A/N: Thank you so much for the lovely feedback.
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Chapter 3: Clash of the Titans
Maria could not believe the opulence that surrounded her as she came downstairs again, whistling a merry tune about her favourite things. Many of the treasures on display would not have been out of place in a museum. She picked up a delicate porcelain statue of a ballerina, and examined the mark on the bottom. Just as she thought, in awe - it was from the exclusive Meissen company in Germany.
"Are you interested in figurines, Fraulein?"
Maria gave a start of fright, not having heard the Captain's stealthy approach. She nearly dropped the figurine but to her enormous relief his hands shot out and caught it in the nick of time.
"Bloomin' 'eck, you didn't 'alf scare the daylights outa me. Creepin' up like that. I nearly dropped this dancer." Then feigning ignorance, she added "Still, it's an old one innit? Can't be worth much."
The Captain stared at her intently with those rapier-sharp blue eyes, and although he kept his expression unreadable she wondered uneasily if he had seen through her already.
"I did not 'creep up' on you Fraulein, you were simply engrossed in your thoughts - I suspect not for the first time. My grandmother collected these figurines, and as you say this one is rather old, but very valuable for all that," he said dryly as he put it down again.
His eyes hardened and his tone became curt as he continued "I heard you whistling on the stairs just now and I would prefer it if you refrained from doing so. I do not wish my children to learn such habits."
Goodness, he was the male equivalent of Sister Berthe, Maria realized. Perhaps they were long separated twins she thought with a secret smile.
"Alright Cap'n, though I thought you of all people would like whistlin' an all since you gave me that silly whistle. Don't make much sense, if ya ask me." She gave him an infuriatingly cheeky smile while he looked at her icily, though he didn't respond to her provocation.
He was trying to unnerve her with his silent dark intensity she realized, but she refused to back down in the clash of wills. Instead she raised her chin defiantly, though she could feel the heat in her cheeks.
"I trust that you have been getting to the know the children without problems?"
"Oh yes Cap'n. What sweet little dears." She refrained from informing him about the frog in her pocket, the pine needles in her bed and the beetles in her bathtub.
He looked at her skeptically for a while and again she felt anxious. It was as if he could see right into her soul. But she would not let him intimidate her, she decided stoutly.
"I'd like you to come and meet my guests please." By his terse tone it was an order not a request, and she wondered crossly if he ever actually asked anyone for anything or just simply demanded it.
He led her into the drawing room and made the introductions. Herr Detweiler looked intrigued but the Baroness looked as if she couldn't believe her eyes at Maria's hideous dress. Maria's eyes were sparkling with bright mischief as she spoke in her thick accent.
"Hah d'ya do?"
The Baroness looked aghast and didn't even attempt to hide her shudder. Maria heard her mutter in disbelief to Herr Detweiler: "Oh dear Lord, two of them with that grotesque accent in one day! Salzburg really is rural backwater compared to Vienna."
Herr Dettweiler chuckled but greeted Maria warmly. "Tell us a little about yourself Fraulein. Do you have family close by?"
"No, I ain't got no parents." She thought she glimpsed a spark of compassion in the Captain's face but the Baroness continued to look down her nose at her, with cold, supercilious eyes.
The contempt she could read in the Baroness' face seemed to bring out the worst in her, Maria acknowledged to herself guiltily. So much so that she couldn't resist adding with a naughty smile:
"I do have an uncle though, but 'e's 'inside' right now."
For a moment the other three looked confused and then comprehension dawned in the Captain's eyes, and Herr Detweiler spluttered his laughter into his drink, though the Baroness continued to look puzzled.
Herr Detweiler murmured quietly to her "I think she means he's in prison, Elsa."
The Baroness made a small shocked noise of horror, her hand protectively at her neck as she paled. She looked ready to faint.
Maria had her fingers crossed behind her back – it wasn't strictly a lie after all. No doubt her uncle was physically inside his house right now since he lived as a recluse like Ebeneezer Scrooge, and was about as pleasant. It wasn't her fault if the other three misinterpreted what she said, confirming their worst suspicions. At least that's what she told herself disingenuously, though the guilt tugged at her.
