A/N: The second and final part of the scene that began in the last chapter. Enjoy!
Disclaimers: I keep forgetting about this. Please see chapter 1, but, just in case, I don´t own anything:-)
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The Sound of Music Chronicles
Part II
Interlude
Chapter 10
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Statistical improbabilities
"Facts which at first seem improbable will, even on scant explanation, drop the cloak which has hidden them and stand forth in naked and simple beauty."
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Galileo Galilei
"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Arthur Conan Doyle
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"Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable."
Oscar Wilde
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"In matters of the heart, nothing is true except the improbable"
Madame de Stael
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"You are absolutely right, Fräulein - and there is something I never thought I would hear myself saying."
How long had he been standing there, watching and listening, waiting for the right moment to make his presence known? Why on earth did he seem to find such enjoyment in surprising people like that? How much had he heard?
"Well, if he heard it all, it serves him right," Maria thought, fuming. "If he had any sense, he would be the one who should be embarrassed, not I."
Yet, in spite of her firm resolve to focus on her annoyance only, she felt her face flaming when she thought briefly about the things they had talked about, the silly superstition about naked women on board, Frau Schmidt insisting that there was a handsome man in her future, someone that she already knew… That she would not be a nun, least of all a good one… Oh dear! Her hands flew to her face, an old, instinctive gesture whenever she felt at a loss.
Those feelings lasted for no more than a fleeting moment. Quickly, she realized she had more things to worry about than her employer sneaking behind her back and listening to her private conversations. The plain and simple truth was that Captain von Trapp had caught his governess and his housekeeper in the middle of the day enjoying the terrace as if they were guests in his house and not the help. She had learned very little about the rules of life among those belonging to the higher classes, but enough to guess that such a thing would be considered a terrible fault. A "faux pas" as Liesl used to say, and undoubtedly the Captain as well.
Oh yes, she knew him well enough now to know that he had to find something wrong about the situation, and the wisest thing to do would be to get out of there quickly, to see if the children were done with their studies, so that she could move on to their next scheduled activity – a music lesson. She could not waste another moment with Frau Schmidt´s silly fortune telling. What she must do was to run before he started glaring at her, before he accused her of slacking.
Naturally, she practically jumped from her chair when she heard his voice.
"No, please, stay where you are, both of you," he said as soon as he realized her intent to flee. Next, as if to put them at ease, he asked.
"But Captain, I really must…"
He silenced her promptly with a gesture.
"At ease, Fräulein, I am perfectly aware of what you must. You are not slacking… today," he finished ironically, after a slight pause and an icy cold glare. "Sit down," he commanded, and she answered to his tone as he probably expected and hoped she would – she obeyed immediately, as if by instinct, letting herself fall back on the chair.
"Oh well, your wish is my command, and if you wish me to enjoy your terrace like a guest, so be it, I will be glad to oblige. Where on earth did he learn to order people about like that?" she wondered briefly. "Oooh, what am I thinking? It´s probably imbedded in his genes, generation after generation of high and mighty naval commanders…"
The Captain proceeded to ignore her completely again, just as he had been doing for the past few days.
"How is your back today, Frau Schmidt?"
There was sincere kindness and concern in his voice, a startling contrast with the tone he had used with her just a moment before. The martinet was gone, the suave aristocrat was back in a matter of seconds. No, he had never used that tone with Maria before. To her, it was a reminder that Frau Schmidt was, to him, much more than a mere housekeeper, after working in his house for so many years, and he certainly would not mind if she enjoyed the sunshine in hid terrace for a few minutes when the place was available. Although at times it was hard for her to imagine Georg von Trapp even having a doting mother, most probably that elderly lady, the wife of his loyal orderly, was the closest thing to a mother he had in many years. It was heartwarming, in the strangest possible way.
"It is much better, Captain. How kind of you to ask!" Frau Schmidt seemed to glow under his attention. Not too many days ago one of the maid said that Georg von Trapp could charm a snake if he wanted to. She hadn´t believed it then, but she was starting to believe it now.
"These minutes in the sun are really doing wonders to me. Dr. Thürmann was right after all," said Frau Schmidt.
