Maria felt cleansed, inside and out. It had certainly helped to take a bath, but she felt even better from the out pouring of emotion that had engulfed her in her new bedroom with the Captain. She hadn't realized she had bottled up so many emotions, but the release was just what she hadn't known she needed. First the unstoppable laughter, then the tears, and finally the intimacy and passion she had shared with her husband. She felt lighter than she had for days. An emotional burden that she hadn't realized was weighing on her was finally getting released.

After the lovely bath, she had loathed to put on her same old dirty clothes. The irrational and impulsive side of her wanted to burn the clothes so that she would never see them again. But Maria also knew they'd need all the clothes they had until the whole family had full wardrobes. Maybe then she would burn that outfit … but probably not. Maria just couldn't stomach waste.

She was making a list of all the things she would need to do in Dorfli over the next few hours. The list made her want to go to sleep, but she knew all of it would be necessary. Besides, she was eager for a fresh change of clothes.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

At least one set of clothes for each of the children, for Georg and for me. Possibly two sets.

Several sets of underclothes for everyone.

Soap, 9 toothbrushes, and paste.

Material for drapes and new clothes

A sewing machine!

A full set of dishes, drinking glasses and cutlery.

A few pots and pans.

Food for dinner and for breakfast.

Here she paused. On top of everything she was doing she was also going to need to cook dinner for the entire family. Maria dropped her head into her hands and stared at the table for a few minutes. As all of her responsibilities started to sink in, she had a few moments of frustration, wondering how she was going to take care of her family in the many ways needed of her. 'Don't think about that now,' she told herself 'Just one day at a time. My family needs food and clothes. And Liesl needs me. I can handle this.'

Maria remembered her first journey to the villa and how she worked on finding her confidence. She had found the confidence, and more, within herself.

'I have confidence in sunshine,' she thought, humming to herself. 'I have confidence in rain. I have confidence that spring will come again, and besides what you see, I have confidence in me!'

Those words, from a song she had never shared with her family, roused her in the way that only music could. Spirited and confident again, she realized her family would need a proper dinner, and something different from the same food they had been eating for the last few days.

Something, fast, different and easy. 'Schnitzel!' she finally thought. 'With noodles, I suppose.' It was perfect: easy, fast, and one of their favorite meals. But she wanted to do something special as well. Something celebratory. Dessert. Definitely dessert. But what? A pie was the easiest answer, but what kind of pie? Then she remembered that blueberries were now in season, and not needing to be chopped or pitted, they made for the easiest pie.

With this plan in mind and the hours ticking away, Maria folded her list into her pocket and walked up the stairs to Liesl's small dormer room.

ooooooooooooooooo

Liesl had been appreciating the first time alone that she had had in days. She had thought she might cry, but tears wouldn't come. She felt as dry and hollow as a dead tree. So she sat on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees, and stared quietly out the dormer window that faced towards the mountains.

There had hardly been a moment since they fled from the abbey that she hadn't thought about Ralph. How he had heard her gasp of shock and used it against them, hiding and waiting for them to reveal themselves. She thought about how he had pointed his gun directly at her father, ready to take his life. And she thought about how much she had loved – or thought she loved – him. How could she have been so naïve?

Liesl also thought about the time he had kissed her in the gazebo. It had been her first kiss, so special that the memory of it had stayed on her lips for days. She touched her lips, remembering it again.

What had gone wrong? What was happening to the world that such a charming, appealing boy who had obviously cared about her once had been willing to betray her and her entire family, and to directly threaten her father's life?

Why had she been so stupid and naïve as to believe that he cherished her as much as she did him? And what was wrong with the world that he had become so … poisoned? And poisonous?

There were a few things she now knew: you couldn't trust people, and she certainly couldn't trust her own heart. She never wanted to fall in love again. Love was too dangerous.

oooooooooooo

Liesl was interrupted from her reverie by a gentle knock at the door. She groaned inwardly, not wanting to have her time interrupted, and not wanting to look after the younger children again. She didn't want to do anything but continue to close her heart so that she was sure she would never love again.

But as Liesl opened the door, there stood Maria, alone, and with such a look of love and compassion on her face that it was all Liesl could do to swallow a sob and fling herself into her new mother's arms.

The two stood in the doorway for several long moments while Liesl buried her face in Maria's shoulder and Maria stroked her hair, trying to comfort her. Finally Maria took her arms down, took Liesl by the hand, and walked her to her bed.

Liesl didn't resist and sat down as Maria did. Then Maria wrapped her arms around Liesl again, rocking with her ever so slightly.

