FProblems
Disclaimers: I don't own The Sound of Music. Also, the format of the flashbacks for this story comes from watching (and reading) OUAT.
"A ball? Well…" her blue eyes darted between Georg and Max as she seemed to deciding how to respond. "I suppose," she finally replied as her eyes landed on Georg. By her soft smile, he knew she was remembering their wonderful dance from the last one.
"And this time you'll be where you belong. With me, wearing an evening gown. Not on the outside, looking in and feeling out – of – place," Georg promised her as he rubbed her arm in comfort.
Maria smiled at him, looking a little less nervous. He had been correct. A lot of her nervousness was because of her less – than – perfect memories of the last ball she'd attended.
"And of course, I'll be there as well, Maria," Max added, taking a nice gulp of Georg's scotch. "Making sure this one," he pointed at Georg, "behaves himself."
Georg looked at Max in disbelief. "Assuming you can tear yourself away from the food and the wine long enough to do so, that is." Max simply smiled impishly. "Honestly, Maria, you don't have anything to worry about," Georg promised her. "The Ebberfeld's approve of you. They told me when they sent me the invitation. They think you are delightful and the way you handle the children is wonderful. And I'll stay with you the entire time."
Maria smiled at him again and leaned closer so their shoulders were touching. As he did so, Georg smelled the grass, the flowers, and the rain in her hair. Maria always had the natural scent of the outdoors lingering on her, and it was more wonderful than any perfume. He inhaled her scent again for a second before Max cleared his throat loudly. Georg continued. "Maria, I have to admit, I'm not terribly fond of balls myself. Especially with so many people talking about politics lately. We're lucky we are not in Vienna. There, they have balls every weekend." He shuddered, remembering how Elsa dragging him from one ball to another when he visited her. "But I'm afraid we must attend the Ebberfeld Ball. They were friends with my parents, and I owe them the courtesy."
Maria nodded again.
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Then after he'd bought Maria a beautiful pink gown that suited her perfectly, she admitted to him that she wasn't sure she could waltz. After reminding her how wonderfully she'd danced before, Maria admitted that the landler was a dance she'd learned in school, but the teachers didn't think it was appropriate to teach children the waltz. Georg was briefly surprised, although he'd tried not to show it, as he'd been taught to waltz in school. But he was quite happy to teach Maria all about the waltz, right in his ballroom. It was kind of too bad that Max insisted on watching them the entire time, and Friedrich and Liesl viewed the dance several times as well, but overall, it was very worthwhile experience.
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Maria looked gorgeous the night of the party, as Georg already knew she would. Several people at the ball tried to examine Maria's midsection a little too long, or give her a veiled insult, but Georg stuck to her side and showed everyone how much he disapproved of that kind of thing. Everyone was pleasant to both of them after that. Honestly, many people there reacted warmly to Maria's warm, cheerful personality anyway. The hostess herself, Baroness Ebberfeld offered Maria any assistance that was necessary in planning their wedding as well, which they both gratefully accepted. The older lady actually took such a liking to Maria that she began telling a couple of stories about Georg when he was a child.
Georg quickly whisked Maria off for another dance before that went too far. He and Maria waltzed and performed the landler that night and he couldn't decide which he preferred. Both dances allowed Maria to touch him, which was particularly wonderful as Georg was able to admire her special bare hands. Both movements also caused Maria to come close enough for him to inhale her particular, genuine fragrance.
The landler, however, was a subtle courtship dance where you moved closer and closer to your partner as you continued, which was enjoyable in its own way. Besides, Georg had a feeling he would always consider the landler "their dance" as it was then that they first realized they might be in love with each other. But the waltz, on the other hand, was an intimate dance which required you to hold your partner close the entire time. Georg was able to look into Maria's eyes, feel her chest press up to his, and have her arms wrapped wrapped around him completely as they performed the waltz.
Several people unfortunately spoke about politics that night. Young men only a little older than Friedrich talked eagerly about being a part of the "new order" and the "fatherland." Men Georg's age mentioned how much they hoped for a chance to settle their anger with France and Great Britain because of the Treaty of Versailles. Many people young and old and men and even some women eagerly spoke of ways to cause Austria to become magnificent place it once was. It was very obvious to Georg that these people meant they hoped Austria would join Hitler's new regime. Georg stewed every time he heard such nonsense, wondering how anyone could think Austria could "become magnificent again" by joining that madman. Maria usually took that opportunity to entice him into a better mood with another dance or a refreshing drink.