"You do have an interesting background Fraulein," the Captain said dryly.
"Right you are sir," Maria agreed playfully. "You wouldn't believe the 'alf of it. I 'eard me great great grandfather were a pirate – loved the 'igh seas, he did, just like you do Cap'n. Ain't it funny we got that in common? 'Cept of course he was 'done in' by the Emperor's Navy."
Maria was pleased to see the Captain was staring at her with his mouth slightly open in amazement as she went on with her story. "Strung 'im up, they did, but the story goes 'e was so sozzled by gin 'e didn't even notice. He was a right cantankerous old barnacle, 'e was. Drank somethin' chronic. Mean as a snake when 'e had the gin in 'im."
Again, Herr Detweiler had to translate for the Baroness, since she had clearly never heard the expression 'done in' or 'sozzled' before. "She means he was executed Elsa, but he was inebriated at the time," he said suppressing a chuckle.
The Baroness made another horrified choking sound, while the Captain finally realized his mouth was slightly open in an undignified way and shut it abruptly.
"What a charmingly roguish story," Herr Detweiler said in delight. "You will be joining us for dinner won't you Fraulein? I would love to hear more."
"Well no, sir, I was going ta eat with the staff."
"No, no I won't hear of it. You must join us. I insist." He deliberately ignored the Baroness' fulminating look. "I'll make sure Franz sets a place for you next to me."
"Well it seems to be all arranged doesn't it?" The Baroness said tightly, not bothering to hide her anger. With a false smile she asked Max in a biting sarcastic undertone, "Why don't you call the gardeners and maids in to join us for dinner too? Wouldn't that be fun?"
Herr Detweiller gave a tolerant chuckle. "Really Elsa," he chided her.
The Baroness couldn't resist digging her claws into Maria. "My dear, what an unusual dialect you speak," she said with her voice dripping with condescension. "Have you ever thought of learning to speak proper German? I am sure lessons wouldn't cost too much. In fact I know a Professor Heinrich Higgard from Heidelberg University who would be delighted to help you. He's an expert in linguistics, specializing in bizarre languages. He finds them quite fascinating for some reason."
"Elsa," the Captain murmured quietly, warning her she was going too far, but he needn't have bothered. Maria was quite capable of standing up for herself.
"I'm from the mountains Baroness. It's just the way people speak there. Ain't nothing wrong with the way I talk," Maria said quietly and without heat. "There's dignity in being proud of where you're from, 'owever 'umble. We're all Austrians after all, 'aint we?."
She continued gently, "For all I know your Professor might start stuffing marbles in me mouth, the way that ancient Greek orator Demosthenes overcame his speech defect."
Elsa gave a titter of laughter that sounded somehow more like a sneer. "Oh Georg, do have a box marbles sent in from town, today if possible!"
"Elsa don't," the Captain said quietly again, for her ears only.
But the Baroness continued regardless. "How on earth does a little mountain girl know about ancient Greek orators?" she asked haughtily.
Maria smiled politely and said calmly "Just cos I come from an 'umble background don't mean I'm an ignoramus Baroness."
The Baroness looked as if she was about say something crushing back but the Captain intervened.
"Thank you Fraulein, that will be all. We'll let you get back to the children now and we will see you at dinner."
Maria had barely closed the door behind her when she heard the explosion from the Baroness. She leaned back against the door, stifling her laughter with her hand.
She shouldn't have so shamelessly provoked the Baroness she thought with her conscience pricking at her, but at least she had made her point. She had better recite a few extra Hail Mary's at bedtime, she decided remorsefully. She went whistling back up the stairs. No doubt the Captain was now too preoccupied dealing with the Baroness to hear her.
She was right. Elsa's fury was like Medusa unleashed.
"Georg I insist you fire her straight away. Oh the horror of having someone like that in your house. And looking after your children! I simply can't believe it. And did you notice the way she spoke to me – the brazen hussy. The nerve of her."
