A/N: The story is set in that pleasant interlude between "Edelweiss" and "The Ländler". It takes place after "Underneath her wimple", and it begins a couple of weeks before the grand and glorious party.

My thanks to my beta Mellie D. for pointing this ship into the right direction once more!

Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own "The Sound of Music".

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"If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever."

SaintThomas Aquinas.

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"Absolutely out of the question!" the Captain barked.

Maria looked up from the storybook she was reading to Gretl and Marta, only to realize that they had not been paying any attention to the fairy tale. They seemed to be more interested in the scene developing on the terrace, not too far away from the tree under which they sat.

"What was that all about?" she inquired, whispering.

Friedrich exclaimed excitedly. "A mutiny!"

"Uh oh," whispered Louisa. "This is going to be good. He is pacing and entwining his fingers. That's never a good sign. Come on, let's go and see it," she said getting up.

"Do you think we should?" asked Brigitta.

"And waste a chance to see the Baroness being scolded by father?" said Louisa. "I would not miss it for the world.

"If I were the Baroness I would be very careful," said Liesl.

But Elsa von Schraeder was not the kind of woman to let herself be intimidated by the Captain's bark and bite. If she ever took one of the Georg´s ¨no"´s for an answer, she would not have succeeded in bringing him back to life, as he had once so unromantically admitted to her. She held her ground, firmly.

"But it used to be so marvelous!"

"You've said it right: used to be," he snapped.

The children approached the table, cautiously. Maria remained behind, sitting under the tree, with Marta and Gretl. But she was still able to hear the argument.

"Darling, be reasonable. Some guests are arriving from Vienna a few days before the party, and we must organize something fun for them to do while they are not attending concerts in town! Otherwise they will be bored to death. You must admit, the country is wonderful, but it is not for everyone."

"Why not a picnic?" Louisa suggested. Only then the Captain and Elsa did realize that they were surrounded by five children.

"Lovely and original as it sounds; I don't think the British Ambassador and his wife would be comfortable with a picnic, Louisa." Then she turned to the Captain. "Georg?"

"No!"

Elsa decided to go for another tactic. The one argument Georg could not resist – his children. "Liesl and Friedrich might remember it, but the youngest ones… They never witnessed it, and it is hardly fair to them, isn´t it?" Elsa began.

The Captain's frown increased and he folded his hands in his back and resumed his pacing. Lately, Elsa seemed to have an unusual interest in his children. She began using their names. And now this – involving them in a conversation, asking for their opinions.

Treasure hunts used to be a von Trapp family tradition during the days of his marriage. It had been Agathe's idea, and he used to go along with it. Not necessarily because he enjoyed seeing guests snooping into every corner of the house looking for hidden clues, but simply because it made Agathe happy. He never joined the play, and remained an observer, having the task of writing the clues, and then presenting the prize to the winner. While the guests scanned the grounds of the Trapp villa searching for the treasure, he would wait in peace, somewhere, savoring a glass of his favorite wine.

"You are a brilliant strategist, Georg, and very, very cunning. Not to mention the fact that you have an unusually dark sense of humor, and wicked mind. In every sense of the word. Your clues are almost diabolical. I don't think anyone else could do it better than you," his wife would say to him, every year, whenever he tried to get away from the task.

Liesl´s voice brought him back from his reveries.

"I'm sorry, what darling?"

"What is out of the question this time, father?" She inquired again.

"You haven't changed your mind about the party, have you?" Brigitta asked, worriedly.

Maria, seeing that the debate was going on longer than what she guessed, began moving towards the older children. She certainly didn't mind being in the line of fire of the Captain's temper, but the children didn't need to involve themselves with his sour mood.

Elsa answered. "No, dear, he has not. But, oh well, here is something you children can help me with. And you too, Fraülein. The Captain needs some convincing, and I think you're just the nun to do it."

"And what makes you think that I am the one who will make him change his mind, Baroness?" Maria asked, with laughter in her voice, as if to say you deal with him!

"Oh dear!" the Baroness exclaimed, laughing. "If not you, then who else?"

"Elsa," the Captain warned. To Maria he graced his dry wit. "I am glad you finally came to your senses and decided not to join the enemy this time for a change, Fraülein."

"At least not until I know what the enemy has in mind, Captain," she retorted. "And until I can decide which one of you is wrong. You've got to be right one of these days Captain." she retorted saucily.

He said nothing, and fired one of his indescribable glances at her.

The Baroness spoke, looking at the children. "I'll satisfy everyone's curiosity then. I was suggesting we revived an old family tradition, from the days of your mother."

Liesl´s face lit up. "Don't tell me… a treasure hunt?"

"I remember," Friedrich joined in.

"I don't," said Kurt forlornly.

"Remember when father hid the treasure inside mother's violin and…" the three older von Trapp children start speaking at once, excitedly, speaking about memory after memory, mentioning their mother repeatedly, while Maria, uncomfortably aware of the Captain's annoyance, tried in vain to quiet them. It was too much for him, she could tell.

Georg could not help but thinking that only a few short weeks ago, he would have yelled at the children and at their Fraülein, for not being able to control their endless chatter, and then send them to their rooms without dinner. But he could not do that anymore, she would not let him. And now she was there, watching him like a hawk, watching for the tale-tale signs that his temper had flared. He could sense her expectation of him doing just that, bracing herself for it, but at the same time, almost daring him to reprimand his children, so that she could confront him again. All of that with a disconcerting look on her face that he did not understand, and did not like.

No, he would not give her the pleasure of reprimanding him.

"I can't believe it. We are going to have a treasure hunt again, Fraülein Maria," Louisa exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

"No, we are not!" the Captain said, but no one seemed to be paying attention to him.

