Chapter 14

"Who is that?" Maria exclaimed as she walked out on the terrace three days after the accident. The Captain didn't even pick his head up from the newspaper, trying his hardest to not let her overzealous question get under his skin. He had dreaded this moment from the minute that Elsa's personal gardener had arrived at the house. He hadn't cared that Elsa had fawned over the well-built young man, suspecting that he may be her boy toy. He should have known when Elsa had built the gardeners accolades up to that of a God of dirt and foliage that something was amiss. She had claimed that only her gardener could tame the English maze and have it ready for the dinner party that she was planning to host at the villa in two weeks' time. Funny thing was the Captain didn't think that the garden was the only thing the young man was able to tame, and really he didn't care, as long as the other was Elsa and not his Fraulein.

"That is Elsa's personal gardener." The Captain finally answered her question.

"Oh." She replied as she continued to stare at the young man. It had been a long time since Maria's body stirred for human contact. However, since coming to stay at Aigen a need had been awakened in her that she had thought had been buried along with Bill. She wasn't sure exactly what had awoken the beast, but now that it had been let out of its cage its hunger craved to be satisfied. That wasn't precisely true she did know who let the beast out, she just wasn't sure how he had succeeded where so many before him had failed.

Watching the shirtless gardener with his rippling muscles play against his golden skin did nothing to abate these newly rekindled feelings. She was starting to question the sanctity as well as the serenity of the celibate life she had been leading. Would it be so horrible to take a man into her bed? After all, she was a woman wasn't she? A woman with needs just the same as any other, what harm could there be in taking on a lover? As long as the relationship stayed merely on the physical level she truly wouldn't be cheating on Bill. Keeping her eyes locked on the well-built gardener, who was as close to a Greek God as she had ever seen in person, she realized she might just have to rethink some of her life choices.

"I don't know about you, Georg, but I'm beginning to get a complex." Leave it to Max to add fuel to the fire, the Captain thought. "First Elsa, now our Fraulein Maria can't take her eyes off the man. I'll have to find out what his secret is." The impact of the statement was lost on Maria, who had heard none of what Max had said being too entranced in the gardener.

The Captain slammed his paper down on the table, "Is there something you wanted, Fraulein?" He asked ignoring Max's statement as he shot him a dark look across the table.

Pulled from her trance by the Captain's abrupt question Maria began to stammer, "Oh yes…that's right…Lunch is ready to be served."

"Wonderful," he said as he stood from his seat and faced her for the first time since she had come out on the terrace. "Let's eat." He sneered through his clenched teeth focusing his dark and dangerous eyes on her. For a moment Maria wondered if she had done something to bring his mood on or if it had something to do with the news in the paper. Though Maria was a genius and could rival all men who fell on her intelligence level, in this matter she chose to be ignorant, so she settled on the paper as the cause. Even as he blocked her last attempted look at the gardener before they went into the house, she still had no clue.

Maria led the way back into the house with Max and the Captain behind her. Max simply couldn't let this opportunity go as he rubbed it in to the Captain whispering so that Maria couldn't hear him.

"And here I thought that spending the summer in the country was going to be boring, Georg. It's got drama, romance, jealousy, two different love triangles…"

"It's going to have a murder soon, if you don't shut up Max!"

"I can't help it my friend, this is better than any play ever written. You entertain me!"

Their conversation ended as they entered the dining room. All the children and Elsa were already seated. The Captain walked over, not forgetting his manners and the reason that Elsa was there, and kissed her forehead.

"Hello darling," he said to Elsa. "I trust that you slept well?" Although this was the midday meal, after the gardeners' late arrival last night Elsa had retired to bed and exclaimed that she was completely exhausted and wouldn't be joining the family in the morning for breakfast. Max had had an early morning meeting in Salzburg with some prospective producers for the latest play he was attempting to write, so it had just been the Captain and the Fraulein with all the children that morning for breakfast. It was the first time since the arrival of Max and Elsa that they had all been alone together and they had thoroughly enjoyed it. The children had made jokes about how the Captain had reacted when Maria's Aunt in law had arrived the morning after the accident. When Lynn had contacted her the day before, the Captain had no idea that Maria's Aunt was the Reverend Mother of Nonnberg Abbey.

When Frau Schmidt presented her to the Captain at the breakfast table the morning after the accident, with all the children, Max and Elsa present, the Captain had nearly fainted at the sight.

"Father, you turned white as a ghost!" Brigitta had commented that morning as they had all recalled the scene for Maria.

"Well, you know," the Captain had fixed his eyes on Maria, "when one has an Aunt in law who is the Reverend Mother of Nonnberg Abbey, you would think that one would let other people know that in advance."

"I thought you knew." Had been Maria's innocent response.

"NO! You didn't!" Though the children had no idea why the fact that Maria's Aunt being the Reverend Mother bothered the Captain so much, Maria did. Especially after what happened when her Aunt was brought up to her room that morning.

The Captain and Frau Schmidt had brought Aunt Adelaide to Maria's room and though she had still been asleep when they arrived she had slightly awoken from her slumber when Frau Schmidt had come to fix her pillow.

