Chapter 8: Show me now!
"Father has changed so much in the last few weeks," Brigitte said happily, as the children met in the boys' room before dinner. "Have you noticed how he seems to smile more and he even laughs now and then, and he is actually interested in what we are doing."
"It's like a miracle," Liesl said dreamily. "He is almost back to the way he was when Mama was here. And it's all because of Fraulein Maria. Somehow she changed him."
"And we don't have to wear those ugly uniforms anymore." Brigitta twirled in her dress, still unable to believe that her wardrobe was now bursting with beautiful clothes. "But Baroness Schraeder really doesn't like her at all. Have you noticed the mean look she gets when we talk about Fraulein Maria at the table?"
Friedrich put in, "Maybe we shouldn't talk about Fraulein Maria so much. It seems to get on Baroness Schraeder's nerves."
"But why hasn't Fraulein Maria eaten with us after that first dinner?" Gretl asked.
Louisa grimaced her dislike of the Baroness. "Well I heard Baroness Schraeder saying to Father that 'the help' shouldn't be eating with the family, that it can give them ideas above their station. But Fraulein Maria isn't help anyway, she's really like family. Father said he would let Fraulein Maria decide whether she wants to eat with us, and she decided not to."
"Baroness Schraeder looks ugly whenever she talks about Fraulein Maria," Kurt observed.
"You think all women are ugly," Louisa poked fun at him as he made a face at her.
"I think we need to be careful about how much we talk about Fraulein Maria. Have you noticed that nearly everything we say starts off with 'Fraulein Maria says…'? It might make the Baroness angry enough to get rid of her," Liesl said worriedly.
Marta's eyes were wide with horror and Gretl looked frightened. "Do you think she is like the wicked stepmother in Snow White? Maybe she will poison Fraulein Maria with an apple?"
Liesl sought to calm the two little girls. "Don't worry that's not going to happen and anyway we can be like the seven dwarfs who will save her."
"I know which one you would be," Friedrich poked at his brother. "Dopey."
"Will not! Then you would be Grumpy," Kurt yelled back. The boys started a pillow fight until Liesl intervened crossly.
"Will you two stop it. We have to be prepared in case Baroness Schraeder forces Father to send Fraulein Maria away. We need a plan, apart from teaching her how to speak like a lady."
"We can call it Operation 'Save our Governess,' or 'Operation Snow White,'" Friedrich said importantly, showing off his meagre knowledge of military strategy.
"Isn't it funny that we have always been plotting to get rid of our governesses and now we are doing the opposite?" Kurt grinned. "But what are we going to do?"
Silence descended as they realized that it was much easier to get rid of a governess than to keep one.
Brigitta finally spoke up. "We have to think of something. I heard Baroness Schraeder talking to Uncle Max last night. She was asking him to use his influence with Father to get rid of Fraulein Maria. But Uncle Max said she's a darling and the Baroness snapped back that 'she's demon' but Uncle Max just smiled and said she's a lamb."
Brigitta chewed her lip in consternation as she recalled the conversation. "The Baroness said she can't understand why Father is not going to fire her and that "men need to think with their heads for once", but I'm not quite sure what that means. She said it in a waspish way but Uncle Max just laughed."
They all puzzled over that one. The adult world was so inexplicable sometimes.
Marta spoke up shyly. "I used to think the Baroness was pretty but I think that Fraulein Maria is much prettier. Her hair is soft and silky and it's the colour of sunshine. She smiles with her eyes, not just her mouth, and when she laughs I want to laugh too. She makes everyone feel happy."
"Except Baroness Schraeder," Louisa inserted.
"Oh no!" Kurt gave a shout as he looked out the window. "Father is talking to Fraulein Maria near the lake and he is pacing and circling her like he does when he is mad at us. He has his hands behind his back and his fingers are twitching which usually means he is boiling mad."
They all rushed to the window to look.