At one point, Georg came close to spitting in Hitler's stooge's face, Herr Zeller, who seemed to show up at every event in the last couple of months just to get under his skin. "You would be wise to understand all of the benefits Hitler will offer Austria and you personally, Herr Trapp," the man commented to him as Georg picked up some crackers while listening to another few talk about Nazism
"There are no benefits, Herr Zeller," Georg snapped back, giving the evil man the same looked he'd shown him a month and a half ago when Georg had seen him last.
Zeller smiled smugly, like he had knowledge Georg did not. "We shall see."
Georg fantasied about wiping the grin right of that man's face but Maria took his hand and whispered, "Georg, he's not worth it. Come with me for another glass of white wine."
Georg sighed and nodded as he leaned closer to her, her subtle scent helping him to focus on what was most important: Maria. He held on to her arm as Maria led him over to the wine table, where Max was enjoying himself, of course. "Georg! Maria! Some party, huh?" Then he smiled at Maria as he took a nice drink of red wine. "See, I told you this would be fun," he added to Maria. Georg shook his head as he poured Maria and him a glass of white wine, which was just as refreshing as he hoped it would be.
Still, after that, he met a couple of old friends who didn't raise his hackles by talking about politics or study Maria too closely. In fact, Georg was even able find a friend who had boys at the right age to be altar boys. All in all, they had a nice time, and Maria actually helped him more than Georg needed to help her. She was doing fine conquering her nervousness. She was even calling him by his first name more and more now.
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Still, Maria had a lot more to be nervous about besides the party, and Georg knew that. She was growing more used to being treated as the mistress of the house, but he was aware she wasn't entirely comfortable with that yet. Then there was planning the wedding itself. A reception hall had to be booked. Invitations had to be sent out. Food needed to be chosen. Decorations must be picked. Plus, Maria and the girls had to return to the formal clothing shop for dress fittings. Unfortunately, these were all things Georg didn't know a lot about himself. Agathe always took care of them when she was alive and Elsa took care of them for the last celebration he'd hosted. Still, Georg offered whatever help he could. Frau Schmidt did her best to help, as the woman was used to assisting with planning parties. And Maria took Baroness Ebberfeld at her word and called the older woman often for advice.
The children were also becoming a problem for Maria and Georg. Every time they turned around, one of the children disobeyed them. Throughout most of the summer, they seemed to be on their best behavior. Georg wasn't sure if that was because they were so happy to have their father back in their lives or because they had received a wonderful new mother – figure. Or perhaps they were worried what Georg might do if they started misbehaving too much?
Georg swallowed a gulp of scotch in his study as he realized that it was a very real possibility the children had been worried he would revert into a military commander instead of a father again if they acted less than perfect. How long would the consequences of his actions in the last four years continue to haunt him? Georg took another drink.
Even Liesl, whom had helped Maria and Georg with the younger children in the past, rebelled. Georg would never forget how angry he was when they found Liesl crouched on the floor in the back as Max prepared to climb in. "Liesl!" he barked. "Out!"
"But Father, I'm sixteen! Almost seventeen! I should – "
" – I said out!" Georg barked before she could say what he knew she wanted to; that she wanted to go to the ball as well. After all, Liesl had obviously dressed herself in one of her best outfits and seemed to have styled her hair for an evening out as well. That was completely out of the question.
Max was no help. He simply watched the scene between father and daughter, chuckling the whole time. Sometimes Georg had to wonder why he put up with that man.
Georg was about to take Liesl by the hand and march her back into the house when Maria stepped forward. "Liesl, I understand that you believe you are old enough to go to this event, but we need your help to look after the younger children. Besides, hiding in the backseat of the car isn't very becoming for a young lady who wants to be an adult. You should know that, Liesl."
Maria's firm, but gentle lecture seemed to work wonders on the girl, as she looked at the ground, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I'll go back inside now." And the three adults watched as she did just that.