The children continued chatting excitedly, and Maria decided to intervene.

"Children, don't you think you should hear what your father has to say about it?" She turned to him expectantly.

The Captain looked at her in disbelief. "Thank you, Fraülein."

She had a smug look on her face. "You're welcome, Captain."

What is she up to he wondered.

"Can we, father?"

"Please!"

"We'll help."

"Yes!"

Elsa spoke again. "That's right, darling, they'll help. All you have to do is…"

"Clues," he said distastefully, trying to sound casual, but failing miserably.

"And you must be in charge of the prizes as well."

"Elsa, I have absolutely no idea…"

He stopped abruptly. How on earth did that happen? Had he just agreed with that nonsensical idea? He stole a glance at his governess, and saw that she was absolutely glowing with victory. How had she done that? Because in a twisted, roundabout way, he sensed that he had been convinced – or at least, surrendered – because of her. She had done it. Well played Fraülein he thought.

"Don't worry too much about it, Georg. Something trivial, nothing outrageously expensive – although if you do decide to surprise us, like you usually do, who am I to complain? A small trinket, a bauble, such as a diamond pin or earrings if the winner is a woman, or a fountain pen, if it is a man."

Maria's eyes widened. In times like these she was reminded of the huge gap between her life and the life of those people, to whom diamond pins were considered of such little value. She did not think she had ever seen a diamond pin, unless it was in a window display. She had certainly never held anything like that in her hands.

The Baroness continued. "You know, the fun is in the hunt itself, not in the prize! I wish I could help you, but I am fully booked. I am the best hostess in Vienna for a reason, you know. There is so much work to do, and Max is no help at all. I have to see to the menu, the orchestra – and oh, my dress. My couturier is coming from Vienna just to see me on Friday. There is no way I will be able to go to Salzburg to shop for jewelry. Take Liesl with you."

"Yes!" the girl exclaimed. "Please, father. I have a million ideas!"

"I am not taking my sixteen year old daughter to a jeweler," the Captain retorted, adamantly.

"But father…"

"Fraülein Maria can help you!" Marta suggested excitedly. "She chose my pink parasol, and I loved it."

"Yes, I guess you can borrow her for a day or two," Louisa suggested, feigning innocence.

"She could help with the clues too," Friedrich suggested. "She can be wickedly good at coming up with new ideas."

Wickedly good, the Captain thought. Indeed.

"No, she can't," intervened Louisa again. "If she works with the clues she cannot play, and I want her on my team."

"Who said you would be allowed to play?" Kurt taunted his older sister.

Gretl looked at her father expectantly. "Will we be able to play father?"

Looking into the eyes of his youngest daughter, he couldn't help but see Agathe. The young one's face so excited and so expectant, how could he say no? "Of course you will. I would hope that one of you would be able to figure out my clues. After all, you are my children. If you can't read my mind, then who could?"

He was greeted with a chorus of excited children, all thanking him. And all arguing as to who would out-smart their father.

The Baroness's frowned. Maria was supposed to convince Georg to allow the treasure hunt, then keep the children out of the way during it. She didn't mind the children helping with organizing it, and assumed that they would be satisfied with that, and not want to play. She had assumed that the children knew that they wouldn't be allowed to participate. They were to keep Maria away from Georg, not bring him closer to her.

Maria and Georg…

She began to fume at the idea. The night of that silly puppet show – how he kept looking at her. Ever since then, she noticed glances between them, unspoken conversations carried out in mere seconds as their eyes connected. Eventually she would have to do something about Maria, but meanwhile, she had to watch every new development and plan her actions very carefully, in order to avoid traps like the one she had just fallen into.

Turning her hear slightly towards the Captain, she noticed that his eyes were on Maria. Again. It seemed that whenever the little nun was around, his eyes would stray to her and follow her wherever she went. The girl was not entirely oblivious, because her eyes moved from one child to another, then to her, Elsa. But she never looked at him. Instead, she pretended to be busy with a non existent crease on her skirt.

What to do? Elsa thought. If she confronted him now and her suspicions turned out not to be true, it would mean a terrible embarrassment. If her suspicious were correct, on the other hand, she might just open his eyes to something he wouldn't have seen for himself.

Patience was the key. She would not do a thing until she was entirely sure. That did not mean she could not give a little push, however, in order to make things go a little faster.

Baroness Machiavelli, Max had called her. Sweet, dear Max – she wished he was there now.

"So, what do you think, Fraülein? Are you up to the task? Shall we go – uh - shopping?"

"Errr… I'm not sure, Captain. I don't know a thing about jewelry." Maria still avoided his eyes as she said that. It was odd, and it puzzled him. Until recently, she was never afraid to look him straight in the eye, especially when challenging him. But lately… "Liesl really would be a better choice."

Liesl turned to her father expectantly. If Fraülein Maria somehow had been able to convince him to allow the treasure hunt, maybe she could convince him to take her to the jeweler. Before her father could answer, the Baroness interrupted.

"Oh, come now, dear. If there's one thing that every woman knows, it is diamonds!" Elsa said, and then as an afterthought added "And men." She cut her eyes over to the Captain, and winked at him conspiringly. "It is in our genes, whether we are nuns or Baronesses."

"Well, I'm afraid I'm not like every woman," Maria replied, uncomfortably.

"You're quite right, how could you know about diamonds?"

"Elsa!" the Captain barked. "Not again. We have discussed this."

Oh my, should I start counting again?The Baroness thought as he defended the weak little nun.(1)

"Anyway, dear, my point is, nun or not, you are still a female. You'll know what to do."

A/N: (1) See my story "Underneath her wimple".