Chapter 6: A New Day Begins

"It's really very natural, very simple," the Captain went on, his voice so deadly quiet that she had to lean closer to hear him. "When two people appear to have so little in common, yet agree about the most important things, the things that matter . . . when they amuse each other, drive each other mad . . . when they are attracted to each other . . ." Maria blushed, shaking her head slightly, but he put a finger to her lips, "Don't bother denying it, darling, we both know it. You are thinking right now about whether to run away from me, or to stay for just one more minute in case I kiss you again, aren't you?"

She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out. A shiver ran down her spine. Alas, I am lost. I cannot resist him.

"For two people in our situation," he continued, evenly, his eyes never leaving hers, his hand caressing her hair, her cheek, her neck, his thumb finding a sensitive spot behind her ear. "It is easy to take the next step. You know what it is, don't you? Do you want me to show you or tell you? Very well, then, I'll tell you first and then I'll show you."

He moved closer to her, one arm still firmly around her waist, the other hand still cradling her neck so she could not pull away, his breath warm on her ear. The sound of her own heart thudding was so loud she could barely hear him. He whispered, "You know what we're going to do, don't you, Maria? What I'm going to do?"

.-

"I'm going to marry you," he whispered, kissing her cheek, then leaning back to grin at her.

Maria stood frozen in shock, speechless for a moment, before she pushed him away, hurt, enraged, her eyes blazing. "What? How dare you tease me like that?" Her fists were clenched at her sides.

Baffled, he raised his hands in the air, as if to call a truce. "Maria. I love you, even if it took me longer than it should have to realize it. You love me. You love my children and they love you. I want you to marry me. I - uh - I ask you to marry me." A smile crossed his face at the memory.

She struggled to keep from bursting into angry tears, sputtering, "Am I mistaken, Captain, or weren't you engaged to Baroness Schrader just a few hours ago? Who is next in line after me?"

He winced. "I - I've made a mess of things. I made a mistake. I thought . . . that I had no right to anything more." As though he'd suddenly remembered something, his mood shifted. "Can you blame me? You ran away, Maria. You ran away from me, from the children, leaving all of us to wander through the house at night, sleepless, just like when she . . ." He caught himself and stood, silent, staring at her, pain and fear written on his face.

"And - and I am sorry for that," she admitted, quietly. "I was scared of the way I felt about you, especially when I thought that you only . . . ." She blushed, " . . . well, you know."

"But you were mistaken about me." Georg paced around the perimeter of the gazebo. "It is hard to admit mistakes, I know. For many years, I lived with the reality that one error on my part could cost dozens of men their lives. I never allowed myself to make a mistake. When you confronted me the day I returned from Vienna, it cost me a great deal to admit that I was at fault. Now I have admitted to yet another misstep. Are you ready to admit your mistake?"

He stopped and faced her again. "You are going to need to learn to trust me. I don't know what Elsa told you, but whatever I should have done differently, my intentions toward you have never been anything other than honorable." He paused for a moment. "I could have done you far more damage had it been otherwise, you know. But I do not want a mistress," he said scornfully. "After we are married, you will understand why." He smirked.

Maria could not believe what she was hearing. Somehow, she felt as though if she kept denying the plain meaning of his words, it would protect her against the inevitable hurt when he came to his senses, as he undoubtedly would. She shook her head, as though he would vanish if her vision cleared. "After we are married? You can't be serious. You're not going to marry me! And how can I possibly marry you?"

"Oho, but I am serious. You're not going to try and tell me that you're taking your vows next week, are you? I thought my kiss put an end to that plan, but if necessary I can kiss you again."

She flushed, trying to ignore his last remark. "You yourself, Captain, have told me dozens of times that I can't even behave like a proper governess – what kind of Baroness would I be? And besides," the words rushed out of her, before she could stop them, "No one can replace her in your heart."

Her hand flew to her mouth, as though she had gone too far. She knew what was coming next: he would withdraw, his face becoming remote and sad, his mood darker.