"Yes, I learned the hard way that I should trust everything that rascal says," he said, amusedly, at the same time stealing a quick glance at the cards, over Maria´s shoulder. "I´m glad to see you back to your old hobby, Frau Schmidt."
"Thank you, Captain. I hope you don´t mind."
"No, no, no, of course not. We all need our little diversions once in a while. I certainly have mine," he chanted, with a bit of irony, which caused Maria to wonder what kind of diversions a man like him could possibly have in mind.
Half a minute and he hadn´t even glanced at her direction. She did not think that initial icy glare even counted.
"The silent treatment continues," Maria thought irritably, but still she allowed herself to breathe out a sigh of relief. For once, she was actually glad he seemed to be ignoring her again, she hadn´t expected to, especially considering the fact that he had probably overheard most of their conversation.
"Really, Maria. It seems that you are craving for his attention, how silly of you! A simple governess, that is what you are in this house. Why would the notorious Georg von Trapp care if you decided to become a wife instead of a nun after you leave his house? You are nothing to him, and lately he has been making quite an effort to show you that. As long as you do the work you are supposed to do, he will have no reason to notice you, in the least…"
However, the tide was about to change yet again. Distracted by her own thoughts, she failed to notice that he had taken another step towards the table, and was now looking at the cards with undisguised interest.
She followed his gaze. It was an interesting deck, she had to admit, one she would admire regardless of her lack of interest in card reading. The main ones, the twenty-two major arcana, as Frau Schmidt called them, depicted beautiful artworks by famous Austrian painters from various periods, each one suited to the meaning of the card.
"A gift from the Baroness," the housekeeper had explained earlier. Maria needed no clarification, she knew by now that, to Frau Schmidt, there was only one Baroness, and that was Agathe von Trapp. No one would ever be able to replace her, in the Captain´s heart or out of it – and in times like these, Maria almost felt sorry for Baroness Schraeder, or any other woman unwise enough to fall for his charms.
Nevertheless, Maria saw no hint of pain in his eyes as he studied at the cards. If there were any memories related to them, they were not haunting him now, in the light of that bright day. What was he seeing? What he was looking at so intently?
"It is scientific interest, Maria," she noted. "Frau Schmidt just told you that he had studied all kinds of exotic things in his travels. Certainly something like this would interest him, considering all those outlandish books he has in the library. It is either that, or his artistic interested was piqued, because the artwork featured in those cards is simply gorgeous."
"Mmmm…" he hummed. "Fascinating!"
"You see?" Maria told herself, with a satisfied inner smile. "Mere scientific-artistic interest."
"May I join you?" was the abrupt request. The little smile froze in her lips. This was most strange, she would never expect that he would be that interested. Had he never seen that those cards before? He probably had, since it was a gift from his wife.
"But of course!" Frau Schmidt said, while Maria, mortified, raised her eyes heavenward, muttering a quick, silent prayer for guidance. "Please, do join us, Captain. We would be honored, wouldn´t we, Fräulein?"
"Erhm… uhm… aahh…"
"She means yes, of course, Captain," said Frau Schmidt, coming quickly to the rescue. As if to confirm her words beyond any doubt, Maria started nodding vigorously.
"Having trouble with your throat again, Fräulein? Perhaps some of that magic laced tea of yours would help," he muttered playfully a subtle reminder of their shared nightcap.
"Oh oh oh, you smug villain!"
She glared at him, while Frau Schmidt looked at them, puzzled. Maria knew the housekeeper would ask her about it as soon as she had the opportunity to do so: if there was one think all members of the von Trapp household did not suffer from was lack of curiosity. She better find a good, reasonable explanation for it, one who did not cause the housekeeper or the other servants who might heard about it to… start imagining things.
As if reading her mind and reminding himself of the possible consequences of those impulsive words, in the next instant, the Captain clearly regretted what he had said, probably because he had noticed the housekeeper´s odd look. His face hardened again to an impassive mask. From that moment on, if he cared at all about her answer, he showed nothing. Strangely, it seems that the cards on the table held his full attention once more.
"Oh, I fear my reading has upset the poor little dear a little bit," the elderly woman explained, apologetically, while Maria still seemed unable to form a coherent sentence. "She is a bit dazzled and confused by it, I´m afraid."
