A/N: The story is set in that pleasant interlude between "Edelweiss" and "The Ländler". It takes place after "Underneath her wimple", and it begins about one week before the ball. The green monster strikes again, as the Captain learns that Maria did have a life outside the Abbey.
Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own "The Sound of Music".
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"He that is not jealous is not in love."
St. Augustine.
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Leaving the outlandish antique shop and returning to the busy Getreidestrasse was like jumping between two very different worlds, and Maria had to blink a few times to readjust herself to the familiar surroundings. Then she took a large breath of fresh air, wondering, at the same time, if her face was ever going to return to its normal color. She chanced a glance at the book the Captain was holding and a picture of the book she had discovered flashed in her mind. With the image of the embracing couple still dancing on her mind, she could not help but wonder exactly what the Captain had purchased.
"Fraülein, do you mind if we stopped at the Market for a moment? I would like to buy some flowers for the Baroness."
"Not at all, Sir."
They made it to the market in record time, with the Captain walking in his usual fast pace. He stopped when they arrived and looked around, a little unsure where to go. Finally, he spoke.
"I have not been here in quite a while. I am looking for a flower stall I always went to with the children's mother. There was this boy named…"
He was interrupted by the very same young man he was about to describe, running towards them. A handsome youth, probably around his governess's age, with silver blond hair. He was almost like a youthful male version of Fraülein Maria.
"Maria! Is that really you? I almost did not recognize you without your habit!" The young man hugged Maria in welcome.
"Grüss Gott, Werner!" she greeted cheerfully.
"I haven't seen you in months. Have you left the Abbey?"
"Yes and no. Not for good. I am – uh - on loan."
"On loan? To whom?" Maria cast the Captain a sideways glance. "Cap… Captain von Trapp!" The youth straightened. "It is an honor to have you here again. We have not seen you since the Baroness… since… I am terribly sorry for your loss, Sir!"
The Captain's face was a forbidding mask. "I see you know my governess quite well."
"Your governess? Maria?" He then looked at Maria. "Are you on loan to him?"
"Hm mm. Until September." The Captain became irritated at the word September. Was she having such a horrible time working for him? Why did she have to stress all the time the fact that it was only temporary, and at the same time sound perfectly happy about it?
I wonder how many more times we will have to tell this story today, Maria wondered. We? She chastised herself. When did she begin thinking of the Captain in the terms of "we"? What was about it that people found so odd about a postulant being a governess?What is wrong with making a vow to dedicate your life to a higher purpose? Why so many people found it so hard to believe? She made a mental note to tell that to the Reverend Mother, for her to think about the next time she decided to send a postulant out into the world.
"Are you a governess? You?!" The boy looked at her incredulously.
"To seven children," she stated proudly, and braced herself for another well know reaction – one similar to her own when she first heard it.
The Captain couldn't help but notice the difference in how Fraülein Mariaand Elsa stated the number of children he had. Elsa always remarked the number of children he had as if sighing, "seven children" and taking on the weight of the world. The young woman seemed to say seven as if it were only one – and not so much an obligation, as it was a pleasure. Probably glad she has someone to climb trees with he thought, a smirk gracing his face.
The young man looked aghast.
"Seven?!"
The next time I will tell the whole story before anyone asks, Maria thought, making another mental note.
The Captain, frustrated with this young man and irritated at being ignored Remarked scathingly, "I should realize you had old acquaintances in town, Fraülein."
"Oh! I am so sorry, Captain. Werner's mother cooks for the convent when the nuns need some extra help. Sometimes there are just too many poor mouths to feed. He often comes along and he helps to rehearse the choir of postulants. He plays the violin beautifully…"
"How…" he searched for the right word, "convenient."
"Yes, very," she replied innocently, missing his sarcastic bite. "Which reminds me…" Maria turned to the boy. "Is your mother still angry at me? Is her hair finally growing back?"
The Captain couldn't help but smile at the young woman's innocence. After the story she had told him on the trip into town about how Maria had inadvertently helped a volunteer cook become separated from her hair. She had told him something about a spider… using her wimple as a fan… and unfortunately, fanning the flame of the stove right over the cook's head. Fortunately, the cook had been leaning over the stove, and only her hair was a victim of the unfortunate incident. He could only imagine how Maria had talked her way out of that one.
