Disclaimers, acknowledgements, notes, warnings, etc: Please see Chapter 01.

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The Sound of Music Chronicles

Part I

The Twelfth Governess

Chapter 17

The fine art of tree climbing

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"It is a wise father that knows his own child."

William Shakespeare

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"There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it."

Minnie Aumonier

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"To heal mine aching moods,

Give me God's virgin woods."

Clinton Scollard

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Riding in the beautiful Salzburg countryside did wonders to Captain Georg von Trapp´s disposition, just as he expected he would. For the first thirty minutes, he had to constantly remind himself not to think about his most unusual governess or his children. Once he finally was able to void his mind of any thoughts about home, he was able to enjoy himself. His mind became fully focused on the task of riding, and even when it wandered in another direction, it would be towards pleasant thoughts – to Vienna, and finally to Elsa. He anticipated riding in the countryside with his bride-to-be, and showing off his property. Nevertheless, the pleasant reveries came to abrupt end, when a most unusual sight greeted him when he approached the stables.

"What is she up to now?" he whispered between clenched teeth, making Pluto come to a sudden halt. Amidst a group of trees, he was free to watch the scene developing before him, without being seen.

The new governess was marching towards one of the oak trees. It was a miserable excuse of a march, but at least it was the only way he would describe her stance. She looked like a female – for some reason he felt reluctant to call her a woman – with a purpose. One very angry and determined female.

"One hour and thirty-five minutes," he thought, glancing at his pocket watch with an almost imperceptible smirk. The children were undoubtedly trying to set another record.

To his utter and absolute dismay, the governess proceeded to climb the tree. When she started doing that, he noticed something else – she was barefoot. She disappeared among the branches, and the last thing he saw was her legs, covered with the usual black stockings, and the hint of a white petticoat beneath the skirts of her unspeakable gray dress. He continued to watch, with a deep frown marring his brow, while all he could see was some moving branches.

Something dropped to the ground. One, then two. Fräulein Maria's sturdy and badly worn black shoes. She soon followed, but not by climbing down by the same branches she had used to go up the tree. Apparently she jumped from one of the higher branches, coming to land on the ground – on her backside, because of her loss of balance - with a loud, inelegant moan. He noticed, even from a distance, that her stockings now sported a huge hole in one of her knees. He stifled a grin when she proceeded to rub her wounded posterior after getting up. Other than that, she did not seem to mind it at all the minor damage she had suffered, and hastily proceeded to put her shoes on.

"The twelfth governess acts more like an eighth child," he thought.

Well, he should give her some credit. At least she had taken the initiative to solve the problem herself, instead of pestering him about how badly the children had behaved and demanding that he – or worse, the children - climbed the tree to fetch her belongings. In spite of the unusual manner in which she had chosen to accomplish the task, he had to concede that she had won a few points in her favor. Could the Reverend Mother be right to have so much faith into the little Fräulein after all?

Pluto was getting restless, and the Captain gently patted his neck, to quiet him down. As reluctant as he was to admit it, it was… fun. At least it was more amusing that doing surveillance work during the war. He was enjoying watching the developments so much that the last thing he wanted was to attract her attention to him.

Apparently, the governess was not done with her task. Next, she walked away from the tree. At first, he thought she was going to leave, but she turned around and looked up, one hand raised to protect her eyes against the sunlight´s glare. Following the direction of her gaze, he saw it – her bizarre firemen´s hat. It was caught in the highest branch.

"How the devil did they get that up there?" he wondered.

The Fräulein´s hands went to her head, and it was like she was massaging her scalp, in order to stimulate her brain cells. It must have worked because, following that, she uttered what could be a small cry of triumph, and ran back towards the house.

When she did not return, the Captain decided it was time to move out of his hiding place. He still had some work to do in his study and, besides, it was almost time to start getting ready for dinner. The importance of punctuality had been more than stressed with his new employee, and he did not wish to set the worst possible example by being late himself.

"I must lead by example," he thought.

However, by the time he was halfway towards the stables, she was back again. She was carrying… He halted Pluto again, refusing to believe his eyes.

"Where on earth did she get that?" he wondered.