"No, it didn´t. I´m not… dazzled or confused, I just…"
"Intriguing, isn´t it?" said Frau Schmidt, ignoring Maria´s weak protest, as the Captain took the chair between them, his eyes never leaving the cards. "In all my years, I don´t think I have ever seen a reading quite like this one. I can´t seem to be able to decipher it. It is all…"
"Chaos, disorder and confusion," Maria completed, in spite of himself.
"Mmm…" he grunted. "Indeed," he spoke at last, enigmatically. He pointed to the card in the far left. "It looks rather obvious to me," he mused. "Does that one mean what I think it means?"
"Oh no…" She would never have imagined that the Captain´s "scientific interest" would include interpreting whatever was in the cards. So, it wasn´t the art, it wasn´t the symbolism, it was the reading that had him so engrossed! Oh dear!
"I think it does," agreed Frau Schmidt, "especially if you combine it with the one below it! Isn´t that…"
"Oh for heaven´s sake, stop it, both of you," she blurted out at last, unable to stand that… that torture anymore. Frau Schmidt´s eyes widened, and she looked worriedly at the Captain, but Maria´s sudden outburst only made him chuckle.
"O-ho, she does have a temper, doesn´t she?"
"Oh yes, I do! And you´ve seen nothing of it, Captain," she thought, remembering the fabulous tantrums she used to throw when she was a child.
"As I said, we can always try again, Fräulein and maybe things will not appear so strange," the housekeeper suggested, gathering the cards together again.
"No, no, no. I think I had enough of it to last a lifetime," Maria said simply, adamant in her refusal, crossing her arms in her chest. She had no wish to see handsome men in her future, at least now when the Captain was sitting right next to her, close enough so that she could smell his cologne! It was most… unsettling!
"I told you: my cards shocked the poor girl," Frau Schmidt said.
"Indeed. It seems it has robbed Fräulein Maria of her power of speech. You must tell me your secret, Frau Schmidt, I may need that one of these days…"
"You won´t need it so soon, Captain, not if you continue ignoring me," she thought.
For the first time in days, he granted his governess his full attention. Oh dear, how could she had forgotten the magnetic force of those dark blue eyes when they were focused on her? She had been so close to believing that she was immune to them. So close… Still, she held his gaze, bravely, hoping – perhaps in vain – that her eyes had just a little glimmer of something that intimidated him.
Just a little…
"Tell me, Fräulein – what did our Frau Schmidt tell you that has robbed you of your voice?" He didn´t wait for her to answer. "No, you don´t need to tell me."
"Of course not, you heard it all!" she thought. "It´s all right, Captain, there is no harm done, I don´t believe in these things," she said evenly, recovering a little bit of her composure, praying that Frau Schmidt wouldn´t be offended.
"You don´t believe it because it is impossible or you don´t believe it because if you do believe it, no matter how improbable the reading is, it will be a grave sin?" he asked sarcastically. "Or… are you afraid to believe it? Which is it, Fräulein?"
She gasped. Afraid? Her? Impossible. She stared at him, stunned and wide eyed.
"Neither, Captain. I don´t believe it because I don´t believe it," she said simply, slowly and evenly, raising her chin. "It is against…"
"… the dictates of the Roman Catholic Church. Yes, I know, I know," he interrupted, dismissively. "I also know that there is nothing wrong if you don´t believe in it. Isn´t that true, Fräulein?"
"Yes, Captain."
"You have to admit it is tempting," he teased. "To know what the future holds for you, especially if it is something..." he paused for a moment.
"Something what?"
"… something different from what you originally planned."
"That´s impossible. I know what the future holds for me, Captain," she retorted firmly.
"O-ho, do you?"
"What if we try one card only?" suggested Frau Schmidt. Maria was glad for the interruption – if not for the woman, the Captain would start a long debate questioning her poor use of logics in her answers, or worse – her commitment to her chosen path in life. He was determined to start challenging her again, she could feel it. Somehow, she had broken through his indifference towards her again, and yet she did not know how she felt about it.
"In my experience, that should clear things a little bit," the housekeeper explained.