Instead, he surprised her with a tender half-smile. "You will be exactly the kind of Baroness I want, Maria."

He sighed deeply before going on. "I've done a disservice, not only to my children, but to you, and yes, possibly, to Agathe, by turning her into some kind of icon. I . . . I loved her very much. She was, in every way . . .". His candid gaze did not leave Maria's face, even as he talked about his first true love. "She was remarkable. Beautiful. Talented. Loving. But she is not here anymore. It was you who helped me find her in my children, but that has also forced me to accept that she is gone. Her memory will always be with me, and in them. But she is gone, Maria. Please don't put her between us."

Her eyes filled with tears and she moved closer to him, her hand gently touching his cheek. They stood silently for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes, before she looked down, hesitating. "But . . . think of the scandal, what people would say. You are . . . And I'm not . . ." She gestured, first to the distance between them, and then her arm swept toward the villa, its lights twinkling in the distance.

She did not need to finish her thought for him to be able to read her expressive face, to understand. "Ah. I see. The title. The villa. The servants. The aristocracy. Not quite the life you expected." She nodded, watching for his reaction.

Again, Georg sighed, lifting his eyes to look over the lake. "Maria. The world is crumbling around us. No one knows better than I how fast the things we love can disappear. This . . . " – he gestured toward the villa – "this all very likely will all be gone before we know it. I fought to save Austria once and I failed; there is no hope of it this time. I was not able to save my wife. But I will not give up, I will fight to keep my children safe, and the things I hold dear, and I need you by my side to be able to do that. " His gaze returned to her face; he took her hands in his, held them close to his heart.

"As for the aristocracy," he went on, grimacing, "at least until it withers away – well, it's not really that different from living at Nonnberg, do you see that? They're both institutions that stand for something we cherish, but they drive us mad with their silly rules." She nodded, remembering their conversation that afternoon on the terrace. "To me, it's a game. Don't worry about them. I've been playing their game for a long time. I'll help you. The children will help you."

She still could not make sense of it. He was talking as though it was simply a matter of resolving a few small details, as though together, they would reach a foregone conclusion. I never planned to marry anyone, and certainly not . . . this is not happening to me. It is impossible! Maria knew there was another enormous gap between them, one she barely knew how to explain to him. "I – there are things you do not know about me, things you do not understand. If you knew, then . . ." She was unable to finish.

He shook his head and smiled tenderly. "I know everything about you that I need to know. I am an excellent judge of character, haven't you heard that?"

Maria pulled away from him once more, wishing the gazebo had a corner where she could hide. Now it was her turn to pace, so that she didn't have to look at him. "You don't know anything about me." She swallowed and went on, speaking rapidly before she lost her nerve. "My parents never married. My father abandoned my mother. When she died, her brother took me in. He was a drunk. He beat me every Saturday night of my childhood until . . . until I was old enough that he got interested in something else from me. I fought him off. I bit him. I kicked him. He dropped me at Nonnberg in a driving rainstorm with a note pinned to my coat, saying I was a fallen woman. And worse. I was eleven years old." The old feelings came rushing back as she told her story. Sudden tears blurred her vision, so she felt, rather than saw, him come close to her and take her into his arms. The comfort, the safety of his embrace were beyond words. She took a few long, shuddering breaths, until the tears stopped.

Only then did he speak. "I . . . I am glad you told me. But it does not change my mind, not one bit. It just makes me more grateful for this unlikely miracle. You will never need to be afraid again. Not of anyone, not of anything." She felt surprisingly fragile in his arms, and he savored the way she clung to him. He struggled to conceal from her the boiling rage building inside of him at the thought of what she had endured.

Georg took a calming breath and looked out at the sky, knowing it always had the power to soothe him. The moon shone so brightly that it had turned everything silver, and a carpet of stars stretched over them. He squinted, surveying the heavens, and guessed, "It must be after midnight by now. It's a new day, darling, and I will confess that I would not want to live through another day like yesterday." He felt her, head tucked under his chin, nod agreement. She lingered in his arms, but he could feel the watchful tension in her body.

