Once more, Georg waited until Maria had scaled the wall and stopped to blow him a kiss before heading to his car. Maria watched him go for a moment, feeling a tingling in her most intimate areas, places that only he had ever touched. A throbbing between her legs reminded her just how much he had touched them the previous night, and a shiver of desire traveled down her spine. She quickly squashed it, reminding herself where she was. Turning, she dropped quietly to the ground and started towards her room, keeping to the shadows where it would be difficult for someone to spot her. As she walked, Maria could not stop a yawn, and she idly wondered if she would be able to take a nap at some point. They had only slept a couple hours the previous night.
Maria was so focused on thoughts of her nap as she crossed the courtyard that she forgot to look around her and was quite surprised to hear a familiar voice call out, "Maria!" Startled, Maria turned toward the voice, her heart sinking when she saw Sister Margaretta standing across the courtyard, staring at her with an expression Maria could not quite decipher.
"Good morning, Sister Margaretta," Maria said, moving closer to the nun so that she could keep her voice lower. She did not wish to attract any more attention. Though she had changed out of her ballgown and tried to freshen up a bit that morning, she could not help but feel that it was fairly obvious she had been out all night. Sister Margaretta seemed to agree, for she frowned as she scanned Maria's appearance.
"Did you just return?" Maria was not used to the censure she heard in the other woman's voice, but she knew she deserved it. She also knew she could not lie.
"I did."
"And where exactly were you all night?"
"At the von Trapp villa."
Sister Margaretta's expression softened a bit. "Oh, Maria, what have you gotten yourself into this time? Come, sit for a moment and let us talk."
"Should I not prepare for morning vespers?" Maria certainly did not want to discuss her intimate relationship with a nun, even one as kind as Sister Margaretta had always been.
"You have a few minutes before vespers." Gently but firmly, Sister Margaretta led Maria to a nearby bench, and they sat together. Maria looked down at her hands, playing with her fingers until Sister Margaretta broke the silence. "Given the nature of the situation and the time constraints, I am going to be frank. Maria, have you been intimate with Captain von Trapp?" Maria sucked in a deep breath before nodding. Sister Margaretta sighed. "I was afraid of that. I had hoped the rumors were false. My dear, I understand this is frightening to you, but there are other ways if you so wish. I appreciate that he is doing the honorable thing now by marrying you but the fact of the matter is that he did behave dishonorably in the past and you do not owe him anything."
Realizing what Sister Margaretta was implying, Maria quickly shook her head and looked up. "It was not like that, not at all. I asked him, and even then, he refused to do anything until we were officially engaged. And I am not with child." When Sister Margaretta looked confused, Maria paused for a moment, her hands dancing in front of her as she searched for the words. "Being with him, it's just so. . . overwhelming. I never expected to feel like this! I cannot stop thinking about him, even in my sleep. I just. . . I don't know, it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time."
"Maria, while the love of a man and a woman is holy, you know there are certain things that God reserves for the marriage bed."
"I know! But I don't know how something that feels so wonderful can be considered a sin!"
Sister Margaretta colored, and Maria quickly clasped a hand over her mouth. Once more, it seemed she simply could not stop herself from saying the first thing that came to her mind. "I am afraid I am not. . . qualified to answer that question."
"Oh, I am sorry, Sister Margaretta. I did not mean to let my mouth run away with me again."
"My dear, why are you marrying this man?"
"I love him," Maria responded without hesitation. "With my whole heart."
"And he returns the sentiment?"
"He does."
Sister Margaretta nodded. "Unless directly asked, I see no reason to mention this encounter to anyone else. That being said, however, I cannot condone this intimacy continuing until you are wed."
"Of course." Maria hung her head again.
"Go ahead and prepare for vespers. I will see you there." Maria started to stand, but Sister Margaretta called out a final time. "And Maria? I am glad that you have found the life you were meant to lead. Just try to take things in God's time."
Maria told Georg about her conversation with Sister Margaretta that afternoon. "I am sorry," he apologized when she had finished. "I should not have let myself get so carried away."
