Chapter 24: Bringing Music Back Into the House

It was a glorious day: the sky was blue and the sun was shining. The near-perfect weather seemed to correspond with the happy mood of Georg and Maria as they enjoyed a late breakfast on the private patio of their suite. Barefoot and dressed only in their robes, hair still mussed from their early morning lovemaking, it was the happiest and most relaxed either had been for months.

As they ate, Georg began telling Maria more about Agathe, from what she was like, to little snippets of memories, to funny little anecdotes of their time together. Currently Maria was laughing hysterically at the story Georg was telling her.

"Oh Georg, you didn't, did you?" Maria managed to stammer through her uncontrolled laughter.

"I'm afraid I did," he admitted sheepishly. "She said I behaved like a bit of an ass." He paused as he saw Maria's eyebrows rise at the coarse language. "Uh…. One of the few times she let her normally impeccable language slip," he explained, "but I deserved it. Before I met you, I think she was the only one to ever call me on my behaviour."

"Obviously a brave woman," Maria commented with a laugh. Georg gave a chuckle of his own. "Anyway, what happened then?" Maria asked.

"Well, she came out here onto this patio to uh… cool down. I followed her, of course, and apologised profusely. Then without batting an eyelid, she gulped down the rest of her champagne, threw the empty flute over the side of the balcony before kissing me passionately!"

Maria stared at him open mouthed, astonished. "She threw the glass?" Georg nodded with a grin. Maria got up and peered over the side of the balustrade to the ground below. It was quite a drop. "Why?"

"Well she was quite, uh… inebriated, so to speak," Georg laughed as he held his hand out to Maria and pulled her into his lap. "Like yourself, darling, Agathe could drink wine all night without it ever affecting her, but as soon as she drank champagne, something about the bubbles perhaps, it went straight to her head."

"Well you found out the hard way with me, remember?" Maria recalled. "That night in Paris. I was completely drunk before we even got half way through the bottle of champagne you'd ordered to the room. Oh and the next day… the headache I had! Not to mention how bad I felt about my behaviour," she lamented, burying her head in her hands in shame. "I'd never felt that out of control before."

"Well, lucky it was just the two of us in the hotel room, rather than being out in public," Georg said seriously. "But anyway, I really didn't mind that much, in fact you were quite cheerful, not to mention how it made you particularly amorous in bed." Georg playfully tapped her on her nose. "Well, more so than usual," he smirked as Maria blushed.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Maria swatted him playfully away with her hand then changed the subject back to Agathe. "So back to the story: what happened then?"

"Then? Oh, I suppose you can fill in the blanks," he winked. "But needless to say, the following morning we had to come up with some sort of explanation why there was smashed glass on the ground down below." Georg snorted in laugher at the memory. "Anyway…" he sighed as he looked pensively off into the distance.

Maria watched him for a few moments, biting her lip, wondering whether or not to ask him what was on her mind. "Does it hurt?" she finally asked him.

"Hmm?" Georg hummed, turning his attention back to her.

"Talking about her," Maria clarified.

Georg didn't answer right away, but cast his eyes away and aimlessly tapped the table with his fingers. "No," he finally said. "I thought that it would, but no, it doesn't hurt. In actual fact, it's a bit of a relief finally speaking about her after all these years, like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders." He paused and turned his head looking Maria square in the eye. "Does it hurt hearing about her?" he asked her directly.

Maria smiled. "No, not at all," she told him honestly.

"Good."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, wordlessly reaching a mutual understanding about Georg's past and their future together. Then simultaneously, both leant in towards each other to kiss. As his lips grazed across hers, Maria opened her mouth slightly to deepen the kiss; a moan of delight escaping from her mouth as their tongues touched and began to swirl slowly together. Still perched on his lap, Maria wrapped her arms more firmly around Georg's neck, running the fingertips of one hand through his thick, dark hair. Georg laced one arm around Maria's waist, pulling her even closer to him while the other hand ran up under her robe lazily caressing the silky skin of her leg.

Finally pulling apart breathless, Georg fiddled with the opening of Maria's robe and slipped one hand inside as he crooned into her ear. "You don't suppose anyone would notice if we locked ourselves away in here for the day, would they?" He began mouthing kisses onto her neck. The bristle of Georg's day-old beard brushed against her cheek sending shivers down her spine.

