Apologies for the radio silence. Life is hectic, and I can't promise that further updates will come any quicker I'm afraid, but there's no way I'm abandoning this story now – especially seeing as the ending has been written.

This was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you have just as much fun reading this one.

Oh, and I changed my pen name – just in case you hadn't noticed. Anyway, that's enough preamble from me. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing - although I really, really wish I did.

The (A-Z) Manual of Engagement

Chapter Fifteen – Nonnberg

As a conscious battle of wills raged wildly in his mind, he strode towards the stone wall and raised his hand to where Maria had placed her own moments prior. He felt the roughness of the raw material scratch against the palm of his hand, reminding him of what he was considering doing. It was madness, utter madness, and although he had long since admitted it to himself, it was now official.

She had slowly but surely driven him to the very brink of insanity.

He reached up to the first protruding stone that stuck out of the wall, daring him to give into temptation, and - with a final sigh of defeat - he began to climb.

The soft grass of the courtyard muffled the sound of her landing lightly on her feet. She had mastered the task of climbing the abbey walls more times than she'd cared to count, but she had never sneaked herself back into the convent at this hour and had to squint her eyes to allow them to adjust to the darkness. Luckily, she could rely on muscle memory to assist with her journey back to the safety of her room. If she could just tread carefully, she would be there within a matter of minutes.

That was, until a peculiar noise made her almost jump out of her skin!

"Oomph!"

As she quickly spun around on the spot to locate the sound; the sight that greeted her caused a scream to force its way up her chest, but the shock seemed to stop any sound from passing her lips. Rooted to the spot, she watched as her captain unceremoniously raised himself from the ground and swept away the stray remnants of grass and gravel from his shoulder.

"Georg!" she hissed, keeping her voice low. "What on earth do you think you're doing!?"

"What am I doing? You asked me to follow you!"

"I… What!? No I didn't!"

"Oh alright then, you implied it."

She rolled his eyes at his petulance. "I didn't do that either!"

He shrugged his shoulders before gesturing around the vicinity with his arms. "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?"

"You can't stay here, Georg. I can't believe you thought this was a good idea!" she flung her arms around wildly in a clear state of panic. "Climb straight back up that wall at once!"

"What? After I just risked breaking my neck to get here!?"

She narrowed her eyes, clearly furious with him. If Georg knew no better, he could have sworn he saw steam flaring from her nostrils.

"I'm afraid you'll have to take that reckless risk again… Captain!" she shot back, the venom spewing from her tongue.

He stared at her, hoping that his eyes could penetrate hers to such a degree that she would eventually surrender. Georg wasn't sure when it had begun, but there were times when they would simply stare at each other, both fully aware of the delicious tension they were building by doing so. Their record was sixteen seconds he recalled, and ninety percent of the time, Maria would be the first to break before they were locked in a fierce embrace. It was a game they played quite often, and one that they both were happy to lose at.

On this occasion however, the record was broken.

Neither of them uttered a word to each other once it became clearly obvious that Maria would not relent this time. Georg let out a repressed grumble to himself before turning around and making his way back to the wall. Once he had admitted defeat, he began climbing back up the wall with a lot more ease than last time. If he had to be honest with himself, he felt rather foolish about the irresponsible decision he'd made. What had he been thinking? It was as though he was a youth again, chasing after a girl he wanted without any forethought towards what the consequences might be. It was as though Maria was a siren, beautiful and ethereal who held him spellbound with her captivating voice. She enchanted him with some kind of wonderful witchcraft, possessed him with a force he couldn't – or wouldn't ever wish to break free from. He would hang off any word she uttered, grant her anything she desired and follow her anywhere.

Even into the confines of Nonnberg abbey.

"You know, Georg, you should really try and hone your climbing ability. It might help you in certain situations." he muttered to himself, mimicking Maria's voice dramatically. He continued to chunter away to himself in annoyance, blaming his wife-to-be for the ridiculous predicament he was in. She must have known what she was doing when she said that! What hot-blooded man could resist such tantalising words? It was a great defense, he reasoned. He wouldn't dare admit that it was a simple case of embarrassment that was the cause of said annoyance.

