Chapter Eleven
Rosamaria's Bakery
Stowe, Vermont

Max sauntered into the bakery with his task firmly imprinted on his mind. Georg was in full protective mode and to try to argue with him was useless. Max doubted the wisdom of keeping both Lida and Maria in the dark about their suspicions, but when Georg got like this Max knew to back off.

The bell rang announcing the arrival of a customer and Rosamaria turned around. She smiled ear to ear seeing Max and rushed to give him a big hug. "Hello there, I didn't expect you back so soon. We missed you around here, Widow Parker kept asking when you were going to return."

"Well, I missed your donuts," Max laughed. "They say there is nothing like a New York bagel and that might be true, but there's nothing like a Vermont donut either."

Max grabbed the sweet treat and cup of coffee and set out making mailers to expand the knowledge of their little business farther out from the center of town.

When Lida came in for her shift, she wasn't surprised to see Max. Georg must have told her he'd returned. She gave him a big hug then started to pump him for information.

"Did Papa say anything to you about last night when he picked you up, Uncle Max?" she asked. "I tried to talk with him and Mama this morning, but Papa said he was tired because he had to meet your train. He was in kind of a bad mood."

"Naval veteran or not," Max replied. "Your father rises with the sun, but his personality sleeps until at least noon, and no, he didn't even mention it."

"Is that good?" Lida pressed.

"It's not bad," Max dodged. "But if I were you, I'd let the topic be while he mulls it over. It took him a couple months with Matthias to see he was a good match for Liesl, and Tony, it was only about a week, so he's getting better all the time."

"Will is going to come by today, in about an hour," Lida said. "Would you put in a good word for him with Papa if you meet him?"

"I'll try, but yes, I'd like to talk to him," Max agreed.

Max felt ill. He hated the deception, he'd felt long ago, when Lida started to mention things that didn't quite fit into the von Trapp mold that she be told about her paternity, even if they kept the rape itself quiet, but Maria had refused and on this point, Georg always deferred to her. It was as if Georg felt giving Maria that power helped her have some control over the uncontrollable. Max, again, knew better than to challenge Georg on that. He had before and he'd failed.

When Will came into the bakery, Max studied him. He did favor his relative, perhaps a son, perhaps a nephew, there was enough of a difference to wonder, then Will spoke. "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Detweiler. Lida talks about you almost as much as her parents. I heard you waited out the war in Vienna?"

The accent was, as Georg had said, very British and Max used that to try to get the information Georg sought. When Max saw the way Lida looked at Will, he understood Georg's hesitation in explaining anything. Why shatter Lida's heart if they didn't have to, because, it was clear how much she was already in love.

"Britain, which area?" Max continued while William confirmed the information Georg had relayed. "I have been there, and I knew a Mrs. Brown, Eliza Brown, I believe."

"Not my mother," Will replied. "Lillian Brown, the other Browns are no relation."

The talk went on and on. When Lida tried to excuse herself for time alone with Will, Max had to play it cagey, "Actually, my darling girl, I was hoping you would take a walk with me so that we might catch up. Besides, you should be waiting a couple of days." Max raised his eyebrow.

"The Captain hasn't consented then?" Will confirmed. "Is he feeling well today, he seemed to feel ill toward the end of the night."

"He is feeling fatigue," Max replied. "I got him up early and French food never did sit right with the Captain. When it comes to his girls, he's a slow mover. Took him nearly six months to propose to Maria and she was right under his own roof. Give him a little space."

That was that. William gave Lida a kiss on the cheek and took his leave with a promise to telephone her in a day or two.

Max took the walk with Lida, pausing at the Western Union office. "Lida, darling, could you be so kind, I have an annoying headache and I've run out of headache powders. Could you run and get some for me while I tend to this last bit little bit of business?"

Lida agreed to go into the pharmacy while Max sent the telegram. "This is to one Lillian Brown, Chichester, West Sussex, England. Please mark it urgent, someone's life is literally depending on it."

