Maria had attempted to put the children to bed quickly, but with the announcement of a party it seemed to her that it was going to be a more difficult task. Thankfully, the older children were more self sufficient in this aspect while she tried to settle a very excited Marta and Gretl. She had followed them as they raced into their room, both girls getting on top of their beds and began jumping, squealing in delight.

She leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms across her chest and gave them a stern look and both slowed their jumping but remained standing on their beds. "Girls. You know not to jump on your beds."

"Yes, we know. But a party is so exciting!" Gretl nodded enthusiastically at her sister's words and Maria shot them both another stern look. "I'm sorry Fräulein Maria." Marta said softly.

"I'm sorry, too."

"Come on, let's change into your pajamas and I'll read you a story, your choice tonight Marta!" She held her hand out for each girl, both of them grabbing each hand and carefully climbed off their beds. She helped them each change into their nightgowns and Marta grabbed The Princess and the Pea, her current favorite, and thrust it into Maria's hands as she climbed into bed.

"Are you coming to the party too?" Marta asked as Maria pulled her blanket up over her.

"Yes sweetheart. I will have to look out for your brothers and sisters won't I?"

"I suppose. Is it like the parties in the stories we read where princesses and princes come?"

"Well, Marta, I'm sure it's similar, though I have never been to a party myself!"

"Do we get to dress like princesses?" Gretl asked sweetly.

Maria smiled at her, pulling the blanket around her. "Of course you will!"

"Are you going to dress like a princess?"

"Will papa dress like a prince?"

"Will there be dancing?"

"Will you dance, Fräulein Maria?"

Maria cleared her throat and looked between Gretl and Marta, both of whom ceased their rapid fire questions. "I will answer more questions later. For now, let's settle down." She sat in the chair she had pulled between the girls' bed and opened the book and began to read. She watched the girls briefly as their eyes began to blink heavily. After a few pages, she looked to both of the girls who had seemed to have fallen asleep. Content, she closed the book, and stood then reached to turn the bedside lamp off. She pulled Marta's covers higher around the girl and kissed her temple then turned to do the same to Gretl.

"You'd be such a pretty princess." She heard Gretl mumble through her sleep, causing Maria to smile slightly as she bent down and kissed the little girls forehead.

After leaving their room, she went over to the boy's room and opened the door. Thankfully, both of them were in bed, with the light off. "Goodnight Friedrich. Goodnight Kurt." She whispered into the darkness. She heard them both mumble a response and smiled to herself, closing the door.

She went to the next door over that was cracked open and pushed it fully. All three of the girls were huddled on Liesl's bed, quietly whispering to each other. She cleared her throat and all turned to face the door, sheepishly.

"Now, we aren't in here gossiping are we?" Maria asked, knowing that was exactly what the girls had been doing, the looks on their faces giving them away.

"Of course not, Fräulein! Just discussing the party." Liesl spoke, giving her a look that made her look very much like her father.

Maria hummed, not convinced. "It's time for bed. Discussions of any sort can wait until the morning."

Guiltily, Brigitta and Louisa stood and made their way out of Liesl's room, both girls quietly apologizing and saying goodnight.

Maria looked back to Liesl as she climbed into her bed, giving her a soft smile. "You don't have to go to sleep yet."

"Have you talked to father about it yet?"

Maria shook her head. "I will discuss it with him soon though." She turned and flipped the switch, leaving the room to be illuminated by the small lamp on the bedside table. "Goodnight, Liesl."

"You know, Fräulein, you looked very beautiful tonight. We all thought so."

Maria blushed. "Oh, thank you. This dress is very nice. Thank you for allowing me to borrow it."

Liesl nodded and turned to grab her book off the nightstand. "Goodnight, fräulein."

Maria turned and left her room closing the door with a soft click behind her and let out a deep breath. It had been a long day yet she didn't feel particularly tired. The way the captain had been looking at her all night left her feeling flushed and confused.

Their eyes had met many times throughout the night and she felt as though she couldn't breathe. Then came his singing, and oh how he had such a wonderful voice! While she may have been a little confused she knew one thing for certain. She needed air.