"It's all right, Fräulein, I'll do it for you," the Captain intervened. Before she could stop him, the Captain reached for a card and turned it over.
"The Lovers" (1). Gustav Klimt´s beautiful painting of a dark, handsome man and an innocent looking maiden locked in an embrace danced before Maria´s eyes (2).
"Ha hah!" He smirked. "That is… interesting."
"No wonder Frau Schmidt was led to believe I'll never be a nun!" she thought.
Frau Schmidt's expression was unreadable.
"Aah!" was all she said. "Peculiar indeed, Captain. A different card, one that did not came up before, but somehow carrying the same meaning as all the others put together."
"That still doesn´t make much sense, does it?" Maria mumbled. "At least not for me. Oh well, I told you I…"
"The meaning of the cards is usually not so straight forward and literal, although in this case… Mmm… Probably we are doing this the wrong way. You should take a card yourself, Fräulein, since it is you that I owe this reading to."
Of course Frau Schmidt did not need to explain the rest to Maria – it was the Captain who had picked the card, so its meaning was for him, and for him only. The lovers… Since Baroness Schraeder and he were… He wouldn´t dare, would he? Not with the children in the house! But then, she reminded herself that the aristocracy lived by their own rules and perhaps to them such a thing wasn´t scandalous at all, perhaps not even considered sinful. Perhaps it was something people would expect from a man of his station and in the prime of his life, and something that would not be frowned upon even in the Baroness´s case.
No, she did not want to dwell upon that either.
Maria watched closely as Frau Schmidt shuffled the deck once more, and handled it to her, for cutting. She stole a quick glance to the Captain, who was now standing silently next to her, and his look was… defiant!
"Come on, Fräulein. Be brave!" Yes, the insufferable lout was daring her to do it! "Put an end to your misery, and ours. There will be no harm done if you don´t believe in it."
"I´ll let you be brave this time, Captain," she challenged him back. "You are more used to it than I am," she thought.
"There are fifty-two different cards in that deck. The chances that you pick that same card again are… uh - minimal. If that is what you fear, of course."
Well, he was right, and if that was the case, she refused to back down from the challenge, not when the challenge came from him.
"All right, all right!"
Maria moaned and picked another card from the deck, hoping that it wasn´t as disturbing as the first one. She turned it over – and gasped.
It was "The Lovers" again.
Maria did not know whether she started laughing hysterically or cried out in protest. She was completely paralyzed for a moment. The Captain, on the other hand, did not appear to have a similar problem. Oh, how she wish to wipe off that smirk from his face, as much as she wanted to rip that tarot card in one thousand pieces.
"What a fascinating statistical improbability," he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear, leaning back in his chair as if he was enjoying himself immensely. "One of many, in fact."
"What do you mean by… by… one of many?"
He raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkled. She was distracted for a moment, then gulped. Dear Lord, why did he have to look so absurdly handsome? She would rather die than to admit that it wasn´t the result of the unfortunate fortune telling that was turning her into a blabbering idiot – something that she had never been, but rather, it was him. Particularly now, when he looked a little less formal than his usual self. She must do something about it, urgently, before she made a spectacle of herself.
It would not be easy. Shutting her eyes for a moment did not work, because she kept seeing him behind her eyelids. Looking away wouldn´t either, because she would still feel his presence. The only thing to do was to resign herself to it, and act like it was nothing out of the ordinary. He had to be used to that kind of silly reaction from every other female he encountered, he wouldn´t think too much of it, maybe he would not even notice. Still, with the sunlight playing with his hair, she noted that it was of a deep, rich brown, instead of black, as she had originally thought. If she tried, it would not be hard to imagine him on a sailboat at sea, smiling at the woman he loved, with the wind blowing that hair, his skin more tanned, his wide shoulders…
What was she thinking! What did the width of Captain von Trapp´s shoulders had to do with anything?
She wished she could kick herself in order to banish those absurd little reveries, but then he would catch the gesture and demanded to know why she acting in such a preposterous manner. Also, she could not help but wonder if Baroness Schraeder was the one responsible for his unusual good mood. Inexplicably, she did not know if she should thank her for it, or… or… or… Oh dear, that little half smile of his was distracting. It had the effect of turning her thoughts into mush and take her breath away at the same time, and she wasn´t sure she liked that at all. Oh, sometimes she hated the fact that she had led such a sheltered life!
