As always, all my thanks for reading! xx
(from the stack of letters tied up with string in Fraulein Maria's carpetbag)
xxx
Dear Fraulein Maria Rainer,
I hope this letter finds you well.
The children have asked that I make you this cardigan. They – and I daresay the Captain as well, he ordered the yarn himself – are worried about you being chilled.
Liesl knitted the hat herself. The pattern is one my niece sent me, it's very fashionable right now. Friedrich and Louisa each made a mitten. I hope they'll serve you well. Let me see, Brigitta did most of the scarf, and Kurt is sending along socks. At least, I think they are socks.
Regards,
Frau Schmidt
PS. The staff at the von Trapp residence send their greetings. I daresay, the villa isn't the same without you.
xxx
xxx
My most fabulous teacher in Groningen,
I absolutely am partial to gouda. Your sampling of Dutch cheese was very well received, and I do thank you immensely for thinking of your friend Max Detweiler. In return, I am posting along this tin of prime Earl Gray. I hope you enjoy tea, and lots of it.
Have you made plans for how you want to spend Christmas this year? I imagine your flock of young ladies will each be leaving for home once the semester ends. What do you think of coming to London to spend the holidays with yours truly? I am planning to stay put and would dearly love some old-fashioned company. Christmas does have a way of making one a little sentimental, don't you think? You are just a short ferry ride away. We can eat our way through Borough Market and hit up the West End to our hearts content. There are a number of productions in the works I think will be of interest to you, including a particularly delightful one managed by… well, I don't want to spoil it, now. Oh, and I happen to be on very good terms with the director of the London Children's Choir.
You only have to say the word, and I shall make the arrangements.
At your service,
(flourish) Max Detweiler
xxx
xxx
My Fraulein with most excellent judgement,
Simply wonderful! We shall have all manners of fun.
You know me far too well for that. When have I offered anything out of charity? The very though offends my sensibilities. No need to be so modest. Haven't you and I always gotten along splendidly?
(large monogram M)
xxx
xxx
I will be on my best my best behaviour. I guarantee it.
(large monogram M)
xxx
xxx
Dearest Fraulein Maria,
The concert was spectacular! Tickets to the show were sold out, and there were even people standing along the sides of the auditorium.
Frau Schmidt helped the seamstress make us new outfits. They're rather like the ones you ordered for the Salzburg festival, except they are lined for winter. The seamstress says we might as well have a… how did she put it, a signature costume, that people would recognize wherever we go. It's funny to think we might keep performing and even strangers will know who we are, but I'm starting to think father may come around to the idea. I don't think it's getting to our heads…
We sang four songs, and Louisa even gave a little recitation. After the concert father gave everyone big bouquets of flowers. I think the boys were a little embarrassed to receive flowers, but father said it was nonsense, and all star performers get flowers, whether girl or boy. He said he was very proud of us. He even wore his tuxedo and looked very dashing.
Unfortunately, Baroness Schraeder had another engagement and couldn't come. There was a very grand party in Vienna, something to do with the royal family, and she said many important people would be there. I think she was upset father wasn't able to go. I'm happy he chose the concert of course, but would hate to think the Baroness was angry because of us. She did donate generously to the charity!
I'd love to sing the songs for you one day. Do you think we might ever go on tour? Maybe we could even go to Holland!
Love,
Liesl
xxx
xxx
(Note accompanied by a clipping and photo from the Salzburg Daily, Hometown Snaps section.
Caption: the von Trapp Family Singers dazzle at the Salzburg Benefit Concert. Back: (R) Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Front: (R) Brigitta, Marta, Gretl)
Fraulein Maria, look! We made the paper!
xxx
xxx
Dearest Fraulein Maria,
I know I just posted a letter to you last week, but something very big has happened. Father and Baroness Schraeder have called off their engagement.
Baroness Schraeder returned from Vienna over the weekend, and she and father seemed in good spirits. She brought a new gramophone for father and many new records, and we had such fun going through them. She and father were even talking of taking a trip to the south of France in the new year. But yesterday evening after dinner (cook make schnitzel, your favourite) they told us they had an announcement to make – that Baroness Schraeder would not be our new mother, and they had decided not to get married after all. I think we were all shocked. They didn't seem upset with each other. Father told us Baroness Schraeder missed her life in Vienna. Baroness Schraeder said it had been very lovely getting to know us, and we would all stay friends.
Father drove her to the train station that very afternoon and spent the evening in his study. I didn't want him to feel alone, so I went to see him before bed. He was very quiet for a long time, and we just sat in the chairs in front of the fireplace. But the strange thing was, he didn't even look sad, just very quiet. Then he asked me, 'Liesl, are you very disappointed?' It surprised me, and I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to upset him or make him angry. But I remembered what you said about telling the truth, and so I told him I was not. He asked me what I meant by that. I guess what I was trying to say is we liked Baroness Schraeder, but we didn't love her. It was hard work thinking of her as our mother. Father got a look on his face, and I was sure he would be angry, but surprisingly he laughed! He said he felt the same way! I told him how Louisa had been feeling, and how worried Brigitta was about being sent away. He sighed and only said he wished we had told him sooner.
I guess that's the end of that, Fraulein Maria. Father doesn't seem unhappy, and he has us, and we don't need a new mother, really. After all, we have father, and Frau Schmidt, and Uncle Max, and you.
Love,
Liesl
xxx
xxx
My sought-after Fraulein Maria,
I'm sitting here calculating whether one phone call from Vienna and one letter across the English Channel will reach you sooner than any number of letters from the von Trapp brood on its way to you out of Austria.
I doubt you'll hear from Georg. He's just loath to admit he was wrong, doesn't believe in changing course, that idiot. I'm not sure I know how he made it through the war. I myself had to ring the villa no less than six times before I got to the bottom of things. Max Detweiler always does.
The fact of the matter is, Fraulein, Georg and Elsa Schraeder have called off their engagement. It appears the arrangement was no longer what they'd hoped it would be. Or perhaps it could be said, his heart was no longer in it. In any case, Elsa has returned to Vienna, where I'd say she belongs, and Georg is once again home alone with seven children.
Don't you glare at this letter like you don't know what it means, or why I'm sending it. I don't blame you if you choose not to act on this morsel of titillating information. After all, you are a clever and charming woman with the world at your feet, and there is a hefty burden of seven children and one grouchy, pigheaded naval officer in the balance.
Just the messenger,
Max (flourish)
xxx