Of course Maria would choose a blue dress. It matched her eyes. She'd borrowed a dress from somewhere. Elsa observed her covertly as she flitted around the room, offering pastries and other delicacies baked with her own fair hands. She had insisted joining the waiters to serve but soon she would be free to mingle.

'She should sing' suggested Max.

'Don't embarrass her.'

'She's too joyful to be embarrassed. Irrepressible people usually are' he reminded her gently. Elsa glared at him. Was he implying that she was dull? She didn't appreciate that.

'Maria my dear, sing us a song' he requested. She obliged with a rousing rendition of a folk tune which had evoked good natured laughter. It hardly fit the style of the party but Elsa was glad of it. She feared she was getting predictable with her entertainment and wanted her guests to talk of her parties for days on end. This would do it.

Maria took a few requests and sang her way through them with aplomb. The last song was a ballad and Elsa wished she could record it, to be played over and over again in her loneliest moments. Nothing else could sound as sweet. She glided over once the crowd around Maria had dispersed.

'I don't know how to thank you. First you supply me with this gorgeous dessert selection, then you give my guests an evening to remember. Your dress is lovely, by the way. It suits you. You're as pretty as a picture.'

Maria blushed and smiled radiantly. It was more than mere approval she sought. Could the Baroness see the desire she had for her?

'I never imagined I'd ever be invited to such a party, I can only thank you for your generosity.'

Frau Schmidt had been giddy with excitement as the Baroness had placed her order. A mountain of sweet treats promised quite the boost to their reputation and Maria and the others had been baking from morning to night. Maria had been allowed the afternoon off that day, to rest before the party. Frau Schmidt had instructed her to make connections. It wasn't hard. Rich people swarmed around her like bees and she had elicited requests already for upcoming parties. A stack of calling cards were pressed upon her person. She was going to make her employer very happy.

'Now, please mingle and have some champagne. You must be thirsty after all of that singing. I want you to relax for the rest of the evening. Come and join Max and I and we will introduce you to society.'

'I have spoken to so many people already' said Maria as she sipped at the glass and trailed Elsa around.

'Should we need your choir for future parties…? Hinted Max.

''Oh I'd have to ask my friends but that would be so much fun' enthused Maria.

'Max, don't exhaust the poor woman, she deserves some time off' Elsa chided him.

'I don't mind, I love to be busy.'

'Just make sure you don't burn yourself out. You must have been exhausted with all the baking you've done for me.'

Maria laughed and said that she had enjoyed it. Such a Pollyanna. Elsa wondered why it wasn't grating on her. It should have done. They wandered out onto the balcony and Max pointed out the constellations and told them their stories. Maria shared the names she had always called them in her childhood and they all chatted and laughed under the velvet sky. The atmosphere mellowed out as the moon watched over them, the edges of memory blurring as the hours ticked by. Maria felt like she was in a dream.

Max had procured the last kipferl, those delectable little biscuits that Frau Schmidt had named her café for and had left the two women together alone on the balcony, the corner shrouded by the filmy curtains, chosen for privacy.

'Where do you go, what do you do, after the café is closed and you don't meet with the choir?'

Maria told her of her love of the mountains, her voluntary work with the nuns up at the abbey, where she grew up next to. She'd always wanted to be a nun. She thought she would be until she started working at the café.

'Forgive me Maria but you don't seem like you would make a good nun. You're far too sociable. You're such a natural with people.'

'But the serenity of the abbey is unbelievable.' Maria tried to explain how it felt to be among the nuns, the beauty of the mountains, the calm and joy she felt when being up there. She even liked hoydenish past times like climbing trees. Elsa listened with interest, still not able to imagine her sitting sedately at the abbey.

'I'm impressed that you can devote yourself to such patience and stillness. It wouldn't be for me.'

Maria shamefacedly admitted that it could be a struggle. But she was working on it.

'Sometimes you don't have to work at something. Sometimes it's effortless. Like your desserts. It must be instinctual, the way you bake. I can't imagine what else must make your baking so good.'

Maria blushed at the compliment, didn't know what to say. Elsa picked up the biscuit and broke a piece off, daintily nibbling on it.

'I admire your devotion to the abbey, the mountains. But baking is your strength and I think you should continue with it. After all, the mountains will always be there for you when you need your peace.'

'I suppose…I hadn't thought of it that way.'

'Maybe one day you can take me there. So I can see what you see. But I warn you, I'm a terrible singer so don't ask me to sing with you.'

Maria smiled. She wondered what the Baroness would make of the mountains.

'Just say when.'

The other woman laughed and touched her face, ever so lightly brushing away her hair from her forehead. Maria shivered in anticipation. She raised the shard of biscuit to Maria's lips. Too bold for words. Because Elsa couldn't really put it in words how she felt about Maria. She just wanted her to know. Maria hesitated only for a few seconds. The pull she had towards her was magnetic, like being reeled in with a fishing rod. Briefly her mind flashed upon the coat of arms of Mondsee, the nearby lake town she was well acquainted with. The moon shining above three fishermen. How silly to think of that at a time like this.

Max had put on a record, something soothing and slow and the music hummed around them, making the stars sing above. Maria made her decision and took a bite. Her own baking, fused through with instinct, fuelled her to do the absurd. Elsa smiled and drew her closer, into her arms. Maria laid her cheek lightly upon the other and sighed with pleasure as Elsa whispered in her ear.

'I'll make a deal with you. You take me to the mountains and I promise I will wear your play clothes and attempt to climb a tree. I'll attend all your concerts and order from Frau Schmidt for every event. In return, you can teach me how to make these delicious biscuits. Although I'll be terrible at it. And stay right here. I only want to be this way with you. Please say you feel the same.'

'Oh Baroness' breathed Maria in wonder, hands gliding around the other woman's shoulders. 'I didn't think you'd notice me.'

'You must have seen how I've been looking at you, even if you didn't understand.'

'I'd love nothing more.'

'My darling, you'd better start call me Elsa. In private. As soon as everyone leaves, I'll show you just how it should be for us.' She turned her head to kiss Maria on the temple. Maria now knew all along what had been intended for her. She silently uttered a brief prayer for her good fortune and nestled in closer.

They swayed very slowly in time to the music, holding onto one another in the moonlight, lost in their delight.

God really did work in mysterious ways.