Captain von Trapp was in his study when Maria first arrived at the von Trapp villa.
Franz knocked on the study door and informed his employer that the new governess was waiting in the foyer. He thanked the butler before dismissing him and a moment later left the study.
He arrived in the foyer to find it completely deserted. The only sign that anyone was here was a worn carpetbag and a guitar case lying at the foot of the staircase. Looking around he noticed the door to the ballroom was slightly ajar.
Georg was positive it had been closed when he was last in the foyer. Nobody ever went inside. Not anymore. He'd made it quite clear to everyone in the household – the children and the staff – that there were certain rooms which were not to be disturbed.
Fearing the worst Georg stood at the door and peered inside. There was enough light filtering inside for Georg to make out the figure of a woman. This had to be the new governess. She was looking around in astonishment, before dipping into a curtsy, as though getting ready to dance with an invisible partner.
Swapping roles and bowing, her little fantasy ended when Georg slammed the doors opened. The woman looked up, startled and then rushed out the door and into the foyer.
As he closed the doors and explained in frustration to her that the room was out of bounds, he could see her fully. She was very young. She couldn't be much older than Liesl, surely. She was dressed in a dark grey dress and a light grey jacket with a hideous red-brown hat on her head. And she was staring at him.
"You don't look at all like a sea captain sir," she answered when he asked the reason behind her expression.
"I'm afraid you don't look very much like a governess," he replied, irritated.
He asked her to turn around, assessing her clothing. He decided it wasn't suitable for her to be dressed like that when she met the children, but after she explained that when one entered the convent, their wordly clothes were given to the poor, and that her current outfit was all she had he realised there was no alternative. After firing off what her duties as governess would be, Georg blew his whistle and called the children downstairs.
She refused to use the whistle, saying they were not appropriate for children. Georg grunted. He'd have to work on that later he thought.
As he turned to walk away, she had the audacity to blow her whistle at him, inquiring, with a look of feigned innocence as to what his signal was.
"You may call me Captain," he said sharply, before stalking off back to his study. The new governess hadn't been in the house for even an hour and she was already causing problems. He'd written to Nonnberg Abbey to acquire the twelfth governess for his children. He was sure if anyone could keep his children in line it would be a nun. But thinking back to his short time with the latest, he wasn't so sure.
He didn't know what to do. Fraulein Maria was completely unexpected.