"We were both there, Georg. We both let ourselves get carried away."
"Still, perhaps the good sister is right. Perhaps we should refrain until our wedding." Maria frowned, disliking the idea. "It will be quite difficult for me as well," Georg admitted. "But we have been very lucky so far not to be caught. The rumors would be ten times worse than they are now if anyone found evidence that they were true."
Maria knew he was right, but it did not make it any easier. She sighed. "How am I supposed to stay away from you for the next seven weeks?" He threw back his head and laughed at that.
"I wish I could tell you, my love, but I am going to have the same problem."
It did not take his intelligent mind long, however, to find a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, his solution consisted of touching her as minimally as possible—effective but not very pleasant for either of them. Gone were the long stolen kisses in his study or the nighttime conversations on the terrace which often turned into something more. At first, Maria worried she had done something wrong, displeased him somehow, but he dispelled her of that that notion four days after her embarrassing conversation with Sister Margaretta. He was still giving her self-defense lessons and after a particularly effective move from Maria, they had ended up on the floor together, her body hovering over his, both of them breathing heavily. She had watched something change in his eyes, but before she could puzzle over it too long, he raised the top half of his torso and pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss was intense and passionate, and Maria suspected that it was going to lead to something else quite quickly despite their recent conversation. In the end, however, he had managed to pull himself away from her, closing his eyes as he lay his head back on the floor, now breathing even harder than before. "Most definitely dangerous," he said breathlessly. "Forty-four days." To Maria, that sounded like a lifetime.
After that, Georg refused to be alone with her for any length of time. They moved their practice sessions later in the afternoon so the older children could participate, and while he did take her out a few more times, he had Franz drive them and chose places where there would be a crowd. While Maria understood logically why he was doing it, it had the unfortunate side effect of making her more nervous about everything that was happening to her. Without a way to talk privately with him, she had no way to figure out what to do about those nerves, and they simply grew, interfering with her sleep and mood.
Even worse, others had started to notice the rather stiff formality that they had adopted with one another. At Georg's suggestion, she had agreed to host a small luncheon for a couple of the ladies in the upper class. She had wanted to invite the older ladies she had met at the ball who had been kind to her, but Georg had informed her that there were some unwritten rules about such an event which narrowed the pool of invitees considerably. He had provided a list of names—none of which Maria recognized—and she had eventually told him to just choose for her. He had, and the luncheon had started smoothly enough, so Maria thought things would go well. Maria should have known better, however; about halfway through the meal, Georg had pulled her out of the room to inform her he was going into town, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek that had become the new normal for them. One of the ladies had whispered something that Maria did not quite understand, but she knew it was not kind when she felt Georg stiffen and turn back to reprimand the woman who seemed unfazed by his censure, adding other comments that made her meaning fairly clear even if Maria was unsure exactly what she was saying. Georg had refused to explain what the remarks went, so she had cornered Max to do so instead, half-wishing she had not when she realized just how lewd they were. "You have to admit," Max had told her, obviously trying to cheer her up, "that there is a certain irony here. First, people condemn you for your lascivious behavior and now they have apparently decided that you could not possibly even consider such a thing."
Max's words did not cheer her up. One of the women—fortunately, not the one who had made the suggestive comments—invited Maria over for a luncheon, and though Georg had told her she did not have to attend, Maria had learned enough about the unwritten rules of high society to realize it would be considered a grave insult if she declined. Therefore, she had agreed to come, but as the date grew nearer, her nerves started interfering with her sleep even more until she was lucky if she slept three to four hours a night. At the rate she was going, Maria worried she might fall asleep at the alter.
The morning of the second luncheon, Maria overslept—unsurprising given that she had heard the belltower chime three o'clock before falling asleep the previous night. One of the postulants that Maria did not know came in to wake her when she did not respond to a knock, and as Maria sat up in bed, she saw the girl's eyes slide to the starched white shirt which Maria had used in lieu of a blanket. Maria sighed inwardly. She had kept Georg's shirt after their trip to England, and she had taken to curling up with it at night once she discovered it helped her sleep better. It was not, of course, as good as having his arms around her, but she would take whatever she could get.