His new governess was equipped with full fishing gear. She used the rod to poke the hat, high on the tree, letting out a cry of sheer frustration when she realized it was simply not long enough. Dropping the useless equipment next to her, she marched to the tree once more, and, for the second time, she began to climb it.

That did it. He had to interfere; otherwise she would inflict some serious damage upon herself. That was one extra complication he did not need in his life. Most of all, the Reverend Mother did not deserve one of her precious charges returned to her with a few broken bones, black sheep or not. She had even made him promise that her postulant would return to the Abbey unscathed.

Dismounting and patting Pluto's neck, the Captain walked towards the tree.

Looking up, he saw her, or rather; he saw her feet, dangerously high.

"Fräulein!"

The governess was clearly startled by his sudden interference, because she jumped a little, letting out a little yelp when the branch on which she had her left foot broke. As a result she held on to the main branch for dear life, while he held his breath, mentally preparing himself to be ready to catch her if she fell.

"Hallo!" Her greeting absurdly cheerful, as if being high on top of a tree was the most natural thing in the world for her. She sounded like she was a fellow officer whom he met casually during a walk on the sunny deck of a ship.

"You will come down at once!" he yelled.

"Yes, but my hat…" She looked waywardly above her, as if willing the hat to fly to her.

"Forget the blasted hat; I'll make sure you get another one." Then he thought, "Tomboy or not, she will still be in need of a hat," remembering his appalling lack of manners when earlier he had ordered her to remove it in his presence.

"Oh, don't worry, Captain. I am very, very good at this." She replied as her foot found another branch on which to support her weight. She began to climb higher again, her task evident.

"Fräulein…"

"I am quite safe, I assure you. I´ve been told that I started climbing trees before I could even walk properly." He sneered at her obvious fabrication. "You see, Captain, you must face each tree as a new adventure. They are so fascinating there aren´t too of them alike, you never know what you will find. I suppose it is the same for you when you go out to sea and you..."

"Fräulein!" he barked.

"Hmmmm…?" She looked down at him.

This would be one of the images that would haunt his dreams in the next few weeks. The bright-eyed wonder in her eyes as she looked down upon him from her perch in the tree. The green of the leaves surrounding her blonde hair and blue eyes, the hint of her petticoat escaping from underneath her dress. It was all completely innocent, and yet, as he would later learn, it was oddly alluring. Yet, at the moment, it was nothing but infuriating to him.

"Come down immediately!" he barked his command. This time he left no room for misunderstandings.

"All right, all right," she said, and stopped climbing. As she began trying to get down, she suddenly stopped. "Oooh," she murmured.

"What?" the Captain hissed.

"This has never happened before," she sounded very serious. "Never!" she stressed.

"Considering what I have seen from you in the past two hours, I do have trouble believing that, Fräulein," he nearly choked. "Now get down!"

"But I'm stuck!" She looked around her, looking for an escape. "Oh, I can´t believe it!"

"What do you mean stuck?" he asked, irritably.

"I mean that I can't move. I cannot go up or down. I'm… caught!" She began frantically searching for another foothold, another branch to bring her closer to the ground.

"I know the meaning of the term, Fräulein. However, I am also aware of the fact that in nature, everything that goes up must come down again, and so, quite frankly, I cannot understand how you can be - uh - stuck!"

"Well, Captain, I am known to defy the laws of nature from time to time. Sister Berthe could probably tell you about when I…"

"Fräulein, this is no time for chit-chatting about your unique talent for disaster!"

By this time they had also attracted the attention of the ones who were obviously responsible for the governess´s dire situation – his seven children. They had been marching around the grounds, breathing deeply, as ordered. Their perfect line had attracted the attention of their Fräulein, because she now watched them, from the treetop, her mouth agape.

"Oh look there they are. Why do they have to march like that?" she asked.

"They always march like that," was his impatient answer. The children were now forming a perfect line behind him.

"Oh, that's terrible," she replied, sounding horrified by the idea. Seemingly forgetting her task at hand – vacating the tree. "Why don't they just run across the lawn or play?"

"This is no time questioning my educational methods. Would you please come down from that tree? I would rather not have my children's governess with a broken neck."

The children began laughing. He silenced them with one of his glares.

