January passed more quickly than Maria expected. With the oldest children in school, she spent a lot more time with the youngest two girls, and she enjoyed watching them grow and learn. It seemed that every day, they were working on mastering a new skill. When she had mentioned this observation to the Captain, he had simply laughed and remarked that that was the way of young children. Still, having never been around any young child for an extended period of time, their development fascinated Maria and kept her well occupied.

Winter had Austria fully in its grip, and the cold wind and snow drove Maria and the children indoors on a number of afternoons. Maria filled the time indoors as best as she could, making full use of the extensive villa for creating elaborate games, a couple of which had Georg frowning at the children's exuberance though he did not scold them, proving that he had indeed changed greatly. Upon noticing his expression the first time, Maria began asking about his work schedule during their nightly talks so she could keep the children occupied by quieter means when he had a phone call to make or mentioned a difficult project. He seemed to appreciate her effort, and he even emerged from his study during one of the games to join them.

Of course, the main form of entertainment in which he participated continued to be music. As he had promised at Christmas, he had begun teaching Maria piano, and she found she very much enjoyed the lessons. Her experience singing and playing guitar helped quite a lot, and she was soon able to play simple tunes under his tutelage. On one memorable afternoon, they were playing a variety of other songs when he turned and asked if she remembered "Pop Goes the Weasel" which he had taught her the previous day. When she responded in the affirmative, he had her play it. After one verse, he instructed Friedrich to join him, for the elder boy had recently restarted piano lessons as well with his father as instructor. "Give us some oompa's, Friedrich," Georg instructed. The command made no sense to Maria, but Friedrich seemed to understand and began playing a bouncing rhythm on the lower keys. "Liesl," Georg called, and his eldest daughter joined him immediately, smiling broadly. She seemed to know what was coming, for a single command of "In Dulci Jubilo" had her playing the familiar tune in the higher register. "And now we turn the weasel upside down," Georg remarked, adding his own hands to the keyboard. They were crowded quite closely around the keys so all could reach, and it took a good deal of effort for Maria to keep her focus on her playing and not the warmth of the Captain's shoulder pressed against hers. However, she was grateful for her efforts when she heard the giggles of the other children at the combined music they made.

Eventually, they brought the impromptu quartet to an end, stopping the parts in the opposite order to which they started them. Georg smiled. "It sounds even better on an organ, but this seemed to work as well."

"Can you do something else like that, Father?" Kurt asked eagerly. Georg glanced at the eager faces of his children.

"I think we can manage something."

They spent much of the rest of the day playing various duets, trios, and quartets under Georg's tutelage. Even Louisa decided to join in after a few songs. At Maria's surprised expression, she remarked, with a touch of disdain, "Just because I don't play piano does not mean I can't." All in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon, and it meant that two days later, when Georg announced he was leaving for a business trip and did not know when he would be able to return, the children grumbled but did not object as much as they normally did. Maria suspected Georg had likely arranged the piano playing partly because of his trip. He excelled at studying human nature, and once he applied that skill to his children, he was quite adept at figuring out what they needed. Watching him as he made the announcement, however, Maria realized there was a second purpose to the playing as well–Georg would also miss his children, and he had arranged a pleasant afternoon to help bolster his own spirits.

Once more, Maria could not help but wonder where he was going on all his business trips. She remembered the rumors Friedrich and Louisa had cited months before, but the more she learned about their father, the more she realized those simply could not be true. Still, despite what she had learned about him, she still felt that she did not really know him. He was a master at keeping his true emotions hidden, and though she had learned a good deal of superficial information about him during their talks, the only truly personal details she had learned involved his relationship with his children.

Despite not knowing many personal details, however, she had become much more adept at reading his moods. Therefore, she could tell almost immediately upon entering his study the night before his planned departure that he was frustrated. As he handed her her drink with a scowl, she asked, "Is there anything I could help with?" He startled for a moment, but she was soon gratified to see his face relax into a small smile.

"I suppose I am making my feelings rather obvious. But unfortunately, unless you have a car hidden somewhere, I am afraid that you cannot help in this particular situation."

"What happened?"

Georg sighed. "I am not quite sure except that my car would not start earlier today. Franz has been working on it all day, but he was unable to discover the problem. We will have to find an auto mechanic to take a look, but it means that I certainly will not be driving it tomorrow."

"Could Franz drive you to the station and then you could take a train?"

"I considered that option, but there is not a train at the time I would need one tomorrow, and I do not want to ask Franz to drive too far after he spent all day working today. I also need him here to drive the children to school."

