A/N Sorry for the late update. I'm a little sad that NO ONE reviewed my other chapters. Are they really that bad? Well, I'm determined to write this story whether you like it or not! I do hope you'll enjoy it though.

Linda

Chapter 4

The Lonely Goatherd was an instant success and the children couldn't have had more fun. Maria on the other hand was exhausted after teaching the children how to make the puppets move and how to sing the song. The Captain, Elsa and Max were applauding them now though, telling them all how good they had been. The Baroness and Max walked with the children to the parlour, leaving the Captain and Maria alone.

"Well done Fräulein. I really am very much impressed." The Captain smiled at Maria and she couldn't help but blush.

"They're your children Captain." He stepped towards her until he stood only a few feet away.

"Don't be shy; I'm sure you helped them a lot. You are a really good singer Fräulein, and, I must admit, a splendid governess." Maria looked away from him, clearly uncomfortable because of the amount of compliments from the Captain. Her cheeks were warm and she fought the urge to cool them with her palms.

"Thank you for showing me how to be... Well, me. I got lost in my grief but you helped me find myself and my children again. I owe you everything Maria." He lifted his hand and Maria mirrored his movement in the belief that he was going to shake her hand. He did something far more exciting and embarrassing; he lifted her naked hand to his mouth and kissed it. Maria's knees nearly buckled and her heart started beating faster. His lips lingered on her hand a little longer than they should considering that they were only acquaintances but Maria didn't mind at all and neither did the Captain by the looks of it. He tried looking into her eyes when he lifted his head but he found them closed.

When Maria felt the Captain's lips leave her hand she sighed inwardly and slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted with him staring at her, a thoughtful expression on his face. Feeling the need to get away from him she took a few steps back.

"I... I need to see what the children are doing," Maria said and tried to escape from the room but the Captain stopped her, his hand on her arm.

"Maria?"

"Yes?" Her voice was barely above a whisper and she berated herself for not sounding stronger. How could a man of all things do this to her?

"You're not afraid of me, are you?" Maria managed to shake her head, a small smile creasing her lips. The Captain looked down at them, only for a second, and suddenly an image of himself kissing those lips plopped into his mind. Startled by his thoughts he let Maria's arm go, realizing how forward his actions must have seemed to her, the future nun. He cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable with the situation he foolishly had put them in.

"I'm sorry. Maybe we should join the others." Maria only nodded at his statement and silently followed him into the other room. What the children needed was a cheerful governess, not the strangely disappointed one who now appeared in the doorway, and Maria quickly added a smile to her lips, ready to continue to take care of the lot.

Liesl saw the discomfort that Fräulein Maria felt but didn't want to ask about it in front of her siblings and therefore decided to leave it be, for now at least.

Maria, who had taught the children how to play the guitar, decided they should continue their little performance by

letting one of them show their skills with the instrument.

"Children! Who should we hear from next?" The children got excited and started to discuss who should play. Liesl whispered something to them and they agreed. Maria felt her cheeks redden a bit when she heard the name they suggested but braced herself before taking the guitar to the next victim.

"The vote is unanimous; you Baroness." Elsa looked puzzled at the Captain, who could barely keep from laughing, and then back to the wonderful governess.

"Oh, I'm not especially good at playing and I definitely can't sing." Maria still held the guitar to the Baroness, not wanting to turn down the children.

"I can sing when you play Baroness, as long as I know the song of course. Please." Elsa slowly took the guitar and sat down, ready to play.

"Do you know Edelweiss Fräulein?" Maria grinned and nodded at the suggestion.

"I love it; it's one of my favourites." Elsa started playing, a little careful at first but it turned out she was rather good.

Maria accompanied her with her singing but could feel her thoughts wandering and her eyes found the ones of the Captain. His gaze was fixed on her and she blushed slightly. The children applauded when the song was finished and Maria instantly focused on them instead, silently berating herself for being so foolish as to be entranced by her employer.

Elsa was delirious. Her playing had been well received and thanks to the governess she actually felt like the children liked her a little. Luckily she had missed the looks between the governess and the captain, making it kind of a secret between the two.

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Maria had just put all the children to bed and was on her way to her own room when she heard the Baroness from below.

"Fräulein? Would you like to join us in the parlour for a night cap?" Maria was surprised but felt like she couldn't decline such a sweet gesture from the Baroness.

"I don't drink actually but it would be very nice to join you for a while. Let me just freshen up a little and I'll be right down." She dashed to her room and was soon on her way down to join the others.

