Chapter 15: Letters.

Max Detweiller sat in his small, cramped office in Vienna. He wasn't exactly pleased to be back there after living for the past several months at the von Trapp family villa on the outskirts of Salzburg. He had enjoyed the lavish lifestyle with the decadent food and expensive wine. While he knew that Georg often joked about Max being expensive, and even Max had referred to himself as a very charming sponge, he did miss being in the company of his close friend.

It had been just over a month since the Anschluss and almost just as long since Georg, Maria and their seven children had escaped from the clutches of the Nazis the night of the Salzburg Folk Festival.

Max didn't know what went on that night after the von Trapps fled from the festival. He had heard only rumours that they hadn't been captured but beyond that, he didn't know. Max truly hoped the family were able to get to Switzerland like they had planned but Max was too fearful of the current regime and his own safety to make any further enquiries. Thankfully, since Max had adopted the attitude of 'getting along with everybody' and to not have any political convictions, he'd been for the most part left alone. However, due to his history with the von Trapps, Max knew that he was being closely watched.

That morning had been particularly quiet. Max had been trying to acquire yet another singing group to put on his books but was still waiting for an answer from the latest group 'discovered talent'. And since he was waiting on an answer, Max wasn't particularly surprised when a knock came at the door.

"Come in." Max called out. A young messenger boy entered the room and gave Max the Hitler salute which Max half heartedly returned.

"Telegram for you Herr Detweiller," the boy announced.

"Thank you boy."

Max waited for the boy to leave before opening the telegram. Max glanced over it quickly and screwed up his nose, feeling slightly confused. He continued to examine it for the next few moments before bursting into laughter.

"Ah... Typical, typical..." Max murmured to himself before letting out another loud chuckle and shaking his head.

Max wondered what to do about the telegram. There were specific instructions in it, but how to carry them out? He wasn't sure how to do it without drawing attention to himself. Suddenly he had an idea but it would take several days to be able to put it into place.

XxXxXxXx

The following week, Max arrived in Salzburg and spent the morning interviewing potential singing groups. After visiting the last group, Max thought that it would now be the time to detour from his planned commitments to carry out the instructions from the telegram.

Making sure no one was following him, Max carefully made his way up the hill to the formidable Nonnberg Abbey. Max rang the bell and waited. Never in his life had he ever thought he would be ringing the bell of an Abbey but there he was. After a few moments, a young nun came to the gate, looking suspiciously at him.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked.

"Yes, I would like to see the Reverend Mother please." Max replied pleasantly.

"Reverend Mother never sees anyone without an appointment, especially a man." The young nun replied, looking him over.

"I see. Can you please tell her that Max Detweiller is here to see her about Maria? It is important." Max said quite firmly.

The young nun hesitated for a moment again, but seeing the determined look upon his face as well as hearing the name 'Maria', the young nun turned and went to inquire of the Reverend Mother.

Max stood on the street outside the large iron gate of the Abbey, feeling a little nervous that he would be discovered by a roaming Nazi patrol but thankfully none came by. Around ten minutes later, the young nun returned and informed Max that the Reverend Mother had granted him an audience. The nun unlocked the iron gate and led Max through the courtyard and vast corridors until they reached the office. After knocking once, the young nun opened the door and ushered Max inside.

The Reverend Mother stood to greet Max. He'd remembered seeing her in the distance the day Georg and Maria married but they'd never met before. He took her extended hand and kissed it.

"Herr Detweiller, this is indeed an unexpected surprise. You know it a highly unusual for a man to come within the Abbey walls but Sister Frances said you told her it was important and you had information about Maria," Reverend Mother replied.

"Yes, highly unusual indeed." Max replied. "Thank you for seeing me. Yes, very important. You are of course, aware that Georg and Maria fled the country with the children?"

The Reverend Mother nodded. "They came here the night of the Festival. I only know that they left in our caretaker's car, but beyond that... Well I only hope and say a prayer for them everyday."

"Yes, well before last week, all I had heard before were rumours that they had evaded capture from the Nazis." Max told her. Reverend Mother nodded in agreement.

"Well last week," Max continued, "I received a telegram from Georg, in code just in case it ever fell into the wrong hands. He wrote it in a way that he knew I would understand. Decoded it says: Max we are safe STOP at Whiteheads STOP Maria sends regards to Reverend Mother STOP Please inform Abbey STOP GvT."