"Maria," he said lightly, stroking her hair. "I feel like the prince in one of Marta's fairy tales, slaying your objections, like dragons, one at a time: Elsa, Agathe, the Austrian aristocracy, your past. Do you know, when the Emperor knighted me, he declared that Austria had too many men of words and not enough men of action like me. He'd certainly revise his opinion if he'd heard me tonight! If I thought more words from me would convince you, I would stay out here talking until the snow piled up high all around us." He chuckled, but then his tone turned serious. "But now, darling, it is time to give me your answer."

Again, she nodded. She moved out of his embrace then, standing a few feet away, and faced him, considering him carefully, as though she were seeing him for the first time. The way she stood there , arms crossed quietly , her face pale as death but her gaze serious and wholly focused, she was hardly recognizable as the noisy bundle of life who had first invaded the villa months ago. He did not take his eyes off of her, did not say a word, but stood, alert, watching her face with curiosity.

Neither knew how long they stayed like that – it might have been a minute or an hour. Maria studied the man she had struggled to understand all summer, and let herself recall the feelings he had aroused in her. She weighed everything he had revealed there in the gazebo, and she took counsel with the girl who had wanted only to spend the rest of her life safe within the abbey. She reflected on the misery yesterday had brought. After a day of raw emotion, of constant turmoil, it was finally as though she could see clearly, as though everything fell into place, as though her soul was finally at peace. At last, she spoke, but only in a whisper: "Oh . . . can this be happening to me?"

Georg had seen hundreds of sunrises in his life, but none would ever match the way the way the light dawned in her clear blue eyes at that moment. Over the years to come, although he would see a thousand emotions written across her face, that light would never go out. Every bit of fear and doubt had vanished. He never knew what happened first – had he opened his arms to her, or had she flown to him? Either way, she was in his arms with a shout of joy, her arms around his neck, his hands tangling in her hair, bringing her face to his. Then his mouth was on hers, this kiss an answer to all their questions.

After years in which passion was something to be remembered, not felt, he could barely restrain himself. The tenderness he held toward her was quickly combined with something much more daring, but that he welcomed back into his life. He feasted on her mouth, on the soft skin of her neck, his hands moving under her sleeves to explore her shoulders, and down along the curves of her body. Georg was on fire, spurred on because, in her own clumsy but enchanting way, she met his every caress, unafraid, her body molded to his, her lips on any part of his face she could reach, her hands moving through his hair. He was called back to his senses only by her soft moan.

Determinedly, he pulled away from her, taking her arms from around his neck and holding her at arm's length. She looked at him apprehensively, as though she might have done something wrong, and he hastened to reassure her, with a grin. "I came out here tonight resolved to go slowly with you. So much for that! If we do not control ourselves, you will be my mistress before we know it." He winked.

Maria blushed, secretly delighted by the feelings racing through her, enchanted by the new Captain she had discovered: his ragged breathing, his disheveled hair, the way his eyes devoured her. She felt more alive than she had since their long-ago dance - as though his kiss revived her, as though she had drawn strength from him. "I'm not afraid, not exactly. " She giggled. "I feel as though I am very safe even though we are doing something quite, er, dangerous!"

He could not resist taking her back into his arms. Tracing her face with his lips, he whispered, "Why did you run away, really? And if you were so convinced I am some kind of fiend, then why did you come back?"

She shivered in his arms, closing her eyes against the memories, and tried to explain. "I never really believed you were – I think I always knew, in my heart, the kind of man you are. But, still, I was frightened. Terrified, actually."

"Frightened? Of me?" He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

"Not exactly," she said, slowly, as though figuring it out herself, although it was hard to concentrate on anything with his hands making gentle circles on her back. "I was frightened of me, I mean, of my feelings. Not only that I was falling in love with you . . ." She put her fingers to her lips for a moment. "But other things, things I never dreamed . . ." She ducked her head, embarrassed. She wondered how much he knew, if he could guess about the sensations rushing through her. "Can I ask you something?"