On the other hand, Maria couldn´t quite understand the reason for his amusement. She was having trouble finding anything entertaining about the while situation, quite the contrary. The pleasant afternoon break in the terrace had taken a turn for the worst, and she was on the verge of embarrassing herself. Again.
"It seems, Fräulein, you are able to bend the rules of probability as well as you bend the rules of Nonnberg, not to mention my rules," he said. "Remarkable."
The man certainly knew how to make her squirm. He had indeed overheard the whole thing! The fiend!
"Indeed! Well, I have never seen such a thing happening before," Frau Schmidt muttered, staring at the card on the table. "I am not sure what to make of it."
"Well well well, what is happening here?"
It was a timely, but welcome interruption, one that would probably rescue Maria from further embarrassment. She sighed, relieved.
"Max Detweiler! How good of you to join us," the Captain said between clenched teeth, with exquisite irony.
"He is a terrible liar, but he hides it well behind all that sarcasm," Maria thought, shaking her head. Well, at least she hoped it would. 'Yet, to those who know him just a little bit, it is plain obvious!"
Frau Schmidt did not waste the precious opportunity to excuse herself and leave. Maria should have done the same, but something else distracted her. It was not the Captain, this time, it was actually something that the Captain was doing. Amidst the confusion, she noticed something very odd. As soon as he realized that Uncle Max was in the vicinity, she noticed, with the corner of her eye, that, with quick fingers, the Captain took the outrageous card from the table, and deftly placed it on the left side pocket of his jacket. He probably thought no one had seen it, and no one had – except for her. Frau Schmidt never noticed it as she gathered the rest of the deck together before leaving.
"I will not let him get away with that," Maria vowed silently.
"What were you up to, my dears?" the impresario asked, taking the chair Frau Schmidt had vacated.
"It seems that Frau Schmidt is back to her fortune telling. She was reading the cards for Fräulein Maria," the Captain explained.
"Oh, really? Interesting. Oh well, that is good to know, I have a few things of the utmost importance to ask her one of these days…"
"I dare to imagine that you do, Max," the Captain chuckled.
"Yes. I should ask her to tell me how long it will be before I am rich and famous, where and when I will meet the fourth Mrs. Detweiler – things like that." Herr Detweiler scratched his moustache. "Now tell me, Fräulein, did our lovely Frau Schmidt perhaps see a gentleman in your future who would be willing to steal you from your beloved Nonnberg Abbey?"
"Max…" the Captain warned him, while Maria, with a most puzzled look on her face, seemed a little bit dazzled.
"Why am I even bothering to ask," Uncle Max continued, ignoring the Captain, "There is no reason for you to worry, Fräulein, the old girl sees men on everybody´s future. Even mine!"
"Max!" was the Captain´s furious exclamation, which was more than enough to bring Maria out of her daze. She giggled nervously. What a mad afternoon this was turning out to be!
"Now, do tell me, Fräulein, regardless of what the cards told you, what happens when you return to the Abbey in September? Won´t you miss all this madness, just a little bit?"
"Well, I…"
"Fräulein Maria is not going to miss anything, she is going to be a nun, at Nonnberg Abbey. I thought father had told you, Uncle Max," a child´s voice spoke behind her. "Everybody knows that."
"Oh God, I do hope so," Maria sighed.
"Brigitta," the Captain muttered, rolling his eyes.
"My sentiments exactly, Captain," Maria thought, now resigned to her fate. She didn´t think her situation could become any worse now.
"Isn´t that true, Fräulein?" the eleven year old asked.
"Mm mm," she nodded in response, with a beaming smile – well, maybe the girl´s arrival would suit her just fine. If things could not get any worse, the only possibility was that things would get better. Looking back she saw Brigitta, followed a few steps behind by Louisa, both carrying several books with them. The girls certainly had inherited their father´s talents for sneakiness, for apparently none of them had noticed their arrival. Obviously, they had finished their studies and had come for their governess, to continue with their scheduled music lesson.
