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It was well after they had tucked the children into bed that Maria found herself outside the Captain's door. She checked behind her three times to make sure Gretl hadn't followed before she rapped softly on the oak, keeping quiet as possible. Glancing down at her nightgown, she wondered if she should've gotten dressed again, nervously twisting a fistful of fabric in her free hand. The other held a candle that shook slightly with her.
The door opened slowly as the Captain, clad also in pajamas, began speaking. "Louisa, please, you need your--"
"Hello," Maria whispered. The Captain, finally realizing who it was, smiled softly.
"Maria." He paused to take her in, running a hand through his undone hair. "Come in."
She did so, releasing her grip on her dress and placing the candle on a side table. "I'm sorry, Captain, I--"
"Georg," he told her, "Please."
Hands folded in front of her, she continued. "Georg. I couldn't sleep. I'm sorry if I woke you, but I needed to speak to you."
"Don't apologize. You didn't wake me. What do you need to speak to me about?"
Maria took a few slow steps toward him, putting them only inches apart. "Nothing in particular. While I love the children, I think we could use some time... alone."
Georg nodded, his eyes never leaving her lips. His arm snaked around her waist, and his hand cupped her jaw. Maria leaned forward against his chest. "Of course." His breath was hot against her mouth.
"After all," she continued, "I've only done this once, and I think I must try again before I agree to marry you." With this, she closed the final inch between them. The kiss was a chaste one, lasting only a few seconds before Georg pulled away.
"Maria," he said, voice made suddenly hoarse, "Are you sure?"
She kissed him again in response, longer this time, feeling her heart beating in her ears. It was, as she'd told him, different from all the other times she'd been kissed -- warm, even hot, and consuming enough that it seemed to block out all her other senses, which was nice for a bit, until she heard a voice that could only belong to her soon-to-be-daughter.
She was unsure what the voice said. It began with "father," or at least she thought, but the shock blurred any words after that. Maria threw herself away from Georg, realizing with sudden fear what a compromising position they had gotten themselves into. She turned slowly to see Liesl, hair tousled and eyes wide, grinning almost maniacally at them.
"When were we supposed to find out about this?"
Maria began stuttering at once as Georg approached Liesl with exasperated caution. All three began talking over the others, as Georg tried to reassure his ecstatic daughter while Maria made desperate attempts to explain herself. What they finished with was a statement from Liesl: "Well, I'd much rather have Fraulein Maria for a mother than Baroness Schrader." And Georg and Maria, satisfied with this, made her promise not to tell the others, and promptly shooed her out of the room.
Maria, undeterred but newly anxious, steadied herself on Georg's shoulders. "Where were we?"