their body language."

Elsa glanced down at her nails in an attempt to appear nonchalant, peeved when she noticed a small chip at the edge of the polish and rubbed her thumb against it as she remarked, "Well that's hardly new. They were always looking at one another, always standing slightly closer together that propriety would allow, but never quite enough to be distasteful."

"This felt different."

"Hmmph." Elsa gave a shrug, unconvinced. "Obviously, you failed to convince Georg to change his mind regarding his views."

"Of course I did," he remarked wryly. "He believes that given his views, he will always make you unhappy."

"And he is right." She gave an irritable sigh. "Even if this girl wasn't in the picture, that would always be fact. And I still believe that you are wrong, that this will fizzle out and fade away, because even if Georg were to decide he wanted to pursue her, she wouldn't be able to face the magnitude of his affections. I have said it before and I will say it again, she would run from him."

Max considered her words, there was, of course, a ring of truth to them and yet there was something hanging the air at Aigen. "Very well," he finally replied. "Shall we wager on it?"

"Really Max? I am nursing a broken heart."

"Oh, I don't believe that for a second, your pride may be pricked but I believe that otherwise you are unbent and unbroken."

She pulled her lips straight in an attempt not to smile. "Fine, I may have to concede that point. I did care for Georg, but love…" she shrugged. "Perhaps with time it may have followed, for both of us." After all, she was under no illusion that he had ever truly loved her either, it had been all too easy for both of them to let the relationship go. "A wager still feels rather tacky though."

"I think it could be rather entertaining, unless of course you are conceding that I am right in this respect."

"I certainly am not!" Elsa retorted. He merely raised his eyebrow at her and she gave an irate sigh, snapping, "Fine, but believe me come September I shall have no compunction about taking your money."

"Oh I wouldn't let that concern you"

"And you are not to meddle," Elsa warned him.

Max looked genuinely shocked at that. "Elsa, I'm not going to push the poor girl into his arms, I have just about enough scruples to restrain myself from that. I just happen to believe that it will now happen of its own accord."

"Well, we shall see."

"Yes, we will." They fell silent and then after a moment he asked, "What will you say when you return to Vienna?"

She didn't need to clarify what he was asking her about. "You needn't worry, I won't be mentioning Georg's political leanings, he is a friend after all." She gave an easy shrug. "I suppose I shall use the children, I don't think anyone will be surprised I decided against taking on his brood, they are fairly notorious after all."

"And leaving so soon after the ball?"

"Well, that was my farewell soiree of course."

Max gave a chuckle. "Ah yes, so it was, I had forgotten for a moment." He watched as Elsa's lips curved into a small, satisfied smile at his agreement and his concern for her and how she would manage this finally melted away. Elsa would manage this with the aplomb she always did; she would be fine.

Maria only just resisted the urge to fidget with her cutlery and napkin as she took her place at the dinner table, instead attempting to busy herself with straightening the collar of Gretl's dress, trying not to stare at the Captain. Her heart felt as though it were about to thump right out of her chest anytime she so much as glanced in his direction.

Whenever she thought about his hand brushing against her cheek, low in her stomach she felt a tug that she couldn't quite describe and made her feel quite odd. She had tried to push it to one side, had managed to convince herself that it was her imagination running wild and then she had walked with him. Despite managing to initially push the earlier interaction to one side, when he had spoken about teaching the little ones how to swim, she had then begun to envision him in his swimming costume. It had taken all her energy to quash that daydream before it had the chance to take root.

She could not help but wonder what he had been about to say to her when they had been interrupted, because she had been on the verge of pouring out all her fears to him. There was something about the look he would sometimes give her that made her want to confide in him, that perhaps even look for comfort from him. She bit down on the inside of her cheek, that could not be right, she told herself, the Captain was stern and foreboding, at least he had been. Now, now she wasn't so sure, more often now she would see another side to him, saw the warmth of his smile and sometimes even the flash of pensiveness or sadness in his gaze. There was so much more to him than she had ever imagined.

Her thoughts ran round her head in a confusing bundle, each one feeling as though it were setting off sparks in her brain, she always had an excess of energy, but now she felt an all-consuming restlessness. She didn't know why she felt like this, she certainly had never felt it before.