Walking his extensive grounds always seemed to help Georg clear his mind. The air was warm and inviting and the moonlight was shining through the clouds reflecting off the lake beautifully, creating just enough light for him to see. He walked off to the left towards the gardens, a place he tended to avoid as it had been Agathe's favorite place.

As he walked closer, his mind drifted to the last few days. Was it only days? It had felt like a lifetime.

Of course Maria had been correct with his children. He was glad that they accepted him back rather quickly and he was happy to be relearning things about them he had pushed away. His son's wanting to know more about his time in the navy and listening intently to his stories, which he was more than happy to tell them about. At least not the act of war itself, but his time on the open water. Brigitta and her love for reading, which he had always enjoyed, but it was the way her eyes lit up when discussing certain works that were well above her age range that captivated him.

Louisa and her love for everything outdoors. He loved being outside among the trees and the flowers and he was happy to know she shared this love with him. Both Marta and Gretl had been so young that he never really learned much of them and he would never fully forgive himself for how he treated them, especially when they would look at him with such love that it made his heart jump to his throat.

And then there was Liesl. Oh, Liesl. His oldest and yet still his little girl. She had been the hardest to reconnect with, as she was twelve when her mother had passed and could remember more than the others. He had shut her out and she became the mother figure to her siblings and that truly broke him. He knew he needed to talk with her, but he felt as though she resented him and wasn't sure how to broach the topic with her. Perhaps, he thought to himself, Maria could help him.

He sighed as he sat on the stone bench in the middle of the garden. The sound of frogs croaking and crickets chirping, and the warm fresh air taking over him. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, one hand resting under his chin, and closed his eyes, breathing the night air deeply.

As he sat surrounded by the night air, his thoughts drifted to Maria. She had been most helpful. In fact he owed her everything. If they had not had their row by the lake, where she not so gently put him in his place, he would not have found his way back into his children's lives. She had been the bright, nearly blinding light at the end of the very long, very dark tunnel of grief. His home felt like home again; the laughter, the singing, everything, because of this whirlwind of a woman coming into his life like a breath of fresh air.

She wasn't the first person to fight against how he was behaving, he could thank his in-laws for that, but she stood up for his children's sake, pointing out how wrong it was. And something inside him had finally clicked into place. They were grieving too and he was glad she had been able to help them. He wondered how it would be when she was to leave at the end of September. The children would be devastated, he knew, as they had come to love the governess. He hoped that her comment about being a nun had been true and she would consider staying, when he would ask, which made his heart beat with excitement.

But then, there was Elsa. He sighed. Their relationship, if one could even call it that, was simple. She filled a small hole, he had told her as such, but with his children he wasn't sure where she stood. On one hand he felt as though he owed it to her, they had been 'courting' for quite some time, but something about it didn't feel right.

Sighing deeply, he began doing something he hadn't done in a long time. "Oh, Agathe. What am I to do?"

Maria walked out on the terrace, breathing the night air deeply. She normally felt the calm of the lake would help her but something compelled her tonight to the gardens. She had only walked through them one other time on her night walks but the smell of the flowers mixed with the warm air sounded like serenity.

She walked slowly over towards the garden, her arms behind her back. The captain had been incredibly kind to her recently, enough so that she could begin to consider him a friend.

As she rounded the corner she saw him sitting on a stone bench, his head leaned up as he spoke softly into the sky. She watched him for a moment and though she couldn't hear him, she knew he was having a private moment and her heart ached for him. Not wanting to disturb him, she began to turn away to go in the opposite direction.

But of course, leave it to her to turn and run directly into the hedge. She looked back to the captain to see him staring at her, a small smile on his lips.

"Ah, good evening, Fräulein." He spoke softly.

She smiled in return at him, blushing slightly as she flattened the front of her dress and clasped her hands in front of her. "Evening, Captain."

He slid over on the bench. "Care to join me?"

"I don't want to intrude." She trailed off as she began to walk over to him slowly.