Maria felt giddy for all the sensations that Georg was stirring inside her. She thought back to their passionate lovemaking the night before then again earlier that morning. She wanted him so very much. "Oh that's sounds so tempting," she whispered back, her voice low and husky. Yet despite her longing for him, she reluctantly pulled out of his embrace. "But…"

"But?" he repeated seeing the disappointed look in her eyes.

"But, it's getting late," she glanced over his shoulder back into the suite where she could see the time on the large clock on the mantelpiece. "And it's the music performance today. Have you forgotten?"

Georg rolled his head back, groaned then lightly slapped his thigh in annoyance at himself. "I'm sorry Maria, I had forgotten. When is it?"

"In just under two hours time. I still need to set everything up."

"I see," he replied. "Where abouts were you thinking of performing?"

"The parlour," Maria told him, but Georg looked horrified. "Oh no, no, no, Maria. Not the parlour."

"Well, with the exception of the grand ballroom or the dining room, it's the only room big enough for all the guests and us," Maria defended at once. "And I can't imagine Lady Whitehead letting us rearrange the library for the performance. Have you got a better idea?" she asked him.

Georg narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips as he thought. A moment later, he grinned at her. "Yes I do, and I have something I want to show you as well." Quickly he steered her off his lap and took her hand as he led her back inside the suite.

XxXxXxXxXx

Less than an hour later, they were both showered and dressed. As they arrived downstairs in the grand hallway, Maria was surprised when Georg escorted her away from the usual rooms that the family occupied, and led her down a hallway in the complete opposite direction until they stopped outside a door. Maria gave Georg a curious look.

"I've never been in this part of the house before," she remarked. "I was told…"

"… there were certain rooms in this house that were not to be disturbed?" he finished for her. Maria grinned. "Exactly."

"And you listened?"

"This time," she roared with laughter. "Besides, Lady Whitehead is much scarier than you. I didn't want to get caught out by her." Maria took another look at the closed door, hesitantly. "So are you sure about this?"

"Of course, now come on. The children can perform in here this afternoon." Georg opened the door and stood back to let Maria walk inside. "The music room," Georg announced as he joined her, taking her hand in his. He watched her carefully as she gazed around the room in wonder. It only took a moment for her eyes to lock into the portrait of the beautiful woman hanging in pride of place on the wall opposite the doorway. She gasped. "Is that…?"

"Yes," Georg replied softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "That was Agathe. This is what I wanted to show you."

"Oh," Maria breathed as she let go of Georg's hand and walked towards to portrait, drawn like a magnet to it. She stood right in front of it, her eyes scanning over each feature of the image of Georg's late wife. Her dark eyes sparkling with laughter; her long, golden hair pilled elegantly on top of her head; her dazzling smile; the beautiful dress she wore. She was breathtaking.

Maria wasn't sure how long she stood gazing at Agathe's portrait but after a while she felt Georg place his hands on her shoulders. Maria reached up over her shoulder and squeezed his hand. "She was very beautiful."

"Yes, she was," he replied. He said nothing more, but just continued to stand there next to her, gazing at the portrait as well. The more Maria gazed at the portrait, the more she began to wonder about her, the woman who had held Georg's heart for so long, the woman who's death had nearly destroyed him, the woman who had borne Georg seven children – children to whom she was now mother to. Maria wondered what on earth Agathe would have thought of her.

Almost as if Georg was reading her thoughts, he whispered into Maria's ear. "I know she would have adored you. She would have been thrilled to know that the children have a mother again, a mother that loves and cares for them like she did, and a mother that the children love and adore in return."

Maria's heart felt full of emotion at hearing his words. She squeezed her eyes shut, relishing Georg's belief of Agathe's approval of her. As she opened her eyes, Maria had one more question for Georg. "And us? What would she have thought of you and I?"

He smiled. "She would have been glad that I was happy again. She never specifically said it – there wasn't time, her illness took her away so quickly. But I knew her, and despite my foolishness of trying to deny it for so long, I know she would have wanted me to find love again. And I found you, my love." He tenderly caressed Maria's cheek. Maria's lips found his palm and she kissed his hand. As he dropped his hand away from her face, Maria turned back to gaze at the portrait once again, and she was so fixated on the portrait that she didn't notice Georg move away from her until she heard the soft sounds of the piano being played on the other side of the room.