His voice drew her from her thoughts. "Fraulein, would you like to say Grace? You may pick whichever language you wish."

There was that smile again, the one that made her stomach flip, that made the corners of his eyes crinkle ever so slightly and yet whilst making her feel agitated also seemed to make her feel at ease with him, which made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Still, she smiled back at him, how could she resist? "Benissez nous, Seigneur et benissez le repas que nous allons prendre. Au nom du Pere, du Fils, et du Saint Esprit. Amen."

His eyes twinkled with mirth. "Bien joue, Fraulein."

They smiled at one another, completely missing the curious looks that Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa and Brigitta were giving them, whilst the other three children tucked into their dinner, Kurt with the gusto of a growing boy.

Maria wondered if she would ever tire of making him smile at her in that way and felt her cheeks flush as she registered the inappropriateness of her thoughts. She tore her eyes away just in time to see Louisa mouth something at her older sister and watched as Liesl steeled her shoulders and asked, "Um…Father?"

His eyes flickered, they had still been fixed on Maria, and he took a moment before he turned towards his daughter. "Yes, Liesl?"

"Are Uncle Max and Baroness Schraeder not joining us tonight?"

Maria noticed the smallest twitch to the Captain's jaw as he shook his head and took a small sip of his wine before replying. "No. In fact Baroness Schraeder has returned to Vienna and Uncle Max is very kindly escorting her, he will be back later tomorrow."

The older children all shared a look, and it was Friedrich who edged himself forward this time, asking, "And when will the Baroness be back, Father?"

He took another gulp of wine and cleared his throat. "As a matter of fact, she won't be. She very much enjoyed meeting you all, but her presence is required back in Vienna."

Maria felt as though everything had tilted on an axis at this latest turn of events, she had thought that God's plan for her here was to prepare the children for their new mother and yet it appeared as though this was no longer to be the case. Her lips thinned as she realised that her prevailing emotion was relief at this announcement and yet she didn't know why. She had wanted the children to have a mother again after all. She speared a piece of chicken with her fork, but simply shifted it around the plate slightly, something she often told the children off for doing. Thankfully they were to caught up to notice her hypocrisy and she forced herself to listen as they fired questions at their Father, because she too wanted to know the answers, although she kept her eyes firmly fixed downwards.

"So, she won't be back at all Father?" Louisa asked.

"No, as I said she will be staying Vienna."

"And are you going back to Vienna to see her?"

He shook his head. "No Brigitta, I have no plans to go back to Vienna." He gave a smile towards Marta, who sat quietly on his left-hand side and remarked, "In fact what I have plans to do it teach Marta and Gretl how to swim."

At that Maria looked up at the two little ones gave gasps of delight at the announcement and although he looked pleased by their reactions, she suspected that he had used it as a way of changing the subject matter.

"Are you really going to teach us how to swim, Father?" Gretl squeaked excitedly.

"Yes, I think it's about time you were able to join in with your siblings. Your Fraulein and I briefly discussed it earlier and we shall discuss it further tonight. But," he reached out and nudged a smiling Marta's cheek playfully with his knuckle. "I am confident that we should be able to start this week."

Marta turned her hopeful brown eyes onto Maria. "Do you think we could start tomorrow?" she asked quietly.

Maria couldn't help but beam at the girl and the way she made every attempt to hide her excitement, her eyes met with the Captain's and his smile widened, his head tilting slightly as though her answer was the one that mattered to him. "I think if the weather remains agreeable then we my plans are easy enough to re-arrange." She answered.

Her eyes stayed on his for another moment before Marta's questioning pulled his attention away. She felt her heart begin to beat loudly in her ears as she once more thought of him in the water. She pressed her hand briefly against her head, her fingertips digging slightly into her temples in an effort to clear her thoughts again. What on earth was the matter with her? She should feel bad for the man, after all he must be upset and yet instead she was having some fairly unholy thoughts about him. This had to stop, she told herself, it was utterly inappropriate.

