'The children! I forgot the children.'
In her panic to put her clothes on, she rolled out of bed in a most comedic manner. Elsa had to laugh, her unstyled mop of hair was sticking up in a most demented fashion. Maria threw a pillow at her as she wrestled with her underwear and dress. Elsa slipped on her clothes and assisted her, looking out the window she saw the tents silent. The children were still sleeping. She kept an eye out while Maria hastily abluted, got dressed in something more appropriate and followed behind her in a leisurely fashion, stopping off for two cups of hot coffee from the kitchen. She took it out to the garden.
'Nobody noticed a thing' she whispered. Maria shot her a look of relief tinged with tenderness. She had feared that the Baroness was going to pretend that their night together had never happened. But there she was, smiling happily at her in the early morning light.
The tents startled to rustle and soon the children crawled out, bleary eyed and yawning. They saw the most unlikely sight of the two women drinking coffee together on the veranda.
'How did you sleep?' Enquired the Baroness. The children chorused their approval as Liesl glanced at their governess. She would have to thank her for not saying anything about Rolf's visit. She hadn't expected the Baroness to be there. Her hair was glorious, even wound up in a hasty bun. She wondered what had made her decide on getting up so early. When she enquired, Elsa replied that she didn't always wake up early enough to see the morning sky. And soon it would be autumn and she'd be less inclined to get up early. The children trooped inside to get ready for breakfast but Liesl lingered.
'Come and have breakfast with us this morning, Liesl' invited the Baroness.
'Really? You mean it?'
'Of course. You're a young woman now, soon you should start to dine with the adults.'
The young woman couldn't believe it. This was her compensation for not being able to taste a sip of champagne at the party. She promised to be out right away. The Baroness told her to take her time. She called out the maid and asked her to lay the breakfast table right there on the veranda for three.
'I really must attend to the other children' said Maria.
'Let us go up and attire ourselves appropriately. I will speak to Georg.'
As Maria drew a comb through her hair and decided on the green dress, she decided that she would let the Baroness handle breakfast. She was right, Liesl could not be contained as a child any longer and the Captain would have to acknowledge that. He had made a slight allowance for her wardrobe but things would change as time marched on. She scrambled out of her room and waited for the others at the foot of the staircase.
The Baroness descended, risking a generous smile at her bed mate. She was wearing a slinky lilac dress today, her hair in her usual chignon. They exchanged pleasantries until Georg appeared.
'And how are the adventurers today?' He asked sardonically.
'They will tell you over breakfast' replied Elsa. 'They are getting dressed now. Liesl will be taking breakfast with us ladies this morning. I trust that the children will behave with you.'
'Liesl is one of the children' Georg objected.
'Oh no Georg, she is a young woman now. She needs female guidance. Soon you will need to extend her bedtime and she will dine with us.'
Georg raised his eyebrows. If Elsa wasn't going to be a mother to his children, he supposed that taking his eldest under her wing was a good compromise. He supposed that Maria might help.
'I take it I am not allowed to know what kind of conversation you will be having?'
'We will see about any conversation. She may just want to eat breakfast in silence. But she must be immersed in female company sooner rather than later.'
Although Elsa had commented quite diplomatically, the implication that his eldest was nurturing a secretive nature had not been lost on Georg.
'You will tell me anything I should know about' he instructed. The ladies withdrew to the veranda in supressed amusement. They sipped coffee and glanced at each other bashfully, spoke in the softest tones they could muster. They spoke of their longing to meet under the cover of darkness again. Elsa invited her to her villa in Vienna. Maria had never been to the capital.
'Oh you must, it is simply divine.'
Elsa raised her voice to normal speaking level as she observed Liesl approaching eagerly, just a hop and a skip away from womanhood. Soon she would learn, her rough edges smoothed away and moulded into something more sophisticated. Of course men liked that girlish charm but there was only so long it would last for. And Liesl was soon to be ready.
Elsa whispered.
'How long will it be before Georg notices her suitor?'