Sunshine on a Cloudy Day
A/N: Please read and REVIEW!!! To all of you who have reviewed thus far, thanks! You guys are the best!!!
DISCLAIMER: Pretty much anything you recognize, I don't own.
~*~
Maria stood up as the Captain stormed into the kitchen. He had not entered this part of the house in so long and he looked so out of place in his suit and tie amongst the sinks and dirty dishes that decorated the large but plain kitchen.
"Maria," he approached her, "why are you eating in here alone?"
"Captain," Maria started, confused but delighted that he had taken the time to come find her, "I thought- but the Baroness-"
"-was wrong," the Captain finished for her, "I have come to apologize on her behalf as she will no longer be here to apologize."
"But-" the captain held up a hand, "I don't understand," she finished.
"The Baroness," he sighed, "has returned to Vienna."
Maria opened her mouth to respond.
"… for good," he finished. Maria looked at him and he returned his hand to his side.
"Now," he said, his tone considerably lighter, "lunch is waiting and so are the children." Maria followed the Captain- flabbergasted as she was- to the dining room.
The children were whispering to each other when they approached the table. The minute they arrived however, the room quieted. Maria looked from child to child as she went to sit at her seat across from the Captain. All of the children were grinning impishly. She would have to ask them about it later.
"Maria," said the Captain holding his hands out to the children on either side of him and bowing his head, "would you do us the honor of saying grace?"
Maria grinned and nodded taking hold of Marta and Kurt's hands.
"For the food we are about to eat may the Lord make us truly thankful," she said, her clear voice resonating through the room. A chorus of Amen's responded and everyone dug into their food that had, by now, become rather cold but that was still very tasty.
~*~
Later that afternoon, the children were all lazing about on the back terrace drinking lemonade and tossing balls back and forth, skipping rope and doing pretty much whatever they pleased. Maria watched them comfortably. Brigitta approached Maria silently and the other children watched intently, Kurt had a large smile plastered on his face.
"Maria," she began and Maria faced her, "Father must really like you to kick the Baroness out after what she did."
Maria tried to look only slightly amused, but really she was starving to hear what had happened while she had been in the kitchen.
"Yeah," interjected Louisa, "when Frau Schmidt told us what had happened, Father looked positively enraged." The older children all nodded.
"I've never seen him like that before," said Freidrich, "well, aside from the time that we put spiders in Freulein Josephine's bed and Father had to convince her that she had not been poisoned by the big black one's bite." The other children grinned in memory but continued to nod.
They all looked up as they heard footsteps approaching them,
"Yes," said an amused Captain, "I don't remember Freulein Josephine being too pleased about that." The children looked anxiously at each other. How much had their father heard?
"I think," said their father after a second, "that it is time for my children to go and get a head start on their reading for school." The children all groaned audibly but obeyed their father.
"What shall I do with my little tell-tale children?" the Captain asked in mock digress.
"Perhaps you should put glue on their toothbrushes so their mouths will be closed shut?" suggested Maria with a twinkle in her eyes.
The Captain leaned over the railing of the terrace and Maria followed suit.
"I'm sorry that had to happen. With the Baroness, I mean," he said gazing across the water.
"It's alright," said Maria slowly, looking at the Captain's thoughtful face, "I don't hold it against you," she added just to be sure he didn't think that she did.
"Why can't I seem to do anything right?" he asked nobody in particular and he turned around to face the house.
"You have done so many things right," Maria replied, "you have seven wonderful children who adore you, innumerable awards mantled on your wall, a lovely house, a-" The Captain looked at Maria and his expression made her stop talking.
"I must have done something right," he said softly, "to have deserved for you to come and fix everything I'd done wrong." Maria blushed and her face felt hot, his gaze looking straight into her soul.
"And I-" she took in a deep breath, "must have done something right to deserve to come and work here," she breathed, "I don't know what I'll do when I return to the Abbey -- probably sit all day long thinking of my summer here."
"Yes," muttered the Captain, "and we shall be doing the same." The sound of the children singing flooded their ears and they entered the house once again to see what they were up to.
~*~
Late that night, after the children had gone to sleep, Maria heard a soft knock at the door.
"Come in," she called. Frau Schmidt walked in smiling.
"The Captain would like to see you," she said happily. Maria stood up and put on her dressing gown.
"Where is he?" she tried not to sound too anxious.
"In the ball-room," Frau Schmidt replied, turning around and exiting the room quietly.
Maria approached the ball-room nervously. What could he possibly want with her? She pushed the heavy door open and entered the room, looking at the Captain who was standing in the middle of the floor.
"Maria," he said, looking at her and gasping. She looked like an angel in her white dressing gown underneath the soft ball-room lights.
"Is there something you need?" she asked him, not knowing what else to say.
"Yes," he whispered, his eyes searching her hungrily, "I mean, no. I mean, I don't know." Maria looked at him confused, her heart fluttering in her chest.
"I have to ask you a favour," he said finally. She nodded and breathed in sharply as he stepped closer toward her. She could see the small creases in his otherwise flawless lips and she could smell the soft lotion that he applied to his face after showering.
"Yes?" she whispered finally.
"Will you stay here?" he asked, his voice a soft moan, "I mean after the summer. Please," he begged with his words and his eyes "don't return to the Abbey. For me- for the children."
Maria didn't know what to say. Her brain didn't seem to be working properly. She suddenly felt very bare in only her dressing gown, but she was hot as well, despite the sheerness of the fabric.
"I- I don't know what to say," she said softly. He looked at her wistfully, his eyes taking in the perfection of her face, her figure…
"What would the Reverend Mother say?" she said finally.
"I think," stated the Captain, "that she would be more upset if you did not stay." Maria looked at him, shocked for a moment, but then completely at ease. She was so calm in his presence and yet also so fluttery.
She smiled softly,
"Yes," she whispered finally, "I can see why you would say that." That Captain and she both smiled slightly.
"Maria…" he moaned again, "at least, at least consider it." She nodded and he took another step closer till they were almost touching.
He placed his hand softly on her cheek and she flinched slightly until she realized how soft and warm his hand was. She nuzzled her face into his palm and closed her eyes until she realized what she was doing.
"Yes," she said, taking a step back, "I- I'll think about it," and she turned and left leaving the Captain feeling more alone than ever in the middle of the ball-room.
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