Two Days Later
Max sat before Georg with the folded telegram in his hands. He'd read it three times before even bringing it to Georg. The course of action was terribly clear.

Dear Mr. Detweiler –

Thank you for the complimentary way you have spoken of my son, William. As for your inquiry regarding his paternity, his father's name was Jakob Braun. He was a native Austrian that fought for the Reich and was killed in the Battle of the Bulge. It is entirely plausible to think your young niece might be of blood relation to my late husband. He was the kind of man that took what he wanted. He wore a cologne called Masculine Essence. I loved that aroma and gave some of it to my son.

In a letter he wrote to me in 1944, as the war was going badly for Germany, Jakob confessed to several affairs, one or two, he called undesired. He was terribly regretful for what he had done. My regret was that I was not able to let him know I forgave him, the messages didn't reach me until the war was over and Jakob dead and buried.

If your suspicons are true, I'm both glad my son might have a sibling from a loving and supportive family, but my mother's heart breaks for them both considering the nature of their feelings.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Lillian Brown

"There's no doubt about this." Georg sighed. Georg took his glasses off and sat back in his chair. His head was pounding, he could hear the blood rushing through his veins.

"You should show this to Maria," Max told Georg. "You need to talk to Lida together."

"There's got to be another way," Georg sighed. "I can't…after all this, I can't tell Lida she's not my daughter, I just can't do that to her."

"Maria needs to be included in whatever decision you make, Georg," Max encouraged. "She's strong, she's going to handle this. She's going to be able to handle this, perhaps better than you."

Except for the bright redness of his cheeks, Georg was pale. "How about a brandy? Take the edge off, then you talk to your wife, and you set a course. You'll feel better once you do."

Georg held himself up in his office the rest of the day. Max kept to himself to give Georg the time he needed with his wife. When Maria called the family for supper, Kurt and his children were up at the main house. Georg went through the motions of being an involved, doting Pop-Pop, but Maria could sense that whatever had been eating at her husband since Saturday night was still on his mind.

"Papa," Julia prompted. She'd been talking to Georg, and he hadn't heard a word she said.

"Georg!" Maria raised her voice to get his attention.

"I'm sorry, Darling," Georg shook his head. "What?"

"I was only saying, Papa," Julia laughed. "When you start brooding over something you could be sitting in the room looking totally alive, but would never notice if the entire building was on fire around you."

Apparently, Kurt and Deborah found that amusing, but Georg did not. "And what business is it of yours if I'm paying attention or I'm not. It isn't your place to comment on your elders, Julia! I thought that lesson stuck with you, I can see that, along with many other things I've tried to teach you children failed to penetrate!"

With that Georg tossed his napkin onto his uneaten plate and retreated back to the study.

Julia looked at Maria in confusion, "What did I say? I didn't want to upset him."

"You didn't," Maria soothed. "Your father was upset long before you even got home from town. Don't worry, love. I'll handle it later."

Kurt got a mischievous smile on his face, "Jules, you and Cathy might just want to stay in the guest house with us tonight. Mother's got that look."

"And what look is that, Kurt?" Maria pressed.

"The one that says you've had enough of father's attitude and you're going to give him Hell about it."

Even Maria was laughing. Georg poured himself a drink and started to pace around the study. How did he do this? How did he tell Maria their carefully planned solution to a horrific tragedy was about to blow up in their face? How did he make sure Maria knew that rape or no rape, he'd want their lives to be just as they were, happy and together, secure in love with one another? How did he tell Lida, his little girl, a little girl he had loved and cherished since before he was born as his own child that at least biologically she wasn't? How did he tell that same little girl the love her life was her half-brother?

Georg could tell by how quickly the house become quiet Maria must have sent the family on to Kurt's place. He knew snapping at Julia was going to be something he wouldn't get away with. He'd felt terrible after doing it, but that was his flaw, he took his anger at others out on the people closest too him. The man he wanted to take it out on had been dead for 15 years.