The girl said nothing to Maria about the shirt, but Maria found herself on edge the rest of the morning. As she was walking out to meet Georg after Morning Vespers, she caught her name and glanced over to see the postulant who had woken her that morning. "Yes, I am sure it is a man's shirt I saw," the girl remarked. Her companion raised her eyebrows.
"I wonder where she got such a thing from."
"Oh, I am sure we all know that."
"What I don't understand is why the Reverend Mother even let her back in the Abbey. She is obviously not suited to become a nun."
"Problems?" a familiar voice asked, and Maria turned to see Georg leaning against his car, frowning at her. She took a deep breath, shaking her head.
"Nothing major," she told him, forcing a smile. He seemed skeptical but did not press. They filled the drive back to the villa with talk of the wedding, and despite all the work she still had to do for it, Maria did find herself relaxing. In just a few short weeks, she would be marrying him. Until that time, she could deal with the silly rumors that people were spreading. After all, the postulants she heard today were not even entirely wrong—Maria was not suited for the religious life.
Maria spent a relatively pleasant morning with Marta and Gretl and had even managed to mostly forget about her luncheon plans when Frau Schmidt knocked on the door. "The Captain asked me to tell you that he has been held up on business, so Franz is going to drive you today. He also asked that I stay with the children until you arrive home."
"Thank you," Maria told her, swallowing her nerves as she stood. She kissed both girls and smoothed her skirts out before leaving the room and walking to the room where she had stayed as governess. Most of her clothing was still there, including many new outfits that Georg had insisted she buy, pointing out that she could not very well wear play clothes to many of the events she needed to attend. Though she had conceded the point, she wondered if she would ever feel comfortable in the delicate, lace-trimmed gowns. Even the everyday clothes she had bought were far finer than anything she had worn before, and Maria found herself wondering how she could climb mountains in them. On the current day, Maria pulled out a light blue gown that she had never worn before, scrutinizing it for a moment before deciding that it would be a good choice for the luncheon. At the very least, she could not be accused of wearing the same thing twice in a row.
She quickly changed and even managed to fasten it in the back by herself before looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was the longest it had been since she was ten and had cut it all off to save time in the morning. She had taken to fastening it at the nape of her neck to keep it out of the way when with the children, but even in her limited experience, she knew that she would not be able to do so for a high society luncheon. So far, Liesl had helped her with her hair for such events, but Liesl was at school. With a sigh, Maria closed her eyes and tried to remember what Liesl had done with her hair the last time she had gone out with Georg. Once she had the image in her mind, she looked in the mirror again, trying her best to copy it.
Ten minutes later, she felt her hair was acceptable and exited the room. She found Franz standing in the foyer, a frown on his face. "Thank you for driving me," she told him politely. He did not respond verbally, instead simply turning to the door and walking briskly out of it. Maria was too tired to do anything but follow him, and she spent the car ride wondering if she should ask Georg to teach her to drive so she did not have to rely on anyone else to take her places. Eventually, she dismissed that idea, for she was sure there was some unwritten rule in high society that women should never be behind the wheel.
The hostess greeted Maria with more warmth than she had expected and even complimented her dress, relaxing Maria slightly. In addition, though certainly fancier than any of her meals at the Abbey, the luncheon was not as lavish as the dinners at the balls she had attended, and the amount of silverware was small enough that Maria even knew what to use for what course. There were five other women in attendance, two of whom Maria had met before—and she even remembered the name of one. By listening closely, Maria was able to catch the name of the second, saving herself from embarrassment. All in all, as they were finishing the main course, Maria was feeling good about the luncheon.
As the maid was clearing the plates, one of the women, Lina, who Maria had already discovered was quite the gossip, remarked, "Oh, you will never guess the latest news about Count Egbart."
"What?" one of the other women asked, and Maria noted they all leaned slightly closer, obviously eager to hear about the count's transgressions. In truth, she was slightly curious as well, but she forced herself to remain uninterested, reminding herself that no good ever came of gossip.
