Disclaimer: I do not own them, wish I did (L) But I can still play around with them... can't I ?

Woow, sorry that this one took me so long. I've been very busy. It's been like what? 2 months. Anyway, finished chapter 2 this evening. :P Thank you for all the wonderful reviews :P I really seriously doubted if I should continue with this story.. I still have those doubts though xD

First of all, I do not have a Beta reader and second of all I only write when I feel like it... So, to put it kindly I suck at this :P hahaha.

Anyway I tried to write this chapter as good as possible. My original language isn't English, so, sorry about those grammar mistakes.

And well, reviews really help boost my ego so, keep 'em coming xD

Chapter 2: Honesty

She looked back at the Captain and nodded her agreement. He let out a deep breath he didn't know he'd been holding and gave her a small smile.

"Thank you," he said while bending down to take the big carpet bag from her. Together they walked back towards the house.

Maria walked slowly behind the Captain and as they came closer to the house she could still hear the music play at the party she'd so hurriedly left, no more than an hour or so ago. When they'd entered the house the Captain closed the door softly behind them. The next moment he took her bag and placed it on the first step of the stairs and turned to face her again.

"You can put your guitar case next to your bag; Franz will take them upstairs for you. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to have a word with you in my study." She walked over to where her bags were located and put her guitar case next to it, then turned around and tried to face him again, but found she could not look up at him and instead looked down at the ground. She noticed that in the way he'd spoken to her, he was doing his best to sound soft and kind. A little bit too kind for her liking, as if he really didn't want to see her go, and she knew that she at least owed him some kind of explanation; she didn't have to tell him the whole truth. She didn't even have to tell him anything about what the Baroness had said to her. She would stick by what she had written in her letter, that she missed the abbey terribly. She knew that if she told him this he would not believe her; but who was he to tell her what she thought and felt at this moment? He could only guess as to why she had wished to leave so suddenly.

Deciding that that was the explanation she was going to give him, she looked up and nodded, finding that this time she could not tear her eyes away from his. For a few moments they just stood there. The look on his face reminded her of the look he had given her after they'd danced together. Oh, that dance... Memories filled her head for a while and finally, when she could not take it anymore, she looked down again, examining the floor as if the patterns on the cold and hard stones were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Finally, when the silence felt like an eternity, she dared to look up at him again and she found he was still looking at her. He gave a small smile and she returned a genuine, yet ghostly, smile.

"My upstairs study, please. Follow me." He turned around and without looking if she would follow him, he walked by her. She, however, didn't follow him immediately. Somewhere inside she was still battling with her conscience, she didn't know if she could lie to him. She hated people who lied. She herself was too outspoken, she always told anybody what she thought. She really felt that at times it was her worst fault. The Reverend Mother however, thought that this was a beautiful gift. She said that's what she appreciated most about Maria, her honesty. Well, she couldn't be honest now, could she?

The Captain was already upstairs and had walked a few feet towards his study when he noticed that Maria wasn't following him. Slightly annoyed he turned around and walked back towards the top of the stairs and looked down at her. He noticed that, by the look on her face, she was deep in thought. She just stood there stock still, staring at the ground, with a tensed, yet sad and confused, expression on her face. It made him feel uneasy and sad that for some reason she was feeling like this, and somehow they had caused all this. Maybe not even them, maybe it was only he who had caused Maria to worry about whatever was bothering her.

"Fräulein?" She heard a voice call her and Maria jumped a little. She quickly looked up towards where the Captain was standing. How long had she stood here? How long had he stood there, watching her? She composed herself and quickly answered.

"Uh.. Yes, oh I'm so sorry." Without any other words she climbed the stairs and quickly followed the Captain towards his study room.

Maria realized, as they walked down the hallway past the children's bedrooms, that she had never been to the Captains upstairs study before. Now that she thought about it she didn't even know the Captain had a study, let alone two. It didn't really surprise her though; a house as big as this must bound to have a study or two, maybe even three.
They now stood in front of a long, but delicate looking, door. Somehow it looked very familiar to her and she realized she had walked past it several times in the three months she had worked here as a governess. Back then she'd briefly wondered what could be behind such a
different looking door.

The Captain stood in front of the door. It looked to her as if he was in deep thought, as if he was trying to remember something. She was just about to open her mouth and ask him what they were waiting for when he turned around and faced her for a brief second. He was not really looking at her though. A small smile lit his face and then he walked past her towards a large vase that stood across from the door. This so sudden strange behaviour unsettled her for a moment and a little confused she turned around. Instead of asking him why he was standing in front of a plant she decided it was best to let him do whatever he was doing and just follow this strange turn of events. Meanwhile he'd lifted the vase a few centimetres in the air and placed it down again, bent down and picked something small and glimmering up from the floor. He then turned around again so Maria could see what it was, and she saw that he was holding the key that probably opened the door to his study.

By the surprised look on her face he gave a small smile and felt he needed to explain his actions.
"I'm sorry, I should have told you this before we came here. I always hid this key," he held the small object up "from the children. I know how fond they are of going to places where they aren't supposed to go to. I..." He had to think about the next few words he was about to say.