The Mother Abbess let out a deep breath. "They're safe? Praise The Lord! But where is 'Whiteheads'?"

"In England, at the home of the parents of Georg's first wife Agathe. I have taken the liberty of writing the details down here for you to be able to contact Maria if you wish." Max told her giving her a piece of paper with the information on it.

"I give you many thanks Herr Detweiller." Reverend Mother replied holding out her hand for Max to kiss again before Max took his leave. The Mother Abbess immediately took out a blank piece of paper and began to compose a letter to Maria.

XxXxXxXx

One afternoon around two weeks later, Maria sat in the garden drinking tea with the children playing nearby. At first glance she was almost unrecognisable from the woman who arrived at the Whitehead manor almost a month prior. Her golden hair, now a fraction longer than when they were in Austria, was styled elegantly and she wore just enough makeup to enhance her natural beauty. Also, gone were the dowdy traveling clothes, Maria was now was dressed the most stylish and sophisticated spring dress of pale pink, a wide brimmed hat on her head.

True to his word, the day after they arrived at the manor, Georg had taken Maria shopping and bought her the most extensive wardrobe of dresses, from casual day frocks, to elegant evening gowns. When she'd protested at the extravagance, Georg had reasoned with her that he wanted her to have enough gowns for every possible occasion to ensure that she wouldn't be the victim of further criticism from Lady Whitehead. Despite this, Lady Whitehead would still send an occasional snide remark Maria's way. Maria greatly tried not to let Lady Whitehead upset her, especially now her English was improving and Maria was able to hold her own better at the various social events. Nonetheless from time to time, Maria still became lost in the conversation when many people all spoke at once, so she was determined to learn English as fast as she could.

Therefore she was now pouring over an English phrase book, taking notes and desperately trying to remember the various aspects of English grammar. As she was concentrating intensely, she was interrupted by Lloyd who had come from the house, a silver tray with a letter on it in his hand. "Baroness, a letter has arrived for you."

Maria was surprised but thanked him before she opened the letter. At once she saw the signature at the bottom of the page and her heart leapt with joy and a wide smile appeared on her face as she read.

My dearest Maria,

Words cannot express the joy and relief I felt at hearing that you and your family are now safe. You have been in my thoughts and prayers every day since that night you took refuge at the Abbey. Shortly after your escape, I was fearful the soldiers would follow you, but it seemed by the 'will of God' that somehow the soldiers had problems with their vehicles, which I'm sure facilitated your escape.

I was very grateful to be visited today by Herr Detweiller who carried the message to me from Captain von Trapp. The situation in Salzburg is such that any attempt to have made inquires about your whereabouts would have been very dangerous indeed. But rest assured, all is well at the Abbey and we haven't been bothered by the new Nazi regime, despite the obvious changes that have occurred since the Anschluss.

All of the sisters send their very best regards, in particular Sisters Margaretta and Berthe. I long for your reply: to hear about your travels and how you and your family are settling in England.

Maria, I do hope and pray that you are happy in the life God has given to you. Remember, my child, you have a great capacity to love and be loved and I will continue to pray for you each and every day.

Sincerely

Reverend Mother.

Just as Maria finished reading the letter, Gretl ran up and hopped up into Maria's lap. "What do you have there, Mother?" the little girl asked.

"It's a letter, from the Reverend Mother," Maria explained before Gretl asked Maria to read it to her.

As Maria finished reading the letter out loud, Marta arrived and begged Maria to read it to her as well. And by the time all of the children had joined her, Maria had read the letter to them a total of five times.

"Are you going to write back to her?" Brigitta asked after the final reading.

"Yes, I will. Is there anything you'd like me to tell her?" Maria asked the children.

"Can you tell her about how we slept out in the mountains?" Gretl asked as Friedrich mentioned he wanted Maria to tell the Reverend Mother about their run in with the soldiers and how he helped in the fight, before Kurt cut in, "and tell Sister Berthe we loved her chocolate cake!" All the children were shouting requests all at once but Maria didn't mind at all since it gave her a rare chance to be with them.

The day after they'd arrived at the manor, Lady Whitehead insisted on taking all the children out on an excursion without Maria or Georg. And then out again the following day and the day after that. Maria had quite understood, as it had been several years since the children had spent time with their grandparents. But shortly after that, Lady Whitehead announced that she'd taken the liberty of employing a nanny to take care of the children, as they were far too unruly to be left to their own devices.