He peered down over his shoulder to see if she was still watching him and instantly ceased in his internal monologue once he realised that she wasn't focusing her eyes on him whatsoever. Instead, the moonlight reflected from the face of a rather panic-stricken Maria whose eyes were wide with dread. She was scanning the darkened corridor rapidly. It was then that he heard the distant tapping of footsteps growing ever closer. If he wanted God to give him a sign that climbing into the abbey was a grave error on his part, this was it. Then again, he believed that God took a fiendish delight in tormenting him at times, and whilst he would thank Him repeatedly for giving him Maria, it definitely came with a few consequences.

One of those consequences? Being caught by a disgruntled group of His dedicated servants. No, Georg was not one of God's favourites.

"Georg! Hurry!"

Once again, he obeyed her command and continued to rush up the wall as though his life depended upon it. There was no time for strategy, yet he was impressed with how he managed to find the correct parts of stone that stuck out to aid his movements. However, his joy was short-lived. He was about a quarter of the way up when the inevitable happened.

In the madness of his panicked retreat, his foot slipped on an eroded bit of stone and before he knew it, he was tumbling helplessly back to the ground, landing with a thud. He lay in a crumpled heap for a second or two before he felt Maria's hand grab his, roughly yanking him up and hastily dragging him in different directions. He had no idea where she was taking him. She was leading him through corridor after corridor as though they were travelling through some kind of maze until by some kind of bizarre miracle, they had successfully made it to her tiny bedroom, and he quietly made his way to the small window in a futile attempt to figure out where they may be, but the only sight that met his eyes was darkness. Even if he had somehow escaped back over the wall, he would have never been able to find his car in the dead of night.

"Well, at least we're safe I suppose." He breathed, a sigh of relief leaving his chest. He turned to meet her eyes, but the fire that raged wildly in those orbs of hers told him that this would not quite be the heated encounter he had hoped for.

How ironic.

"Safe!?" she spat sardonically. "How is this" she gestured between them frantically with her hands "safe in any sense of the word?"

He winced slightly at her tone, feeling rather foolish for misreading her signals so badly. However, he maintained his composure. "Safe in the sense that we are not currently being interrogated by a gang of enraged nuns, my dear. I know it was careless and I apologise for that. the truth is, I don't know how you manage to do it, but I just feel so... Impulsive around you. I suppose I just can't seem to help it."

"Oh, is that so? Are there any other impulses you wish to take care of during your stay?" she shot back sarcastically.

He looked up to the heavens, completely exasperated. Lord, she was doing it yet again! How did she manage to speak the most salacious words without a second thought? Then again, he started to wonder whether her meaning really was innocent. Over the last couple of months, she had started to say and do things that had progressively sounded almost - dare he say it? Promiscuous. She had proved herself to be a fiercely passionate and guileless woman and he couldn't deny that her question left him with a burning need to take her in his arms and show her just how impulsive he could really be.

"As a matter of fact, yes there was. You see I was thinking, and I was wondering something…" he trailed off, not wholly sure on how to convey his thoughts. "The thing is, there's things you do... And certain things you say that I can't help but think are on purpose".

She furrowed her brow in confusion and looked at him although she doubted his very sanity. "I'm afraid you may have to elaborate, Georg."

"Very well." He shrugged nonchalantly. "You see, I like to think I know you quite well by now by the way you say things, and that means I also know when you're being playful..." He slowly took a step towards her, a habit of his that he positively loved to indulge in. It was part of their game. If he started walking towards her, her breathing would quicken, that beautiful face of hers would redden, and as for himself - well, he would be left burning with need for her. "I know when you're frustrated."

Sure enough, he saw her chest begin to rise and fall rapidly and he had to repress a grin that threatened to break free.

Another step.

"I know when you're happy." That irresistible flush crept up her neck.

One more step.

"But what I love the most, is when I know you're being..." he stopped right in front of her, so close that he could feel the heat radiating from her body. He leaned down slightly to whisper into the shell of her ear. "Seductive".