Despite the problems they were having with the children in the past two weeks, Georg admitted he admired how Maria handled their misbehavior. She didn't scream at them the way he would, as it seemed she saved most of her temper for Georg. Rather, she lectured them on what they did wrong and attempted to find a punishment that was appropriate but not too harsh. It reminded Georg a lot of the way Agathe would react when the children misbehaved.
"Kurt!" she exclaimed one afternoon as she caught her five year – old son pulling his sister, Louisa's hair. "You are not allowed to do that. It hurts your sister. Now I want you to sit on this chair," she pointed to the biggest chair they had in the drawing room, for five minutes. No talking."
"But Mommy – " Kurt protested, obviously hating the idea of sitting down and being able to talk for five minutes.
"I said no talking, Kurt," Agathe told him again firmly as she waited for him to sit on the chair. "Now if you talk or try to get up, your time will increase. Do you understand?" He nodded, pouting as did so.
As Agathe left the room and prepared to watch the rest of the children from the terrace, Georg stopped her. "You handled that so well. When I was that age, my father would whip me for misbehaving, without even telling me what I had done wrong. How do you always know what to say, Sweetheart?"
Agathe smiled back. "I suppose I have good mothering instincts."
"You certainly do," he agreed as his heart swelled with even more love for his wife.
Even when the children refused to go to bed, Agathe acted accordingly.
One night Georg and Agathe were in the process of undressing, giving each other little kisses as they went, when they suddenly heard thumping from Liesl's room. "I suppose I should go see what that is," Agathe sighed, tearing herself away from Georg.
Georg groaned, "I'm certain she's fine, Sweetheart. Really. Come back to bed," he insisted as he reached for his gorgeous wife.
But Agathe was already wrapping on her dressing gown. "No, Darling, she could be hurt."
Georg sighed. He supposed she was correct. "Come back soon," he pleaded as she left.
Eventually Agathe did return, explaining that Liesl had decided to practice her dancing lessons in the middle of the night! Agathe had lectured her that she must sleep now, and since she'd thought dancing was more important than sleeping, she would not be allowed to attend the professional ballet they had planned to take her after all.
Georg and Agathe shook their heads as she climbed into bed. "Children," they said together, full of exasperation and love. Then they kissed and said children drifted from their minds.
Georg shook his head, smiling this time as his mind drifted back to the present. It was nice that he had someone to share his children with again including their misbehaving, their accomplishments, their cute moments, and everything in between. In fact he should give that call to Switzerland to so he would be certain his children and his new wife would be safe next year.
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Still, Georg was aware that the biggest reason why Maria had to be nervous wasn't because of a ball they'd already attended or wedding preparations, or even children's misbehavior. It was those nasty rumors that still filtered through Salzburg about Maria and why she might be marrying him. Georg couldn't think of anything to help, except do exactly what he'd decided to do since they'd announced their engagement. He would make sure he was always with Maria and the children when they went out. In that way he could help prevent it from becoming too unbearable by showing those people what he thought of looks, comments, and gestures about his bride.
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OOOOOOOOO
Maria was beginning to think she might go bananas.
First, there was the Ebberfeld's Ball. Although she liked the idea of going to one with her fiancé, Maria could still remember how uncomfortable she'd felt at the last party she'd attended. And this time, she couldn't hide in the background with the children. To add to her nervousness, the Captain – or rather Georg – had told her the Ebberfeld's had been friends with his parents. What if Maria said or did something that embarrassed or offended them?
Still, Maria was more confident than she'd expected in her new pink evening gown, and the Captain thankfully, stayed close to her the entire night. Some people did stare at her stomach a little too long, or examine her extremely short hair. Others made veiled comments about Maria and the Captain's relationship. But many people greeted Maria warmly, and even conversed with her.
Baroness Ebberfeld was a dear who seemed to accept Maria as part of the von Trapp family already. She offered any assistance that they needed for the wedding. She also wore green gown which reminded Maria of the outdoors, so Maria felt even more comfortable around the older woman. And she even shared some stories with Maria about Georg as a boy. "Oh yes, he was a marvelous pianist, even as child," she commented as the three of them nibbled on tiny cakes without frosting. "I'll never forget how proud his mother was when she told me he'd won the school's competition for piano performance."