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

Georg gave her a half smile. "I believe this falls far outside your job description, Fraulein. Do not worry. I have already informed my contacts at my destination of the problem, and they assured me they are taking care of it. I was hoping to discuss other topics with you tonight. As I mentioned before, I am not sure when I will return, especially now that transportation is out of my hands. I want to make sure you have everything you need for the children in that time. I am not sure how reliable communication will be where I am going."

They spent the rest of the night discussing the children, and the Captain actually retired to bed at the same time as Maria for once, citing his early departure the following day. Sleep came quickly once she lay down, and she felt like her head had barely hit the pillow when she awakened suddenly. It was still dark outside, and Maria wondered for a moment what had awoken her, for her alarm had not sounded. However, the sound of heavy footsteps below her quickly gave her the answer. She was briefly alarmed before remembering Georg's comment about his early departure. Most likely, she was hearing him. She started to turn over to go back to sleep, but something stopped her. She was not sure why, but she felt that she should go downstairs. Quietly, she slipped out of bed and put on her dressing gown before padding softly to the stairs, conscious of the sleeping children in the rooms behind her. She saw Georg's familiar form pacing by the door which confirmed her suspicion about the origin of the sounds, but she still did not return to her room. Something else was bothering her. And so she waited.

After a couple minutes, she heard the sound of a car outside. Georg glanced out the window before lifting his suitcase and stepping to the door. Maria briefly saw his profile, long enough to catch the scowl on his face before he managed to school his features into a more neutral expression. She wondered what had caused the scowl. He seemed to have worked out his transportation problem, so she knew it was not the same frustration as the previous night. Perhaps he was dreading leaving his children as much as they were dreading his leaving. But no, that did not seem right. Though she knew he would miss them, his expression was not one of regret or disappointment. Something in his eyes spoke of a deeper emotion that Maria could not quite place.

As the door closed behind him, she stepped forward so that she could peer out the window into the front drive. A man was standing next to the door of a black car, his hand to his cap in a salute. Georg said something to him, and he relaxed his stance slightly, turning to open the door for the Captain. As he did so, Maria could not stop a small gasp of surprise. The man was wearing an armband with a swastika, the symbol of the Nazi party in Germany. Did that mean Georg's contacts were Nazi's? Maria supposed that would be consistent with the message she had read about Berlin, but he had given no sign of Nazi association before. In fact, Maria had forgotten about his trip to Berlin until that moment. From everything she knew about him, she simply could not believe he would accept much of the Nazi ideology. He was too independent to accept such a regime.

However, try as she might, Maria could not come up with another explanation for what she had seen. Georg was clearly going somewhere willingly with the Nazi's, so he must have some sort of business deal with them. The thought bothered her for reasons she could not quite fathom at first. She was not worried about what his association might mean for her position or safety–if anything, her employer's association with a regime rapidly gaining power throughout Europe would likely provide protection for her. Rather, she was worried about what it meant about his character. She had grown rather fond of him, and she did not like the idea of his association with a regime with principles that seemed counter to everything the Bible taught.

The car pulled away, and Maria retreated to her room, still lost in thought. Perhaps there was some good explanation for everything. However, the only way she could think to get such an explanation was to ask Georg directly, and that was one task she did not want to do.

Maria managed to keep the children distracted the first eight days their father was gone, but an ice storm on the ninth day eliminated their outdoor time which made everyone more irritable. After refereeing two separate fights, Maria finally sent them all to their rooms to separate the likely combatants. She then spent the remainder of the afternoon traveling between the rooms to check that they were all behaving themselves. By dinnertime, she was thoroughly exhausted, but even bedtime did not bring rest as Gretl did not sleep well that night (Maria suspected she was cutting teeth). Maria was pacing the foyer with the restless baby when she saw lights outside. She stepped away further back into the shadows, knowing that the lights likely indicated the Captain's return home but wary nevertheless. Gretl shifted slightly against her shoulder, and Maria forced herself to relax, knowing that tension she felt could affect the baby as well. She rocked slowly back and forth as she listened to a door opening outside and saw a shadow approaching the door. It was the right size for Georg, but she did not fully breathe easier until he unlocked and opened the door and she saw his silhouette in the light.

He seemed quite tired, and he did not have his normal impeccable posture as he closed the door behind him and set his suitcase beside it. He paused for a moment before squinting to where Maria stood. She stepped forward, and he relaxed slightly, giving her his familiar half-smile. "I thought you would be sleeping, Fraulein."

Maria nodded to the baby in her arms. "She's been having a rough time of it."

Georg nodded, squinting slightly as he considered something. "Teething, most likely," he finally remarked. "It's about the right time for it." At Maria's surprised look, he laughed. "I do have seven children, Fraulein. And I pay more attention to these sorts of things than most people seem to think."

"I never said-"

His eyebrows rose, and she blushed, breaking off. "It appears she is asleep now, Fraulein, so perhaps we should both follow her example as well."