Maria had been horrified and protested instantly. She, of course, knew just how much work looking after seven children was, but she was their mother and it was her delight and joy to be able to look after her children herself. Maria didn't want anyone else taking care of them. She'd argued bitterly with Lady Whitehead over the matter before Georg quickly took her aside and calmed her down. He told her he understood how she felt, but then explained that it was just the way of the English aristocracy and told her that Lady Whitehead had always employed a nanny for the children when Agathe was alive, so not to take it personally. Maria reluctantly agreed and Nanny Jones arrived at the manor the next day to care for the children.

Nanny Jones was a widow around about ten years older than Georg. She put up with no nonsense from the children and to Maria's disappointment and frustration, was very strict with the amount of access Maria had to her children. Even when Maria was able to spend a rare afternoon with them, Nanny Jones was always somewhere nearby.

Almost right on cue, Nanny Jones suddenly appeared out in the back garden. "Children, please don't bother your mother," she called out.

"I can assure you Nanny Jones," Maria replied, turning to the woman, "they aren't being a bother at all."

"Nonetheless," Nanny Jones tutted as she eyed off the children all sitting on or around Maria, "it's time for the children's walk in the garden."

"I'm in the middle of discussing something terribly important with them," Maria stated as firmly as she could, trying to use the Reverend Mother's letter as an excuse to get the children to stay with her a few moment's longer. "Can't you give us a few more minutes?"

"Well I have a schedule to keep to," Nanny Jones said before pausing seeing the disappointed looks on all of the children's faces. "But I suppose I could wait just an extra minute or so." The nanny left, leaving Maria alone with the children.

"I don't like her," Louisa immediately stated, and the rest of the children immediately agreed. Maria explained again, for what seemed like the one-hundredth time since Nanny Jones had arrived why Maria couldn't look after them herself.

"Maybe we could put some spiders in her bed?" Louisa suggested with a gleam of delight in her eye.

"Or we could put glue on her toothbrush like we did with Fraulein Josephine?" Kurt added in.

"Louisa and Kurt, remember I told you both: no playing tricks on her," Maria told them firmly. "You may not like her, but you owe her your respect. I'll be very cross with you all if I hear you've been playing any nasty tricks." Kurt screwed up his nose in disgust but grudgingly agreed. So did Louisa.

Maria chatted pleasantly with the children for the next minute or so before Nanny Jones returned to take them on their walk. The six younger children stood to join their nanny, while Liesl remained with Maria. Liesl had been quite determined that she was too old for a nanny, and so had been excused. She and Maria had spent several glorious days enjoying each other's company before Lady Whitehead found out and decided that since Liesl was too old for a nanny, she would give her lessons in order to present her to society later in the summer.

Nanny Jones saw that Liesl had lingered behind with Maria. "Liesl, your grandmother has requested your presence for another lesson. You must leave your mother now and meet her ladyship in the parlour." Liesl gave Maria an apologetic look as she left.

Maria sighed and glanced at the Reverend Mother's letter sitting on the table next to her. Since she had nothing else to do now the children were gone, Maria took out a blank piece of paper and began to compose her reply to the Mother Abbess and the rest of the Sisters. Very quickly she recounted the family's journey from the Abbey to when they arrived in Zurich making sure she added in everything the children wanted mentioned.

But when she came to writing about what had happened since they'd arrived in England, Maria stopped. She didn't know what to say. She picked up the Reverend Mother's letter and read it again. Maria sighed in despair. The Mother Abbess had said she hoped and prayed that Maria was happy, but was she? No, in fact Maria was completely and utterly miserable.

Not only had her time and access to her children been vastly limited since Nanny Jones had come to care for them, but something was happening between her and Georg that she didn't understand, some sort of invisible force driving a wedge between them that seemed to be growing each day. And she didn't know what to do about it.

Apart from the hour they spent together each morning where Georg would help Maria with her English, Maria barely saw her husband all day, as he would leave shortly after breakfast to go into town to conduct his various business affairs. Lord Addington had proved to be of great assistance to Georg with introducing him to new business contacts and advising Georg on how he should be moving his investments around. Unfortunately that meant as Georg spent his days with Lord Addington, Camilla could usually be found tagging along with them. But to Maria's relief, Georg paid Camilla no attention at all, although the way the lady continually flirted with Georg continued to make Maria feel uncomfortable.