Seconds passed without another word from either of them. The tension was heightening at an alarming rate, and Maria would surely lose her composure soon. He was teasing her mercilessly. Some would say what he was doing was maybe even cruel, but since she stumbled clumsily into his home, she had turned his life upside down. He had invested years into changing his persona when his late wife passed consisting of building walls, implementing rules, demanding order and decorum - all for her to unravel everything within a few months! He should be furious with her, he should have dismissed her from the second she'd entered his home, but how could he? He had spent the best part of five years creating a facade of someone whose life was filled with purpose and activities. Now, he had no need for such pretences, for he had her. She was his purpose.

Neither of them knew who made the first move - nor did they care - all they felt were their bodies collide with a force so strong that it should have immediately brought them to their senses and gave them clarity on what they were even considering doing. Were her fingers raking through his hair? Were his fingertips dancing across her back, her chest or her shoulders? No one could know. Their senses had blended together to the point where their location was forgotten, their bodies moved on their own accord. Even the sensation of the pair of them landing on her bed wasn't enough to shock them into having any reasonable, rational thinking.

Their hands roamed over each others bodies, lips crashed together over and over again. They were both completely intoxicated with one another. The electricity coursed through their veins, and they were dangerous moments away from the inevitable. Maria was on a mission, she had already freed him from his jacket, and now her nimble fingers made work of the buttons of his shirt - a mere inconvenience to her at this point. She needed to feel his bare skin on her fingertips, she needed him pressed against her.

Encouraged by her movements, he too had only one thing on his mind, for he had lost himself to any rational thinking, he was so disorientated that space and time had been forgotten. For all he knew, they could already be in their honeymoon suite in Paris, ready to explore one another in ways that would leave them fiercely satisfied. His palms skated along her bare thighs, pushing her dress up higher until in bunched around her waist. He could feel the blood pounding with anticipation in the shell of his ear. This is exactly what he was waiting for.

His ministrations caused the rickety, wooden bed frame to creak loudly at every movement. Despite the noise, Georg couldn't help but smile sheepishly at a memory that flew to the forefront of his mind. This wasn't exactly the first time he had done something like this. A couple of years before he had met Agathe, he had been introduced to a young woman at a ball he couldn't quite remember and courted her for a week or two before she convinced him to sneak into her room at night to avoid detection from her terrifying father. He had successfully managed this on a few occasions before the inevitable happened. He attempted to creep out of the house in the early hours of the morning before her parents arose - something that had become an almost routine operation, and even took to crawling on the floor until - when he looked behind his shoulder to ensure no one was around - he crawled headfirst into her father's legs!

That was when he was nineteen. One could argue that it was the naivety – stupidity even - of ones youth that caused him to fail on that occasion, but he was now forty years old for heaven's sake, and still thought it was a good idea to sneak into a young woman's room in the dead of night.

A groan of frustration from Maria's throat broke him from his thoughts and before he knew it, she was pulling him up from the bed, and violently snatched her duvet from her tiny bed before throwing it on the floor. He opened his mouth to ask what she was up to, but before he was able to speak a single word, his mouth was covered with hers once again.

She pulled him down with her onto the duvet with a insatiable need, her head positively swimming with desire and in the chaos of her frantic movements, she was on top of him, practically pressing her whole body as close to him as possible before claiming his mouth yet again. In fact, her movements were so hasty, that Georg couldn't decipher up from down. Her hands roamed his body, reaching lower and lower until she found her next target. Her hand found his belt buckle, and she quickly pulled the soft leather through the loop with ease, leaving him with no doubt what she wanted from him. There was no hesitation on her part this time, she knew exactly what to do. She had obviously thought back to the last time they were together in his study.

She wanted to try again.

Georg's own mind blurred any coherent thoughts from materialising, all he could know or feel were her hands on him. The carnal desire within him desperately needed to look into her eyes, he needed to communicate with her in a language only the two of them understood. It was a connection they had shared since the second she hastily rushed out of the ballroom. He saw her from the first time, and knew from that moment, that one look into those blue orbs of hers would meaning staring into her very soul. Through the darkness, he couldn't miss the sparkle that gleamed from her eyes, but something above her bed stood out even more, turning his blood cold.

A tiny crucifix stared down at him, judging him for what they were doing, reminding him that she wasn't truly his yet - and what's more, it was warning him of what the consequences would be if anyone ever found out about his whereabouts.