Max coughed uncomfortably, rubbing his stomach. "Er, I think I had better .….go supervise cook making the strudel." He made a hasty exit. He could see two volcanic tempers about to erupt and he didn't want to get trapped together with them. Moreover, he didn't want to face Elsa's wrath for inviting the Fraulein to dinner. The other two barely noticed his departure.
"I'm not going to fire her. She hasn't disobeyed my instructions. I can't fire her for no reason. And Elsa you did say some disparaging things to her yourself. It was quite beneath you."
Why the devil was he defending the governess Georg wondered in disbelief. She had been quite provocative herself and he himself had certainly been irked by her impudence and gentle mockery from the moment he had met her a few hours ago.
Even more startling was that he was actually directly criticizing Elsa – something that had never happened before. In truth he felt embarrassed by her imperious attitude to his staff. She seemed to have quite abandoned any pretense of Noblesse Oblige,* and in fact it was her behavior that had been so vulgar. Everything seemed to have been turned upside down in a matter of a few hours, but he didn't have time to dwell on that as Elsa reacted with outrage.
"Well really! You can't seriously be defending her?" Elsa asked incredulously. "How can you allow someone from the gutter to be looking after your children? You must see sense. You will be the laughing stock of decent society, and what if your poor children start speaking like her too? Think of the scandal! They will be ostracized. You must fire her at once. Tell her to pack her bags this minute and return to the Abbey. Stop being such an egalitarian about this, people will think you harbour socialist tendencies yourself."
"Elsa," Georg said irritably, especially since firing the governess had also crossed his mind at certain points, "She is not from the gutter, even if she does have an 'interesting' background. But what the hell, we all probably have some cutthroats, blackguards and vagabonds in our distant ancestry.
"You should only speak for yourself on that," Elsa retorted with imperious dignity.
"Elsa, I am not going to fire her over the way she speaks. That would be completely wrong. She is very qualified. If anything, she is even more qualified than any of the other governesses. I called her college – she was their top student. Not that the Reverend Mother would have deceived me of course," he added hastily, though clearly he had had some doubts.
"For goodness sake Georg, have you taken leave of your senses? Liesl will be coming out as a debutant in a couple of years, what happens if this tawdry young woman changes her? That woman might even have militant tendencies. There are so many of them around these days. You may be harbouring an anarchist in your house. Why, she may even be planning to burn your villa down, while we are all sleeping innocently in our beds," she said melodramatically.
Georg couldn't stop a bark of laughter at that, inciting Elsa's fury further. "Really, Elsa, your imagination is running away with you."
"How can you not take these threats seriously? You know very well our beloved Empress Sissi was murdered by that crazed anarchist in Geneva thirty years ago."
Georg tried to mollify her, even though his patience was rapidly running out. "Of course I take these things seriously. You know how I feel about the rise of the Nazis. But I really don't think Fraulein Maria is a threat of any sort..., except perhaps to my more breakable possessions," he added, remembering the porcelain figurine.
Elsa still looked incensed so he continued.
"For the moment I will give her the benefit of doubt. You have no idea how difficult it is to find a governess willing to look after seven children. Think about it Elsa, do you really want to have the children running around unsupervised while you are here?"
That got through to her, with horrifying visions of hordes of unruly children, running amuck. She sighed piqued, her mouth a tight furious line.
"But how can we bear to listen to her crooning like a bilious pigeon. It is hard to believe that her native language is the same as that of Heine, Würzburg and Goethe."
Then she added scathingly, "It's not surprising that the nuns in Nonnberg take a vow of silence for most of the day. They probably put that rule in just for her! Dear God that voice!"
Georg tried to curb his annoyance, and he was still perplexed why he was defending the Fraulein so vociferously but he persevered.
"Look Elsa, when I was in the Navy I learned very quickly not to judge someone by the way they speak or by their nationality or background. What mattered most was their courage, their loyalty and their integrity. I soon learned those things have nothing to do with class or wealth. Some of my best crew members came from humble backgrounds and they served the Empire with great honour and valour. It didn't matter a damn whether their ancestors toiled in the fields or if they were from the highest nobility, when you are relying on their abilities to carry you through difficult and dangerous missions."