When Maria did see Georg each night at dinner, he never left her side. He was very attentive to her, quietly giving her advice during the many social events and even occasionally acting as a referee whenever Maria got into an argument with Lady Whitehead. Maria was very thankful that he did that for it made her transition into the English aristocracy much easier, so from the outside, it appeared there was nothing amiss between the couple.

But it was when they were alone that Maria sensed that something was wrong between them. Each night once they'd retreated into the privacy of their suite, his smile would fade, his shoulders would slump somewhat and he'd announce he was going straight to bed since he was tired. Maria had no doubt that Georg was exhausted – she could see the dark bags under his eyes and he seemed to look older: a little more grey hair at his temples and a few more fine lines around the edges of his eyes. Not that she minded this older appearance at all, in fact she'd always thought his age made him look very handsome and quite distinguished but she was extremely worried about him.

Despite telling her how tired he was, most nights she awoke in the middle of the night to find him missing from their bed. She'd wander out to the small sitting room to find him staring off into space, obviously deep in thought about something. He'd immediately reassure her nothing was wrong and return to bed with her, but Maria knew he wouldn't go back off to sleep – she could tell from his breathing that he lay wide awake next to her.

Maria knew there was something wrong. Ever since he'd told her he loved her those many months ago in the gazebo, Georg had always been open and honest about his thoughts and feelings. But now things were different – he was shutting her out completely. A few times she tried to talk with him during the day about what was troubling him but he'd always change the subject right away. Once when she persisted with her questioning, he immediately became very irritated with her and stormed off to go and have a shower. For the remainder of that day, every time Maria saw him, there was a certain tension between them that upset her greatly. However the following day, Georg kissed her and apologised for his bad mood, but little by little every day after that, he became more and more distant and withdrawn from her.

Maria desperately wanted him to talk to her, but he wouldn't. And almost to make matters worse, they hadn't made love since they'd arrived at the manor. Admittedly for the first week of their stay Maria wasn't able to, but after that, Georg always seemed to have some excuse why they couldn't be together. Maria missed the closeness and intimacy of being with her husband. She missed the way he'd kiss her and hold her. She missed they way they'd talk quietly together in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She missed everything about being with him. Even though he lay next to her every night, it was almost like he wasn't there, and it was breaking her heart. She could feel him slowly slipping away from her, and she felt powerless to do anything about it.

Maria wiped a tear off her cheek as she looked down at the half-written letter in front of her. Maria knew she couldn't tell the Reverend Mother anything about her strained relationship with Georg. No, it was something she just had to somehow deal with herself.

Just then Brigitta, Marta and Gretl ran towards Maria from the other side of the garden very excited. "Mother, Mother!"

"What is it?" Maria asked, curious to find out what had made her children so happy.

"Grandmother and Grandfather are going to take us to a pantomime tonight!" all three girls announced at the same time. "We're going to see Cinderella!" Gretl told Maria, almost bursting with excitement. "And we're going to be taken to a special supper before the performance!" Marta added, clapping her hands together in glee.

"Oh that sounds wonderful!" Maria exclaimed and gave each of them a big hug. "You'll have to tell me all about it tomorrow."

"We will," the three girls all chorused together. The girls immediately ran off to go and get ready for their outing with their grandparents, leaving Maria alone once again.

Maria quickly finished her letter to the Reverend Mother, only briefly outlining some of the things that had happened since they'd been in England, and deliberately leaving out everything about what was troubling her about Georg.

As she stood and walked back up to the house, Maria realised that if Lord and Lady Whitehead were taking all the children out for the evening, then only she and Georg would be at the manor that night. Maria decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to try to reach out to Georg, so she set about to plan a quiet romantic evening together.

A/N: Some of you might recognise the start of this chapter as something I wrote for ProBoards writing prompts in March 2014 and I've been waiting this long (a whole year!) to finally be able to use it in this story – just shows how far ahead I plan! LOL!

Words cannot express how excited I am to be writing this story! I've also been completely blow away by everyone who has favoured and followed this story, not to mention everyone who has written me a review. Thank you so very much! It is such a big encouragement! Please keep all the reviews coming!