Leisl entered the unfamiliar room first and the others timidly followed, clutching their bunches of flowers and smiling warily at their father. It was difficult for them to read him now that his eyes were covered. Maria nodded at Leisl in encouragement and smiled as the soon-to-be seventeen year old stepped forwards.

"Father," she said warmly as she knelt before him and gently took his hand in hers, "we brought you some flowers to make you feel better."

Georg tightly grasped his daughter's hand and swallowed the lump in his throat. Maria bit her lip to stem the tear that threatened to fall as she watched him tentatively reach out to locate Leisl's face. Leisl helped him by pulling his hand towards her cheek.

"Thank you, dear Leisl," his voice was slightly broken, "Now, where are the others?"

"We're all here, father," she said as cheerily as possible and gestured for her brothers and sisters to join them. The others practically ran towards their father and crowded around him hugging his knees and assessing his new bandages with concern. Maria's heart tightened when she saw the Captain look from left to right, trying desperately to work out what was going on. The little ones clung to his knees but Kurt and Friedrich just wanted to know all about the accident. At the first sign of the conversation taking a dangerous turn, she stepped forwards.

"There there, Boys," Maria laughed lightly lift the mood and distract the Captain. "Let your father rest. I'm sure there will be plenty of time for war stories later!"

"But.." Kurt countered.

"Ah," she raised her finger to her lips then ruffled Kurt's hair to show that she wasn't mad at him and mouthed 'later'.

"Does it hurt?" Brigitta, curious as ever, asked.

"A little, my dear," the Captain admitted and smiled at her concern, "but I feel all the more better for seeing all of you."

"You gave us such a fright, Father!" Louisa breathily exclaimed.

"We thought you were dead!" Brigitta added, remembering the scene in the hallway as glimpsed through the crack in the schoolroom door.

"Brigitta, you shouldn't say that!" Kurt retaliated.

He laughed at this but only to cover the fear the words inflicted on him. Had it been even slightly worse, the children could have been orphaned. "You won't get rid of me that easily, Brigitta."

The children laughed and Maria wished he could see their faces.

"Now, while I am recovering, I need you to be on your best behaviour for Frau Schmidt and Fraulien Maria," he said sternly but with a warmth in his tone reserved only for those closest to him, "Can you all do that for me?"

"How about Uncle Max?" Brigitta added cheekily.

"And Uncle Max," he chuckled, "even he deserves some respect."

"Will you be down for supper?" asked Marta timidly, "Cook is making schnitzel and you like that."

"No, my dear," he brushed his daughter's hair with his hand, "but it won't be long before I join you all again."

"Not even for schnitzel?" Gretl challenged in an even quieter voice.

"Not even for schnitzel, my darlings," he smiled as he spoke softly. "I am under strict orders to rest."

"Whose orders?" Leisl asked with a raised eyebrow, humouring her younger siblings by joining in.

"Fraulein Maria's." Maria rolled her eyes at him as he grinned wickedly at the children's gasps, "and you should all know that she is a formidable force when she has her mind set on something."

"What's 'formidable'?" Kurt asked.

"It means that I must obey her," he was teasing her again.

Leisl and Louisa grinned at their governess's wild pink blush and wished more than anything that their father could see it. Kurt continued to look confused at the situation but accepted his father's answer with a shrug.

Some hours later while the children were enthusiastically devouring their supper (clearly not in silence judging by the racket coming from the dining room downstairs), Georg focussed intently on the sound of pages being ritually being turned in an old book somewhere to his right. He guessed she was sitting in the armchair on the opposite side of the room. The last person to sit in the armchair had been Agathe all those years ago and it pained him slightly to have the brocaded green fabric disturbed by another. In a way, it felt like a betrayal of her memory. The room was modest in size when compared to the rest of the house, but he chose it for the view and for the the french doors that spread from one corner of the room to another. They led to a balcony overlooking the lake, the gazebo, and all that he loved in his estate. The view would be of darkness by now, he imagined. Not that it made the slightest bit of difference to him in his current state. The voices downstairs melted away as supper was finished and the room once again became silent apart from the sound of her breathing softly.

"Who or what is holding your attention so acutely, Fraulein?" His voice had a slightly teasing edge to it and he smirked as he heard her gasp a little in surprise at the sudden voice in the silence. "You seem so taken with your reading material that you have barely uttered a single word to me for almost two hours." The mock-pain in his voice stemmed from his boredom at the silence.

