Chapter Nine
The Following Saturday

Maria pushed her shoulders back and surveyed her appearance in the mirror. "Oh, I hate this," she murmured, mostly to herself. She had put on a little weight, mostly around her midsection, in the last couple of years and the girdle she had purchased was so uncomfortable she wasn't able to keep it on for long. Instead, she chose a long blouse with a drape to try to hide the perceived flaw.

"Maria, stop it," Georg said as he emerged from the shower. "You look ridiculous in that top. Put on one of your normal looking dresses."

"They show my stomach," Maria protested. "At least I don't have...excess in this. How is it you eat just like I do or more than and are so..."

"Old?" Georg offered. He moved closer and slid his arms around Maria. "You are beautiful. You've born three children. No one expects you to have the same hoody as you did at 22. Do you expect me to have the same body I did at 47?"

"Georg, you still look amazing," Maria sighed. "You've got a few wrinkles, you've gone grey, but you are just as handsome as you were the day I walked into the villa. I on the other hand..."

"Have gained a few pounds, have a fuller bosom, and are still the most beautiful women in the entire world. You know the saying look at the mother and that's how the daughter will look in 20 years" Georg asked giving Maria a kiss. "If that's the truth, I'll be chasing this young man off with a stick tonight."

Georg placed a kiss in Maria's neck. "Now, put on your green dress. You are a vision in that green dress."

Maria nodded, "I'm sorry, Darling. I'm very nervous about tonight. I'm sure it was in my mind, the resemblance, and it came from the cologne."

"Maria, if you feel like this is too much at any time tonight you tell me and I'll have Kurt come down and get you," Georg told her. "But I think it'll be okay. You are so strong, and so brave. I'll be there every minute, I promise."

Maria smiled at her husband; he was truly the rock of her world. She watched as he kept fiddling with his tie. "Do you need help with that, my Captain?"

"Yes," Georg groused. "I can't seem to get it to lay straight, my left hand is stiff. I must have slept on it."

Maria moved closer and tied the tie for Georg. "Are you ready for this? Our little Lida having a serious suitor?"

"I wasn't ready when it was Liesl..." Georg laughed. "Let's get it over with. The sooner we do the sooner I can get you home...all I can think about is getting you home."

Georg kissed Maria hungrily one quick time before they stepped out of the room to head off to the restaurant.

Montpelier, Vermont

William was pacing as he waited for Georg, Maria, and Lida to arrive at the restaurant. He'd seen Lida earlier at the bakery; she was so nervous she was jumping at everything. Will had tried to reassure her, but the truth was he was just as nervous as she was.

The threesome arrived right on time, Maria on Georg's arm and Lida a step behind. William turned and looked at them with a smile, "Captain," he greeted Georg with a slight bow. "Mrs. von Trapp, you look lovely. Please let me offer my deepest apologies for my untimely visit the other day."

Maria took a deep breath as William offered her his hand. She tightened the grip she had on Georg's arm and forced a smile, "Not at all," Maria said graciously. "I overreacted to something else, it was no fault of yours."

Will nodded his thanks and greeted Lida. Georg studied Maria, she was pale, but only he could see the signs of distress on her face. His heart swelled with pride in her, she wanted her daughter's happiness and she would not let any of her own feelings get in the way of that.

As they were led to their table, Maria studied Will. There was no mistaking his accent, he was British clear as day. He had British mannerisms as well, the way he bowed slightly to both Georg and herself, and the way he kissed Lida's hand. Maria had seen those mannerisms a lot when the family was in England on the way to America.

His looks though. He looked so much like Jakob Braun. He was almost the same height, he had the same wave to his hair, the same eyes, the same intensity, but he didn't have the evil dripping off his very soul. The shape of his face was different, less angular, more rounded and gentler. It was that which helped Maria let go of the visual memory.

The foursome settled into their table, Will holding Lida's chair, Georg holding Maria's. The tension was palpable as they sipped their water and observed the menu. "Would you like some wine?" Will finally asked.

"You drink wine?" Georg asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do," Will replied. "In moderation of course, though I have had the opportunity to tour some wonderful wineries in the United States and in Italy and France when I was a boy. My mother had family through most of Europe."