Maria turned and smiled at the sight of Georg playing for her. She went and sat next to him on the piano seat and rested her head on his shoulder. "Hmm, that sounds nice," she murmured.

"I used to play this piece for her every night, you know," Georg told Maria as his fingers slid over the keys lightly, the music from the piano filling the room. "She loved music so much. I used to say it was part of her soul." Maria smiled to herself as she listened to him talk. "When she died, hearing music reminded me of her and everything I'd lost. It was just too much pain to bear. I suppose it seemed easier to shut it out rather than face my grief."

"And I foolishly arrived on your doorstep singing at the top of my lungs," Maria bemoaned with a chuckle.

At once Georg stopped playing and turned to her. He lifted her chin with his finger so she was looking into his eyes. "No, not foolish at all," he reassured her. "You brought music back into the house, I'd forgotten… Maria, for so long I was living almost a half-life. Whistles, marching, orders - I wasn't the father I should have been to my children, and I was so unhappy. You opened my eyes, your music opened my eyes, and I will never be sorry you did that. We found each other through that music, and I love you so very much."

"Oh Georg," Maria breathed as her mouth found his and they kissed. Georg gave her a little smile as they parted then wordlessly he began to play the piano again. A wide smile spread over Maria's face as she instantly recognised the tune, then Georg's rich baritone voice began to sing to her. "Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me…"

Maria closed her eyes and listened to Georg singing for her. Every note that he played and every word he sung was for her, and she became lost in the sound of his voice. It was almost like the first time he had sung that song on the night of the puppet show, but she hadn't known then how much he loved her. But she knew now. She opened her eyes to see him looking at her with such love and devotion that it practically took her breath away. And as the final notes of the song faded away, he leaned forward and kissed her again.

But then they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the children in the outside hallway. A moment later, the seven of them burst into the room all talking at once.

"Father, Mother, you're in here!"

"We missed you at breakfast!"

"We heard the music… "

"We haven't been in this room for years…"

"Father, was that you playing the piano?" Liesl asked. "You haven't played the piano for the longest time! Not since Mother was alive…"

Suddenly Liesl's hand flew to her mouth as she realised what she'd just said. For at the mention of their late mother, a hush came over the room. The children glanced at Georg then at each other hesitantly, not sure whether Georg was going to be upset at the mention of Agathe. But before Georg could say anything, Gretl piped up.

"Father, who is that lady there?" she innocently asked, pointing at the portrait of Agathe.

Georg moved from the piano and crouched down in front of the little girl and said softly. "Gretl, that's your mother." Gretl's eyes widened. "My mother?" Georg nodded. "Father, I don't remember her," Gretl told him with a sob, her bottom lip quivering.

"I know sweetheart, you were only a baby when she died. It's been my fault that I've never spoken about her, or shown you a photograph of her, or anything. I didn't kept her memory alive when I should have and I'm sorry." Georg stood up looked up at the six other children. "Things are going to be different now, I promise." He gave a little shrug and at once all seven children threw themselves at him, reminiscent of their reunion those many months ago when the seven children sang for the Baroness.

Maria stood off to the side watching the touching moment between Georg and the children. Suddenly she felt out of place and made to move towards the door to leave them alone to reconnect, but Louisa saw her move out of the corner of her eye. "Mother," the girl called out. "Please don't leave."

Maria smiled at her. "It's alright Louisa," she explained. "You children should spend some time together with your father as a family."

At once Friedrich and Marta grasped her hands and pulled Maria into the middle of their group. "But we need you here too," they protested.

"Darling," Georg said, giving Maria a pointed look over Gretl's head. "Remember, you're part of this family too. All of us, together."

Maria let out a laugh as the children pulled her into a massive group hug, and many tears and laughs were shared as they united as a family.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

An hour later, Georg was welcoming the guests to the music room. Lady Whitehead had been surprised when Georg informed her of their plans to hold the music performance in there and she had begun to protest loudly, saying that it was disrespectful to her daughter's memory for them to all be in there. But she was soon silenced when Georg reminded her that Agathe had been his wife and it was their children who were about to perform, and he was sure that if Agathe had still been alive, that she would have been delighted to have them perform in the music room. Lady Whitehead had glared at Georg but said no more, instead took her place in the center of the front row to await the performance.