"Come on, we have to do something. What if he sends her away?" Louisa shouted in panic as she raced out the door and down the stairs. The others followed, not entirely sure what to do but determined to act.
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"Now, it's not like my governess to be so secretive."
"I don't know what you mean Cap'n." Fraulein Maria's cheeks were bright red with the guilt she couldn't hide as she shifted uneasily under his scrutiny.
"MmmHmm? And it's not like my governess to be so silent and cowed. Alright Fraulein, isn't it time to tell me the truth? Why are my children making you repeat such odd statements as 'In Hanover, Hallstatt and Hollebrunn, hurricanes hardly happen?' It is rather bizarre to say the least, don't you think Fraulein?"
He paced around her as she stood in guilty silence. "Why is Herr Detweiler constantly glued to your side?"
Getting no response he continued his interrogation. "And what has happened to the mysterious, feisty governess who arrived here only a few weeks ago so full of fire and vigour; who wielded her formidable intellect as a weapon and whose outspokenness and impertinence were the bane of my existence? Did she suddenly flee in the night and leave you behind as a timid replacement?"
"I ain't timid," she protested indignantly.
"Aren't you Fraulein? You've barely said a word to me in weeks. Let's do a little test, shall we? The governess I met initially was well versed in philosophy, history and literature, and she was extraordinarily adept at using her knowledge to convince me of to do all manner of things against my better judgement. Now who was it who said that: "The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousand fold"?"
He stopped and watched her wince with satisfaction, her face flooded with even more colour, turning it a guilty shade of scarlet.
"That was Aristotle, Cap'n."
"Well done Fraulein." He was rather enjoying watching her squirm in discomfort, though he did feel a twinge of guilt at how much he savoured toying with her. But perhaps she would learn that young postulants who play with fire are likely to get their fingers burned.
"What about this one: "Men judge more from appearances than reality. All men have eyes but few have the gift of penetration. Everyone can see your exterior but few can discern what is in your heart.""
"Machiavelli," she muttered, finally getting annoyed at his pointed taunts. He was pleased to see her back straightening. That was more like it. He was surprised how much he had missed her saucy boldness, her stubborness and the playful mischief in her eyes. They had annoyed the hell out of him when he had first met her… but somehow, not any longer. He wanted to once again hear her bright laughter and see the sparkle in her eyes, but those were things she reserved only for the children.
"So it is you after all. I can hardly recognize you without your cheeky impudence." His mouth twitched, holding back his amusement as she shot him an irritated look, her eyes sparking with annoyance. He suspected she was counting to ten to stop the furious retort on her lips. But she lost the battle.
"Well perhaps I am following Epictetus' maxim that , "we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak,"" she suggested heatedly.
"Touché Fraulein. A worthy precept to uphold, but I suspect that it is one that you have trouble following," he responded provocatively.
He hid his smile as he watched her wrestling with her temper as she bit back her response and remained silent.
"You know Fraulein you're a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.*"
"You flatter me Cap'n, but I ain't that complicated - I'm just a simple country girl," she asserted with annoyed dignity, but ruined the effect by avoiding his eyes.
"Well we shall see, won't we? I am looking forward to peeling away the layers of this mystery, one by one." He was surprised by how much that sounded like a promise rather than a threat.
Perhaps she too, had heard the hidden, almost sensual undercurrent to his words because she looked up at him startled, but then hastily dropped her eyes again at what she could read there.
"Alright Fraulein," he said with sudden determination. "We've been dancing around each other for weeks, and now I want a truthful answer from you. What exactly is going on?"
Maria swallowed. "Well, er…I…"
"Yes?" he prompted, sharply.
She took a deep breath. "The reason the children 'ave been saying those things is because they want to teach me Hochdeutsch Cap'n."
He raised his eyebrows. "Do they indeed? And why may that be Fraulein?"
"Well they thought it would be important for you and… the Baroness if I could talk proper like."