Maria smiled up at the Captain, not surprised. Since he'd opened up the music room again, he'd spent several evenings playing for her (and Max as well, naturally). His music was beautiful. Her Captain gave her and Baroness Ebberfeld his famous smug grin. "I won three years in a row, actually," he commented, trying to sound causal but not really succeeding to anyone who knew him well.
Maria popped the last bite of the sweet cake in her mouth, hoping she didn't get it all over her face. Everyone here seemed to be able to remain immaculate while they ate and drank.
"Now don't let this man convince you that he was a perfect boy," Baroness Ebberfeld cautioned as she finished her last bite of the cake. "I also remember the first time I'd met him. It was a bright summer day, and his parents had invited my husband and I for afternoon tea, but he and his brother exchanged the sugar for salt!" The woman shuddered. "That was a cup of tea I'll never forget."
Maria looked at Georg in amazement, trying to picture him as boy about Kurt's age, possibly younger, playing tricks on his parents and their guests. It was such a contrast to the stern Captain she'd met a couple of months ago, and yet it fit in perfectly with all the teasing she knew he was capable of. "Don't listen to her, Maria," he commented, sounding far less smug than he did a few minutes ago. "It wasn't my idea; it was my brother's."
Maria smiled at the way he insisted the prank wasn't his fault. It sounded like something one of his children might say. But before she could say anything else, Georg pulled her away from Baroness Ebberfeld. "Dance with me, darling," he commanded, snapping on his white gloves.
Maria smiled, letting him lead her on to the dance floor. Her Captain had finally explained why he didn't want her wearing any gloves, and she was so touched that she agreed completely, not caring how many people may look at her strangely. It seemed they both found the other's hands particularly attractive. Georg's hands were strong and firm, and all the more exciting because he kept them hidden from others. Maria's hands were smaller but tough and beautiful in their own way, and neither she nor Georg were ashamed of them.
The music was beautiful and perfect for the waltz. As they listened, Maria and Georg lost themselves in the dance. Her feet seemed to move on their own as Maria felt only Georg's strong, gloved hands holding her tightly and her chest pressed up against his. With him this close, she was also able to smell a wonderful combination of his cologne and the sweet cakes they'd just eaten. When they finished, Maria was pleased she remembered the all the steps to the waltz, after all.
The ball had been easier than she'd expected, over all. Georg actually had more trouble than she had, what with a few people discussing politics and a heated conversation with a man trying to provoke him. Maria understood his problems with Herr Hitler and the Nazi party; the man's ideas made her uncomfortable, too. But she didn't think this party, which was supposed to be a happy occasion, was the time to be worrying about them. So when her fiancé became upset, she would lead him to the dance floor or to find a drink. The only thing that was a little odd was when Georg insisted on staying with her as she talked to a group of only women or she stay with him as he discussed something with a group of only gentlemen.
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Still, there were plenty of other things for Maria to be nervous about. Like all the wedding plans that Maria was required assemble in only a couple of months. Frau Schmidt helped when she could, and Baroness Ebberfeld was wonderful, but as the bride, Maria still had to oversee everything, and she wasn't sure if she was making the right decisions or not. To add to Maria's frustration, there was Max, who continued to live with them and watched she and the Captain's every move. The few times they were able to steal a few moments to themselves, Max would sneak up on them. Maria wasn't sure if she should scream at him for interrupting or thank him for preventing her and the Captain from going too far. Many times she did both.
Still, all of those were small problems compared to Maria's biggest in the last two weeks. The first was the children. After spending most of the summer with such sweet children, she was surprised to find them misbehaving so much lately. Kurt hid instead of listening to Maria when it was time for "quiet time." Liesl, who Maria and Georg thought was growing into a dependable young lady, tried to hide in the backseat of the automobile so she could attend the Ebberfeld's Ball. Louisa let the creatures she'd put in jars loose to room around the house.