Georg welcomed Lord and Lady Addington with Camilla following shortly behind them. It was the first time he had seen Camilla since the night she'd propositioned him in the music room a week before. Surprisingly Camilla didn't look the slightest bit uncomfortable to be there, and even brushed up against Georg and gave him a smouldering look as she entered the room. Georg narrowed his eyes and scowled at her before clearing his throat deliberately and inclining his head in Maria's direction.

The playful look on Camilla's face fell and she reluctantly made her way over to Maria. Putting on her best fake socialite voice, Camilla began apologised to Maria. "Maria darling, please accept my apology for any confusion the other night. I believe the fault was mine, and I hope we can get past any unpleasantness between us." Camilla held her hand out to Maria.

Maria licked her lips, unsure for a moment what to do. She hadn't forgotten the things Camilla had said to her the other night, nor had she forgotten how the woman had thrown herself at her husband. Yet, Maria and Georg had reconciled after their fight and she knew how much Georg loved her, and forgiveness was something that the Reverend Mother had always taught her. She quickly glanced at back at Georg who was watching the entire exchange. He signalled her with a faint nod. Maria graciously accepted Camilla's hand. "Thank you Camilla. I accept your apology."

Satisfied that she'd fulfilled her obligation of apologising to Maria, Camilla dropped her hand and went and sat next to Lady Whitehead. Maria tried to ignore their hushed whispers as she made the final preparations for the music performance. As Maria got the children in their positions, she noticed how distracted Liesl was looking.

"Is everything alright Liesl?" Maria asked.

Liesl flicked her eyes towards the doorway where Lord Whitehead stood talking with Georg as they welcomed the guests coming for the performance. Several family friends of the Whiteheads and a few business associates of Georg's were arriving, then selected staff members entered. Nanny Jones, Hannah and Lloyd all took their standing positions at the back of the room.

"Oh, it's just that, well, Daniel said he would come…" Liesl's voice trailed off.

"… and he isn't here yet?" Maria finished for her. Liesl nodded, looking worried as the final guests entered the room.

"Well we still have a few minutes before we begin," Maria replied trying to sound positive. "Perhaps he's just running late." As a glimmer of hope flashed across Liesl's face, they heard a commotion in the hallway. A moment later, an out-of-breath Daniel arrived at the music room followed by an older couple.

"Sorry we're late," Daniel wheezed, apologising to Georg as he entered the room. "We had car trouble. Captain, may I present my parents? Charles and Lillian Collins. Father, Mother, this is Captain von Trapp, Liesl's father." The two men greeted each other with a handshake before Georg placed a kiss on Lillian Collins's gloved hand.

As the introductions were complete, Daniel left his parents with Georg and rushed over to a very relieved Liesl. He pulled her aside and Maria smiled to herself as she watched Daniel whisper an apology to Liesl, kiss her on the cheek before re-joining his parents in preparation for the performance.

Georg caught Maria's eye and she gave him a nod letting him know they were ready to begin. After Georg gave a few words of welcome to the guests and announced the performance, he sat down next to Lord Whitehead to watch the show.

Firstly the children began with singing "The Lonely Goatherd" but without Maria. She had wanted to show off the children's musical talents and so had been working very closely with Liesl to perfect her voice so that she was able to sing the lead vocal in place of Maria. Louisa sang harmony while Brigitta took on most of the yodelling. Since there wasn't a puppet show or puppets at the manor, Maria had instead choreographed a dance routine for the children to perform as they sang. There were lots of 'oos' and 'ahs' when Gretl and Marta danced, and everyone laughed as Kurt did a cartwheel in the center of the room. Then the room erupted in applause when Brigitta yodelled to perfection. Even though Maria wasn't performing with them, it was clear from the look on Georg's face how very much impressed he was with his wife's ability to pull the musical number together, not to mention how proud he felt of his children performing.

The next song the children sung together was "My Favourite Things". Georg tried to mask a chuckle as he recalled the first time he'd heard them singing that song. With thunder, lightening and rain bellowing throughout the night and Maria prancing around her governess room in that ridiculous tent of a nightgown, Georg remembered how fearlessly she had stood up to him, her blue eyes burning bright with frustration and anger as he'd dismissed her. Although at the time he had been angry at her lack of discipline, he cherished the connection she'd made with the children that night. Also, it somehow seemed fitting that the children were singing about Maria's favourite things after the past week of them helping Georg bring her favourite things to life.

