'I spied with my little eye, something charming accompanying you around the Prater' said Max cunningly.

Elsa wondered how he knew. He seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere.

'I thought you were in Linz.'

'I was. A lovely place. But don't try to distract me. Don't think I don't know what you were up to.' He wagged a finger at her. Max Detweiler didn't miss much. Elsa should have been flattered that he cared so much about her. He was the most suave of spongers she'd ever met and she'd embraced him wholeheartedly. He spent his life looking for talent he could commodify and ruthlessly made use of his connections, clawing his way out of trouble at a young age with silver words and golden tones. He usually got his own way in the end. He'd been so wonderful when Baron Schraeder had died, had always been there to support her. For someone who erred on the fickle side, there were few people that he owed his steadfast loyalty to and one of them was Elsa.

'And what was I up to, Max?' She asked, buttering her toast. It was only a matter of time until she admitted her interest in the charming something that had breezed into her life and had stubbornly lodged herself there.

'Why wooing a fair maiden of course. Playing tour guide to a sweet young thing. No doubt you took her to your favourite restaurant and plied her with a dinner she couldn't resist.'

'It's not like that, Max' she chided. She took a bite of toast defiantly. 'Georg booked us on that mountain tour the last time I went to Salzburg, do you remember? Then he stood me up at the last minute and I was on my own in a sea of giggling tourists. I did not relish the trip, even though the mountains were wonderful. Maria was kind to me. Took us all to a lovely little place that served the most delicious strudel and didn't make me feel like a spare even though I was so rude to her. I simply returned the favour when she decided on a day trip to Vienna.'

It had been a couple of days since their chaste but cosy night together and Elsa should have been feeling terrible for corrupting Maria with worldly experiences. But she didn't. She was toying with the idea of ringing her up and inviting her to the event at Lake Constance.

'It's time that you made some new friends now that your old ones are your customers and do nothing but chatter away about their dull little lives. You have embarked on a grand adventure and I think you are ready for a change. When do I get to meet this lovely creature?'

'Well I don't know when I will see her next. I was thinking…'

Was she going to regret this?

Max shot upright and leaned forward looking excited.

'If you don't tell me right now I shall burst with impatience!'

Elsa confessed her latest idea.

'Perhaps it's silly and I'm not sure how the others will take her but I think I'd like her there. And I think she'd like to attend.'

'Well then you must invite her. And I shall be there too of course to be the gateway should anyone not take to her.'

Probably with his latest beau, though Elsa cynically. Max had a rotating cast of acolytes hanging on his every word. He always had much more fun than she had.

'I will write to her and ask her if she would be interested. Perhaps she will tell me the phone number of the boarding house so I can ring her once in a while. I may not be in Salzburg every month.'

'Georg will be devastated that you are going to see someone other than him' said Max lightly. Elsa and Georg had been on and off in their affections for each other in the past year. She had met his children a couple of times but not having had any of her own, couldn't relate. She would have liked to have got to know the eldest one, Liesel, bonded with her over feminine rituals and perhaps finding intelligent topics to discuss but the girl was wary of her, more interested in romancing the postman.

'I don't know about that. We've not scratched below surface level yet. And I'm not sure we ever will. I thought I wanted someone like him. But recently I find myself tiring of everyone. Maria lifts my spirits. I have come to enjoy her company even though I barely know her. Even though I feel like I know her. It's almost like we have met in another life.'

'I knew you were ready for a change. Now don't go and give up everything to live in the mountains with her. But introducing her into your routine could be marvellous for the both of you. She gets to be spoiled rotten and you get a refreshing little lift. And neither of you need to live in each other's pockets. Can't say fairer than that. Now what perfume did you gift her?'

'How do you know that I did?' She asked teasingly. He knew her too well. Giving sample bottles had worked well for her business and it was a way to search for opinions on her products.

'Let me see…that divine sea salt and lemon thyme scent? Appropriate, no?'

She shook her head, laughing. The clue was very near, the flowers on the table wilting slightly.

'So what did she get you? A country girl like that never forgets her manners.'

She inclined her head. He gasped melodramatically with a hand to his forehead.

'I should have realised. Sweet sweet edelweiss. I have been utterly and maddeningly wrong. She's been wooing you.'

'Oh Max, don't be silly.'

He pounced on her denial triumphantly.

'Did you tell her about the last time someone presented you with edelweiss?'

'Not in so many words.'

'But you did mention it?'

'Yes. She was ever so sweet. Told me that he was right.'

She laughed softly and looked down into her coffee cup. Max clasped his hands together in delight.

'How immensely flattering. He was so right. What happened next?'

If she could have told only one person in the world, it would be Max. She played with the teaspoon, not able to meet his eyes.

'I…made her blush, I suppose.'

Max was in raptures.

'How could you do such a thing to her? Beastly. I must know everything.'

Elsa looked wary now. Still not looking at him. He let her stay silent for as long as it took. She had something on her mind and when she did disclose it, it was with reluctance.

'I asked her what made her so sure it was a man. She said she hadn't meant to assume. I enjoyed her reaction, I suppose.' She raised an eyebrow in resignation.

Max stared at her in delight.

'You wicked wicked woman' he chided. 'Corrupting a pure and innocent girl like that? Whatever made you say such a subversive thing? And don't even think of lying to me. You were prepared to divulge this titbit so you must continue.'

He wasn't just hungry for information, he was in need of knowing that someone else out there knew of the love that dare not speak its name. He stopped short of advertising his proclivities of course but the ones that knew, knew. He had heard of such a phenomenon among women but he had yet to meet a woman who would admit that she had ever done such a thing. Judging by Elsa's blush, she was going to be the first one to do so.

'I don't know why I said it. It wasn't to impress or shock. It just made sense to say it at the time. She didn't question it although I'm sure she's never heard of such a thing. We never spoke of it again.'

'Ahhhh so you must have given her the vanilla and edelweiss scent. Did she like it?'

Elsa's mouth twitched.

'She loved it.'

'Such a fun game, the two of you sparring with each other.'

'I didn't know she was going to give me flowers.'

'I think she was secretly delighted. I don't think she was nearly as shocked as you say she was.'

'She was a postulant until last year. The Reverend Mother set her loose for a while to help her make up her mind who she wants to be, what life she wants to lead. She is adamant that she belongs to the abbey. I…don't agree.'

'You feel for this lady?'

'I'm afraid that I do. But I'm not sure why. She hadn't booked a place to stay so I invited her to a spare room here. She never ended up sleeping in it.'

Max uttered a shout of delight.

'No, not like that' she added hastily. 'It was perfectly reasonable. Nothing happened. She insisted on staying with me because of the storm. I mentioned the effect that storms had on Sebastian. She thought that I could be unhappy, for various reasons. She seemed to want to look after me.'

Elsa's laugh failed, turned into a hiccup that sounded almost like a sob. Max took her hand in his, stroking it tenderly. He had teased her about her marriage over the years but he knew how hard the Baron's death had hit her.

'I think you should take her offer. You don't know when you might get the next one' he said.

'She wasn't offering anything but her company' said Elsa fiercely. 'She was being kind.'

She drew her hand away angrily. Not everyone could tell that her irate expression revealed bewilderment and melancholy but Max could.

'It was silly girlish nonsense' she said almost to herself. 'You grow out of that sort of thing when you marry.'

He didn't correct her. Not yet.