The Sound of Music Chronicles
Part II
Interlude
Chapter 05
Perfect excuses and pleasant surprises
"Never ruin an apology with an excuse."
Kimberly Johnson
"Come in, Fräulein."
His voice was firm; he spoke with the authoritarian tone that contributed to making him a notorious commander in the Navy. It was all wasted, because instead of the pixie looking governess, his butler entered the study. The effect was akin to a dive in the Danube in the middle of winter, every bit as unpleasant. Georg could almost swear that the temperature in the study had fallen by a degree or two, so icy was the butler´s demeanor. He felt the blood draining from his face, as if somehow, as absurd as the possibility was, Franz was able to read the inappropriate nature of his thoughts. Instantly, he reminded himself that it was precisely the effect that his butler had on most people. Georg always took pride in being one of the few who remained indifferent to Franz´s intimidating presence. Until now.
"Excuse me, Captain. It is not the – ehrm - the Fräulein, sir, it is me."
"Yes, I realized it is you, Franz" he retorted crossly. "What do you want?" Again, the commanding tone, a clear indication that he hadn´t appreciated the man´s veiled impertinence.
"Someone just delivered this note for you at the door, sir. I believe it came from the… from Baron Eberfeld," Franz informed coldly, handling him an envelope.
"A note from Baron Eberfeld?" His expression relaxed immediately, the governess and all other problematic members of his household staff momentarily forgotten. "What a pleasant surprise, I did not even know he was in Salzburg," he added casually, speaking to himself and not the butler.
"You did now know who was in Salzburg, darling?" asked Elsa, walking into the room like a morning breeze in a cloud of lavender chiffon, soft and fragrant, solemnly ignoring Franz as she walked past him. If Max followed her, conscientious of his duties as a chaperon, he never even noticed, not at first.
"Darling, I must say that you are a sight for my tired eyes," he complimented her, flirtatiously, rising from his chair. "You are exactly what I needed this morning to help me recover my sanity," he bent down and kissed her hand. It was true, after all, the sight of Elsa was a welcome reminder of how things should be, and it did wonders to restore his mood and help bring his mind back to sanity.
"Oh my, someone woke up very inspired this morning! Is the mere sight of me the cause of it or is it the pleasant surprise you were referring to?" she asked teasingly.
"Who else but you, my dearest Elsa?"
"Yes, darling, who else?' she murmured back seductively.
There was only the slightest glimmer of suspicion deep in her eyes, something that would go undetected if he did not know her so well. But no, he would not allow such a minor detail to spoil his recently recovered good spirits. Following an impulse, he brought her to his arms and kissed her. It wasn´t quite the kind of kiss he would have stolen from the mysterious woman in his dreams, the kiss that he had woken up wishing for, Yet, it was close enough, satisfying enough to give him some respite and make him feel like he was himself again. Elsa was responding to it eagerly – it had been a while since they had last exchanged such unrestrained caresses. With a groan, he brought her closer and deepened the kiss.
"Now that was the problem. This is what I needed," he thought. "I spent years at sea, and deprivation never affected me so strongly…"
Max Detweiler – who was, by now, tired of being ignored, cleared his throat. The couple parted almost instantly, only then realizing that they were not alone.
"Max!" Georg exclaimed. "You timing is perfect, as usual."
"I did not see you back there, you sneak," Elsa said, quickly rearranging her hair back into a near perfect coiffure. "Georg is absolutely right about you. You certainly pick the worst possible moments to start chaperoning. How very wicked of you!"
"I would gladly remain invisible, my darlings, but it was impossible under the circumstances. You two are grown ups, you don´t need me fussing around you all the time."
"I´m glad you realize that," Georg gritted.
"Ah ha, not so fast, don´t count your blessings just yet, Captain," the impresario said. "You know, there times when I just can´t help myself. On such occasions, never mind propriety: I must stay and make my presence known. I am like one of those genies who jump from the magic bottle whenever someone says the magic word."
"What magic word?" Georg asked curtly. "It seems you have too many of them. Half of the ones in the German language, I should say," he mumbled.
