Thankyou dearly to all that reviewed the last chapter. Here is part 6; I've been quick with these because they had already been posted elsewhere however from now on, the updates will probably not come as quickly. I have the next 2 chapter roughly done but they are still going through the intense editing stage.
But I hope you're enjoying this story so far and that you will continue to with this chapter.
Chapter 6
Apprehension was not sufficient to describe the emotions that Maria was experiencing at present. It was two months after the accident and the majority of the physical evidence had healed. Her ribs were on the way to recovery; however, Maria could still not walk very gracefully.
She was not usually the self-conscious type but tonight was an exception. It was the night that she had been dreading for the past month – her first formal function since the accident. She knew that people would be curious, would be asking countless questions, staring at her limping wade.
She was looking into the mirror and smoothing her silk red dress as Georg walked in. He crept up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them gently. He leant down to kiss her shoulder and looked up to see his reflection behind hers. "How are you feeling, my love?"
Maria caught his loving gaze in their reflection and forced a half-smile. "I'm fine."
"You look beautiful," Georg said sincerely, encircling her waist.
Maria tensed and closed her eyes. "Please don't flatter, Georg."
"I mean it Maria, I could not be more blatantly honest," he whispered into her ear as he stroked her hair.
Maria opened her eyes and turned around to meet him. "Thank you. I'm just nervous, that's all."
Georg lifted his hand to stroke her cheek tenderly. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of Maria, it was a terribly misfortunate accident."
Maria turned away from her husband's gaze. "Me, the petty Baroness who can't even walk properly by herself. I look like a complete fool. People will be staring, asking questions. I can't bear that."
"You won't have to, Maria. I'll be there next to you the whole night, don't you worry." He leant down to kiss her hair and took in the delicious scent of her perfume. "You really do look beautiful."
"Thank you, I am trying to believe it myself," Maria said. She smiled softly before searching for a hairbrush to finish getting ready.
Having entered the party an hour ago, Georg observed his wife sitting next to him at the round table. Her hands were entwined firmly and she was fidgeting uncontrollably. He leaned over to her and kissed her cheek softly. "Have the nerves subsided yet, my dear?"
"I'm fine Georg," she whispered quickly, not wanting to draw attention to herself. "Baroness Ebberfeld has an admirable circle of friends, doesn't she?"
Georg sighed. It seemed Maria was quite set on changing the topic. "Yes she does," he agreed before he looked down at his hands and silence overcame them again. After a while, Georg entwined his hand with hers and suggested, "Let's dance." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to stand with him.
Maria pulled her hand away from his. "Georg, please. I'd rather not."
Georg looked down at her firmly and scolded, "Maria, you can't just sit here all night."
"Yes I can," Maria assured him. "And I will. I'm not about to make a complete fool of myself."
"Maria, you love dancing and that's the most important thing. You could outshine anyone in this room, believe me."
"Georg…" she began to stutter but he put a finger to her lips.
"Maria, stop being so stubborn. You'll be fine, trust me."
Maria groaned as Georg unwillingly dragged her up and she hesitantly followed him to the middle of the floor. He positioned his arms firmly around her waist and they started the familiar swaying to the pretty landler that was playing.
Maria knew immediately that Georg had been correct. As they moved smoothly in each other's arms, Maria soon found herself getting lost in the dance. Rapidly loosing all sense of time, of thought, as she spun in her husband's arms, she absorbed herself in the music and the flow of their steps. Having made it safely through most of the dance, Maria's boldness grew and she put more effort into the steps of her part of the dance.
Just as the music led into its last swell, Maria stretched too quickly and too far and nearly lost her footing as she almost doubled over, clutching her side. The flexibility she'd had was now gone; her ribcage was throbbing from having overworked herself, and the intense grimace across her features was all that Maria could do to hold back the reactive tears of immense pain from falling to her cheeks.
Georg wasn't quite sure just how Maria had gone from being securely in his arms and dancing like her old-self to literally kneeling on the floor several feet to his right, but he was immediately at her side, drawn like a magnet. He asked worriedly what had happened, she waved him away and rose to her full height, helped somewhat by Baroness Ebberfeld, who'd been standing against the wall behind her.