"Oh, my darling girl," Maria murmured as she rested her cheek on Liesl's head. "My brave, darling girl. It won't always be like this."

Being held by the new mother she so adored, and in the face of such unconditional love, Liesl finally started to cry. For several minutes all she could do was cry. Eventually Liesl began to speak through sobs and hiccups.

"He didn't just not love me anymore, he could have killed us all. He was hunting us down! There was … there was so much hatred in him!"

Maria didn't say anything, she just waited for Liesl to keep speaking.

"I can't believe I ever cared for him, or that I ever thought he loved me. I am never going to be so naïve again. Never!"

"And the world isn't just beginning. There's something very, very wrong with it."

Then she took Maria by the shoulders and looked straight into her new mother's eyes. "But you needn't worry about me, mother," Liesl reassured her. "I am never going to fall in love again! Never! It's too awful," she concluded, shaking her head and finally looking down at the bed again."

Maria wrapped her arms around Liesl again, pulling her into a tight hug again. Liesl resisted at first, but finally gave in to her mother's hug.

As Maria felt Liesl relax, she knew it was time to talk to her again. "Oh, no darling," she began. "You mustn't close your heart. It's too big to close and you have too much love to give. I'm sorry I've left you alone for so long, but my dearest girl, you must find a way to forgive yourself because there's nothing to forgive yourself for!"

Maria hoped her words were sinking in to Liesl's mind and heart. She tenderly stroked Liesl's hair back and thoughtfully said "You and I are so alike."

Liesl didn't see how it was possible for her to be similar to her beloved new mother, but the thought of it and the continued love and forgiveness brought the tears back to her eyes. She looked down at her hands, now folded in her lap, and watched her tears fall on them. Liesl wondered if she would ever be able to stop crying.

"No," Liesl said, shaking her head adamantly. "No. I'm a fool. You brought this family back together. You brought happiness, and music, and … and love!" "I," Liesl shook her head again, "I almost destroyed this family! And why? Over a boy! A boy who I was naïve enough to think loved me."

Maria drew Liesl close to her again. This conversation was not going as easily as she had hoped it would, and she realized that Liesl's self recrimination was much deeper than she had thought it was. As she hugged her eldest daughter again, she prayed for the right words.

"Yes, a boy," Maria eventually agreed. "A boy who could have destroyed this family." Here she paused, letting Liesl know that she wasn't ignoring her pain.

"But he didn't," Maria finally continued. "And why not? I don't know. Maybe it's because God has been caring for this family. Maybe it's because Ralph did still care about you. He could have blown that whistle before we had the chance to get to the car, he could have shot your father. But he didn't. Maybe you weren't so naïve to have cared about him."

This hadn't occurred to Liesl. She had been so consumed with what could have happened that she hadn't stopped to think about what had actually happened.

Maria kept talking, now holding Liesl by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. "What I know is this: there is evil in the world. I don't know why or how, but I know that the only thing that can truly conquer evil is love. Love of God, love of each other, even love of yourself – it's all holy. Spiritual love, familial love, romantic love - it's all blessed. Love is of God, and we need all the love we can muster if we are going to weather this nightmare."

Liesl looked down at her hands again. She did love her family. She did love God. She just didn't trust herself to love a man again, and she certainly didn't love herself at that moment.

"You and I are so alike," Maria continued, going back to her earlier point, "because we can love so thoroughly – so completely. Once someone told me that it was up to me to find out how God wanted me to spend my love, and that was one of the most important lessons I ever learned."

Liesl looked up again. "Is that why you came back?" she asked.

"Yes," Maria replied simply. And in that word Liesl could see the courage it had taken for Maria to return to them. It had never occurred to Liesl what it must have cost Maria to come back – how overwhelmed she must have been when she left, and how heartbroken she must have been to return only to hear that father had gotten engaged to someone else. She had always known that Maria was courageous. From the first time she had dressed all of them in something other than their required uniforms she had known that Maria was courageous. But she had never realized just how courageous her new mother was.

"I suppose …" Liesl began tentatively, "I suppose it takes courage to love."

Maria's heart leapt in her chest as she realized she was finally reaching Liesl.

"Oh, darling," she responded, "It takes so much courage." "It was that courage that enabled all of us to get through the Alps. It was that courage that brought me back to you." Here she paused again, praying again for the right words. "And I believe it was that courage that made Ralph give us the time to escape to our car, whether he knows it or not."

"He did, didn't he?" Liesl asked, tearfully.