"Hmmm," Georg acknowledged. Then he ordered the wine for the table. There was no mistaking who was going to have the upper hand at this dinner.

"Tell us about how you came to the United States, Mr. uh…"

"Brown," Will replied. "Properly William Brown but I do prefer Will, Mrs. von Trapp. I came here as a boy for the first time, I was 9. It was 1940 and I was in a group of child refuges seeking shelter in the United States from the Blitz."

"Yes, I had heard a number of children came to New York, Chicago, Boston during that time," Georg replied. "It was a terrible thing, so many families separated. Lida said your mother is still living in West Sussex in England?"

'Yes," Will replied. "She got here just before Pearl Harbor and we finally got to go home in 1945. Meanwhile, I was relatively Americanized and I found the destruction in all of England depressing. My mother though, found the countryside relaxing and I chose to move back here a few years ago. I visit."

"You visit?" Maria confirmed. "And you're an only child, Will?"

"I have a few siblings," Will replied. "Older than me by four years the youngest of them. The oldest of us had the opportunity to serve, British Royal Navy."

The sparked Georg's interest and by the time the appetizer was finished the two men were getting on well enough. Maria kept up her side of the conversation as she began to feel more settled. Before the main course, Maria pushed her chair back. Both Georg and Will stood up.

"Excuse me, I need to use the ladies' room," Maria said softly. "I'll only be a minute."

Lida stood up as well, "Ladies do this in pairs." Lida was glad to have the opportunity to get a few hints on how things were going from her mother.

While the women were in the restroom, Will took the opportunity to talk to the Captain alone. He felt he had to impress him in order to keep Lida's favor and he felt that meant taking responsibility for not respecting his Old World dating beliefs.

"Captain," Will began as he took a long sip of his drink. "I just want to say that I am terribly sorry for not coming and speaking to you about my interest in Lida before now. I should have done right away once I realized I cared for her, but the truth is, I was anxious about it."

"Why, pray tell," Georg replied. "Would the idea of speaking to me about dating my daughter cause you anxiety? I'm certain there are more challenging things that face us as men than that, especially of course, when you might be taking a wife and taking on a family? There's not much room for this anxiety, so you say," Georg wasn't going to make this easy.

Will nodded, and conceded the Captain's point, "There are, and perhaps if circumstances weren't like they were, and you weren't who you were…There's no excuse. I didn't make the right choice and when I did try to see you, it was unannounced and caused Mrs. von Trapp distress. I'm so deeply sorry for that."

Georg wasn't going to let up on the man. He kept his ice blue stare on Will and let him flounder. "I don't have a reputation around town as being a disagreeable sort, do I?" Georg asked sipping his wine.

"Only when it comes to your daughters, Sir," William admitted. "That's known three towns over, where I work. The foreman of my crew asked about your daughter Brigitta some years back and…"

"Well, that's different," Georg replied. "He was a cad, he had three other girlfriends and wife in New Hampshire. You, I hope, are committing no such sin."

"Oh, no Sir," William replied. "I've only dated a handful of girls and I'm near 30, and it is different with Lida. She's beautiful of course, but smart and witty and charming, there's so much to adore about her. It was another part of your reputation, your history, that discouraged me."

"Do tell," Georg encouraged. "My reputation as a U-boat Captain against Britain the Great War? Was I indirectly or directly responsible for some misfortune coming to a relative?"

"No," William replied. "Not that I know of anyway. No, it's your feelings against the Germans that was the source of my worry. You see, my own father, was German, and while I didn't know him personally, I know he was a member of the Nazi Party and fought for the Nazis. You're feelings about that are known in Austria and Italy all the way to England and…That's what I was worried about."

Georg took a deep breath, "And your father is still living? He's an influence on your life?"

"No!" Will hurried to assure him. "Oh no! I never met him as I said, I only know about him through my mother and that wasn't much, only he was a German and was fighting against England. He was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944."

"Then you have no cause for anxiety," Georg replied. "I won't hold your father's loyalties against you anymore than you would hold mine against my daughter. So, let that be the end of that justification of your misjudgment."

Meanwhile, Lida was pushing Maria for information. "How do you think it's going, Mama? Papa is so hard to read."