"Ah I see." He was well aware of Elsa's views on the matter, since he spent most days defending his decision not to fire the governess over the way she spoke, but he was surprised the children knew what Elsa thought.
He looked at her with an unreadable expression and then paced another slow circle around her as he spoke, projecting his voice out towards the scenery.
"Perhaps you should know Fraulein, that it is of no consequence to me what type of German you speak. What does concern me however, is that I feel as if all of sudden, my house is filled with all kinds of intrigues and mysteries. None of which I seem to be privy to. I have a feeling that the language lessons are only a part of it."
She was looking exceedingly uncomfortable as he glanced at her. He smirked to himself: her blushes would definitely prevent her from ever becoming another Mata Hari.
He stopped his pacing and came to stand close to her, so that she had to crane her neck to look at him. "Perhaps you would care to explain Fraulein?" There was a definitely a hint of quiet menace in the sinister tone, but it was also threaded through with amusement, slightly hidden, as if he were enjoying himself immensely.
"Well I… I ….you see…"
"Father, Father, Father!" The children came barrelling out of the house at speed, breathless, red-faced and anxious.
"Yes, what is it?" Georg asked, puzzled, and rather worried at their agitation, imagining some catastrophe had befallen them.
"Well, um well um…we …er…" Strangely, none of them knew what to say.
"We came to call you in for dinner," Friedrich blurted out awkwardly.
"You came racing out just to tell me that dinner is ready?" Georg looked at them in disbelief and more than a little suspicion. Was it his imagination or had they surrounded their governess almost protectively? He noticed Brigitte had an arm around her waist tightly and the two little ones were clinging to her. Friedrich was standing slightly in front of her, defensively. What the devil was going on, he wondered.
"Well you can go and eat. I'm dining out tonight but Fraulein Maria will join you once we have finished our discussion."
The children did not move, looking at each other uncomfortably.
"Well er.. we're not hungry," Kurt said, hesitantly.
"You're not hungry?" Georg asked incredulously, getting down on his haunches to look Kurt in the eye. "Can this really be my son Kurt 'I'm-willing-to-eat-grass-because-I'm-starving' von Trapp? Alright all of you, out with it. You had better tell me what's going on. Now."
He eyed them with mock fierceness but he saw with surprise they were not willing to budge in support of their governess. What did they think he was going to do to her for heaven's sake? At the same time he had to admire their loyalty, a quality he had not seen in them before. There was concern, anxiety and an endearing protectiveness in their stance.
Fraulein Maria was looking at them with tenderness, and with something else too – something that seemed to pierce his soul as he realized with shock what it was. It was love. A mother's love. He hadn't seen that expression in four desolate years and it tore at something deep inside him. He felt staggered by the force of it. For just an instant he could picture her as a young mother, tenderly cradling an infant in her arms, her face radiant with the joyful serenity and the unmistakable beauty of motherhood. He was both unnerved and appalled at how appealing that image was. He must be confusing her with a precious memory of Agathe holding one of their babies. He felt shaken to the core, unable to comprehend where that thought had come from, but also unaccountably moved by the depth of her feelings for his children.
Fraulein Maria spoke up while his thoughts were scattered giving him a moment to gather his composure. "It's alright children. I've told your father about your lessons and 'e is not angry about it."
"He's not?" they gasped, looking at him amazement.
He looked at them sternly for a moment, masking his inner turmoil. "No I am not, but I don't like secrets." He allowed his mouth to quirk with amusement. "But I am sick to death of that infernal 'Rain in Spain' song, and that dreadful stomping and pounding above my study."
The children laughed with relief.
"Alright all of you, go and get your dinner." The children raced off happily, Kurt having miraculously rediscovered his hunger.
"Fraulein," Georg turned to her once more. "This discussion is far from over, and I give you fair warning I intend to get to the bottom of all these intrigues, but for the moment you can join the children. The Baroness and I are going out tonight."
