Chapter 8

Maria and the captain walked out to the foyer to meet the children to leave for the mountain. Obviously, everyone let Maria lead the way because she was showing them the scenic route.

About halfway through their journey, Maria saw Georg sweating and struggling to maintain a steady breath, and it took everything in her to not giggle at the sight. She had a wonderful idea when she saw a fruit stand ahead.

"Children" All seven children immediately looked up at Maria. "Why don't you run ahead to that fruit stand and we can pick up some last minute items for our picnic." The children all squealed eagerly and ran ahead except for one: Liesl saw that her governess looked over at her father and both of their cheeks started to flush at her suggestion. Surprisingly, she was far from opposed to the idea of her father remarrying, so long as it was with a good woman who would love him and her brothers and sisters. Sensing what was going on between them, Liesl walked on with her siblings smiling to herself the whole way. She wasn't going to tell anyone what she noticed yet, she also knew that her father and governess better be more discreet if they don't want Brigitta to find out.

Once the children were all out of earshot, Maria turned to Georg and started poking fun at him. "Captain, are you sure you're up for this today?" Maria was using every once of her self control to not laugh at the sight of him. "Fräulein, when you said we were going to take the scenic route, i would have preferred that the scene not be me panting and sweating like an old man in front of my children." Georg didn't even bother to hold in his laugh just imagining how pitiful he looked right about now.

Even though the sight of him was hilarious, Maria started to feel a little guilty, maybe this was too much for him. "I'm sorry, Captain. I shouldn't pick on you, i know this trip can be exhausting."

Now it was Georg's turn to feel guilty. He stepped a little closer and peeked around her to make sure his nosy children were occupied before placing his hand on top of hers. "No Maria, i'm sorry. I'm fine i promise. Just a little out of shape." Maria smiled at his attempt to reassure her. "I have an idea of how to give you some motivation." Maria could feel her cheeks heat up thinking about what she wanted to do. She turned around and looked at the children once more before placing a quick, gentle peck on his lips.

When they parted, they were sure not to touch each other in fear that they would get caught. Georg looked up at Maria, stunned by her boldness and his mouth dropped open. "Maria, i think that's a great source of motivation. Thank you." He couldn't help but smirk a little while he spoke. Maria was as red as the tomatoes that the children were examining. "Fräulein, why don't we go to the children before they get suspicious?" Maria nodded and they walked towards the children. It took everything in Georg to not place his hand on her back, just to be able to feel her at all times. They walked to the fruit stand and started chatting with the children. One thing they didn't know, was that his eldest daughter Liesl, had seen everything that just happened.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they arrived at the mountain and as much as Georg wanted to, he couldn't deny that the scenic route was much better than his. As to be expected, the children loved the mountain. Maria was right, again. Eventually, the children wanted to throw the ball around but they were set up on a spot that was uneven so Maria agreed to let the children go to the even spot of the mountain where she could still see them but they would have to listen to Liesl. Georg took advantage of the alone time, even if he couldn't touch her, he was just as happy to just talk to her and learn her quirks and what makes her special. Maria learned that even though Georg was a sophisticated, intelligent aristocrat, he was also a very passionate, romantic, kind, and loving man. He put his heart and soul into everything he did and Maria loved that about him. It was too early for either of them to say those three special words, but they could both feel them in their hearts.

The two of them pretended as though this was their lunch date just a little late. They made sure to maintain distance so the children wouldn't be suspicious but, Georg Von Trapp has some very intelligent children.

"Liesl, have you noticed father and fräulein Maria?" Liesl whipped her head around to see who caught on, and to no one's surprise, it was Brigitta. This girl really did notice everything. "What do you mean Brigitta?" Liesl made sure to choose her words very carefully as to not tip her sister off. "I just mean they look kind of 'comfy' don't they? i think it's great!"

"Brigitta, don't say anything to the other children. I think we should leave father and Fräulein Maria alone and let them have some space and privacy, ok?"

"Ok! I think that's good. but what if they need a little push?" Liesl had to stop the chuckle that tried to escape her lips. "I think they'll be fine Brigitta"

Once the children tired themselves out from playing, Liesl brought them all back to where her father and governess were. She made sure to run a little bit ahead so they would be aware that everyone was coming back. The children all flopped down on the blanket and Marta clung to her father while Gretl clung to Maria. Georg looked over and saw how wonderful Maria was being with his daughter, it warmed his heart and made the butterflies in his stomach do lots of tricks. Maria asked the children what they wanted to do now and they told her that they wanted to sing. Maria fought not to look over at Georg before she started strumming her guitar and singing that very same song that led him to her at this spot just a few days ago. Once Maria played the last note, Georg walked over to her guitar case and dropped in a few coins that he had jingling in his pocket.

"That was wonderful. Very nice, Fräulein." With his back turned to the children he bowed teasingly and gave her a wink on his way up. "Thank you captain, i thought it was fitting." The rest of the children didn't seem to notice, but Liesl and Brigitta gave each other a quick look and smiled before turning back.

Once everybody finally got their fill of the mountain, they started their journey back. Now that the children knew the way, she stayed in the back with the captain. She enjoyed just being able to talk like this. They kept a very respectful distance but it was obvious that they enjoyed each other's company. Once they arrived back at the villa, the children darted upstairs to wash up for dinner. Maria and Georg stood looking at each other for a moment.

"Fräulein, I'm going to go freshen up for supper. Don't feel obligated to join us tonight, I know it's been a very long day. If you would prefer to just rest, that's perfectly fine."

"I'm fine, Captain. I'm used to running around in the mountains and i look forward to dinner with the children every night."

"Just the children? is that it?" Georg was mock pouting at her, trying to make her blush. "Well, maybe not just the children." Maria looked up at him and smiled through her rosy cheeks. Poor Georg wanted to kiss her so bad, but there were staff milling around and he would hate for them to get caught. "Well, Fräulein, if i may say so, I don't exactly enjoy dinner only for the food." Georg got what he wanted and Maria started to blush fiercely. Just as she was about to go to her room, she remembered she had to ask him something. "Captain, I wonder, do you think i could maybe get some material to make a dress or two? I'm afraid this is the only one I have. When we enter the Abbey, our worldly clothes are given to the poor and even they didn't want this tragic dress." Maria laughed at her own dress which made him smile at her.

"Of course. I'll make sure you get some material soon."

"Thank you captain, I'll go freshen up for dinner now." Maria and Georg parted ways and went to get ready for dinner. Once dinner was finished, Maria tucked in the children and went to her room to straighten herself up before her nightly meeting with Georg. When she opened her door, she saw a huge package wrapped up in brown paper and strings. She opened it to reveal the most gorgeous fabrics she had ever seen before. And under those, was a gorgeous blue, flowy dress that looked rather expensive. At the very bottom was a note.

"Maria, I wanted nothing but the best for you. I made sure that the boutique expedited my request. I also wanted for you to have a beautiful dress that you didn't have to do any work on, that was already made, and you could wear whenever you like. I look forward to seeing what you do with these fabrics.

-Georg.

Maria could feel her heart flutter as she read through his note and she wasn't sure when exactly she started tearing up but there were definitely tears now. She smiled and placed his note on her bedside table. She was never going to let that go. She dried her face and walked confidently downstairs, ready for her meeting with her captain.

Sooo my thanksgiving break didn't exactly go as planned and I ended up not having any time to write. The semester is coming to an end and I'll definitely have more time then. Thank you all so much for the reviews and follows! it means the world to me!