"She didn't sleep well, last night, so it's no surprise to me that she is still out." She had heard the Captain say to her Aunt.

"Oh Captain," Frau Schmidt had exclaimed when she raised the blanket across Maria's back, "she's wearing one of your night shirts." The moment the words had been out of the housekeepers' mouth she knew the woman had regretted her exclamation. Through the crack of her eyes Maria saw Frau Schmidt's hand fly to her mouth as if she wished she could shove the words back in.

Meanwhile, with the Captain standing behind her, Maria could only imagine the look on his face as he tripped over his words of denial, "What…no..no that's not mine…I mean yes…ah….she ahhh..well what happened was…I…I…loaned it to her…when I was with her last night….I don't mean with her…when I…"

"Young man," Aunt Adelaide interrupted the Captain's pathetic speech, "you're going to give yourself a stroke. I know Maria is very peculiar about her sleep attire. Always has been even as a child."

Maria hadn't been able to contain her laugh this morning at breakfast reminiscing with the children though she didn't share that memory with them. Aunt Adelaide may just be the only person on earth that could bring the Captain to his knees.

Returning her attention to the meal at hand, Maria began cutting the meat on Gretl, then Marta's, then Lynn's, then Liam's plates, much to Liam's and the Captain's annoyance.

"Fraulein, you are hovering, again, sit down and leave the boy alone." For the second time in as many days the Captain chastised her for taking too many pains with her son. Though their routine had went back to normal after her and her children returned to the cottage with the trio returning every morning as before, for breakfast and then the lessons, she just couldn't ease her nerves from the accident. She had always been aware of her sons' weaknesses, had always accepted them and encouraged him to go beyond his limitations from his disability. Though now, with the knowledge that one little slip, fall, mistake, could suddenly take him away from her she wanted to throw a protective cloak around him and all of the children shielding them from any harm. Sharp knives were included in her new found worries. If she had thought that the older children would let her, she would have cut their meat as well. But when it came to her being overly protective of Liam, the Captain held a special annoyance towards her. Maybe she was being too overt in her handling of Liam, but she wasn't about to stop on the Captains account.

"I'm simply cutting his meat, Captain."

"He can do it himself, sit down and leave him alone." The table grew quiet at the exchange between the only two parents at the table. The children, Max and Elsa had become accustomed to the verbal exchanges between Maria and the Captain. Even after only three days in the house the other two adults at the table knew when to pipe in with their own opinions and when to hold their tongues. Now was a hold your tongue time as the Captain and Maria squared off.

Maria knew she was going slightly overboard with her handling of Liam and if her son had asked her to back off and give him freedom she might consider it. However, it was the fact that the Captain had given her an order that got her back up. She wasn't accustomed to people telling her what to do, especially when it came to raising her children.

"The knife is sharp, Captain, lord knows he already has ten stitches in his head, he doesn't need any more in his hands." She shot the low blow at him, knowing exactly the damage it would do. She knew the Captain felt terrible for what had happened to Liam, though Maria knew that it was an accident and not at all the Captain's fault, he blamed himself and she used it to her advantage.

"You're emasculating the boy. Leave him alone." He wasn't about to let her get the last word in.

"I am not!" She vehemently denied as she continued to cut her son's meat. She heard the Captain's fork clink against his plate signifying his agitation at her lack of following his orders. Their gazes locked over Liam's head, continuing the now silent battle as they each thought of the next line to one up the other.

Sensing that the next war of the worlds was about to break out Elsa jumped in to ease the tension.

"Georg, darling, she's just being a good mother, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Yes, Georg, my dear mother used to cut my meat for me and look how I turned out." Max threw in.

The Captain threw his fork completely down and then rapidly waved his hand toward Max, "Do you see what you're turning him into! Fraulein, I beg of you! The world already has one Max Dettwieler, we can't afford another one!"

At the Captain's declaration the table broke out in laughter. Even Liam and Lynn who had complained to her the night before that they didn't like the way the Captain and she argued over every little thing —(this coming from the two of them after they had gotten into a fist fight over who was going to take the first bath was an eye opener) -laughed at the Captain's joke.

"Mother, really, I can do it myself." Letting out a sigh of defeat, Maria kissed the top of Liam's head then took her seat.

The rest of the meal continued with banter between Elsa, the Captain and Max about Max's play and how his morning went with the producers, while Maria chatted with the children. Every once in a while the two heads of the table would catch the others eye and the war raged on in glances. For the life of her Maria couldn't figure the man out. One minute he was the most altruistic gentleman and then the next he was a raging bull of a man. It also didn't help matters that neither one had brought up what had happened in her room the evening of the accident leaving the air between them thick with tension. So the last three days had been filled with moments of battle between them, but when they weren't quibbling over some insignificant thing their eyes would meet and the tension would turn into radiant heat that stole the air from her lungs.

"Fraulein," the Captain interrupted her thoughts, "What is on the agenda for today?" This was the first time since his company had arrived that the Captain asked her what her plans for the children were for the afternoon. He had been spending his time entertaining his guests; she had assumed he would be doing the same today as well.

