"Wow, we sure are going fast!" Maria cried as they whizzed along on the Autobahn. Philip and Otto both laughed.

"You'll get used to it," Philip told her.

Soon Otto turned onto a side road and drove down a winding lane. Maria saw acres of verdant grass with grazing cattle. At last, Otto parked in front of a mansion.

Maria gasped. The mansion was at least as big as her father's house, maybe even bigger. It was three stories high. The outside of the bottom floor was painted gray, the second floor was white and had windows with dark brown shutters, and the top floor was also white and was half timbered. The roof was tall and steep. Surrounding the mansion were various shrubs and bushes, and right beside it was a moss-bedecked tree that was even taller, reaching high into the sky.

"Wow!" she breathed as they exited the car and walked toward the front door.

Philip laughed. "Just wait until you see the inside!"

Inside, the walls were also painted white, with floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides to let in as much sunshine as possible. A long mauve sofa was against one wall, and on it sat Robert and Elisabeth Neuberg. As Elisabeth rose to meet her guests, Maria felt her heart hammer in her chest.

"Welcome, Maria." Elisabeth gave her a warm embrace. "I'm so happy to finally meet you in person."

"Thank you, and I as well." Maria felt her anxiety gradually ebb away, to be replaced with serenity, a warm feeling of belonging.

"You must be exhausted after your long trip," said Elisabeth. "Would you like to rest up for a bit?"

"I'm fine." Maria was unable to stifle a massive yawn. Everyone laughed as she felt her face burn.

"Philip, take her upstairs and show her to her room," Elisabeth told her son.

"Of course, Mother." Philip took Maria's hand and led her up a winding staircase. When they reached the top, he led her down a short hallway to a door. The door opened onto a room which contained a luxurious king-sized bed with a ruffled white quilt and several colored pillows.

"Rest up as long as you need to," Philip said generously. "There's no hurry."

Maria lay down and was asleep within seconds. She was awakened several hours later by Philip's gentle shaking.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! Dinner's ready!"

Maria opened her eyes and gasped when she looked at the clock on the wall.

"I can't believe it!"

"Jet lag," said Philip. "I'm used to it. It's all right, but you'd better hurry before the food gets cold."

Dinner was a delicious combination of lobster with melted butter for dipping, broiled shrimp, a huge green salad, baked potatoes, and cheddar garlic biscuits. As they ate, Robert and Elisabeth asked Maria about her childhood.

"I started taking piano lessons when I was four and a half years old," she told them. "My parents were always very proud of me and had me play for their visitors."

"Perhaps you can perform for us tonight." Elisabeth smiled as she nodded toward the Steinway and Son piano in one corner.

"Of course!" Maria felt a fluttery feeling in her stomach at the thought of playing piano for her new in-laws. "My childhood was very happy. Every so often, there would be a period when my mother would seem depressed and my father temperamental, but I never thought much of it. Then when I was fifteen, my world turned upside down."

Philip saw the shattered look on her face and squeezed her hand underneath the table. She took a deep breath and then let it out.

"That's when my father met Anne. My mother put on a brave face and pretended nothing was wrong, but I heard them talking and my mother crying when it was late at night and they didn't know I was still up. He left the year after that, and right before I turned seventeen, he married Anne."

"I'm so sorry!" said Elisabeth. "That must have been devastating for you."

"It was," Maria agreed.

"And yet you seem to have come through it just fine." Elisabeth smiled. "What a brave girl you are!"

"I had a lot of help from your son," Maria replied.

"So are your father and Anne still married?" asked Elisabeth.

"No," Maria told her. "After she miscarried his son, he met Jane Seymour and divorced Anne for her. Jane died a year after they were married, when Edward was born."

"Oh, my goodness!" Elisabeth gasped.

"She had something called an amniotic embolism," Maria explained. "I was shocked. I didn't know that kind of thing still happened to women. A few months after Jane died, he married a much younger woman named Kitty, but she cheated on him, so he's divorcing her."

Robert and Elisabeth exchanged a meaningful glance, and Maria suddenly regretted having told her new in-laws so much about her father's private life. But a minute later, Elisabeth turned back to her and smiled.

"You really have had a chaotic few years, haven't you?" she said. "Well, that's all in the past now, and I hope you'll enjoy your new life her in Augsburg."

"Of course she will," said Philip. "I'll see to it that she does."

After dinner, Maria played several pieces on piano for her new family. Her hands shook as she placed her fingers on the keys, but she played each piece without a flaw, and everyone was very impressed. Maria was exhilarated by the praise she received from the Neuberg family, but as she waited in bed that night for Philip to come to her, she found herself growing more and more nervous. She had no idea what her new husband's sexual history was, and she preferred not to know, but she couldn't help but worry he'd be disappointed in her.

At last the door opened and Philip was there, robe tied around his waist with a sash, smelling of musk-scented soap. He sat on the bed beside her and reached for her hand.

"Nervous?" he asked. She nodded.

"We don't have to tonight, if you'd rather wait," he offered.

"Oh, but I don't want to wait! I want you so bad it's killing me!" she cried.

He grinned. "Well, in that case - " He pulled her close and began to kiss her while he caressed her still-clothed body. Then he pulled her down and lay beside her on the bed, undoing the sash on his robe so that it fell open. Maria managed one shy glance.

"I promise, I'll be as gentle as I can," he whispered.

He was, but Maria still found the experience quite painful. It was only toward the end that the pain lessened and she began to feel a slight amount of pleasure, which grew.

When it was over, they lay together, holding one another close.

"Are you all right?" asked Philip.

"Yes," said Maria.

"I love you so much." He brushed the hair back from her face as he placed soft kisses all over it.

"I love you, too," Maria whispered.

Within seconds, they were both fast asleep.