"You do exaggerate, Captain," she chided lightly, "You of all people should know that I am quite incapable of keeping quiet for such a length of time." She knew he was teasing her and it never failed to excite her.

"Answer my question, Fraulein," he persisted. The truth was that he really wanted her to read to him so that he could share in something with her.

"The Seashore.."

"..For Boys and Girls?" He finished her sentence, recalling the battered old turquoise cover from Leisl's youth with a smile. "I had hoped that my governess would be a little more advanced in her knowledge than this."

She blushed for the nth time that day and was glad that he could not see it.

"The pictures are wonderful," she sighed.

"So I recall," he replied evenly with just the hint of a wistful smile.

"I often wonder what it would be like to see the sea?" Although promised once or twice during her childhood, her dream of visiting the seaside had never materialised.

"I'm afraid you're asking the wrong man," he joked sarcastically. He heard the book close and sensed her moving closer towards him. She sat on the ottoman at the foot of his chair

"Have you ever taken the children?" she mused. He frowned and shook his head, to which her jaw dropped. "I'm sure they would find it thrilling!"

He smirked at her enthusiasm. "By which you mean that you would find it thrilling, Fraulein."

"I won't deny it, Sir." Her honesty was so refreshing to him.

"Perhaps one day when everything has settled down." The sudden silence shifted the mood slightly and he realised it was the fault of his pessimism. He imagined her crestfallen face and, completely unexpectedly, his mind then wandered to delight that would overcome her as she dipped her toes into the sea for the first time. He cleared his throat as he brought himself back to reality. "Definitely one day when everything has settled down."

"Oh thank you, Captain!" She beamed at him, at his kindness. Silence fell upon the room once again and she returned to her book but not to her chair. It felt better to be closer to him. The vivid watercolour print before her was mesmerising and she studied the textures of the shells, sea urchin, and starfish intently. Ever since she was a child, she had always wanted to touch these things in real life. The prospect of finally doing so excited her curiosity. The prospect of doing so with him was almost too much to bear.

"I... I errr," he trailed off and shifted uncomfortably in his armchair. He hated not being able to see her, to judge the tone or mood of the atmosphere by sight. The loss of his sight even took away his ability to pace across the room confidently when nervous. "I was hoping.."

"Hmm?" She asked, absentmindedly.

"I was wondering whether you could read to me?" The flurry in which the words exited his mouth betrayed his nerves.

Maria felt her breath hitch in her throat as he spoke. That was the very last thing she had expected him to say and it was delivered in such an unbearably tender voice.

"Perhaps not, erm, this but..." He knew exactly what he wanted to say but couldn't find the words. Why did this always happen with her? Only her. "And if you'd rather just read to yourself, you only have to say.."

"Yes." All that needed to be said at that moment was conveyed in a single word and the whisper with which she uttered it.

"Hmm?" He was genuinely surprised.

"Yes. I would like to read to you, Captain."

"Good!" The exclamation came forth a little louder than expected so he cleared his throat and composed himself. "That's good. Thank you. It is awfully quiet when one cannot see."

"There is no need to explain, Sir," she smiled and pressed her hand to his for the briefest of moments. "Do you have any particular requests?"

"I will leave that choice to you, Fraulein." The warmth that swept through him just as a consequence of that touch was like a balm on his current concerns and fears. "When choosing from my library, you can't go far wrong." The smugness in his voice caused her to roll her eyes.

"May I borrow the key for the library, sir?" She asked innocently.

"It's always open, as you well know." He was clearly referring to the library incident just two weeks previously, which had since become a font of teasing for Georg. He had caught her in the library one Tuesday afternoon, rummaging through the history section. She had, of course been mortified to be found in one of the forbidden rooms and he had, obviously, just narrowed his eyes at her as he watched her retreat back to the hall.

"I don't know what you mean, Captain." She blushed at the memory and stubbornly defended herself in her mind. The door, after all, was never locked.

Unbeknownst to her, he had deliberately left the library unlocked for her ever since her fourth day at the villa when she had followed him in there during one of her impassioned rages. He smiled at the memory of her staring open-mouthed at knowledge-laden shelves. In that moment, he had learned that books were the only way to keep her quiet.

"Yes you do," he teased. "Now, go and choose something to keep me amused."

AN: Thank you for all of your reviews and encouragement. Apologies for the delays between chapters but I'm currently writing this story solely on my phone x