As much as he enjoyed teasing and tormenting her he did not have the heart to pursue it at the moment. Not when he felt so agitated and unsettled himself. He needed a moment. He nodded his dismissal and looked out at the lake. She seemed to hesitate for a moment as if wanting to say something, but then she left. Georg stayed outside for a long time, his thoughts churning.
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"I think our dear old Max has a crush," Elsa smirked as she lit a long cigarette after their return home from dinner. "It's really quite outrageously naughty," she said gleefully. She looked like she was enjoying a terribly salacious secret.
"Really?" Georg looked mildly surprised but not particularly interested. "Who is he seeing?"
"Why, your 'from-the-gutter' governess of course; the one with the voice that can make angels weep with despair."
"WHAT?" The mouthful of port that Georg had just sipped, exploded out of his mouth. He looked at Elsa as if she were insane.
"Oh come now darling, haven't you noticed over the last many day that Max can't keep his eyes off her. He's always hovering near her, chatting to her quietly. I don't know how Max can bear listening to that jarring voice. It could shatter glass. But perhaps they don't do much talking," she said maliciously.
"Surely you're joking?" Georg felt sick to the stomach. It couldn't be true, could it? He felt the rage building at a phenomenal rate. While Max had made himself scarce in the evenings over the last couple of weeks, he hadn't thought anything of it. Max after all, was the world's worst chaperone.
He had already warned Max to keep away from the young Fraulein. Surely he wouldn't be such a reprehensible cad? If he had touched a hair on her head he would tear him from limb to limb. And then he would wring his neck. But surely Max wouldn't do something so utterly despicable as preying on an innocent, would he?
Elsa continued her gossip, delighting in slandering the governess she disliked so intensely. "I think they have been meeting secretly. Alright I'll be honest - I know they have. I happened to overhear them talking today. Fraulein Maria was saying how much she enjoyed last night. And she said she was hoping they "could do it again soon." I think they have been meeting in the library after the children are in bed. You've seen how he disappears in the evenings with various lame excuses. You men really are outrageous, dallying with the help. But he'll get over it soon enough I'm sure."
She blew out a puff of smoke. "So, what do you think about your gutter-snipe governess now? Not such a 'good girl' after all, is she?" she asked snidely. "I've been trying to get every intimate, disgusting detail out of Max but refuses to say anything, and he was adamant I shouldn't say anything to you," she said petulantly. "But darling, I think you have a right to know what is going on under your very nose."
"What exactly do you know Elsa?" Georg was so livid he could barely get the words out. His lips felt stiff with rage.
"Well, I heard Max say that they can take things slowly, at her own pace, but he would teach her everything. He said she should trust him but that they shouldn't say anything to you for the moment because you are far too over-protective."
Georg could barely form a coherent thought through the mists of rage as Elsa continued, thoroughly enjoying herself.
"You know, I have a hard time imaging Max as a romantic hero, but he was almost poetic when he was speaking to the Fraulein. Isn't it funny who people fall in love with? I really can't see what on earth he sees in that squashed cabbage leaf. Now what was it he said? I remember it because it was so extraordinary. Oh yes he said: "Speak, and the world is full of singing, and I am winging higher than the birds. Touch, and my heart begins to crumble and the heavens to tumble.""**
Elisa continued with glee. "And then the little Fraulein giggled and said in that horrible grating accent of hers "Sing me no song, read me no rhyme, don't waste my time – show me!"** I knew she was such a brazen hussy beneath that oh-so-innocent façade. I have a feeling that young lady is never going to be a nun," Elsa sneered.
Georg could feel the furor boiling and churning inside him. He couldn't recall ever being so angry. He was going to make Max wish he had never been born. And what about the Fraulein? She seemed so innocent, why had she allowed Max to turn her head like this? He was shocked and disappointed in her. She didn't seem like the type who would fall so easily for the first man she met. She was nearly a nun for God's sake! There were other emotions mixed with the incandescent rage surging through him, but he did not want to examine them.