"Her hair is growing back quite nicely. I will tell her that you asked."
"Oh good!"
"But she still thinks you should be exorcized!" Maria laughed. Now, after telling the Captain about the incident, she could see the humor in it. She supposed she did look a little possessed at the time, dancing around the kitchen trying to avoid the spider, her wimple her only means of defense, and Werner's mother's head ablaze.
"Yes, well, now that you've reassured my confidence in you taking care of my children, could we please hurry this along? I would like to get home sometime today." He said sarcastically.
"What exactly are you looking for, Captain von Trapp?" Werner asked, aware that he had been neglecting the best costumer he and his mother had ever had.
"I am not sure yet, Werner. I am not sure." He began silently looking at the display of flowers.
"Maria could help you if you let her. She is quite the expert in the meaning of flowers."
"Fraülein Maria? Why am I not surprised?" Maria doubted that Werner caught the subtlety of the Captain's "Fraülein". Did he really resent the fact that Werner treated her with such familiarity?
"When I was growing up, my aunt took the language of flowers very seriously," she explained. "She taught me all she knew about it, and made sure I learned. You never know when it will be useful to you, she used to say."
"Mm." The Captain didn't seem too amused by this revelation. The Captain turned to Werner, and said briskly. "I will take some of that lavender over there."
"Captain – uh - permission to speak freely?" Maria looked at him questioningly.
"Denied." The irritation was evident in his voice.
"But Sir, I must…"
"Fraülein, when did anything I have to say actually stop you from doing or saying as you pleased?" Maria closed her eyes and counted to three, in order to control her temper. "My answer to your question hardly mattered. I have no doubt that you will speak your mind, whether it is right or not, now or later. I'm sure you will show me the error of my ways. And since you have my attention, I'm sure you will correct my wayward thinking now."
Very well, Captain, you asked for it.
"Lavender may not be the best choice for Baroness Schrader. Oh, they are beautiful, and smell just lovely, but…"
"To the point, Fraülein!" He was exasperated. She could never give a simple "yes or no" answer.
"They mean devotion Sir, but they also mean mistrust."
"Then I should give them to you, shouldn't I?" He fired back.
Maria let out a moan of protest, a little hurt by his biting comment. "Whatever your intentions are about the Baroness, Captain…"
"And they are none of your business." The fire in his eyes was evident. But somehow, Maria knew it wasn't anger it was something else. She assumed it was frustration from such a long outing with her. She hadn't thought that it would take quite so long to get to Salzburg, and her game of dress-up with Peggy hadn't helped the Captain maintain his busy schedule. And yet… he didn't seem frustrated, she couldn't pinpoint his emotion, but she knew somehow, it was her fault.
She shrugged, giving up. "Take these, instead," Maria said hurtfully, handling him a bouquet.
"Daffodils?" She caught him off guard with such a simple flower.
"Chivalry, respect, regard. Much more appropriate, don't you think?"
He was not at all sure it had been a calculated gesture - she was not sophisticated enough for that. He just stared at her, but he took the bouquet of daffodils from her hands. Had she casually, but so cleverly, thrown back at him the little insult he had directed to her when he said she should be the one receiving a bouquet of lavender, and not Elsa? Had she just returned respect and regard to him in exchange for mistrust?
She made him feel like a knave, and not for the first time that day.
"Captain?" She noticed that he hadn't taken his eyes off her, that he had been studying her… almost as if he were trying to discern her thoughts.
"Forgive me, I - I did not mean to insult you, Fraülein."
"Insult me? When did you?" She was confused, was she so naïve that she didn't even know when she was being insulted?
"When I hinted that I mistrusted you… I don't." He was looking at her again, this time, straight into her eyes.
"Oh," was all she said, taken aback. The fire she had seen earlier was gone, replaced by something tender. She could hardly breathe… she couldn't remember anyone ever looking at her like that.
Sensing something between them, he immediately broke eye contact and looked down at the bouquet in his hand. "But never mind any of that. I am just - uh - having a hard time imagining the Baroness and daffodils in the same room."
After breaking eye contact with the Captain, Maria needed something to distract her. The lavender caught her eye, and she leaned over it, taking in it's wonderful aroma. "Well, I can't imagine the Baroness with lavender either."