"Georg I really think you are being ridiculous about this. It's all very well to have noble principles but it's far more important that your children know their station in life and are not brought down by these draggle-tailed guttersnipes. I simply can't imagine why you are being so obstinate about this. But for the moment I am going to lie down, I feel a migraine coming on after all this terrible drama. What a day it's been," she said petulantly.
Elsa made a dramatic exit with an angry swish of her long skirt.
Georg sighed with frustration, riled beyond endurance. Damn, damn, damn. He hated drama and Elsa had been querulous and disagreeable the whole day. Not only that but the new governess had also been extremely aggravating, seemingly going out of her way to annoy the hell out of him too.
He felt thoroughly fed up and on edge, and was not amused when Max reappeared waving his handkerchief like a surrender flag.
"Is it safe?" Max asked, grinning. "I saw Elsa stalk off. I assume you put her in place or was it the other way around? Is the little Fraulein staying?"
"Yes, she's staying. For the moment at least," Georg added ominously. He hated to admit it but he needed her. Elsa would not be able to manage the children without her. He shuddered at the thought of the utter chaos that would ensue.
Max helped himself to a drink and then sat at the piano playing a few notes as Georg paced like a caged tiger.
"Christ Max, what a melodrama. Even after all these years I still can't understand women." Well no, that wasn't true, he realized with a painful stab of tender memory. Agathe had been so easy to understand, so calm and serene and he had basked in her gentle warmth and adoring love. But Elsa and this Fraulein were something else altogether.
"God in heaven, women are such complicated creatures. Why can't they be more like men?" He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.
Max chuckled, picking out a tune to Georg's words. "You know that would make a marvelous song." He starting putting words to music:
"Why can't a woman be more like a man?
Men are so honest, so thoroughly square;
Eternally noble, historically fair.
Who, when you win, will always give your back a pat.
Why can't a woman be like that?
Why can't a woman take after a man?
Men are so pleasant, so easy to please.
Whenever you're with them, you're always at ease.
Why can't a woman be more like a man?
Men are so decent, such regular chaps;
Ready to help you through any mishaps;
Ready to buck you up whenever you're glum.
Why can't a woman be a chum?"**
"Very droll Max, but for God's sake, I have had one hell of a day. The last thing I need is you making up idiotic songs like some deranged vaudeville performer. I need a drink," Georg said moodily.
Max gave a tolerant chuckle at Georg's ill temper and stopped playing the piano. "For what it's worth Georg I thought the little Fraulein was enchanting," which only served to ignite Georg's temper further.
"You had better damn well keep away from her. She is here under my protection on authority of the Reverend Mother of Nonnberg Abbey and I will not have you dallying with her," he snapped fiercely.
Max raised his eyebrows at Georg's over-reaction and played a few dramatic chords. "On that note I think I'll leave you to nurse your temper alone while I make some phone calls," he grinned as he took a last swig of his drink. "See you at dinner."
Georg sat alone in the drawing room feeling thoroughly aggravated and out-of-sorts. Elsa's unbecoming behavior had annoyed him, baiting the new governess. Remarkably though, the Fraulein had not seemed at all cowed. In fact she seemed to rather relish defending herself, without slipping into the trap of being rude herself. In truth he wasn't entirely sure who was doing the baiting.
The Fraulein had definitely come out on top of that skirmish, he thought with grudging respect. She was certainly an enigma, and it wasn't just the extraordinary difference between her exquisite singing voice and her excessively loud and grating speaking voice, there was something else about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Well at least he would have some peace and quiet at dinner since the children were well aware of the rule that children should be seen and not heard at the dinner table, and it was unlikely that the new governess would be provocative. What drama could she possibly whip up at dinnertime?
There was little chance of further indigestion this evening, he thought with relief.
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A/N:
*Noblesse Oblige: a French term meaning aristocratic privilege also entails responsibilities and respect to those who work for them.
**'A Hymn to Him' Music and lyrics by Lerner and Loewe, My Fair Lady
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