"Fräulein Maria will never be a nun, silly. She is going to get married, remember?" Louisa retorted, slyly.
The proud smile froze in Maria´s lips. The Captain stilled. Max Detweiler watched her with unabashed curiosity. Both seemed… perplexed! The Captain, however, was much more than just that – for some mysterious reason, he was noticeably exasperated.
"You are going to do what?" the Captain snapped, his dark blue eyes shooting daggers at her.
"What is it, Captain von Trapp?" she scowled, making a great effort not to say the words aloud, but keep them to herself. "Aren´t your governesses entitled to a private life? Even if I wished to get married, it would be my business, not yours, and you have no right to appear so… so… piqued about it."
"Hah," Herr Detweiler clasped his hands. "Beautiful. The cards never lie, isn´t that what they say?"
Everyone else seemed to be doing nothing but to stare at her with the most varied, the most absurd looks in their faces, all of them waiting for her to say something, while she took her time, pretending to rearrange her skirts.
"Fräulein?"
It was one of his ways of demanding an explanation with the minimum possible amount of words.
"Mmmm?" He raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Cards may lie, but I know my children and they never lie to me. I think I… uh – we are entitled to a little explanation. The Reverend Mother…"
"Oh, Louisa is merely jesting, Captain," she said quickly, before, somehow, the Mother Abbess was dragged to the whole misunderstanding. She tried to sound dismissive, as if it was a matter of minor importance. "This is completely absurd. I assure you, I have no other intention but to take my vows as soon as I return to the Abbey, least of all to be… to be mar…ried."
The word – married - felt so alien in her lips, making her stutter. It was the first time, in fact, that she applied them to herself. "To be married" - she had never even considered the possibility, not even in her wildest dreams…
"Your gentleman admirer may think otherwise…" Louisa then turned to her father and whispered in a conspiratorial tone. "Father, did you know that Fräulein Maria has a suitor?"
"I most certainly do not…" she replied immediately, a lot louder and sharper than she had intended. "… have a suitor," she finished, with a lower, even voice.
The Captain merely stared at her, his expression as unreadable as a sphinx´s. Meanwhile, the girls continued to amuse themselves at her expense. Oh, this felt worse than any other of the pranks they played on her. What was puzzling to Maria - he let them . And he had that horrible card in his pocket, a veritable trump card against her, if he chose to use it!
"Well, Captain, two can play the same game," she thought. She wondered if she could summon a few of her tomboyish skills and steal it from him, just as he had stolen it from the table under everyone´s eyes when Herr Detweiler arrived.
She knew she could – and she would!
While she was growing up, most of her friends were rejected little misfits like herself, and she had learned one or two little things from them. Picking pockets, for instance. Not that she had ever used such skills in her life. She wondered if she could still do it, if she still had quick, light fingers… It wouldn´t exactly be stealing, she merely wanted the card to return to its rightful owner, Frau Schmidt, who would certainly miss it, her precious deck would be incomplete without it. All she had to do would be to extend her left hand and she would easily reach his left pocket… Distracted as he was by the girls and Uncle Max, he would never notice it. The mere challenge of it was tempting.
"Imagine how romantic it would be," Brigitta sighed, her eyes dreamy. "Fräulein Maria in the chapel, dressed as a bride, about to take her vows, when all of a sudden, a handsome knight riding a magnificent black horse interrupts the ceremony and…"
"Oh God!" Maria exclaimed, horrified.
Brigitta had the imagination of a future writer, and she was certainly allowing it to fly, by telling a colorful, dramatic tale of Maria´s rescue from the Abbey by a valiant knight. However, that was not the reason that had caused her to commit the sin of saying the Lord´s name in vain.
"Who am I to think I could outsmart the notorious Captain von Trapp? The whole Imperial Navy would laugh at me if they learned that one!"
It was his hand grasping her right wrist under the table, having caught her in the act of stealing the Tarot card from his pocket that nearly made her jump from her seat. She didn´t think anyone else noticed it, they hands were completely hidden under the table. It was a firm, steely grip, and the shock of it was causing the strangest sensations, but he wasn´t actually hurting her – although she sensed he would if she did not drop the card. Immediately.