"Oh, but I am serious, Captain. I am stuck. The branch I used to climb up here broke with my weight. I cannot go back down. It is that simple. And I can't go up either – not that it would be of any use… You see? Stuck!"

She sounded mad, he thought. Like being stuck up in a tree was a situation too preposterous for someone like her. And she kept justifying herself.

"This has never happened to me before," she mumbled, as if trying to make sense of her critical situation.

"There is a first time for everything, isn't there?" he said, scathingly. "Now, Fräulein, if you stay calm…"

"I am calm, I assure you, Reverend… I mean, Captain. This is not the worst thing that has happened to me, by far," she said.

"Remind me never to ask what was the worst thing that has happened to you," he muttered.

The children were now whispering among themselves, which attracted his attention back to them.

"You stand back and keep quiet," he ordered, glaring furiously. He did not want that mad postulant/governess falling on one of the children and causing an even more serious accident. "Friedrich?"

"Yes, father?" asked the boy, stepping out of the line.

"Take Pluto back to the stables, please."

"But father…" the boy began to complain, obviously not wanting to miss the rest of the show.

"Friedrich!" he barked.

"All right, sir," his son complied, leaving the line and walking towards Pluto. His horse, as he was amused to notice, was there where he had left him, and was apparently watching the whole scene with regal, aristocratic indifference.

Gazing up again, he noticed that her face was white, and her wide eyes were fixed on the stallion.

"Oh please, not another horse fearing governess!" he cursed inwardly. "You, Fräulein, just do as I tell you," he addressed her.

"Captain, forgive me for asking, are you an expert in the fine art of climbing trees?" her voice spoke from above.

He ignored her mocking question, while he circled the tree as if he was circling a military target.

"Of course you are, I´ve been told you are an expert in everything," he heard her grumbling, probably not realizing she was speaking aloud.

"I can see a branch below your right foot. Can't you reach it?" He asked.

"I can't see it but I shall try." She replied a bit unsure of his question.

She started sliding down very carefully. There was nothing to hold on to, so all she could do was to hug the tree trunk with her arms and legs.

"I can't find it," she yelled. "Where is it?"

"Just below your right foot. Keep going. Very carefully now."

She finally reached the saving branch, with an audible sigh of relief.

"Now stay where you are. I'll…"

He stopped speaking, as he heard the unmistakable sound of a broken branch, and Maria's startled cry. His military instincts took over, and he found himself lunging to catch her.

Later, he would tell himself that he would have done the same for anyone. If Frau Schmidt had been in the unlikely situation of being about to fall from that tree, and if he was in a position in which he could prevent the worst from happening, his gentlemanly instincts would certainly take over and he would try to catch her. The fact that it was Fräulein Maria up there was only a minor detail, of scarcely any importance.

In the end, her fall was slowed by some smaller branches being broken by her decent. He reached her just as she cleared the last branch, and they fell into a heap of legs, arms, twigs, and leaves. She greeted the whole incident with a peal of laughter, while he became furious. He began trying to disentangle himself from her. He rolled her over onto the ground, reversing their positions, while she continued to laugh.

The whole scene did not last more than one second, but it was more than enough to give him another image of her that would haunt him for months to come. There, beneath him, her legs tangled with his, her arms grasping her stomach in merriment, tears streaming from her bright eyes, cheeks flushed from her climbing of the tree, was his children's governess. The young, innocent, virtuous, soon-to-be-nun who was soft and tender in all of the right places was beneath him in a manner which he had rarely experienced fully clothed. To make matters worse, she was clearly completely oblivious not only to what their particular position implied but to the sudden, traitorous response of his own body.

He became furious with her, with himself, for putting him in that situation. The fact that he seemed completely unable to fire the girl on the stop only fueled his growing anger. He abruptly found his feet and began stalking off.

"I must have been without a woman for too long – that is the only possible explanation," he concluded, considering how the closeness to such an unlikely female had affected him. He quickly turned his thoughts to Vienna, and to Baroness Schraeder. For the first time he wondered if keeping her at arm´s length was a good idea. "Elsa – she is the only one who can cure me of this madness, before I lose my mind."

Meanwhile, Liesl and Louisa had succeeded in poking her hat, which fell to the ground. He yanked it from Louisa's hand, scowling, and then handled it to the governess, who was now trying to get up, with the help of Brigitta and Kurt, tears still streaming from her eyes.