He shook his head. "You won't be intruding." He said as he pat the empty spot on the bench.

She sat next to him and copied his position, her elbows coming to rest on her thighs and resting her chin underneath her hands. They sat for a moment, both in their own quiet reflection.

"You know, this is my favorite spot to come." The captain spoke quietly. "It helps me to feel closer to her." She could barely hear the last sentence he spoke. She turned her head to look at him, his eyes looking up into the night sky.

"Do you come out here often?"

He sighed. "Honestly," subconsciously he reached his hand up to scratch behind his left ear. "I haven't come out here for a long time."

She nodded in understanding. They sat in the quiet once more as she mustered the courage to ask him the next question she had. "When I walked up I heard you talking out loud. Were you talking to her?"

He nodded, a sad smile gracing his face briefly as he didn't entirely trust his words to speak. He took a deep breath before he tried to speak. "She was in charge of it. The flowers, the placement of everything, it was her favorite area. She would spend hours out here."

"It truly is beautiful. She did a wonderful job with it." She paused. "You know, there is nothing wrong with wanting to talk to her. I talk to my father every once in a while."

He looked over at her and the way the moonlight shone on her made her look incredibly beautiful. "Do you?" She nodded staring into his eyes. "What was he like?"

She leaned back, her hands now resting on her knees and took a deep breath. "From what I remember, he was incredibly kind. When my mother passed he was heartbroken and didn't know what to do so he left me with my foster mother. I would visit him often enough in Vienna and he would show me around the city. There was always such a sadness to him though."

"What happened to him?"

"I am not entirely sure, no one ever gave me a straight answer. From what I have gathered though, it sounded as though he drank heavily and he got sick. His body was too weak to fight it." Georg reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, giving her a small squeeze which she returned. "Then I was sent to live with my uncle in the mountains."

Georg could feel her tense at the mention of her uncle and she had squeezed his hand out of reflex. "I take it he was not kind to you." He spoke softly. He could tell something awful had happened but didn't want to push her to talk about it.

She shook her head. "I ran away the first chance I got and have not seen him since."

They sat in silence once more, the breeze of the night air flowing around them, causing Maria to shudder. Georg let go of her hand and stood, offering his arm for her, which he was glad she took. They began walking back towards the villa beside the lake, which was dancing beautifully with moonlight.

"Is he what made you want to become a nun?"

She thought carefully for a moment and realized she was still holding on to the Captains arm. Slowly, she extracted her hand from it and clasped her hands behind her back and took a deep breath. "Not entirely, no. While I was in teaching school in Vienna I went to a church for mass and the priest there spoke with such love for god. It moved me, truly. I went to confession with him and spoke to him for nearly an hour! I told him about when I was young and I would climb down the mountain, climb a tree and watch the sisters at work at Nonnberg. He suggested to start there so I came back to Salzburg and joined the abbey."

"If he spoke so highly that it made you want to join that life, what is it that makes you think you wouldn't make a very good nun?" He chuckled as he spoke.

She giggled. "You heard that did you?" She sighed. "I am not sure what made me say that really."

"I think you'd be good at anything you set your mind to." She could feel herself blushing.

"Thank you, Captain."

"Of course. Though, I can't imagine you'd want to be cloistered away."

She sighed again. "I do find that rather difficult." They had made it to the gates at the lake and she walked over and rest her hands on top of the cool metal. "The mountain always beckons me back. It will be difficult to give that up."

She felt him next her at the gate, close enough to feel the warmth of his body, just barely touching. They stood there in silence staring towards the mountains.

Something about the whole night shifted within them and both ignored the new feeling.

A/N: I do believe this was my longest chapter so far, and I apologize for the late update, work and other life things getting in the way! Also doesn't help that I'm writing 3 different chapters at the same time... lol

Thank you all for the support and the reviews! Reviews do fuel my fire, but I have the next chapter written, I have to do some minor adjustments and proofread, but it will not be over a month before the next one is posted, (sorry again) hopefully by the end of the week *fingers crossed*

xoxo