Trying to clear her pain-riddled mind, Maria felt the warm hands of the old baroness rest on her shoulders and lead her towards the main hallway of her exquisite home and didn't resist. The woman was waving away concerned attendees and servants, assuring that they were just fine. Before Maria knew it, she found herself seated on a comfortable chair that sat near the staircase, and the kind baroness was pulling another one closer.
The woman asked quietly, kindly, "Can I get anything for you, Mar—Baroness von Trapp? Are you alright?"
Maria said dully, "I'm afraid not much can be done. I'm finding out that the human ribs take a ridiculously long time to heal. I haven't had an entirely bad time tonight, though; just with the last part of that dance." She looked up into the woman's kind eyes. "Please, just call me Maria. You're too kind to me as it is."
"No my dear, you're wrong. Here, come with me." Baroness Ebberfeld helped Maria up and guided her to the door which led to the gardens outside. Taking to a bench just outside, the pair sat down and Maria rubbed her bare arms.
"You know that no one thinks you're weak Maria, don't you?"
Maria looked to the side, off into the distance. "I'm not so sure," she barely whispered. "I was subject to injuries two months ago that are still healing, and from that, I have miscarried our child."
"Don't be ashamed, my dear," the baroness whispered, looking reassuringly into Maria's eyes.
Maria responded softly but immediately, "Easier said than done."
The baroness shook her head at the realisation that Maria was seemingly refusing to accept her encouraging words. She decided to try a more personal approach: "I miscarried a baby myself when I was about your age. Seems like a long time ago now," she responded. Her confession caught Maria's attention immediately who looked up in anticipation. "And even though at the time it seemed like a hurdle I could never get over, somehow I worked my way through the turmoil of it all and now amazingly, I have three beautiful children and five adorable grandchildren."
Maria looked at the older woman straight in the eye, not quite knowing how to respond.
The baroness looked away before continuing. "I never really talked about it properly and even now, as you could probably guess, it is still very hard. Believe me Maria, talking from first-hand experience; don't hold your emotions in. They must come out some time, better now than in an explosion later. You have a wonderful, caring husband in that room there." She pointed to the house, where the party life was booming. It seemed like a world away. "Don't push him away Maria. I know he wants to help you in any possible way. Open up to him, tell him how you're feeling, and trust me in saying that it will make you feel better."
Maria choked and immediately burst into tears. It seemed that Baroness Ebberfeld's truthful and heartfelt words had stirred some kind of release in Maria, and the Baroness smiled softly in understanding. She put her arms protectively around the younger woman and let her take the time to cry on her shoulder.
After their return home, Maria had simply rushed to the bedroom and was now, as Georg observed, lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. Sitting in chair next to their bed, Georg waited for her to speak. He could tell from her facial expression that her mind was deep in thought.
Suddenly, Maria rolled over so that her back was to him. Georg was just about to go to her side when he heard the faintest whisper. "It was terrifying, Georg. You could barely imagine how my whole body seemed to be pulsing with fear as soon as I heard the screeching brakes."
Barely understanding what she had said, Georg immediately looked up and his attention turned on fully.
Maria smiled as she watched her husband scurry off to fetch the wine bottles. Although she tried to show her annoyance at his somewhat absentminded actions of late, she simply couldn't; it was one of the things that made her love him so much.
The prettiest white flowers suddenly catching her eye, Maria walked further into the centre of the road and bent down. She carefully observed the tiny flowers and smiled to herself while fingering their petals gently. She leant down further to grasp their sweet scent and was beginning to stretch up again when she heard the blood-curdling screeching of brakes.
Maria felt an unimaginably strong force knock into her front from side on as she fearfully turned around and it sent her crashing the ground within seconds. She felt an excruciating pain in her abdomen as her head hit the ground, accompanied by her hands instinctively wrapping around her front. She tasted a revolting mixture of dirt and blood in her mouth, vaguely realizing that she'd bitten down hard on her lip. She whispered desperately, as if crying out for help that might never come, "Georg," barely able to get the garbled words out before everything suddenly went black.
To Georg's surprise, Maria was not crying. Her face simply looked cold and numb. Stepping up and moving onto the bed next to her, he cradled her in his arms and rubbed her cheeks with his thumb. Georg kissed her forehead, greatly appreciating the depth of her confession.