"Thank you Captain… children…" she said, raising her head to look at him, but not for more than a second.

"Fräulein, I'm afraid your dress has got a tear," informed Liesl, pointing to the left side of Maria's waist.

"Oh dear," she mumbled, her laughter finally dying. "Well, I guess I must run if I want this to be fixed before dinner!" She turned to him, questioningly. "Captain?"

"You are excused, Fräulein," he grumbled.

"Thank you," she nearly whispered, and scurried away, limping slightly, but clearly doing her best to keep her dignity intact.

Only then he realized – not once had she accused the children. They were all staring at him now – Friedrich too, who had just returned from the stables. Yes, they were expecting him to yell and scream at them, to send them to their rooms without dinner not only because of their latest prank in their governess, but especially because of the consequences of it.

He did neither of those things.

"Now, you just go to your rooms and change for dinner," he said, in the commanding tone he always used to speak to them, ever since his wife died. "Now!"

The children nodded, and began to leave in line.

For the first time in years, the Captain allowed the sight of his children silently marching away to tug at his heart.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Maria exclaimed breathlessly, closing the door to her room and leaning against it. "What on earth have I gotten myself into?"

She stood there for a few minutes, catching her breath, her hands clutching her fast beating heart, while she recalled the events of the previous hours, trying to make sense of it all.

Only two days ago she had wandered in the mountains, with not a care in the world. Today she was in the house of a widower with seven children who were proving to be incorrigible pranksters. More than that, not only her employer was a sea captain and a Baron – which to her was overwhelming enough - but he also rode a horse named after the king of the underworld himself! And she had fallen over him like a sack of potatoes!

She did not know what terrified the most: the children, their father – who did look like the devil incarnate when he was angry - or the horse. Because terrified was how she felt now, and that was not a very comfortable feeling, at least it was not a feeling she was used to. Not anymore – not since she had entered the Abbey.

There were the children to begin with. The frog in her pocket had been only the first of a series of pranks, which had culminated in her shoes and hat ending up on top of a tree, was not enough to discourage her. She felt like she had to prove something to them, and to herself. It had been a maddening succession of practical jokes, and she had to admire them not only for their creativity, but also on the way that they managed to trick her so that she did not realize until it was too late.

And then there was the whole incident that followed…

"Sister Berthe would make me scrub the kitchen floor for the rest of my life if she knew I fell from a tree and landed on top of Captain von Trapp, decorated officer of the Imperial Navy. And the Reverend Mother –dear God, what will she think when she learns that I… that I…," she avoided the specific memories of the event by removing a couple of leaves that still clung to her hair.

Although she typically enjoyed climbing trees, she hadn't planned on having to do so in order to retrieve her belongings. She removed her now-torn dress and began searching her bag for a needle and thread.

"Oh Lord, I hope the Captain is not too keen on first impressions," she spoke to herself. Because, as first impressions go, she had surely made a cake out of herself. It was not her running mouth she had not been able to control, but it seemed like her employer had an unusual ability of catching her in the most embarrassing situations. He had caught her dancing in his ballroom, and then, later, he had watched, astonished, as she fell from a tree to the ground, landing on her bottom – which, by the way, was now extremely sore. Then, lastly, falling on top of him.

"Is there no end to my humiliation today?" She looked heavenward for an answer.

He had been so angry at her, and all she had been able to do was laugh. She had laughed not at him, but at the absurdity of it all. She had spent most of her childhood climbing trees, and she guessed that she climbed a tree at least once a week, even while being a postulant. Never, not once, had she become stuck in a tree, or even fallen from it. She had fallen from rooftops, from windows, from stairs, from chairs, from tables, form her bed, from a horse – which was why she feared them. Not from a tree. Never from a tree. She certainly had never landed on top of anyone, least of all a sea captain. Why did it have to happen now, when in the midst of such an aristocratic household run by such a forbidding man?

"Well, at least I will still be able to redeem myself at dinner," she considered, optimistically.

The Captain seemed obsessed with punctuality – among other things. And she had never been late for a meal all her life, on the contrary. There was no reason why she would start being late now…