"Ah, Fräulein Maria! I'm so glad you could join us," Max said and lifted his glass of whiskey to her.

"Yes, it was very nice of the Baroness to invite me. I just hope you don't feel like I'm intruding on your privacy," Maria said, suddenly a little uncomfortable with the attention.

"Nonsense Fräulein, you could never be intruding," Georg mumbled, his eyes focusing on Maria. This did not go unnoticed by either Elsa nor Max and they looked at each other quizzically until Georg broke the silence again.

"Would you like something to drink Fräulein?"

"No thank you, I don't drink." Max almost sprayed his drink all over the table when he heard her reply.

"How can you not drink? The taste is fantastic!"

"Well, I've never tried but I have had... relatives, who weren't very nice when they were drinking and I decided that I would never ever drink." Maria's statement made the others feel guilty because of their drinking habits. She resolutely stood her ground though and the Captain decided to get her a glass of water as well as one for himself. This action made Elsa raise her eyebrows, Georg was not known for saying no to a drink, but she let it pass since it was never a good idea to encourage someone to drink.

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Later that night both the Baroness and Max decided to leave for bed. Maria shuddered. It was somewhat chilly in the room and sitting in a thin dress was finally getting to her. This did not go unnoticed by the Captain and he moved closer to her, worry clearly visible in his eyes.

"Are you cold Fräulein?" He took her hand in his to feel her temperature and gasped when he felt like a bolt of electricity shot through his body. He ignored that feeling and stored it deep within his heart, not planning on ever looking back to it. Elsa was supposed to be the one who made him feel like that but never had he experienced feelings as strong as when he was with Maria.

"You're freezing!" He removed his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, trying to act as casual as possible.

"Better?" Maria stared at him for a while before getting out of her reverie and managed to nod slowly. His scent was filling her nostrils and she could not focus on anything but him.

"Let's go to my study, I believe there's a fire going there." Remembering that the Captain never invited people to his study she felt really privileged, but also a little worried. What made him want to share that with her? Her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies but she followed him none the less, her trust in him not wavering one minute.

They entered the study and indeed there was a fire going, making Maria warm instantly. She kept the jacket on despite the heat from the fire, enjoying the smell of it and the feeling of it on her shoulders. The Captain didn't seem to mind at all, on the contrary; his eyes were watching her constantly and she was slightly uneasy by that and not at all used to the attention she seemed to be getting a lot of lately.

"Are you warm enough?" the Captain asked Maria and she nodded in response with a smile on her lips.

"Yes. Thank you Captain, this was very nice of you."

"I don't want you to catch a cold because of me. That would mean Elsa had to take care of the children and God knows that's not one of her top priorities." He shuddered as he thought of Elsa's lack of love for the children. It was her who had insisted on sending them to boarding school in the first place, something neither he nor the children thought pleasantly about.

"Doesn't she like children? They are all so adorable I can't understand how anyone can not like them." Maria gasped when she realized what she had blurted out and looked into the Captains eyes, afraid that he would be angry with her. What she saw made her blush; happiness and trust shone through them and it was clearly directed at her. Maria looked down at her shoes, still not comfortable with what she had said.

"I'm sorry. It's not my place to say things like that."

"Nonsense Fräulein. You take care of the children now and I'm pleased to hear that you only want the best for them. I feel like I have disappointed them a lot since Agathe died..." The Captain was suddenly overcome with sorrow as he thought of his late wife and he fought to keep the tears he felt coming to himself. He turned from Maria in the hopes of hiding his sadness from her to no avail.

"Captain, are you alright?" Maria went to him and could hear him silently sob. Her heart went out to him and without thinking about what she was doing she turned him around to face her and hugged him tightly. This made the Captains heart break and he cried more than ever before, feeling like this was the first person he trusted enough to finally be able to mourn his wife properly and truly get on with his life. Maria started crying herself, the emotions swirling inside being too much for her to handle. Eventually they sobered enough to solemnly leave for bed.

Maria could barely breathe when she finally lay down in her room. She had actually been comforting the Captain! It felt so good to know that she was there for him and that he trusted her enough to show his true feelings. On the other hand it felt bad to be that close to him when her loyalty should be to God.

In his room in the other side of the house, the Captain was pacing back and forth. His head was swirling with thoughts but he eventually realized Elsa would think he was mad if he didn't go to bed now. He lay down next to her but despite her warm body in bed with him he felt utterly alone. This was going to be one lonely night.