"I happen to like lavender myself," he informed.
"Are you giving yourself these flowers, Captain?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "They should please the lady who will receive them, and not you, Sir."
She did have a point. Damn the woman, how can she find fault in everything I do? He thought. And yet – somehow, he wanted to please her. He wanted to show her that he could be right one of these days as she had taunted him yesterday. "What if I add some lavender to the daffodils?"
She shook her head. "That could say I respect you, but I don't trust you. That is not good either is it?"
"Hmmmm. Carnations?" He named a flower randomly, just to see what fault she would come up with this time.
"Which color?"
He was surprised. "Does it matter?"
"It is a very important detail!" She said excitedly. Then asked, "Pink, yellow, red, stripped?"
"Yellow. She likes gold."
"I'm afraid not, Captain." Maria shook her head.
"Why?" He was surprised not to find any irritation from her denial of the carnations. What was it about this girl that could completely disarm him?
"Yellow carnations mean rejection and disdain. And if you add the lavender, since you are so adamant about it," she added exasperatedly, "you have rejection, disdain and mistrust. Honestly, Captain, if I were the Baroness, I would throw the bouquet into your face. You are most definitely going in the wrong direction.
Werner shook his head and laughed, finally making his presence known again. "I told you she knew all about it, Captain!" Georg scowled at him, and decided to test Maria again.
"Azaleas?"
"Sir, I am sorry but we have none of those today," said Werner, but was immediately silenced by a typical von Trapp scowl.
"Now, that would be a very good choice." Maria spoke, now fully aware that he was just baiting her. "It means take care of yourself for me."
The Captain shook his head. "No, no, no. The Baroness can very well take care of herself, and I have no inclination to take care of her either." He looked at the colorful flowers surrounding them.
"Orchids?"
Maria rolled her eyes. "Captain, you have seven children. Trust me, you, of all people, do not need to give any woman orchids."
"Why not? Don't they symbolize beauty and refinement? Even I know that."
"Yes, but the Chinese use it as a symbol for many children, Sir. And by my count, sir, you have enough children to make most women happy."
A voice in his head wanted to know if she considered herself most women, but it was silenced by the other voice in his head screaming "she's going to be a nun". "I surrender, Fraülein. You tell me what to pick. It does not have to be a declaration of undying love, or express a wish to have a dozen more children. As long as it is not insulting to her, and that it does not carry any dangerous hidden messages. Just a token of gratitude."
Which will be accompanied by an outrageously expensive diamond and sapphire locket, Maria completed in thought.
"Do you have any camellias, Werner? Or yellow lilies?"
"Not today, I'm afraid. Wait, there are some red camellias here, I think."
"Yes, I'll take those," the Captain said quickly.
"No," Maria exclaimed, and then turned to him, and said theatrically. "You're a flame in my heart?"
He was a little taken aback. "I give up! You choose. Whatever it is, please don't let it be pink. No need to have Marta right under Elsa trying to look at the pretty pink flowers." he added with a smile. "And Fraülein, remind me never to bring you along when buying flowers again. You make it too complicated."
She looked around the rainbow colored display of flowers.
"Red roses are out of the question too."
"Why?"
"Unless you want your declaration of undying love,Captain". She squinted, looking around her. Then she walked past him towards a more secluded corner of the stall, letting out a small cry of delight. "Here they are. I did not think you would have then, Werner."
"Oh, they came this morning. Shipped straight from Holland only last night. They are very rare. Very expensive."
"Would have what, Fraülein?" The Captain began walking towards her to investigate her discovery.
"Blue roses!" She turned to the Captain, picking up a bouquet. "That would be just perfect."
"Perfect? No harmless hidden meanings or insinuations?" He smiled as he asked her. He couldn't help but notice how blue her eyes looked next to the roses.
She looked at him and told him earnestly. "They mean mystery. Or attaining the impossible." She pressed the bouquet to her nose, and closed her eyes as she smelled the foreign fragrance. He noted the calmness that graced her features, and realized it was the first time today he had seen her so relaxed.
"Perfect indeed," he echoed, pensively. Not necessarily for the Baroness, but perfect nonetheless.
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A/N: Thank you Mellie D. for helping me keep this story together.
I love your reviews, so please keep them coming! My very special thanks to TrapperII, for her encouraging feedback.