Maria would never forget the scream that came out of Marta's mouth one morning from the washroom. She knew the girl was learning to speak louder all the time, but that was a noise she didn't expect. The girl ran out of the room with her hands still wet. "Fraulein Maria!" the girl exclaimed, as she ran into Maria's arms, "There were big spiders in there! One was crawling across the floor, and the other was sitting right on the side of the sink!" The girl clutched at Maria's dress tightly, so her clothing became wet. "They had so many eyes and claws, oh don't make me go back in there!" Maria thought for a second. The spiders Marta was describing sounded suspiciously like some that Louisa had caught last week.
Maria patted Marta's head. "Don't worry, darling. You can use my bathroom to clean up." Marta nodded quietly and slowly walked down the hall. Then Maria opened the door to the other bathroom, reminding herself that these spiders may look sinister, but they weren't harmful to people. She'd never let Louisa keep them if that were the case. "Louisa!" she called out. "Why is Marta finding spiders in her bathroom like the ones you caught in the backyard last week?"
Louisa eventually arrived, but simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Do you remember how you promised to keep all your creatures in jars?" she asked firmly.
Louisa looked at the floor. "Yes."
"Please put them back where they belong, and you will not be allowed to collect more creatures, since you can't take care of the ones you have," Maria sighed and shook her head, wondering how the thirteen – year – old could break their agreement. As Louisa did so, Maria returned her room to check on Marta and change. After all, she remembered the complications of her clothes being wet from earlier in the summer.
It turned out Louisa was only able to find one of the spiders, which she put back in the backyard as Maria demanded. So now there was a good – sized spider with eight eyes and claws roaming somewhere in the house. One more thing to cause frustration and nerves. Spiders were not a big deal to her outdoors; after all Maria loved nature and all it entailed. But it was different when there was a large spider in the house, sneaking around where people least expected to see it. Maria hoped it was found soon, for her sake as well as Marta and Gretl's.
But even Marta and Gretl weren't as sweet as they used to be. Every time they were late for a meal in this past week, they found a way to blame it on Maria. "Fraulein Maria told me I had to wash my hands first, Father. That's why I was late," Marta said one evening. For goodness sakes! They were required to wash before every meal, and Marta certainly knew that.
"Fraulein Maria couldn't find my new hair bows, Father," Gretl told him another morning. "That's why I'm late."
"Fraulein Maria told us we must put away the balls we played with this afternoon," Friedrich, Kurt, and Gretl all said at the same time another evening. "That's why we weren't on time for dinner tonight." Admittedly, Maria did have problems keeping track of time. Fortunately the Captain – or rather Georg – knew that and was willing to tolerate that at this point, although he still preferred his household to run on a schedule whenever possible. But Maria didn't understand why the children were placing all the blame on her now. It was just as much their fault as it was hers. She remembered a time, only a month ago when these same children placed all the blame on themselves for being late.*
Had the von Trapp children decided Maria wasn't worth their trouble? Were they trying to get rid of her, just as everyone else in her life had? When Georg had asked their permission to marry their governess, they all agreed eagerly, but perhaps they'd changed their minds? Maria tried to tell herself not to be so pessimistic, and to trust the gifts God had given her, but it was becoming more and more difficult.
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However, the person who was causing Maria to go bananas the most was Georg. For some reason, her Captain had been following her everywhere in the last couple of weeks. When it was family outing, like the time they took the children shopping, Maria was grateful and she loved to see him spending time with his children. But last week, he insisted on coming to the formal shop with Maria and the girls for their dress fittings, although Maria was certain he did not enjoy clothes shopping. The boys did not need fittings, so why did he need to go as well? Perhaps he was still trying to find information on what Maria's wedding dress looked like? If that was the case, Maria was happy to have all the girls assist her in preventing him from seeing or hearing anything.
Still, it wasn't just the dress fittings that Georg insisted on following her to. He also went with her to the print shop where Maria had all the wedding invitations made. And he insisted on going with her to the tea shop a few days ago. Even the time when Maria visited the school supply store because the children needed new pens, Georg insisted on taking her there himself. Maria loved spending time with her fiancé, of course. But she didn't understand why he needed come with her every time she made a small errand.
With everything at the Villa making Maria bananas, she desperately wanted to run to her mountain again, but unfortunately it was too wet for that. Instead, Maria settled for screaming in the washroom when she found the children particularly troublesome and occasionally walking around the villa in the evening. Maria also prayed that she didn't lose her new family. She prayed to understand them better. And she prayed that she didn't lose her head completely.