As he said the words, a wave of tiredness washed over Maria, reminding her of the busy day she had. She glanced to the side and noted that he was correct about Gretl. He picked up his suitcase and gestured for her to proceed him up the stairs. As she did so, she glanced out the window, noting that whoever had dropped him off had already left. Without really thinking, she said, "I suppose you figured out your transportation problem then?"

There was enough light for Maria to see his reflection in the window, and she watched it change rapidly before finally settling on a neutral one. "I did," he said simply. Maria could tell from his tone that he did not want to be questioned further, and she decided not to press him. He was clearly hiding something, but the more Maria considered what it might be, the more she realized that perhaps she did not want to know after all.

The weeks flew by, and spring soon came to Austria, a welcome relief for the children who preferred to be outdoors but were often driven inside by biting winds and ice storms. On one particularly nice day, the Captain actually suggested an outing into Salzburg, claiming that he had a couple tasks to perform and it looked as if certain children could use some new clothes as well. Indeed, many of the children had outgrown most of their warmer weather clothing over the winter, so the family chose a day when the children had a break from school for their outing and set out that morning in high spirits. Spirits soared even further when Georg suggested having lunch out at a restaurant, a rare treat for the children who agreed immediately. He promised to meet Maria at a restaurant just down the road before dropping her and the children at a clothing store. With Gretl strapped to her body and Marta's hand firmly in her own, Maria led the gang inside.

The children began clambering to look at clothes for themselves, and after some debate, Maria agreed to let the oldest three go off on their own while she took the youngest four to the section with clothes that would fit them. After a couple admonishments to stick together, Maria sent them on their way and turned to complete her own errand. She had just begun looking through a rack of clothing for Kurt, who had recently hit a growth spurt and had needed to borrow his brother's clothes on more than one occasion, when she heard whispered voices nearby. Peering out from between the hanging pants, Maria saw two well-dressed women standing near each other, talking. "Of course it is them, dear. What other family of your acquaintance would have such a brood?"

"Seven children! I cannot even imagine!" the second woman remarked, confirming Maria's initial suspicion that they were talking about her and the children. She knew she should stop listening, for eavesdropping was considered quite sinful, but then, gossiping was as well. Maria decided not to consider whether or not God would truly agree that one canceled out the other, for even as a postulant, she had always disliked such complex theological questions. Instead, she quieted the inner voice telling her to move away and listened closer.

"And to think they lost their mother so young, too, the poor dears."

"I cannot imagine they will stay motherless for long, not with such a handsome war hero for a father. Goodness knows I would marry him if I could."

"Oh, I am afraid based on what I heard that neither you nor anyone else has much of a chance."

"What have you heard?"

"You saw the young woman who brought them into the store, did you not?"

"Yes, of course. Their governess, I believe. A sensible move on the Captain's part if you ask me, for at least taking a governess will ensure the children have some sort of female influence."

"Oh, that is not all the governess is doing. Based on what I've heard, Captain von Trapp was less concerned about her influence on the children and more concerned with making sure someone kept his bed warmed at night."

"I thought she was a nun or something similar."

"That probably made her all the more attractive to him."

"Perhaps. Still, I cannot see him pursuing anything serious with a governess of all people. He's probably just using her temporarily and will grow tired of her soon enough."

"And then we will see a new governess shepherding the von Trapp children."

"What are you doing, Fraulein?" a small voice asked, interrupting Maria's concentration. Looking down, she noticed Brigitta and Marta staring at her, eyes wide. She had a brief moment of panic until a quick scan revealed Kurt just a couple meters away, browsing through a selection of shirts. He had a small pile which he had pulled from the rack sitting beside him. Internally, Maria chided herself for losing focus on the children while she listened to the women. She should have known better than to eavesdrop.

"I am just looking for pants for your brother," Maria said, trying to sound as if the overheard conversation had not affected her at all.

"You haven't moved any of the pants for a couple minutes," Brigitta observed. Maria felt her face redden.

"I was just. . . scanning to see if I liked any. These popped out at me. What do you think?" Maria pulled a pair of pants at random from the rack, and Kurt fortunately chose that moment to join them, the chosen shirts in his arms. Maria noted they were all much too small for him, but she decided to let him try them on and determine that for himself rather than telling him outright, for he was going through an independent streak.

"Too brown," Kurt complained. Maria was so grateful for the help in changing the subject that she did not even correct his grumbling, instead choosing another, less brown pair of pants.