"Well, it seems his wife caught him. . . in flagranti with one of the maids."
The women gave gasps of shock. "She actually caught him this time?" one of them questioned. "I know she has had her suspicions, but I did not think she ever confirmed them."
"Oh, if what I heard is true, they are certainly confirmed now. Apparently, she found them in the kitchen."
"The kitchen? How would that even work logistically?"
One of the older—and more outspoken—women, a Baroness named Ada, arched her eyebrows. "Would you like me to draw you a diagram, dear?" The other woman colored, muttering something as she turned her attention to the dessert which had just been placed in front of her. Maria also applied herself whole-heartedly to the dessert, wanting nothing to do with the conversation. She was not exactly sure what the women were talking about, but even she was not so innocent that she did not have some idea.
"How many is that now?"
"There have been at least five that are likely, and I am sure there are more that he somehow managed to keep quiet."
"I personally do not understand the appeal. He's over sixty, and his was never a face to turn heads."
"Oh, I am sure there are other. . . assets they are considering."
"Such as the size of his bank account or his title."
"I imagine he has quite the stamina, too."
"And what exactly makes you say that?"
"Five maids."
"Oh, they were not all at the same time, Heidi!" Ada exclaimed. The woman all laughed except for Heidi who sputtered for a moment before her eyes narrowed at Ada.
"And what of Baron Stuttgart?" she questioned. The other women stopped laughing, staring between Ada and Heidi, nearly breathless with anticipation. Ada sipped her drink, appearing unaffected by Heidi's comment. The dining room was quiet for a moment before Ada spoke.
"Let us just say that he has quite the combination of assets, a combination I am sure you have never experienced." That set off another round of laughter. Heidi glanced around, obviously searching for an escape, and her eyes landed on Maria who was still eating her dessert as she contemplated the floral print on the napkins.
"I think we are making poor Maria uncomfortable, ladies," she remarked. Maria felt all eyes turn to her, and she forced back a blush as she looked up.
"It is fine," she told them. "I am just not one for gossip."
"And no wonder given the multitude of it going around about you. Though looking at your face right now, I cannot imagine that much of it is true."
"From what I have heard, Maria has nothing to worry about. Captain von Trapp's assets are rather legendary, and I am not just talking about his bank account and title." Heidi looked triumphant as everyone laughed, taking the attention off of her. Lina leaned over, patting Maria's hand in what may have been intended to be a matronly fashion but which Maria could not help but feel was rather condescending.
"Do hold off teasing the poor girl, ladies," she remarked. "Or else she will never make it through the wedding night." Then, lowering her voice, she said, "Do not worry about a thing, dear. Heidi is right about one thing—Captain von Trapp may have a reputation as a rake, but he also has one as a gentleman. Just lay back and relax, and you will be fine." The other women nodded as if imparting some great wisdom. Part of Maria—the part tired of the way everyone treated her as if she were hopelessly naive—wished to tell them that she was not at all worried about the wedding night and had plenty of first-hand knowledge of exactly what Georg's "assets" were, but she held her tongue. She knew that no good would come of such a statement. Instead, she looked back at her dessert, letting the other women turn the conversation away from her and Georg as they began to gossip about someone else.
They stopped at the school to pick up the children before returning to the villa. As much as Maria loved them and generally enjoyed spending time with them, on the current day, she was regretting her decision not to let Georg hire a nanny as they drove home. Friedrich and Louisa were bickering about something—Maria heard the names of their horses, so she suspected it had to do with riding though she did not know the full details. She did, however, know that their strident arguing was making the headache that had begun at the luncheon much worse. When they reached the villa, she told all of the children to go outside before working on their schoolwork, hoping that they would run off some energy. Gretl and Marta were awake from their nap, and Frau Schmidt had brought them out to play as well. As the older children ran by, Kurt ran too close to Marta who stumbled slightly. Maria quickly caught the young girl, steadying her before calling after her older brother. "Please slow down and watch where you're going, Kurt!" He gave a wave of acknowledgement.