Maria let the card go, dropping it to the ground. His fingers slackened instantly. He let her hand go, and she could not help a little gasp when his thumb grazed her wrist. When her hand was finally free, she shook it and wiggled her fingers, although he hadn´t cause her any pain. No, she wouldn´t call it pain, not exactly. Her wrist tingled in a most curious manner, especially the inner side of it, where she had felt the accidental brush of one of his fingers.
"This girl has quite an overactive imagination! I think I might have read a book like that once," Uncle Max said, leaning back in his chair, with an utterly satisfied grin in his face, blissfully unaware of what had just happened.
Glancing down, Maria saw the card on the floor, face up, the pair of embraced lovers mocking her. All she had to do was to move her right leg and step in it and secure it, then she would pick it up in the first opportunity she had. The problem was that the Captain had the same idea, and as Maria daintily moved her right foot to step over the card, she met the Captain´s much larger, booted foot already there. Impulsively, as an act of frustration, she kicked him not so lightly. He flinched slightly, but it was his only visible reaction. He did not say a word, his face betrayed nothing, but she could not be sure if the same could be said about hers.
"As for you, my dear Fräulein, I am very much impressed," Uncle Max continued, always unaware of what was happening under the table. "Barely out of the convent and you are already breaking hearts around Salzburg. Brava!"
The Captain´s reaction was entirely unexpected. Having heard Max´s comment, he had the audacity, the gall to laugh – that low, sarcastic laugh of his that was rather unique.
"Oh-ho-ho!"
At that moment, Maria discovered that she was not completely devoid of female pride. Future nun or not, did he think she completely lacked any charms that even no man in the world would have no reason to look at her at all? She felt tempted, oh so very tempted, to lie to that infuriatingly arrogant male that happened to be her employer and tell him that yes, she had not only one, but several suitors in the Salzburg area. It would be useless, of course, he probably would not believe and she would only embarrass herself further. Instead, she said, keeping her voice as low and serious as she possibly could:
"I am not breaking any hearts anywhere, Herr Detweiler. I assure you, he was just…"
"Ah ha!" It was the Captain who interrupted her briskly this time. He was no longer laughing. There was suspicion in his eyes, and for a moment she wondered if that was not the way he looked at a prisoner, or a young cadet, when he wanted to interrogate him.
"… just an old friend," Maria finished.
"Then there is a "he"!"
Maria sighed, looking heavenward, strangely resigned. She should be used to this by now. Whenever she thought that there wasn´t anything else that could possibly embarrass her more in front of the nuns in the Abbey, and more recently Captain von Trapp, something entirely new and completely unexpected happened. Never in her wildest imaginings she would have imagined the little innocent incident with Werner Lueger at the Pegasus fountain would come up again. Ever! She had completely forgotten about it herself.
What was it – some kind of unique talent of hers? Some kind of strange gypsy curse she carried from ancestors she did not even know the name of? She did not know what it was, would never know, and, right now, did not care to find out.
Both girls started speaking at the same time.
"His name is Werner."
"Marta named him Herr Broomstick because he looks like one."
"Yes, he is hideous!"
"He was following her, Liesl saw it!"
"Friedrich wanted to break his nose, but Fräulein Maria did not let him!"
"Well, let them!" Maria thought, shrugging. Anything she said could and would be used against her at this point, she was sure of it. Besides, if they had gotten her into another awkward situation, it would be only fair that they should be the ones to get her out of it, even if that meant a momentary blow to her reputation as a Nonnberg postulant. She would make sure to clarify things later with the Captain, explaining him everything, if he cared to hear.
A/N: (1) "LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. In interpretation, the card indicates that the querent has come across, or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that they will fall in love with. They will know instinctively that they must have this, even if it means diverging from their chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it they will never be complete." Source - . - about the meaning of the tarot card "The Lovers". (2) Gustav Klimt´s painting, "Love" was described in "The Sound of Music Chronicles – Part I – The 12th Governess. In my story, it was part of a collection belonging to Baroness Schraeder´s late husband, and the Captain admired it when he was in Vienna, shortly after meeting Maria for the first time.
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