As Maria made some additional selections, helped enthusiastically by the children, her mind continued to wander to the conversation she overheard. She remembered what the postulants had said in the Abbey a couple months ago and suddenly understood all that they were implying. It seemed the rumors of her and the Captain's inappropriate relationship were quite widespread. Maria wondered how they had even started. After all, Georg had been nothing but polite and courteous to her, and both had been careful not to behave as anything other than employer and employee. Of course, there were moments where it almost seemed as if there might be something more, but those moments always passed quickly and had no witnesses other than the children.

Thinking of the children made Maria wonder if they had heard the rumors as well. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized that it was unlikely they had completely missed them. She remembered Friedrich and Louisa's remarks about their father's activities when she first began working with the family, and given that the current rumors had reached the postulants at the Abbey, who were not typically the first to know of society gossip, she could not imagine they had not heard something somewhere. They were smart children, so they had likely understood what others were saying even faster than Maria herself. Briefly, Maria wondered why they had not said anything to her, but she quickly answered her own question. They likely did not want her to worry. Maria was trying not to do that, but it was quite difficult. She wondered if the rumors would blow over quickly. She was not familiar enough with the inner workings of high society to know if it would or not. The best person to ask would be Georg, but Maria was not sure if she could work up the courage to talk with him about such things, no matter how close they were growing.

The growing closeness was something which made the rumors even more concerning to Maria. The fact of the matter was that though they had not done as much as people were assuming, they were toeing and perhaps even crossing the line of employer/employee relationship. And Maria's time at the Abbey had taught her that wishing for something was considered just as sinful as the act itself. Did she wish for a closer relationship with the Captain, perhaps even one such as what the women were hinting at? Maria's face reddened, and she could not fully answer the question, even in her own mind, but she also did not reject the idea outright which told her a great deal about her feelings for her employer. Life had suddenly grown more complicated.

Maria tried to push thoughts of the conversation to the back of her mind as she worked with the children to find new clothing, but Liesl and Brigitta both remarked that she was quieter than usual. Maria gave the excuse of tiredness which they seemed to accept, but the same unfortunately did not work for their eagle-eyed father. He noticed her reticence almost as soon as she and the children joined him for lunch, but he was wise enough not to question her in front of the children. Instead, he simply whispered, "We'll talk tonight." Maria was not sure, but she thought she caught a hint of promise in his tone. It made her shiver, a shiver that was more anticipation than apprehension.

He was waiting for her when she entered the study that night, her glass of soda already on the table in front of the sofa. As soon as both were seated, he turned to her with raised eyebrows. Maria opened her mouth, but she could not think about how to begin the conversation, so the silence stretched out between them. "I tend to dislike guessing games," he remarked, his tone deceptively mild.

"I don't intend to make you play one," Maria assured him quickly. "I'm just. . . honestly not sure how to begin."

"Why don't you start by telling me what made you so quiet at lunch today? You are usually just as boisterous as the children, so it must have been something serious."

"I don't know if it's serious or not. It's not something I have a lot of experience with."

"It is obviously concerning you."

Maria closed her eyes, hoping that she would be able to force the words out of her mouth if she could not see him. It did seem to bolster her courage, and she managed to start her explanation. "In the clothing store today, there were a couple women talking. I did not mean to overhear, but they were not being as quiet as they probably intended, so it was not too difficult. They were discussing you and. . . me and our alleged relationship." As she finished speaking, Maria opened her eyes to look at him and gauge his reaction. He did not seem too surprised, but she supposed he had probably already heard the rumors. He also did not seem overly upset which made her feel considerably better. Perhaps the rumors would blow over soon enough.

"I see. It is unfortunately a hallmark of high society that everyone feels the need to discuss everyone else's business and speculate on it, true or not. A loathsome practice but one which I cannot change, so I content myself with refusing to participate. I had hoped that you would be able to avoid such talk, but I suppose I was naive to assume it would never reach your ears."

"I actually heard a couple of the postulants discussing the same thing when I went back to the Abbey a couple months ago as well. I just did not know exactly what they were talking about until today."

He looked a bit more thoughtful at that revelation. "I had not realized the rumors had spread quite so far." He was quiet for a moment, and Maria recognized from his look of concentration that he was thinking hard. After nearly a minute, he spoke again, almost as if talking to himself. "Unfortunately, trying to put a stop to the rumors will merely add fuel to the fire, for everyone will assume they are true. I do admit that these have lasted longer than usual, but eventually, everyone will find something else to talk about. Until that time, there is not much else to do except continue to act as if everything is normal. Because everything is normal." He said the last statement firmly, almost as if trying to convince himself. Maria watched him for a moment, but instead of saying more on the subject, he began discussing his goals for the children as they finished the school year. Maria did not object to the change in subject, but she could not help but wonder if he was correct in his assumption that the rumors would die down soon enough. He had not spoken with his usual certainty when he had said it would.