The children started a game of tag, for once not asking Maria to join for which she was grateful. Frau Schmidt disappeared inside to finish her afternoon tasks, leaving Maria in charge of all seven. Dropping onto the blanket where Marta and Gretl had been playing, Maria found the youngest von Trapp had obviously not had a long enough nap, for she was quite grumpy and unwilling to let any of the toys around her distract her. Maria was looking for something else to do with the young toddler when she heard a blood-curdling scream. Springing to her feet, she glanced to where the older children were to see that Marta had somehow slipped away to join them and was now lying on the ground, blood pouring from somewhere on her forehead. Maria rushed over to the young girl. "Kurt pushed her down!" Louisa accused, pointing at her younger brother.
"Why are you always such a tattletale?" Friedrich taunted. Louisa launched herself at her older brother, tackling him to the ground.
"I didn't mean to!" Kurt exclaimed. "I was just running after Friedrich when she was suddenly right in front of me!"
"Kurt, this is why I told you to watch where you were going," Maria reminded him.
"But she wasn't supposed to be playing!"
"She can play if she wants to!" Brigitta defended.
"No she can't. She's too little. And she's a girl!"
"Girls can play, too!"
Closing her eyes to try and block out the bickering, Maria called to the eldest von Trapp child. "Liesl, can you watch your siblings for a minute while I take Marta in to clean her up?"
"It's not my job," Liesl remarked, pointedly turning her back on Maria. Something inside Maria snapped. All of the stress that she had been feeling suddenly bubbled to the surface, and she could hold back her reaction no longer.
"Everybody, just stop!" Maria shouted. Immediately, all seven children stopped what they were doing and stared at her. It was the first time she had shouted at the children since coming to the villa, and in truth, she was surprised at herself. However, she could not seem to stop herself now that she had started. "Friedrich, Louisa, stop fighting this instant! Both of you need to come over here and play with Gretl—yes, together, and I don't care what you think about it!" Meekly, the two children walked to the blanket and dropped down beside their youngest sister. "Liesl, I have no idea what is going on and right now, I do not have the time for it. You will stay out here and keep an eye on the others while I go inside. Clear?" The oldest girl nodded. "Kurt, I asked you already to be careful and you didn't listen, so you are going to sit over there by the tree for a bit until you can control yourself better. Brigitta. . . just don't go anywhere." With that, Maria swept Marta into her arms and practically ran into the villa. As she crossed the foyer with her head down, she collided with something warm and solid.
"Maria?" Georg's familiar voice asked, laced with concern. "I heard shouting and came to see what was going on. What happened?" She felt his fingers under her chin, tipping her head up. "Why are you crying?" Quickly, she shifted Marta's weight to one side and swiped at the moisture.
"I shouted at the children, Georg," she said, biting the inside of her lip to keep from sobbing. "I know I should not have, but I just could not stop myself!"
"I am sure that you were well-provoked," he remarked, and she sensed he was biting back a smile.
"What if they never forgive me, Georg?"
"Those children love you, Maria. Trust me, they have likely already forgiven you."
"Oh, I should go and apologize. I should never-"
"Maria, how much sleep have you had recently?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her from returning outside.
"I don't know; I have not been counting hours."
"You are dead on your feet, my love. What you need is a break. Here." Reaching out, he took Marta from her arms. The small girl immediately curled into her father's shoulder, one of her favorite places to be. "It looks like Marta may need a bit of bandaging, so I will do that and then I will watch the children for the afternoon while you take a nap."
"I don't know that I will be able to sleep."
"Then you can go up to your old room and lay down on the bed and close your eyes and rest. I will not take no for an answer, Maria." He stared at her for a moment until she finally nodded, caressing the back of Marta's head before moving toward the stairs. Perhaps Georg was right and she just needed a rest.
A/N: One more big twist and then the wedding, so probably 2-3 more chapters. I'm still hoping to finish by the end of this month but it may be early next month instead!