"Georg, please don´t start grumbling. You look much too handsome this morning, it will spoil you and I won´t allow it." She turned to Max. "And you, darling, I think you are spending a little too much time with the Captain´s children," Elsa said laughingly, still slightly flushed from their earlier kiss. "Genies and magic words? I must ask as well: what magic word is that?"
"Surprises – you know how much I can´t resist them! My feet refused to move when I heard that word being uttered. My entire life would be meaningless without them."
"I don´t think this one in particular will change the course of your life, Max. It has nothing to do with the size of my bank account – or yours!" Georg said, and Elsa giggled. "It´s only the Eberfelds," he explained amusingly. "I just received a message from them. I had no idea they would be in the country at this time of the year. They usually prefer to spend the summer in the Riviera, as boring as that sounds" he said opening the envelope.
"The Riviera? Boring? Oh Georg!" Elsa moaned. "I was hoping to drag you there myself before the end of the summer. Innocent little me," she pouted.
"There will be no need for you to drag me anywhere, darling. I think you will find that my plans for the rest of the summer are far more exciting than the French Riviera," he winked, and Elsa´s response was a satisfied smile. "As for this little matter at hand," he gazed at the note, "the Baroness told me they might come to Salzburg on their way to Italy, for a few days only," he informed. "The Baron refuses to leave the country without a visit to Dr. Thürmann first. And, of course there is the matter of delivering invitations to Pauline´s wedding."
"Really? I know the girl was engaged, but a wedding already? So soon?" Max´s eyes widened. "Doesn´t that matronly aunt of yours always says that less than one year between a betrothal and a wedding is enough reason for scandal?"
"Which matronly aunt? You must be more specific, we von Trapps have a full collection of them. My father had seven sisters who are all very much alive, well and trying to meddle in my private affairs whenever they have a chance."
"The one who lives in a palace in Vienna."
"Now, that narrows down to three," Georg mused.
"When I agreed to be your chaperon, she gave me an unforgettable one hour lecture, saying that the waiting period is necessary because one must be sure to send the clear message that the marriage isn´t happening all of a sudden because the girl was, you know, "compromised"," Max emphasized the idea by mimicking quotation marks with his hands. "Her words, not mine."
"That sounds like Aunt Alicia," Georg smirked. "She is the eldest of my father´s sisters and the self-appointed guardian of the family´s morals. Her standards, I´m afraid, are outdated by at least a century!"
"How absurd," Elsa laughed. Then she winked at Georg. "How do you feel about compromising me again one of these days, darling? I don´t think Aunt Alicia would mind in my case, I don´t think she ever liked me."
"O-ho, Aunt Alicia likes you just fine. She calls you a paragon of Viennese society."
Elsa laughed. Approaching him again, she whispered seductively: "What about you, Georg? Do you like me?"
Max cleared his throat, possibly to hide a giggle. The Captain was taken aback for a second, but reacted quickly. His smile was as charming and his words were every bit as seductive as Elsa´s:
"Sometimes I don´t know if I am not the one being corrupted by you, darling," he chuckled.
"You, my darling? We are practically the same age, but you were already a seasoned sailor, when I was barely out of the schoolroom - if you know what I mean…" She thought for a moment. "Although I did my best to make up for the lost time in the following years," she winked.
It was Georg´s turn to laugh. Yes, things were definitely improving, the world was once more moving as it should. It felt nice to feel almost normal again, at least as normal as he had felt in the past few years.
"Elsa, sometimes you are so delightfully refreshing in your honesty. There is nothing more abhorring than feigned innocence," he said, as image of his governess flashed in his mind. "No feigned innocence there," he thought grimly, "not a sign of it…"
"Really? Thank heavens I could not play the innocent even if I tried. It´s been long enough, I don´t remember and I don´t miss it. As for that honesty thing… Perhaps I should try it more often," she whispered seductively.
"Never mind my Aunt Alicia and her prehistoric notions," continued Georg, shaking his head. That talk about innocence and honesty was bringing back unwanted thoughts he needed to banish.