His arm dropped to her waist, and then a fraction lower, a tiny, unmistakable gesture of intimacy, a sign of what lay ahead for them. "Anything, darling. As long as you stay this close to me while you ask."

"Will it be . . . I mean, when . . . will it be a very long time until . . .?"

Georg grinned wickedly. "No more reluctant Baroness, I see?" His face turned serious. "Actually, it depends. Come, sit here next to me." He led her to one of the benches, keeping one arm firmly around her.

"Maria, I know it seems . . . odd to bring this up now. But there is something I want to ask you." He hesitated. "Do you want more children, or are the seven I've given you as a wedding present quite enough?"

She gasped, surprised. "That is quite a question for someone who, until a few hours ago, was prepared to spend her life in a cloister, but . . ." Her eyes shone with sudden tears, "Yes. Yes. I do! Already, I can't imagine it otherwise."

"Wonderful. Just as I hoped. But then," he spoke, carefully, "there is something to consider. If it were up to me, I'd marry you tomorrow. I'd whisk you to the mayor's office first thing in the morning, bribe anyone who stood in my way, and have you installed as my Baroness before lunch. But . . . if you want to play the game, we will wait two months, a month at least, and we will surround ourselves with chaperones every minute of that time. You will spend the last two weeks safely tucked away at Nonnberg, before you are mine" – his arm tightened around her – " completely, and forever. And then, no matter what happens after we are married, your reputation will be pure as snow, although mine is probably past redemption." He smirked.

Her face wore disappointment and confusion. Gently, he explained, "If we are married, if we are together right away, and we are so blessed, then it could appear as though . . . as though we had . . ."

Mortified, she blushed fiery red. "I don't want that! I want to be with you, but I want to do the right thing, for the children, for us . . ." She sighed. "I have a lot to learn. I will put the time to good use."

"Maria – darling – you have not actually answered me, do you know that? One more time, before you distract me completely. Are you sure? About leaving the Abbey? About marrying a man twenty years your senior with seven impossible children, a man who may shortly be without a home or country?"

He waited for her answer, but she just stared at him, her eyes studying his face and occasionally drifting lower.

"Maria? Why do you stare at me that way?"

She laughed, delightedly. "Because I can. Because after an entire summer of having to deny what I feel, to hide it from you, I can have my fill! I may not be able to . . . to do everything I want to do right now, but you cannot stop me from looking!" Her eyes sparkled. "But yes. Yes! No matter what happens, I know now that there is nowhere I can be happy, or safe, unless you are there."

He took her hands in his and pulled her to her feet, and back into his arms. "And that is that! We did it. we did it!" He shook his head in disbelief. "Who would have thought it?"

"There is one more thing, you know," she exclaimed.

He groaned, only half serious. "Maria, my love, there cannot possibly be anything else standing in our way."

"Mmm," she agreed. "But darling, still.. . . why don't we ask . . ."

They laughed together. "The children?"

THE END.

Well, that is that, as several of the characters in this story would say. Thanks for sticking with this story, and thanks a million times over for the reviews, PMs, and reassurance from the TSOM Fanfic Facebook group. I hope you found the resolution of the cliffhanger believable, or at least not too obnoxious. I never liked the way the film Georg asked Maria if there was anyone he could ask permission of to marry her – anyone at all? - when he knows perfectly well there isn't, so I was happy to take control of Georg a little bit there at the end and rewrite him. I'm sad to end here - like many of you, I really want to know what happens between here and the wedding! But thankfully, we have a beautiful engagement story by one of my favorite authors developing right now. I will take a brief break to, um, take care of the rest of my life, but I will be back! I have a honeymoon fic next, probably but also some other stories brewing as well. And last but not least, the disclaimer: I don't own the Sound of Music and I wrote this only for my personal enjoyment.