One thing Maria looked forward to was Verena Koch's ladies tea party on Friday afternoon. She had met Verena at the Ebberfeld's Ball and the two women found they shared the same taste in teas. They were also close in age, and Verena had only been married for a few years herself. It would be the perfect chance for Maria to see her new friend and spend some time away from the Villa at the same time.
Shortly after lunch, Maria let everyone know she would be leaving but would definitely return before dinnertime. To Maria's extreme surprise, the Georg followed her outside as well. "Georg, where are you going?" she asked confused.
Georg gave her a look of disbelief. "You said you wished to go to a tea party this afternoon. So that is where we are going."
And that's when Maria finally snapped. "I don't understand why you insist on following me every time I leave, but in case you didn't know, this is a women's tea. So you're not going this time."
Georg shook his head. "No, I have to go with you, Maria," he insisted, as usually did in the past couple of weeks.
"And why is that necessary? Why are you being so ridiculous?" Maria asked him, raising her voice every time she spoke. A horrible though suddenly occurred to her. "Is this because you don't trust me for some reason?"
"No, of course not!" He thundered back, giving her a look Maria knew would scare most people. "And it's certainly not ridiculous. I'm just protecting you, for heaven's sake."
"Protecting me from what?" Maria screamed back at him.
"From all those people who judge you Maria!" he screamed back at her. "I've seen them do it, so don't bother to tell me it doesn't affect you. You know how people stare at your waist, like they're expecting it to get bigger by the minute!"
"But Captain – " Maria protested, looking at her waist for a second before she looked back at him in disbelief. How exactly did he intend to stop others from their behavior? From having their own ideas?
"Or they make some veiled comment that sounds like a compliment and an insult at the same time," he continued, like he hadn't heard her protest at all. "If I'm close to you, I can make sure those things are kept at a minimum."
"And what makes you think I need protecting?" Maria shouted at him. "People don't scare me that easily, Captain! Otherwise, I would have never survived the first few weeks here. I admit I wish you and the children weren't affected by all the gossip about us, but there's nothing we can do about it."
The Captain slammed his fist against his leg so hard Maria thought he might break it for a second, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. "No, I must protect my wife! I tried my hardest to protect Agathe, and I will protect you!"
Maria shook her head violently at that. "Well, I'm not Agathe, Captain! All I've heard out of you for the past few weeks is how much I remind of her and how you expect everything in your relationship with her to apply to us as well. Enough about Agathe! Do you really think this the first time I've had people look at me strangely, insult me, or gossip about me? It was rather common when I was in school. An orphan is an easy target for children, you know! And the nuns may have been nicer about it, but they certainly discussed my shortcomings. I don't enjoy it, but I've learned to accept it."
"But Maria – "the Captain protested, with a determined look on his face.
"No Captain!" she could be just as determined as he was, didn't he know that by now? "I will go to the women's tea by myself, like it is expected." With that, Maria marched back into the house and told Franz to give her a ride to Verena Kock's nearby estate.
*See "That Thing About Fish" for a little more on this.
Thank you for the reviews. Please keep them coming so I know what I'm doing well and what needs work.
Here's the responses from the last chapter.
Giulia: Glad you like all my details and the different aspects of this story. Nice to know you enjoyed "That Thing About Fish," too.
Srsittson: Yes, I know not everyone enjoys shopping, but they did need to by something for the wedding, and Louisa knew that. I'm glad you liked the bonding.
Bloomandgrow: I can only imagine how overwhelming it would be to go shopping with seven children, but then I think a lot of things would be overwhelming with seven! And yes, I got the "Maria's hands" thing in this chapter. :) Glad you liked the flashback. I think the one in chapter six is my favorite that I've written so far. Married couple talking about their love for their children while still making their romantic love clear.
Guest: Thank you.
Augiesannie: Glad you liked the wedding details and really glad you like the Agathe flashbacks. The whole possibility of "scandal," insults", etc. because of M & G's engagement is a bit of a cliché, but hey we all know it would be an issue, so I think it should be mentioned.
