"Are you all right, dear?"

I didn't turn to look but it was the friendly, familiar voice of Frau Schmidt. I look at her and smile through my tears. I've always liked her; she was no nonsense but very kind at the same time. She almost reminded me of Reverend Mother, another woman who I absolutely adore. I wipe my eyes as she pats me on the back.

"I know," she whispers to me. "He sure can hit below the belt sometimes, can't he?"

"Sometimes," I say, my voice still quivering.

"I tell you what," she says, putting her arm around me. "I'm all done with my special cleanings for the day. I will take over looking after the kids for a while so you can calm down and freshen up."

"It's not your job though..."

"In between governess' I've had to do double duty; a half an hour is not going to kill me."

"Well, if you insist it's no problem..."

"It isn't. Go to the bathroom, wash your face and think. You'll be all right, Maria."

"Thank you."

With that, we finally head our separate ways. I hear the back door slam as I walk into the foyer bathroom. There are just as many bathrooms as there are bedrooms in this house, I have never seen anything like it. I honestly can't believe I get to work in such a glorious home as this one. The marble of the sink and the tile floor is about as cold as Captain's heart; it makes me shiver. I take the white hand towel of the drying rack and run it under hot water. I needed warmth in the worst way and hopefully it manages to shock my tears. I looked in the mirror to see a woman with crusty, baggy eyes, windblown hair, and a playdress on; I didn't know who I was at first.

"What happened to you, Maria?" I ask out loud to the woman in the mirror. She never answers back which is good because I didn't really want to hear the story that I know far too well. Of course I know what happened to Maria and I feel sorry for her.

That was when I threw the towel in the sink and left for my bedroom. I was not going to leave but I was going to get ready for the evening. I already knew what to wear to dinner and that was the blue dress that Captain couldn't resist looking at me with. I want a nice subtle blow for the Baroness even if she wasn't here to see it. A fine nun I would be? Ha! If only she knew what I thought of her right now, If only she knew what I thought of her never-to-be husband for that matter!

Before I could even change my dressing, there was a note with my name on it on my dresser. It was propped up by my lamp which meant someone did indeed want me to notice it as soon as I arrived. I walked over and realized how the writing was much too fancy for Georg's writing; this was a woman's penmanship. I tore it open and gasped at the blunt, brief note from the Baroness:

Dear Maria,

You win!

Sincerly,

Elsa

I begin to shake as I finished the note. I looked down at my naked self and realized my whole body was covered in goosebumps. I wrap my arms around myself to calm myself down but it doesn't seem to help. I couldn't help but wonder if she would be happy with the fact I feel completely broken right now. Did I really win, Elsa? Did I really?