"Yes, he did," Maria affirmed.

"Now," Maria said, putting both hands on the sides of Liesl's face, wiping her tears away with her fingers, "I'm not telling you to go fall in love with the first boy you meet here. Or even the second or the third. You can take as much time as you need. But in the meantime, please don't close your heart. Remember how much we love you and you love us, and how important that love is. You have a big heart, and I know that God doesn't want you to waste your enormous capacity for love."

Mother and daughter just looked at each other, letting their love for one another fill their hearts. Eventually, though, Liesl looked down again. "But I...," she barely spoke above a whisper "I could have ruined everything. We were supposed to be totally silent, and as soon as I saw Ralph, I … I gasped. I gave us away." She was still so ashamed of herself.

Maria knew that there was no point of trying to convince Liesl of anything else, and surprised her by agreeing with her. "Yes, you did," she responded. "But I don't know many people who would have done anything different in the same situation. I don't know that I would have done differently."

"You?" Liesl asked tentatively.

"Yes," Maria affirmed again. "Seeing him was a shock to you. We can never predict how we will behave when we are shocked like that."

She let that sink in for as long as Liesl needed to think about. Eventually Liesl disagreed with her, almost defiantly. "Father wouldn't have," she declared.

"No, he wouldn't have," Maria agreed. "But he is one of the few people I can think of who wouldn't. And remember that he's been in a war. He's been in terrible situations. He is trained not to react. None of the rest of us are, darling, and I think God for that. Your innocence and love are treasures from God. Never doubt that."

Liesl felt confused. For days she had been berating herself for her feelings for Ralph and for betraying her family. Now her beloved new mother was telling her that those feelings were understandable – even a gift from God.

"I'm so confused," she finally admitted to Maria.

"That's alright," Maria said, resting her forehead against Liesl's. "You can be confused right now. Just don't give up on love yet. You don't have to look for it right now, but just don't close your heart, alright?"

"Alright," Liesl agreed with a deep sigh. Maria hugged her close, thanking God for helping her find the right words to at least reach Liesl. She hadn't expected to be able to make everything okay for her, but at least she had pulled her out of her despair and had given her new things to think about.

"Now," Maria asked, "What would you say about taking a special trip into Dorfli – just the two of us?"

"Just you and me?" Liesl asked in amazement. One on one time with either parent was a rarity, and she was often left behind to look after the younger ones.

"Just you and me," Maria reiterated. "There are many things I need to get, and I could use your help. Your father can watch the other children. We need our own time together. And…" Maria took out her list and showed it to Liesl. "I definitely need your help."

For the first time since they had fled from the abbey, Liesl's heart was a little lighter. She didn't have to have all the answers right now, but maybe she hadn't been as bad as she had thought she had been. And maybe love wasn't the destructive force she had been making it out to be.

Liesl reached out and took the list from Maria. She looked down it and raised her eyebrows. "We'd better get started," she said.

Maria stifled a sigh of relief. Liesl was going to be okay. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but she was going to be okay. "Yes," she agreed lightly. "We'd better get started."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Before they left, Maria checked in with Georg again. He was sitting in the room that was going to be his office, looking through the small stack of papers he had from the banks. There was no telephone, no proper desk, no curtains – there was hardly anything.

As his wife entered the room he hurried to his feet. He had already decided that he would not keep her out of the office. She was his partner – she had proven that many times over the last several days – and she would remain his partner. If he needed privacy he would let her know, but in every other instance she had full access to him.

He wrapped her in his arms. She felt so good, so right in his arms. He loved her softness but knew that he couldn't let himself think about that or he'd never let her out of their bedroom, let alone the house.

"How is she?" Georg finally asked.

"She's going to be okay," Maria responded. "I hadn't realized how much pain she was in, but she's going to be okay."

"Thank you," Georg whispered, and he brushed the hair off her forehead, leaving it bare so that he could kiss it.

"They're my children too, Captain," Maria said with a mischievous smile.

"Yes, they are," he agreed more seriously, and appreciatively.

He let her go reluctantly, knowing that she had a lot to do in Dorfli. "I will get a line of credit set up for you at the banks," he promised. "In the meantime, I hope this will do." Georg handed her a wad of cash.

Maria's eyes widened slightly. She still wasn't used to his wealth, and to her it looked like a small fortune. But she knew he wouldn't give her anything they couldn't afford, and she did need to buy a lot in Dorfli. "I'm sure it will be enough," she agreed. "And I'll do my best."

The two embraced again, still reluctant to part after their separation.