"Oh, today we are going to the abbey." She announced, "The Noonday club is having their flower festival there so I thought that I would take the children to see it."

The Captain sat with is fork halfway to his mouth; from the look on his face she could tell that he wasn't pleased with her plans. Glancing over to the three boys that sat next to one another, who incidentally held the same expression on their faces as the Captain did, the Captain put is fork down then cleared his throat.

"Flowers, Fraulein? I don't think that the boys will like that too much."

"Well, yes, but we take turns, sir. Yesterday we did something that they wanted to do, so today we are going to the flower festival."

The Captain glanced over at the boys pathetic faces that pleaded with the man to get them out of this. Traitors, Maria thought.

"How about instead you take the girls to the festival and I'll take the boys to do something else." He thought for a moment, and then he turned to the boys, "Would you three like to go horseback riding?"

Three little heads began earnestly nodding.

"Horseback riding?" Maria exclaimed, "Absolutely not!"

"Why not?" The Captain questioned her back.

"Ding-ding, round two." Max leaned over and whispered to Liesl. Maria and the Captain both shot him a warning look.

"Why not? " Maria nodded her head in Liam's direction. "Captain…" She let her reason hang in the air. She wasn't about to embarrass her son at the table, but damn the man for bringing up something that was entirely too dangerous for Liam to do. He didn't have the balance or the strength to keep himself on a horse.

The Captain rolled his eyes at her then stood from the table, "Excuse us for a moment would you all? Fraulein, out in the hallway, now." Did he just give her another order? If they had been alone in the room she would have thrown her glass at his head. Acting on their own accord her legs followed his command and she met outside the dining room doors.

"You need to stop this nonsense." He whisper shouted into her face.

"Nonsense? What nonsense? I just think…"

"Stop coddling him! You're always hovering and doing things for him that he can do for himself."

"That isn't true, some things he simply can't do himself."

"Really? You told me that you tried to teach him to swim, but Liam told me that he didn't know how to swim because you were too afraid to let him try. And look, after only a week of lessons, look what he can do."

"He's not your son; you have no idea what it's like, to worry over every little thing…"

"No, he's not my son, and yet every time I see him go up those stairs my heart goes into my throat waiting to see if he's going to fall or make it to the top. But unlike you, I let him do it himself instead of picking him up half way there." That was true, she couldn't deny it. Since the accident she had been overly cautious with him on the stairs, but what was she to do? Watch him get hurt again?

"But Captain, horseback riding? What if he falls from the horse? He doesn't have the balance."

"I'll be right there with him, Maria." It had become custom for him to call her by her first name when no one else was around. She, however, always stuck with his formal title, much to his frustration. "Don't you trust me? Do you honestly think I would let something happen to him?"

Backed into the corner by his questions, Maria stammered for her answer. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, when it came to her children she didn't trust anyone. She had been alone in the parenting world since the children were only two. Every cough, sniffle, scrap, and tear had been hers to care for; she didn't know if anyone else was fit enough for the job.

When her answer didn't come soon enough, he stopped his pacing and stood directly in front of her. She could see the anger and hurt in his eyes.

"I'm not sure you are aware of this, Maria, but I do have seven children of my own that I have somehow managed to keep alive all these years. I don't think me spending one afternoon with your son will be the end of him."

In the end she gave in. She and the girls were heading off to the Abbey and the Captain was taking the boys horseback riding with the promise to take all the girls on the next day. He had even talked her into letting him and the boys take her car and she was to take his because it held more people comfortably.

"You just want to drive my car." She said to him in the foyer as they gathered all their things together for the day's outings.

"It's a really nice car."

"It was Bill's graduation present." His head snapped up from his chores at her confession.

"Oh, I didn't know that. If you don't want…"

"It's fine, just drive her nice, she's old, but there's a lot of memories in her." Memories that she wasn't about to share with him, but it may just be where her children were conceived.

"You're worried about the way I'm going to drive her? Fraulein, I've seen the way you drive. I don't think I could do much worse."

They walked out onto the drive, all of the children had gathered into their perspective cars. Maria rattled off another hundred instructions to the Captain. Watch Liam with this, don't do that, make sure Friedrich takes his cough medicine at the right time. Don't let Kurt do that…his head was getting dizzy from saying, "Yes and all right," over and over again.

Standing behind the two parked cars about to go their separate ways he handed over her day bag.

"You'll be back by three, correct." She asked him for the third time.

"Yes, I'll have them back by three."

"I'll see you then, then."

What happened next remains a mystery to her, but it seemed so natural. One minute they were talking and sizing up the rest of the days plans, and the next minute they were leaning into the other and sharing a goodbye kiss. It was the quickest of touches, over before it even started, and yet she tingled from the contact. Pulling away, eyes wide with shock she covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a gasp of horror from their faux pas. Meeting the Captain's eyes she saw humor and adoration as his lips slowly formed into a sly smile.

"I'll see you then, Maria."

I jumped around a little in this chapter. I hope that it wasn't too confusing. Please let me know what you think.