"After their mother died I hid this key from them. They often sneaked in here, after her death... They knew I'd hid all the family pictures in this study after she died..." His last words were barely audible but Maria was sure she had heard them correctly.

"I see". She replied after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Yes, well I probably shouldn't have done that; but back then it seemed like a proper thing to do."

"Yes, I understand," she said, for once not knowing how to respond to his confession. She really did understand why he had hid the pictures from his children. He had wanted to protect their innocence by acting as though their mother had never been a part of their lives. She knew he cared a lot about his children; something she hadn't accepted or understood when she'd first set foot in this house. A lot had changed since then.

The Captain had opened the door to his study and had switched a light on. As Maria entered the room, she could see how big it actually was. It was decorated in the same style as the living room, yet there was a fireplace next to a large oak bureau. Further more the room contained a few chairs, a couch and a large wardrobe that was placed right next to a long small window.

"Have a seat," he said and gestured towards the couch that stood across from the door and next to the oak bureau. She slowly crossed the room and sat down on it. The Captain was still standing and he was now pacing the room.

"What I don't understand," he said as he walked to the open door and closed it "is why I don't believe what you've written in your letter about missing the abbey."

"That's your problem then,... sir," she answered him in a matter of fact kind of voice.

"Yes, I suppose it is; but what if I told you I didn't believe one word of what you've written in that letter? Would it still be my problem then?" This statement angered her.

"Are you calling me a liar, Captain?" she snapped back at him.

"Because if you are calling me a liar, then may I remind you.." She had raised her voice drastically and had stood up. He was sure that anybody who walked by the stairs, all the way at the end of the hallway, could hear every word she'd just yelled at him.

"Fräulein!" He looked at her warningly and he too had raised his voice.

"Sit down!" She let her mouth hang open in mid air and was about to yell back at him, when another stern look of the Captain made her realize she had gone too far. Closing her mouth again she kept quiet. Feeling stupid and a little embarrassed, but too proud to ever admit this, she looked back at him with the same stern look as he had given her.

"I'm sorry," she said to him, but it didn't really sound that genuine at all. Still, she calmly sat down again. He wasn't surprised by her reaction though. He knew Maria had a stead fast character and wouldn't just admit to someone that she had been wrong, no matter what the circumstances were.

"Apology, accepted," he said while walking up and down the room again.

"No, I'm not calling you a liar." He resumed the confrontation and came to a halt in front of her.

"On the contrary, I think you are the most honest person I've ever met. Sometimes maybe a bit too honest." As he said that last part he looked her straight in the eyes. He could see that her eyes had widened slightly at this last comment and she quickly looked away from him again.

"However it may be I do think that you're hiding something, and I hope you wish to discuss this with me so we can come to some kind of resolution. However, if you do not wish to discuss this matter with me I do have the authority to keep you here until the summer holidays are over."

"Are you blackmailing me Captain?" A bit surprised she turned her head towards the Captain again and they both looked at each other for a brief moment.

"No, I'm not blackmailing you, it's... "

"Well, it most certainly sounded like that," she interrupted him and her voice had risen again.

"Maria… I mean Fräulein," he hurriedly corrected himself.

"You must understand in what kind of position you've put me."

"I understand that perfectly, Captain; and with all do respect what I think and feel is none of your business."

"That might be true, Fräulein; but if you're still going to leave us in the morning then it is my business. Or are those presumptions, according to you, not true?" Sighing she turned her head away from him and massaged the back of her neck in frustration. She really was too tired for this. At any other moment of the day she could have easily won a disagreement with the Captain, or so she thought, but she already was too emotionally worn out because of the events that had happened earlier that evening. She just couldn't take this.

"I'm sorry," he said as he saw her desperation. He softly sat down next to her and he also let out a deep sigh.

"I shouldn't have tried to force the words out of you. It was wrong of me, forgive me."

"Apology accepted," she softly answered him. A long silence fell over them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; on the contrary, it was a "deep in thought" kind of silence. When people are just thinking. They sat like that for a while. Both frustrated and tired, both wondering about what the other one was thinking.

"Maria?" The Captain broke the silence.

"I was just wondering..." He fell silent again. Maria looked up at him her eyes once again lost in his.

"Yes?" She spoke barely above a whisper, trying very hard to look away from him but found that this time she really couldn't. Maybe it was the closeness, she thought. Or maybe it was just in the way he had spoken; but somehow she could feel the same twisted feelings she had felt earlier that evening on the dance floor, when they'd also looked so intently in each others eyes.

"I was wondering..." he whispered, loosing his thoughts and eyes completely in her blue ones. What was happening to him? He'd never felt like this before. It was a strange feeling. One he vaguely recognized, but not seemed to remember at the moment. He felt his hand coming up to touch her cheek. He didn't know why, he just felt like it was the right thing to do.

Maria didn't move when his hand made contact with her cheek. All kinds of feelings ran through her body at that moment. She felt scared, confused, she wanted to run away, but she also wanted to stay. She even felt curious, and she cursed herself for feeling like that. It wasn't aloud she kept repeating. She didn't want this; but what if she did want it?