Oh, it's been a while for me and this story, although I had hoped to keep to a schedule. COVID finally caught up with me in April and although it wasn't the sickest I have ever been, it was definitely the weirdest. The worst part for me has been brain fog - fortunately that is lifting, although not as quickly as I would like! I read (and re-read) a lot of FF when I was sick, since I knew the characters and the stories were a pleasant way to pass the time in a time of uncertainty. I was also inspired to get back to writing again - and decided to take this little "diversion" from my overall plan - but this seems to flow nicely from the last chapter. A nice, short way to get back into using my brain for creativity again.

You will remember in chapter 16, Maria checked in on Liesl before bed on the day of "The Argument" - and at that time she was writing in her diary by the window. Well, here's Liesl's view on the day that the winds finally changed.

Dear Diary,

Today was a wonderful day! I was up early today to get the younger children ready for a day of fun – Fraulein Maria and I had agreed yesterday that I would.

After Fraulein Maria returned from Mass, we had breakfast on the terrace! We had French Toast and waffles with bacon and orange juice. It was a lovely morning. We ate a lot so we would be able to hold off until teatime in the afternoon. Well, all of us could except Kurt. He is always hungry.

As I sat around the breakfast table, I was struck by how happy all of my brothers and sisters looked. I haven't seen them like that, Dear Diary, for a long time. Well, it all started when Fraulein Maria roared into our lives the night of the storm.

After breakfast, we prepared for our outing: a ride on the Louisa and a day full of fun down the Alee where the tree grove sits nestled beside the lake.

We had so much fun. Rowing down the lake, singing songs, playing tag... Fraulein Maria even jumped from her place on the blanket and scampered up the tallest tree in the grove. Friedrich soon followed, and before you know it, we were all hanging from the trees, hooting and hollering, and having the time of our lives!

Time flew by today – I don't think I can remember any time since Mama died that we all lost track of the day so easily. When it was time to go back to the villa for tea, we rowed along the shores of the lake practicing our songs for when Father returned with the Baroness. We were not sure when he was expected, but we did think he would be impressed with how far we had come in so little time.

As we approached the villa and emerged from the trees, I was the first to spot him. Well, maybe it was Brigitta – she notices everything! Soon, all of us girls had our eyes on Father, and only the boys and Fraulein Maria had their backs to him. (The boys, of course, had to do the rowing on the way back since Louisa and Brigitta had struggled to get us to the grove earlier in the morning). But soon, we had all rose to our feet!

As we were standing and waving, I was hit with the sudden realization that standing in a dory was never a good idea, particularly for the sons and daughters of an esteemed naval captain who should know better. Nonetheless, at that time it didn't matter: we were all so happy to see that Father had returned.

As the boat overturned, I heard everyone "uh-oh-ohhhing' as we went head-over-heels into the lake. As we emerged from the murky waters, I felt rather than heard the laughter of my younger brothers and sisters. As a group, we had not laughed like that since before Mama died. The joy we felt as we splashed around in the lake, not a care in the world...it was indescribable. No fear of Father's temper nor his whistle. We had spent 10 glorious days with Fraulein Maria, and we had learned to be children again. In ten short days I got so much of my childhood back – it had practically ended the day my mother first became sick.

My positive outlook on the situation was to be rather short lived... How could I forget that Father had not been a part of our collective transformation over the past week-and-a-bit?

Father, of course, was not impressed. How could I have thought otherwise? Fraulein Maria had been able to help us understand much of his behaviour over the last few years, and in doing so, I think in his absence we had started to forget that he was not the Papa of yore.

Father, the martinet, had returned, and you could almost feel the anger vibrating off of him.

He blew that whistle again – oh, Diary! I had so enjoyed the last 10 days not hearing it. We scampered into line and father paraded by us like we were a group of unruly cadets. While we were dying inside, we knew we had to do what we could to keep his temper from completely boiling over.

For a time, we were convinced Fraulein Maria would be fired on the spot. The way Father sneered at us, we knew that we were in big trouble, and we feared that Fraulein Maria was in for an earful!

After Father dismissed us to the house, Friedrich and I quickly drew up a plan to save Fraulein Maria. We would just have to charm the pants off Baroness Schraeder (I don't think she wears pants, Dear Diary!). Luckily, we had rehearsed our song with Fraulein Maria to the point we could sing it in our sleep. On my part, the callouses had finally formed on my fingers from days of practicing the accompaniment on the guitar.

As I changed in my bedroom, I could hear Father and Fraulein Maria on the terrace. She was letting him have it and he was giving it right back! We had no time to lose. We were all dressed and decent and in the drawing room faster than the wind.

As we all hugged Uncle Max, welcoming him back home again, Friedrich formally welcomed the Baroness to our home and said we had a special gift to present her with. Everyone got in line, just as we had planned and practiced, and we began our song.