"There is nothing scandalous about young Pauline´s wedding, that I can assure you," he continued. "They call it love at the first sight, I suppose, a force that cannot be resisted," he sneered. "That is the downside of it. There is no power on earth able to stop the impetuousness of youth. One year and an eternity, that is the same thing. I´ve been there, remember? So have you, Elsa, I hope."
"You know, to this day I still don´t understand how you were able to survive those long, eternal twelve months between your betrothal and your marriage, Georg," Elsa said lightly. "If I remember correctly, you were a very impetuous youth, Captain," she nudged him playfully.
"O-ho, it was a combination of factors. The Austrian Navy, a war looming on the horizon, overly protective parents of the bride, not to mention Aunt Alicia´s permanent surveillance and – most importantly…"
"Cold showers," completed Max.
"Still there Max?" He gazed at the impresario leaning against the door. "I was not going to say that," Georg chuckled, pointing a finger to him.
"But you were thinking it!"
"Oh Max, leave him alone, you fiend," exclaimed Elsa protectively. "Just as he was almost back to his old self again. If you keep doing that you´ll ruin all my good work!"
"Fine, I will behave." Max finally entered the room and flung himself in the nearest chair. "Now as for that little surprise of yours… Please tell me about it, Georg. I think I´ve heard about the Eberfeld estate property in Salzburg, but I never had the privilege of being invited – or inviting myself," Max said, touching his moustache. "It is as magnificent as yours?"
Georg shrugged, gazing absent-mindedly at the note again.
"You can be the judge of that yourself, Max. You can see it from your window, I believe. Their property borders mine."
Max gasped, his small eyes widening.
"That dilapidated castle down the hill?"
"They are a very old family – one of the oldest in Salzburgerland, in fact. They have owned that estate for at least three centuries," Georg explained.
"I thought it was the kind of place Rumpelstiltskin would live," returned Max, seemingly unimpressed. "Positively decrepit and medieval."
"Max, don´t be so bad," Elsa censored him. "I think Georg prefers to think of it as an architectural treasure."
"As a matter of fact, I do," he chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Although I would appreciate it if one of these days they would think about restoring to its former glory."
"Oh, but that would cost Baron Eberfeld his entire fortune," Max exclaimed.
Elsa chastised him again. "Please, stop talking about money all the time, Max. It is so… déclassé!"
"I know. I thought that years and years of living among the aristocracy would finally cure me of that, but never did," Max said. "What can I do, my darling? It is my favorite subject, I´m a burgeois at heart. But you love me anyway, don´t you?"
"You know we do, my dear."
Elsa blew him a kiss, and Georg laughed.
"Max is not entirely wrong, Elsa. Baron Eberfeld is just doing his best to avoid becoming an impoverished European nobleman like the rest of us…"
"There you go again. You? An impoverished nobleman? Never! You simply don´t fit the picture, you are much too clever to allow something like that to happen to you," Max exclaimed, and Elsa cast him a censorious glance. "All right, darling, I´ll say no more."
"What does the Baron want from you?" asked Elsa.
"From us, actually. It seems that they arrived from Vienna last night. They heard that we are here…"
"Already!" Elsa exclaimed. "So soon!"
"News do travel fast in these parts, you should be careful. People can be terribly indiscreet," Max chanted. "The efficiency of the channels of communication in Salzburg never ceased to baffle me. Engagements are usually announced before the bride has a ring on her finger; illicit affairs are blown to the four winds before the guilty parts have their firstsecret rendez-vous…"
"Yes, amazing, isn´t it?" Georg agreed sarcastically. "Perhaps the scandalmongers in Salzburg already know that we are invited to lunch with Baron and Baroness Eberfeld today. Shall I accept it?"
"But of course!" exclaimed Elsa, delighted. "I would be delighted! His bad hearing doesn´t keep Baron Eberfeld form being a brilliant conversationalist. Watching both of you debating is always a delight."
Georg grinned.
"I will send them a note telling we´ll be on the way. Do you think you can be ready in one hour?"
