Chapter 1

"It had been three weeks since Maria had left the Von Trapp Villa hastily on the night of the party. She had returned two weeks after that at the urging of the Mother Abbess to find that the Captain had become engaged to the Baroness. At the time she had been completely devastated and embarrassed for even thinking she had a shot with him, but no sooner had he announced his engagement did he he announce that the Baroness would be returning to Vienna and that there would be no wedding.

A week after that she was still working as his governess despite the fact that she had declared she would return to the Abbey as soon as another governess was found. It was too agonizingly painful for her to stay under the same roof with him knowing that he would probably never admit or share his feelings about the evolution of their relationship. Up until that point she had been pretty successful at avoiding him, but it was becoming more and more difficult so when she had received a strange note this morning telling her an old friend wanted to surprise her, she was more than curious and used it as an opportunity to escape the massive house in Aigen and its master.

She now found herself waiting on this corner in the town square with no surprise visitor in sight. She sighed and was just about to give up waiting when a taxi suddenly pulled up to the curb. An older gentleman stepped out of the driver's side and asked, "Fraulein Maria?"

Maria raised her eyebrows in confusion, "Uh...yes?"

He opened the door to the back of the cab, "If you will please. I have been instructed to make sure you make it to your destination safely."

"My destination," she asked with some trepidation.

"Yes, by a Mr. Max Detweiller."

Now her curiosity had really peaked. She could not for the life of her begin to fathom what Max Detweiller could possibly have to do with this absurd situation. She shrugged, took a deep breath, and cautiously entered the cab. It seemed safe enough until she instantaneously felt the thud of another body plopping on the seat beside her.

Georg Von Trapp was running late and he ever ran late, but the note on his desk had gone unnoticed for the better part of the morning until he had found it buried underneath some other papers. He had been hiding away in his study trying to avoid his governess until he was forced to do so by fate. Her reaction to the news of the Baroness had not been at all what he had expected. She had immediately given her condolences with no indication at all that she would change her mind and now stay. He was in love with her and he had hoped that she with him, but all he seemed to be able to do was confuse her.

He stared at the note in his shaking hands, flipping it over nervously. The last time he had seen such a note the news in it made his stomach turn. He had put off trying to find another governess in hopes that she would change her mind, but here he was again, holding a note he was afraid to open. He finally willed himself to tear the edges open and read the contents.

Please meet me at the corner in front of the market at the town square. There will be a cab waiting for us.

Maria

He looked at the writing one more time. It certainly didn't look like Maria's handwriting, but the note looked like it had been written hastily and he had no reason to doubt it. He looked at the clock and realized that he would have to leave now to have a shot at making it there on time. He grabbed his hat and coat and ran for the villa's door right past Max, wondering and hoping that maybe, just maybe, this was the chance he had been waiting for.

"Georg," Max called, "where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I have an errand to run. Maria is out, please be a worthy sponge and watch the children for awhile."

Before Max could respond, Georg was out the door, leaving him standing there with a cunningly smug smile on his face.