Maria had to laugh, Georg was probably the easiest person to read she had ever met. "I'm not sure yet, but Will seems like a nice enough young man. I can see why you like him. What do you know about his family?"

"Just what you do really," Lida replied. "His Mama still lives in England, he's here by himself and his Papa, well he never had a Papa not like I do. His Papa was killed in the war."

"His Father fought for the British?" Maria confirmed as she fixed a stray piece of hair on Lida's forehead.

"No, that's why he was so nervous about talking to Papa, or even going near him," Lida replied. "His father was a Nazi, he fought for the Germans."

Maria sucked in a breath and looked at Lida. "And he felt that on that basis alone your father would judge him. You ought to know better than that, Lida."

"I do," Lida replied. "I just like him so much, Mama. I didn't want to do anything that might make him angry or push him away. I want to see what can happen between us and I can't if Papa says no, but I don't want him to."

Maria pushed back a stray piece of her own hair, "Perhaps, it's not your father you need to convince. He's been known to listen to an opinion or two of mine in the past and I do not take kindly to anyone even thinking your father would dislike a person on family ties alone. I find that quite rude truth be told."

Lida didn't know what to say to that. Usually, it was Georg's strong opinions Lida worried about. She didn't think that Maria would be the one that could stand in the way.

"I'm sure he's sorry for it now, Mama," Lida replied. "Perhaps he and Papa are getting along well, and Will won't be so nervous."

"I hope so, Darling," Maria replied. "We'll see."

Georg dropped the last bit of his wine on Will's admission his father was a Nazi. "I do apologize, Captain," Will said for the third time. "You are a larger than life presence and Lida thinks the world of you. My father's affiliation affected me most of my life when I was a young man. Once my Mom and I returned to England, she had to anglicize my surname to make things easier on us."

"What's your last name again? The same as your father's or did you use your mother's name?" Georg asked. His heart was speeding up and he felt a familiar, nagging ache in his head and neck as he clamped his jaw shut. "No, I have my father's name, we just made it English. My birth name is Wilhelm Josef Braun, but like I said my Mom changed it to William Joseph Brown so it was easier on us. We weren't associated with the Germans then."

Georg felt like he wanted to throw up. "Do you remember your father's first name? Did you mother tell you?"

William replied. "I don't remember for sure, she didn't like to talk about him much, but I think it was Jack or Jake, something like that."

Georg looked at Will. Braun, his last name was Braun, not Brown, Braun. Of course, the name had been changed. If he'd gone through immigration, it would have been changed if his mother hadn't done it already. That happened at Ellis Island and other entry points all the time. It happened to them; Georg had almost become George until he insisted the "E" be dropped on his citizenship application. His title though had become a permanent portion of the families' last name.

What was he going to do?

Maria and Lida returned to the table just then and Maria could tell something was wrong as soon as she looked at Georg. He was white as the tablecloth adorning their table now sporting escargot and shrimp cocktail.

Maria gently touched Georg's arm, "Darling, are you all right?"

Georg bit his lip so hard it bled, but he forced himself to stay composed. "I'm fine, my love, but please excuse me a moment, I need a little fresh air."

Georg couldn't get out of the restaurant fast enough. When he got outside, he moved around to the car and leaned against it, both hands on the hood. With a couple deep breaths, the nausea subsided, but not the pain in his head.

"Be calm," Georg told himself. "Braun is a common name, it's all over Europe, all over Germanic Europe at any rate. He could be a cousin or some other distant relative, he could be nothing. It's fine. Get it together, Captain," Georg ordered himself.

After a few minutes, Georg was calmer. He went into the men's room to splash water on his face then returned to the table. He sat down beside Maria and gave her a little kiss. He would have to put on his brave face for now and smile, he would discuss this with Maria at home, find a way to know if what he feared was true.

Georg looked at Lida. She was beaming with happiness, laughing at Will's jokes, smiling at Will the way Maria often did to Georg. His little girl was in love and he might have to break her heart.

A/N: So, Georg knows that William might be related to Braun, but being Georg he might just choose to find things out for himself. We shall see.

I know you guys are itching for new chapters and I'm writing as fast as I can with school, work, three cats and two kids…well, only one is an actual kid, lol. I'll try to update again in a few days. Dropped this one early because I was off work.