"Naturally!" Max exclaimed. "At least I can," he added, throwing a knowing, sideways glance to Elsa.
"Oh do be quiet, Max! You are as vain as I am. I never heard of a man who spends half an hour trimming his moustache every morning!"
Georg hardly noticed when they left the study, still bickering. Well, he wanted the perfect excuse, and, by a stroke of good luck, now he had one he simply could not get out of. Refusing an invitation from Baron Eberfeld because he had a previous engagement with the governess of his children was simply – unthinkable! On the other hand, postponing because an elderly, dear old friend of the family suddenly invited you to his home was – highly possible. Yes, the day had definitely taken an unexpected turn for the best.
He took the silver boatswain whistle from his pocket and blew a distinctive signal from it. No matter what the governess opinion about the whistle was, he still planned to use it whenever it suited him. He could almost picture the look in her face if she heard the shrill sound, a mixture of surprise and indignation… as a matter of fact, he would be surprised if she did not answer to it herself, if for no other reason than to lecture him about the absurdity – in her opinion – of it.
Pacing restlessly, he waited a whole minute, but there was no answer. Fräulein Maria did not invade his domains either, which was oddly disappointing. Resolutely, he marched out of his study, with the intent to find Frau Schmidt. He ran into the butler instead.
"Franz, I was calling Frau Schmidt but there was no answer. Do you happen to know where she is?" For a mad second he considered the idea that the governess was contaminating all the members of his staff with her tendency to rebelliousness, even Frau Schmidt, who seemed to be keen on her.
"Erhm – it is her hearing, sir. Sometimes she doesn´t…"
"Good morning! I hear you just fine, Captain," the housekeeper said, with an angry look towards the butler. "There is nothing wrong with my hearing. I am sorry, sir, I was merely answering the telephone."
"That will be all, Franz," Georg said tersely, dismissing the butler, who, as usual, seemed reluctant to move from where the action was taking place.
"What can I do for you, Captain?"
"Please go and tell Fräulein Maria that we will be discussing the children some other time. I was just invited to the Eberfeld´s estate for the day and I will leave in one hour with Baroness Schraeder and Herr Detweiler. I don´t think we will be back for dinner."
"All right," the housekeeper said. "Ahem – is there anything else you would like me to tell her, Captain?"
He thought for a moment. There was an idea developing in his mind, and in a rare impulsive action, he decided to put it into practice.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Tell her to take the children to town this afternoon if she wants to. After all the – uh – commotion of yesterday, they do need a brief pause before they start their studies again."
"Very well. Oh, I am sure the children will be delighted!"
"Yes, I´m sure they will."
As she was about to leave, he stopped her.
"Uh – Frau Schmidt?"
"Yes?"
"One more thing: no play clothes; be sure to tell her that. The uniforms will have to do this time. As a matter of fact," he smiled wickedly, "I will ring Madame Fournier and ask her to expect Fräulein Maria and the children at her shop in the Getreidegasse at, shall we say, one o-clock?"
Frau Schmidt´s eyes widened, for this was something unheard off ever since Baroness von Trapp had died.
"But… what shall I say to the governess, Captain? She is a sweet young woman, but I don´t think that a poor convent girl has any idea of how to shop for clothes."
"She doesn´t, but there is no need to give her any details. I will instruct Madame Fournier myself about what I want myself. Just tell her that she must find suitable clothes for the seven of them, that will suffice. She will have carte blanche. Three sets for each should be enough for now. I am sure Madame will enlighten my governess in the meaning of suitable if necessary."
"Very well, Captain."
The mirth in the housekeeper´s eyes mirrored his own. He was about to send the governess in a shopping spree with seven strong-mindedchildren who still hadn´t completely given up playing their tricks on their governess every now and then. His mirth turned into a low chuckle as he climbed the main stairway.
That should teach that scatterbrained postulant a little something. One should thread very carefully when dealing with a von Trapp. He could not think of a more fitting punishment after she had his children roaming about Salzburg wearing nothing but old curtains!
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