Oh Diary! We sang so beautifully! I know Mama was smiling down on us from Heaven today. She would have been so proud! Even Kurt managed to stay in tune despite not having had afternoon tea.

Father still had not arrived - and no sign of Fraulein Maria. I could not be sure what had happened to them, but I kept my focus on the words and the notes. At once, we took a collective breath and continued the next verse: "I go to the hills when my heart is lonely" - somehow, we sounded stronger in that phrase than the others before it? Almost as though one of us had not been singing all along?

I am sure that Brigitta noticed him first – I saw her head whip around and my eyes soon followed.

I was dumb-founded, Dear Diary! Almost as though I had been struck down by lightning. There was Father. Singing. I blinked hard. Surely, I must have hit my head on the Louisa and was now seeing things? When I opened them again, I was convinced. That was Father. And he was singing. Father had not sung since before Mama passed, and even then, he was a bit bashful. I remember his voice in those times as clearly as if he had sung for us yesterday.

We all stopped dead. We stared, our mouths gaping like codfish as we watched and listened to him. Brigitta shared a look of surprise first with Kurt and then with me. Mentally I shrugged. I had no words, no way to explain what had happened. Except that I knew in that moment that Fraulein Maria had something to do with it - she had got through to him somehow. She had told us that day on the mountain that "perhaps we could change his mind", and she was right!

Soon we regained our composure and we all joined him without any direction – it came together so naturally, and by joining him, it helped us to see that this was real. That he was real.

When we finally stopped singing, he looked at us – like, really looked at us. Like he was seeing us for the first time in a long time. Our Papa was back – the one who can smile with his eyes, without even moving his lips. It was a fleeting smile that seemed to quickly return to a look of regret. He patiently searched our faces again, almost pleading with us to forgive him. Brigitta saw it first. She always does! She rushed to him, and we all followed, He opened his arms to the little ones and then he brushed a stray tear from my cheek. Even chilly Louisa was clearly moved by his gesture.

Gretl presented Baroness Schraeder with the Edelweiss we had gathered just yesterday, and the Baroness seemed touched and impressed with her manners, and with all of us! Uncle Max was grinning widely in the corner, gleefully stroking his moustache. When the Baroness told Father how enchanting we were, a look of bewilderment, quickly followed by something akin to panic, came over his face. That was when we noticed Fraulein Maria in the foyer. She ducked out of the doorway and quickly crossed the floor headed towards her room. She looked like she had been caught stealing!

As she fled from the doorway, Friedrich and I at that moment knew what had happened. He had fired her after all! I searched out Father's face and silently implored him to do something…anything. He seemed to read me, because he still had that bewildered look on his face. When he realized where Fraulein Maria was heading, he looked to us and told us to wait for him in the drawing room. Friedrich stepped to the side to follow Father's path, trying to figure out what was going on, and we watched him quickly march from the room.

I looked over to where Baroness Schraeder was sitting with Gretl. She looked terribly confused with the turn of events. Uncle Max seemed to be trying to process everything and he soon started to chat with us animatedly about our singing. Uncle Max is no slouch, he quickly understood what had happened and what was going on. This chatter distracted the Baroness from Father's pursuits, kept the little ones engaged, and we had a good chat with the Baroness and each of us introduced ourselves formally.

All we could hope in that moment was that Fraulein Maria would be staying with us. That father would find a way to resolve whatever had happened between them on the landing. If I had my way, she would be our governess forever! She has quickly become my best friend.

Whatever he said worked, Dear Diary! Fraulein Maria is still here, thank goodness. Although at dinner she seemed a bit distracted. Come to think of it, so did Father. Maybe they were both feeling contemplative after the day's events?

Baroness Schraeder seems to be a lovely woman, but she is so different from Mama. If anything, Fraulein Maria reminds me of Mama when I was a small girl. Anyway, dear Diary, I look forward to learning more about the Baroness in the coming days to see what it is about her that father finds so endearing...

...Sorry for the interruption, Dear Diary, but Fraulein Maria just stopped by. I am so happy she is going to stay. She knows just what to say to make me feel better. The crazy part is she thinks she had nothing to do with Father's change of heart! I know she had everything to do with it. Even Gretl told me before dinner that Fraulein Maria was magical. I am not sure what Fraulein Maria said to Father, she has been rather secretive, but it was a miracle! She is certain that Father, I mean, our Papa, has returned to us for good, and so long as we don't shut him out, he will not go back to his old ways.

Fraulein Maria told me that Father is afraid. Imagine that? A big Naval hero...afraid? I guess it does make sense. I think he has been afraid since Mama died. Afraid of making a mistake. Afraid of loving again. This makes me wonder about Baroness Schraeder, but I guess time will tell. For now, we, my brothers and sisters and I, are so happy to have Papa back.

Until tomorrow,

Liesl.