Elsa was basking in the drama. She waved the cigarette in her hand gaily, blowing out a plume of smoke. "I wonder if they are in the library now. Why don't we surprise them for a bit of fun?" she said with a naughty smile.
"No!" he snarled, a part of him realizing that he was being unconscionably rude but he was beyond caring at this point. "Elsa, I want you to swear to me you will not breathe a word about this to anyone. I do not want the Fraulein's reputation to be sullied. I am going to damn well sort this out. If this is true Max is going to be picking up broken teeth with broken fingers."
He strode over to the library through the darkened corridors in that part of the house, his heart thudding and the blood roaring in his ears. The door was ajar and he could hear the murmur of voices. He stopped outside, collecting his wits and taking breaths to calm himself down, trying to tamp down the rage that was consuming him. He could hear the Fraulein speaking softly, and for a moment he couldn't catch what she was saying. But then he felt revolted as he heard her bold, wanton words spoken in a soft murmur. He wasn't quite sure he could believe what he was hearing.
"'ere we are together in the middle of the night. Don't talk of spring, just 'old me tight.
Don't talk of stars, burning above. If you're in love, show me!
Tell me no dreams, filled with desire. If you're on fire, show me!
'aven't your lips longed for my touch? Don't say 'ow much, show me now!"**
Enough! Georg couldn't stand it a moment longer. He felt as if he would combust with the rage. He crashed open the double doors to the library with both hands, his eyes going immediately to the sofa, expecting to find the torrid couple together locked in a passionate clinch.
But they weren't there.
In confusion he looked around. Max and the Fraulein both jumped in shock at the almighty Bang of the doors, but they weren't together or even close to each other. Max was standing some feet away and the Fraulein jumped to her feet guiltily. She was holding a page that she appeared to be reading from.
For a moment the three of them stared at each other in stupefied shock. Max was the first to recover.
"Good God, Georg, you scared the hell out of us." Then at the murderous look on Georg's face, he hastily added, "It's not what it seems. For heaven's sake what are you thinking? I'm just teaching Fraulein Maria some lyrics to practice a song in F major. There's a very difficult high C in this piece that I think she will be able to master very well."
Georg felt disoriented, the confusion warring with the anger. She had been learning lyrics to a song? He couldn't quite comprehend it yet. He realized his chest was heaving but he wasn't able to control his breathing.
"You had better explain," he bit out finally through clenched teeth. Fraulein Maria seemed incapable of speech, she looked shocked and mortified. Her hands were covering her hot cheeks, and the paper had fluttered to the floor.
Max looked guilty and pulled at his collar. "Well er.. uhm…I've been training Fraulein Maria and teaching her how to read music after the children are in bed. Although she has the most wondrous gift of a voice, it's purely instinctual. She has never had any lessons."
"Why the secrecy? Didn't you realise how improper it would look?" Georg snapped, unable to let the anger go, though he could feel the overwhelming relief coursing through him. It had been innocent after all. The word innocent reverberated around his head over and over again, through the blessed release from his tension.
"Well, you are so ridiculously over protective and you had already told me many times not to help her. I would have told you in good time. But I thought it best that Fraulein Maria should have a few lessons first."
Georg felt weak with relief but he still blustered, "And what the hell song was that? Do you really think those are appropriate words for a postulant?"
"Oh it's not the words that are important," Max said uncomfortably. "It's the notes. As I said it is the high note C at the end that I want to try her on."
Max walked over to show Georg. "See right here after the line 'Don't talk of love lasting through time. Make me no undying vow. Show me now.'** The last note is incredibly difficult but I think she can do it. We are just learning the words first and then we'll try the notes."
"I suggest you find a different piece," Georg snapped. It was an order not a request. "This one is entirely inappropriate." He was starting to feel slightly foolish at the drama and erroneous conclusions he had jumped to. Of course the Fraulein would never do something like that. The idea of Max and the Fraulein together was beyond absurd. He would have to set Elsa straight about her scandalous insinuations.