"Maria" he ceased their kissing abruptly, breathing rapidly. They had already waited so long, he knew that they were both silently crying out to get lost in one another, to claim each other. However, that knowledge led him to understand that kissing for even a second longer would cause them to do something they would both regret.

"I know" she nodded. Gently, she cupped his cheek in her dainty hand to let him know she understood completely before sighing with a combination of disappointment and immense relief. "I know."

The faint beams of light poking through the small window bathed her face in warmth, causing Maria to drift blissfully out of her slumber. However, it was the sensation of an even warmer body next to her that broke her out her dream-like state. She opened her eyes slowly to find Georg's face come into focus. He was still sleeping peacefully next to her, and she couldn't help but smile tenderly at the sight that greeted her. At some point in the night, a lock of his thick hair had fallen onto his forehead, and she automatically raised her hand to stroke it back but suddenly thought better of it. There was something so endearing, so intimate about being able to see him in this way that made her heart swell with contentment. If she were to be honest with herself, she preferred the way he looked as he did now instead of the immaculate way he presented himself to everyone else on a daily basis, and delighted in the fact that this was the man only she had the pleasure of knowing, that she alone would be able to see him at the break of dawn.

He stirred gently against her but didn't wake. Instead, he pulled her closer to him in his sleep, unconsciously tightening his hold around her waist. Smiling to herself again, she nuzzled her face in the spot where his shoulder met his neck and closed her eyes, allowing a few more precious moments with him before she had to wake the children. She furrowed her brow in confusion at the thought. Didn't she return to the abbey the night before?

The events of last night flooded through her memory. She recalled kissing Georg goodbye, climbing over the wall, him falling to the ground after doing the very same thing and hastily dragging him to her room before...

Oh no.

Her eyes flew open as she jolted upright in a state of dread, mentally scolding herself repeatedly. How on earth had they managed to fall asleep in such a dangerous predicament?

Agonising seconds seemed to drag by as scenarios raced through her mind, and her anxiety grew more intense. How was he going to leave without being detected? She imagined the look of disgust on Sister Berthe's face at finding Georg scrambling back over the wall like mist in the morning, and her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach when she thought of how disappointed the Reverend Mother would be at their inability to keep apart for even one night – on the first night at that! Maria herself could admit that she was certainly prone to spontaneity and sure, they had shared some rather heated rendezvous whilst she resided at the villa, but this? In an abbey for heaven's sake. This was outrageous!

After being woken violently from Maria's movements, Georg sprang upright into action with same amount of panic that had quite evidently consumed her, for he watched her pace rapidly back and forth with her hands behind her back, muttering incoherently to herself. It seemed she'd failed to notice when Georg also woke. In fact, she didn't even seem to be aware that he was even in the room with her at all.

"Maria?"

She stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing her name and snapped her face in his direction. Her throat tried to desperately force words out of her mouth, but she couldn't. All she could think about was how they were going to explain why Georg was there. For a fleeting moment, she even thought of heading straight to the Reverend Mother's office to confess, to throw herself at her mercy, but Georg spoke again before she could concoct any sort of plan.

"What time is it? Judging by the light…" He rose from the floor to his feet and made his way to the window. He seemed to spend an age deciphering what time of day it was before his shoulders sagged in defeat. He turned to Maria with a sigh "... Or lack thereof, it must be still early."

Her face contorted into one of confusion. How could he sound so calm whilst her heart continued to thump its way out of her chest? She flicked her eyes towards the small clock by her bed.

"It's five in the morning, they will be waking up" she muttered to herself. Turning to Georg, she tried to appear composed, reallising that no amount of panic would help the situation. "You will have to wait until the sisters have gone to vespers."

She said nothing else aloud, before turning on her heel and began to roam around the confines of her tiny room once again.

He scrutinised her whilst she paced back and forth, mumbling barely coherent sentences under her breath. He couldn't hear a single word of what she was saying, but her face and body language gave her away. She was strategising with regimented determination, planning every intricate detail to herself. The expression on her face was one he also wore on countless occasions and his analysis of her in this way made him see her in a whole new light. He couldn't explain what it was about her that had him so transfixed. Then again, he had spent months falling deeper in love with her, yet she was still a riddle he knew he'd spend a lifetime trying to solve, and despite himself, he chuckled at the thought.