After that, Maria joined in with the children to sing "Do Re Mi". There were gasps of amazement from all when Maria hit a high C, her clear soprano voice soaring an entire octave above the note the children sang. The children then moved aside while Maria sang "The Sound of Music". Almost completely oblivious to anyone else being in the room, her eyes were locked solely on Georg's the entire time, her heart practically bursting with joy at seeing the love and pride in his eyes as he watched her sing.

Finally Maria stood back for the children to end their performance with "So Long, Farewell". As the children waved and left the room momentarily as they sung the final strains of "Goodbye," everyone in the room erupted in a huge applause. Even Lady Whitehead got to her feet with everyone else to give the children a standing ovation. The children returned to the music room and gave their bows and curtseys. At once everyone surrounded them, offering many compliments and congratulations on a wonderful performance.

Georg made his way through the crowd to Maria who had remained at the side of the room to allow the children to accept all the accolades. He embraced her then gave her a kiss. "Maria, darling. Well done. I really am very much impressed."

She beamed with happiness then waved her arms up in the air in a light-hearted shrug. "They're your children, Georg."

He wrapped one arm around her waist and kissed her temple. "They're our children, Maria." Maria laughed as they went to join the others in congratulating the children. As they approached, they overheard Brigitta brushing off all compliments and telling Lady Whitehead that it was really Maria that deserved all the praise for it was Maria who put the show together and taught them all to sing.

Lady Whitehead turned to Maria. "My dear, is there anything you can't do?"

Detecting the sarcasm in her voice, Georg at once responded to Lady Whitehead's backhanded compliment. "No, not particularly. My wife is absolutely marvellous." And before Lady Whitehead come reply with a clever retort, Georg took Maria's arm and escorted her over to some of the other guests who were eager to give Maria their praises.

After a few minutes, Maria became separated from Georg as he became engaged in a conversation with one of his business associates. She didn't mind at all for she'd caught Lord Whitehead's eye and he beckoned her over to him. "Maria," he gushed, giving her a kiss on the hand. "When Georg told me what a wonderful singer you were, well I had no idea how talented you really were! A truly remarkable performance, my dear."

"Thank you James," Maria replied. "For everything." Her eyes flicked past Lord Whitehead over to Georg who looked up from his conversation then gave her a smile and a wink.

Lord Whitehead spun his head around to follow her gaze before turning back to look at Maria. He had been watching Maria and Georg closely over the past few days and had seen how close they were becoming again, not to mention noticing the looks of love and adoration they were giving each other during the music performance. "I take it then, Maria, that you and Georg have sorted out your problems?" Lord Whitehead asked Maria quietly.

A broad smile came across Maria's face and she couldn't help but blush as images of Georg making love to her the night before flashed through her mind. "Yes we have, thank you. There are so many things now out in the open that we've been able to talk about." She let out a little laugh. "The past month has put us through so many trials but I feel like we've come through this stronger than ever. I never thought I could love Georg more than I did when we married, but I do. I love him so much."

"I know and I'm very happy for you both. As I told you once before, that kind of love is very rare," Lord Whitehead declared before his eyes darkened somewhat. "Not everyone gets to marry for love," he told her, "and even less people are fortunate enough to have a happy marriage."

Maria thought she detected a hint of bitterness in his tone of voice and for a brief moment his eyes hardened as his gaze lingered on Lady Whitehead standing on the other side of the room talking to Camilla. But before Maria could think anymore about it, they were interrupted by an announcement from Lloyd that afternoon tea was about to be served on the terrace. Maria joined the children and the other guests as they left the music room and made their way outside.

Only Georg remained behind. He paused to take one last look at the portrait of Agathe. Yes, he knew she would have been proud of their children and overjoyed that music had been brought back into the house, and back into their lives. After reconciling with Maria and vanquishing the ghosts from the past, Georg felt complete. All that was left to do before they left was attend Liesl's party to present her into society in a few days time.

A/N: Sorry for the really long delay in posting this new chapter, real life is so busy at the moment. It also may be a while before I have time to write another chapter, sorry. In the meantime, please send me a review, as they are such a great encouragement. Thanks to everyone who is still reading and reviewing this story.

Also, I posted the love scene of Maria and Georg's reconciliation from the end of last chapter separately so go and check it out if you haven't already (change your filters as it's rated M for obvious reasons).