Chapter 4 - Sisters

"That was…odd."

Liesl paused brushing her hair to look at her two younger sisters sitting on her bed. A few minutes earlier, they had practically invited themselves into her room, but she was relieved they'd sought her out. She placed the hairbrush on her bureau. "Yes."

Brigittal gazed out the window, mindlessly playing with the fringe on one of Liesl's pillows. "Both Father and Fräulein Maria were so quiet." She turned to Louisa. "Fräulein Maria didn't even sing."

Louisa pulled her knees closer to her chest. "She seemed as if she wasn't happy to be back anymore…But she was happy when she first returned." Both girls looked at their older sister.

Liesl sighed and sat on the chair next to her vanity. "Yes, her mood changed entirely," she agreed and glanced at the door. She had an inkling for what was happening between their father and the governess, but she wasn't entirely certain.

Brigitta frowned. "Why did she come back if she's just going to leave us again?" she asked, looking worried. For all Brigitta's precocious behavior, Liesl was often reminded her sister was still just ten years old.

"She was only supposed to stay until September anyway," Lisel offered.

"Maybe the nuns said she had to come back and finish her assignment," Lousia added.

"Assignment?" Brigitta repeated, her frown deepening. It hadn't felt like she and her siblings were simply a job to Fräulein Maria. They were all so happy and joyful together. So much so that lessons didn't even feel like lessons. When she was with her governess and her family, she'd dared to feel something she hadn't felt in a long time.

"I thought she felt like it was more than just an assignment ," Louisa muttered, echoing Brigitta's thoughts. "I know I…" But her voice faded. Louisa rarely allowed herself to be vulnerable.

Brigitta shook her head. "She didn't seem happy to learn Father is engaged to Baroness Schraeder."

Liesl's eyes widened.

"No one is happy Father is engaged to Baroness Schraeder," Louisa said and glared into the space before her. The sisters remained quiet, letting the muted sounds of summer nighttime filter through the nearly-closed window.

"Liesl, where is my jar?" Louisa asked after a moment.

Both sisters looked at her. "What jar?" Liesl asked, wary.

The thirteen-year-old's eyes narrowed. "The one for the spiders."

"Louisa, no!" Liesl reprimanded, despite smirking at the idea. "You will not put spiders in the Baroness's bed."

Louisa grinned. "But it would work…"

"No," Liesl repeated. "Father would be furious."

"It would be better than whatever he's been like since the night of the party," Louisa countered. "He's been so strange."

"Like he's forcing himself to be happy," Brigitta added.

"Yes!" Louisa agreed.

"And tonight, he kept trying to get Fräulein Maria to talk, but she was just so…" Brigitta shook her head.

"Sad," Liesl finished.

"She usually cannot stop talking," Louisa said, and the sisters smiled at that.

"She smiled when Father sang," Brigitta remembered. "But she didn't even look at him all evening. They used to be so…friendly together."

"I wish they'd sung a duet. Like they did a few nights before the party. I didn't even know what it was that they sang," Louisa said.

"Something from an opera." Brigitta said. "I had no idea what they were saying."

"That's because it was in Italian," Louisa said.

"Verdi," Liesl added quietly. She frowned, feeling the pieces starting to come together. Her mind wandered back to all the times her father and Fräulein Maria were just talking to one other. Or laughing. Sometimes none of her siblings were even in the same room. They always found a way to be in each other's company. And they'd sung duets together on more than one occasion. And the following mornings, Liesl could hear her governess quietly humming the tune they'd been singing the night before.

But when she learned that Father was going to marry Baroness Schraeder, the light had left Fräulein Maria's eyes. It was astonishing how quickly her mood had changed.

Liesl gasped. Of course, it was so obvious! Things were out of sorts because Fräulein Maria was in love with Father. The thought of her father and governess married sent a flutter down Liesl's spine. How wonderful that would be! Everyone loved Fräulein Maria; from the moment she'd soothed their fears during the thunderstorm, it had felt as if she was meant to be with that. Their home had been transformed because of her. To have her a permanent part of their family would be a dream.

But then reality returned, dimming her fledgling elation. Her heart sank for her governess and how she must have felt learning Father was engaged. No wonder Fräulein Maria was so subdued at dinner; she must have been devastated.

But Father… How did Father feel? He seemed happy, but as Brigitta had said, it felt forced. As Liesl reflected on dinner, the strained silence that fell over everyone, and the way Father could not stop staring at the governess…. Maybe he felt something too?

Her sisters didn't notice her agitation. "I wish they were like they were before the party. Friendly," Brigitta repeated and smiled. "They used to make each other laugh."

Louisa grinned. "Like that time when Fräulein Maria told us about growing up on a farm and when the cows escaped to the neighbor's pasture." The girls laughed in remembrance, the story so preposterous to them in their bourgeois existence.

Their laughter died down, and Brigitta sighed. "But it was as if she was mad at him tonight," she said. "It felt so wrong. Even Marta and Gretl noticed."

Liesl sighed. "I don't think she was mad at Father," she said slowly. The other two looked over at her. She shook her head. She didn't want to confuse her sisters with what she'd just realized; it would be too painful to think of what could have been, the new mother they could have had. "I think she's just sad that things are different now," she said instead.

"I know Father said we won't need a governess, but I don't want Fräulein Maria to leave," Brigitta said.

"She's going to be a nun, Brigitta," Louisa reminded her.

"I wish she could be our new mother instead," Brigitta said, turning back to the window.

Liesl started to reply but stopped herself.

"I can still get my jar," Louisa offered.

The two eldest von Trapp daughters exchanged a look before Louisa sighed. "Sorry, Liesl, to come in unannounced and all," she pushed herself from the bed. "I guess we should go."

Brigitta stared out the window to the lake, wishing things could be different. The past few weeks with Fräulein Maria and then with Father being so happy felt like a dream. A perfect, sunlit dream. She was not ready for it to end.

A motion caught her eye, and she leaned forward. Her father was walking toward the gazebo, his hands twitching. She frowned. "Why is Fah-"

"Let's go Brigitta," Louisa interrupted. "I'm going to ask Kurt to find some snakes tomorrow."

"Enough! Go to bed!" Liesl said..

The ten-year-old turned, her sisters' playful banter making her forget seeing her father. She walked over and gave Liesl a quick hug. "We'll always have each other, at least."

Liesl's eyes stung,and she kissed Brigitta's head as she met Louisa's eyes. "Yes, we do."

A/N: Thanks to the wonderful comments about the awkward dinner, I added this chapter. It was fun to see the Von Trapp children be siblings and talk about things. Oh, and I love it when an idea presents itself to you. I am now enamored with the Captain and Maria singing opera duets together.