"Fine, fine, we can try the Polonaise in G minor instead." Max shuffled his papers and found the piece. He gave it the Fraulein who finally seemed to have her gathered her wits together, though she was looking at Georg warily.
I 'ope you don't mind about the music lessons Cap'n," she said with a guilty look. "As 'err Detweiler said, I've never 'ad any before and this is a wonderful chance to work at my singing. And it would be during my time off, not when I'm looking after the children. Perhaps in the early mornings and the evenings."
Georg responded curtly, "I will speak to you about this in the morning, in my study. There is much more that needs to be said. But for the moment go ahead, let's see what you can do." He folded his arms and waited, leaning back against the wall. He looked at her challengingly.
Max and the Fraulein looked at him in surprise but then Georg saw her lift her chin in determination at the skepticism she could see in his eyes.
Max showed her the score. "Right Fraulein, can you sight-read this now? The Polonaise is a real coloratura tour de force. It finishes with a high F but leaps through octaves and rips through cadenzas and changes key with great flourish. Let's try it shall we?"
Maria nodded, thrilled that she was finally able to read music after all the private lessons with Herr Detweiler. She knew she shouldn't have been so secretive, especially since she was already embroiled in enough intrigues in this house, but Herr Detweiler had been so insistent, and really, she hadn't wanted to pass up such a golden opportunity. She couldn't understand the Captain's rage and had been stunned by his dramatic entrance. No doubt he would tell her tomorrow why he was so angry.
She looked at the notes. It was an incredibly challenging piece, but she was not going to flounder under the Captain's cynical gaze. Perhaps he was testing her to see if she really could sing. Well she would show him! She began to sing tentatively at first and then growing in confidence, each note piercing in its intensity. As complicated as the song was it was a thing of beauty and she was soon lost in the bliss of the light, lilting sounds, feeling her spirits soaring with the notes, her whole being transported with delight.
The final haunting notes faded away and she slowly became aware once more of where she was, and who she was with, as if awakening from a dream. Both men were staring at her, thunder-struck, as the echoes of the notes hung in the air.
She barely heard Herr Detweiler's excited, "By Jove I think she's got it. I really think she's got it!"
Her eyes were locked with the Captain's and she suddenly felt shy and self-conscious, as if she was exposing a vulnerable side of herself. She felt herself give an embarrassed, self-deprecating smile and a small shrug of her shoulders, a soft blush colouring her cheeks.
The Captain said nothing, he appeared transfixed, and he didn't seem to be aware that his chest was heaving again.
Max cleared his throat trying to get their attention as they seemed incapable of taking their eyes of each other. "See Georg," he said jovially, triumphantly. "I told you she was magnificent."
Georg finally seemed to come out of the spell he was under but he still didn't speak. He nodded to Maria and left the room quietly.
Maria could feel the hurt rip through her and settle as an oppressively heavy weight in her chest. The Captain hadn't said a single word about her singing and she felt anxious, humiliated, and quite tearful.
But Max chuckled.
"That's the first time I have ever seen Georg dazed and speechless. You completely bowled him over with your voice, Fraulein. Well done. What a gift you have. Why don't we have another practice session tomorrow morning before the children wake up? I usually can't stand being up early, but to listen to you singing I would walk over hot coals."
Maria smiled, warmed by his praise. "Thank you 'err Detweiler, that would be loverly. You're ever so kind 'elping me like this."
She was puzzled why he suddenly looked so uncomfortable.
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A/N
*The quote is from Churchill about Russia in 1939, but hey this is fiction after all. :)
**Show me now! Music and Lyrics by Lerner and Loewe, My Fair Lady
*** The Polonaise from Mignon. Julie Andrews was able to perform this extremely difficult piece even at the age of 10. At age 13 she was the youngest person to ever perform before King George VI. One of the pieces she performed for him was the Polonaise.
There are some clips on Youtube of Dame Julie singing as a little girl.
I do not own TSOM or MFL