Brigitta watched her older sisters thoughtfully as Liesl sat in front of the mirror brushing her hair, whilst Louisa lounged laconically across her bed, remarking, "Well at least we don't have to worry about the Baroness anymore."

"I wonder why she left so quickly though." Liesl replied as she brushed a shiny thick lock of dark hair back and behind her shoulder. "It is odd that she didn't mention it at the picnic."

"Maybe they had an argument," Louisa suggested as she rolled onto her side. "Although I suppose don't suppose it really matters, I'm just glad that she's not going to be our new mother."

Liesl nodded, "I know. She would have tried I think, but I don't think she really liked us that much."

"Well, she liked you more than me, she looked horrified when I told her I was making that hedgehog habitat."

Giving a roll of her eyes, Liesl remarked, "I still don't understand why you even told her about that."

"Because she was going on and on about the twigs in my hair." Louisa pulled a face and pulled the affected proper tones of the Baroness as she mimicked, "Louisa, you appear to have some of the local forestry in your hair, it is most unusual for a proper young lady such as yourself."

Liesl gave a snort of laughter at the impression. "She clearly didn't get to know you at all if she ever thought you were a young lady." She let out a squeal of indignation as Louisa launched a cushion at her head. "Oi! I had just finished brushing and now you've messed it all up again."

"What does it matter? You're going to bed; it's going to get all mussed up anyway."

"And that's why you have so many knots in your hair in the morning," Liesl snapped back. "If you would just take all of two minutes-"

"Blah blah blah," Louisa interrupted. "Maybe I should just cut it short like Fraulein Maria has."

"She did that because she was living in a convent, not out of laziness."

"I don't think that the reason really matters," Louisa shrugged. "And now that the Baroness has gone, maybe Fraulein Maria will stay on past September."

Liesl looked forlorn at that, dipping her head slightly as she replied, "I don't think so, she has her vows to take."

"Maybe she won't take her vows," Brigitta cut in suddenly.

Her sisters turned to look at her in surprise. "What makes you say that?" Liesl asks curiously.

Brigitta flushed, suddenly becoming tongue tied as she attempts to put her suspicions into words. "Well…she and Father danced together last night…and now the Baroness is gone…"

Liesl gave her a sympathetic gaze, whilst Louisa simply snapped, "Don't be so foolish."

"I'm not being foolish," Brigitta sniped back, feeling embarrassment creep up at her spine at the older girl's disdainful dismissal. "The way they looked at each other and then how distracted they both were this morning, their jokes about saying Grace."

Louisa made another scoffing noise, but Liesl silenced any come back with a glare and a shake of her head before she told Brigitta. "We'd all like that to be think that that might happen, but it can't."

"Why not?" she asked stubbornly.

"Because Fraulein Maria is going to be a nun, because Father is older than her and because in society they are of unequal standing and it would be frowned upon for them to get married." She sighed. "I understand why you think these things, but it's much more likely that they were embarrassed about the dance."

"Why should they be embarrassed?"

"Because Father should not be seen dancing with his staff at a ball," Louisa huffed, rolling her eyes at her younger sister. "They are lucky that no one saw them. And I think the jokes this morning was just one of those odd adult things that don't make sense until you're old."

Brigitta chin jutted obstinately. "Well, I think you are both wrong." She directed her gaze at her oldest sister and asked, "Can I borrow one of your books please?"

"Of course, just not Wuthering Heights, I'm in the middle of it." Liesl smiled and remarked dreamily, "It's so romantic, so much thwarted love."

Louisa giggled as she told Brigitta, "I think she pictures herself and Rolfe running across the mountains, estranged from one another."

"Don't be so silly," Liesl shot back, although her cheeks turned pink at the accusation.

Brigitta perused the bookshelf, slipped out the copy of what she was looking for before she turned back to her sisters and told them, "I don't think Wuthering Heights is meant to be romantic."

"It's gothic romance," Liesl reminded her.

"Yes, but romance doesn't mean romantic, it is a genre." She looked at her sister's somewhat blank expression and shook her head. "Doesn't matter." With a sigh, Brigitta settled down on her bed with her book and blocking out the older girls bickering, she turned her attention and thoughts elsewhere.