About an hour after supper ended Georg heard the door to the study open and close. He saw Maria standing there when he turned around; hands on hips, jaw straight, chin up, she was in mama bear mode, and he was about to be the prey.

"I have no idea what has been wrong with you since dinner the other night, other than the fact you really couldn't find anything wrong with the young man," Maria said firmly. "And I put up with the sniping and the silence, but when you go at one of the children, then I'm going to say something. Julia didn't deserve your biting remarks. She's a beautiful, joyful, happy kid that made a very keen observation by the way and that was mild compared to how you've been avoiding the entire family or snapping at us when we dare to cross your path. Well, it ends now. I've had enough, you've had your time, start talking, Captain!"

Georg took a deep breath and looked Maria in the eye. She could read in his expression just how stressed he felt and how conflicted. "What is it?" Maria pressed. "What is it that you aren't telling me?"

"Oh, Maria," Georg sighed going to sit on the same side of the room as his wife. "I was praying that I was wrong, I was wishing it as much as I've ever wished for anything before. You were right, Will does look a lot like Jakob Braun and the other things, the fact his father was a German soldier, that they wore similar cologne, that William never met the man…And when I asked him to clarify his father's name, William confirmed for me that his mother had anglicized the name to get the pressure off the family when they returned to England."

Slowly, the truth was coming to light for Maria. This was the worst thing that could happen. Everything they had done to protect their family, shattered by a twist of fate. Maria moved her hands to cover her mother and stifle the scream she was sure was building inside of her, but nothing came out.

Georg continued, "That's why I've been avoiding Lida. That's why I've been avoiding you. That same night I sent for Max, I knew if anyone could pull information out of Will without inciting Lida's temper it would be him. We received this telegram just this morning, it confirms everything."

Georg handed Maria the well worried piece of paper. Maria had tears in her eyes and was shaking her head. "Oh ,dear God…Oh God, what are we going to do? Georg, what…"

"We have no choice, Darling," Georg sighed moving to pull Maria close to him. "We're going to have to find a way to stop this. We are going to have to find a way to convince Lida she can never see William Brown again."

"How?" Maria squeaked holding Georg as tightly as he was holding her. She could feel the way he deflated in her arms once she slipped them around his waist. He was trying to hold up the world and he was finding he couldn't shoulder the burden alone.

"Leave that to me," Georg replied softly. "I'll…I'll take the blame. I'll tell her I don't think he's suitable and that…"

"Georg, you can't," Maria protested. "My love, she will be so angry. She will hate you for that."

"I know," Georg admitted. "I can take being hated, I've been hated before, what I can't take is Lida hating herself, and if she knows the origins of her birth, even if we leave out the violence. There's a chance in that. No, she can hate me. She can blame me, but I know what it feels like to hate yourself and I will not let her feel like that. I won't do it."

Georg pulled back after that and gave Maria his back. His shoulders were slumped, even at 70 he didn't often stand that way. His words penetrated Maria to her soul. He knew what it was like to hate himself? Did he still carry the burden of responsibility after 23 years?

Maria was about to ask Georg this very question, but he turned to face her again. His blue eyes were rimmed with red, the soft lines of age so prevalent. "Georg," Maria began but Georg shook his head and simply stepped closer to her, lying his head on top of hers, motionless once she was in his arms again.

"I can't," Georg managed to get those words out around the pressure in his chest and throat. "I can't talk now. I can't….talk…"

A/N: So the parents know, and Uncle Max. If it was so hard for Georg to talk to Maria, how in the world are they going to tell Lida? Are they going to continue to lie to her about her paternity or will it all come out? Stay tuned and keep dropping those reviews. I'm writing on the fly and your interest does help me focus.

I decided I'll drop a chapter a day until the revelation. I'm doing my best to write about half a chapter a day, so updates will probably go back to twice a week after the revelation. I have a lot more planned for this tale than what I originally thought of, so stay tuned.