As the sun rose ever higher, they found their prime opportunity for him to make his escape.

Maria knew when the abbey would be at its quietest and led Georg through multiple corridors until they reached the courtyard. The wall was in sight, and Maria could've sang at the top of her lungs with relief. They were half way across the grass, he was minutes away from leaving, and no one would be any the wiser. She could feel her body completely releasing the dread and panic. They were finally safe.

Until the piercing voice of Sister Berthe calling her name made her body turn to ice.

She whirled around to find the nun making a beeline in her direction and desperately tried to resist the urge to fall to her knees and kiss the floor for eternity. However, she found that even if she wanted to it would have been futile, she was frozen to the ground as a fresh wave of dread pulsed violently through her.

There would be no way of getting herself out of this one.

As Sister Berthe grew closer, Maria squeezed her eyes shut, ready to be berated. However, when she opened them again, she was relieved to find a warm smile gracing the older woman's face. Although relieved, she couldn't help but feel confused and quickly turned in search of Georg but somehow, he had disappeared from sight.

"I was just on my way to your room to escort you to the Reverend Mother's study. She would like to have a word with you before the meeting."

She could've sworn to herself that her heart had dropped from her chest, straight into her stomach. The panic returned, and she squeezed her eyes shut in dismay. An impromptu meeting with the Reverend Mother was never a good sign when it came to Maria. Did she know? If so, then how? Then again, the elderly woman was wise beyond measure. She supposed she would just have to admit defeat. That being said, if she did know what had transpired last night, then surely Sister Berthe would know too - and there was no way on God's green earth that Sister Berthe would be able to keep that to herself.

No, she couldn't possibly know, Maria reasoned. She could still feign innocence for now and so, she kept her composure.

"Meeting, what meeting?" she was sure she heard Sister Berthe reply, but she could have been speaking another language as far as Maria was concerned. She was far too preoccupied with Georg's whereabouts. How did he manage to hide? She supposed his vast military experience gave him an advantage in the act of stealth but then again, there were eyes everywhere inside Nonnberg. She doubted that even Georg could evade the sisters here. Forgetting herself for a fleeting moment, she smirked inwardly at the thought of Georg during his military training. Did it include how to escape a group of God's very own secret service agents? Shaking her head to dispel her amusement, she remembered just how dire the situation was, and chanced another glance in his general direction.

After there was no sign of him yet again, she began to believe that last night must have been a strangely vivid dream, or had she become so consumed with him that she had conjured up his presence? It wouldn't have been the first time that she'd sworn she'd seen him, only to realise he was only a figment of her imagination. She would believe her mind was once again playing tricks on her, until she spotted him in the near distance poking his head out of the darkened corridor she had emerged from moments prior. She stared at him whilst an oblivious Sister Berthe continued to speak to her. He pressed a finger to his lips and began stealthily shuffling against the stone building in the direction of the wall.

"Are you quite well, Maria? You look as though you've seen a ghost!"

Oh, how she wished that were the case. At least it would mean that no one else would be able to see a man scrambling desperately up the wall!

Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away from him to focus on the woman in front of her who was now observing her with the most peculiar look. "Sorry sister, I didn't sleep very well last night." She muttered. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it was a damn sight better than having to explain that she was distracted by her fiancé escaping after their encounter... In the house of the Lord, no less.

With an exasperated sigh and slight shake of her head, she spoke again. "You and the captain have a meeting with the priest later on this morning regarding the sacraments, do you not? The Reverend Mother wishes to speak with you beforehand. She has asked me to collect you. Come, she will be waiting." She took a few steps in front of Maria and beckoned her to follow.

Releasing a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding, she risked one last look over her shoulder as she followed the older woman, and spotted him swinging his leg over the coping before disappearing from sight completely.

I do love it when Georg and Maria are up to mischief.

Was it a bit much? Maybe it was slightly OOC. Probably. As ever though, please do let me know of any constructive criticism, praise or whatever else your thoughts were after reading. It helps more than you think.

Until next time, take care and keep yourself safe and well.

Charlotte