FIVE
The Captain's guests arrived just after Maria and the children had finished taking their dinner in the kitchen. The children stood, arrayed in a long line against one wall of the foyer, waiting to welcome them. At first glance, the scene looked horribly similar to the one which had greeted Maria when she had arrived at the villa, only this time they were not standing in age order, there was not a uniform in sight, and the children were at ease, smiling and talking quietly to one another. Maria stood slightly off to one side, nearest to Liesl at the far end of the row. She could practically feel the excitement radiating from the girl who was leaning forwards to try and catch a glimpse of the arrivals as the door to the villa was opened.
The first person to enter the hallway was a fairly elderly man, who Maria assumed was Herr Ebner, followed by a woman slightly younger than him who was sure to be his wife. They were immediately greeted by the Captain and Herr Dettwelier and after a warm handshake were introduced by the Captain to Baroness Schräder. The Baroness looked stunning and had dressed for dinner with seemingly no thought for the heat - Maria was privately amazed that she could wear the dark blue floor-length dress without being at all affected.
Whilst the Baroness greeted Herr and Frau Ebner, whom she had never met before, Maria's gaze returned to the door which had just been re-opened to admit a younger man who was undoubtedly Lieutenant Steiner. She heard Liesl's excited whisper to Louisa of "See! I told you he was handsome!" and flashed the girls a warning glance. Liesl did not seem to heed this however, and Maria sighed softly as she watched the girl stand slightly on her tiptoes to get a better view.
Lieutenant Steiner was quite good-looking; Maria mused analytically as she watched him kiss the Baroness' cheek in greeting, and with his fair hair, bright blue eyes and slim figure, he did bear more than a passing resemblance to Hans König, however seeing him standing next to the Captain... well, she was beginning to wonder if any other man could look at all handsome in comparison. She noticed too, in some surprise, that he was dressed in his Navy uniform, with a single medal pinned to his right pocket.
Even as Maria was thinking this, it seemed that the Lieutenant was already living up to his flamboyant reputation, as she heard a rather bombastic roar of laughter and the words: "You have certainly done very well for yourself, Georg!" spoken in a much louder voice than she had been expecting. Maria found herself taking an instant disliking to him.
"Yes, it is a very beautiful house you have here," Herr Ebner was much more softly spoken as he turned around slowly, taking in the foyer and its beautiful crystal chandelier. His eyes of course finally alighted on the children who immediately stiffened slightly despite his kind smile.
"May I present my children?" the Captain declared, descending from the stairs, and offering his arm to the Baroness.
"Ah, yes!" Lieutenant Steiner exclaimed, still in the same booming voice, "The famous Von Trapp brood!" Maria frowned slightly, as he came to stand in front of the children and made a show of counting them, "Seven, indeed, Georg!" he declared, turning to the Captain with a mischievous smile, "A sure sign of superb masculine virility… and enthusiasm!" he laughed again and raised his eyebrows towards Elsa, ensuring that the tasteless implication was not lost on her. Maria assumed they must have met before.
"This is Gretl, my youngest, then Marta, Brigitta, Kurt, Louisa, Friedrich and Liesl," the Captain introduced them, smiling proudly as each child in turn nodded their head towards the guests.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Herr Ebner, Lieutenant Steiner, Frau Ebner," Friedrich stepped forwards with a bow, sounding very much the young man he was becoming.
Maria smiled to herself as she saw a momentary flash of surprise pass across the Captain's face, to be replaced a second later with a look of pride in his eldest son.
"It is indeed a great pleasure," Herr Ebner declared smiling warmly, "I have not seen you since the week you were born Liesl," he continued, turning towards the girl as Friedrich stepped back into line, "You have grown into a very beautiful young woman. How old are you now?"
"I'm sixteen," Liesl replied, "Nearly seventeen," she added hastily. Maria watched as her eyes flicked quickly towards Lieutenant Steiner. Evidently he had noticed, and with a slight smirk, flashed her a wink. Maria heard Liesl's excited intake of breath as the Lieutenant turned away and felt her own eyes widen slightly at the exchange. She immediately turned towards the Captain who - for once - mercifully seemed to have seen nothing.
"And this is Fraulein Maria," he continued before pausing slightly as though not quite sure how to introduce her. She refused to meet his gaze.
"The children's governess."
"It is very good to meet you," Maria replied with a smile. Herr and Frau Ebner nodded pleasantly, whilst, to Maria's surprise, Lieutenant Steiner stepped towards her, took her hand, and bent over to kiss it softly.
"Enchantée, mademoiselle," he winked again.
She gave him a forced smile in return, and extricated her hand from his grasp as quickly as possible.
"I hear that you have done wonders with the children, Fraulein," Frau Ebner addressed her.
Maria immediately shook her head slightly, "They are fantastic children, Frau Ebner," she replied.
Lieutenant Steiner laughed, "Ah, but the exploits of the Von Trapp children and their governesses were becoming legendary, Fraulein!" he said. Maria was relieved to hear a few stifled giggles from behind her, "And with seven of them all just as formidable as their father, it must take a strong woman indeed to keep them in order!"
If the Captain had said such a thing to her then she might have joked with him as she had earlier about 'the first rule in the house' being 'discipline', but she resented both Lieutenant Steiner's tone and the overtly appraising glance which had accompanied his words.
"Not at all, Lieutenant. They are a credit to their father," she found herself replying before the Captain could do as much as open his mouth.
She met his gaze evenly, seeing a flicker of surprise pass across his face before his smirking smile was back.
"As I say, a strong woman indeed Georg," he said a few seconds later, briefly raising his eyebrows back in the Captain's direction.
"I am sure they will do you very proud, Georg," Frau Ebner continued.
"They already do," the Captain said softly, appearing lost in thought for a moment before he suddenly seemed to snap back to the present, "Right, well I think it is time that the children went to bed, and that we avail ourselves of the cook's delicacies...!" He addressed his guests, and Maria immediately moved towards the children, beginning to shepherd them slowly towards the stairs.
As the younger ones bid their father goodnight, she turned back around, intending to make her own farewells, when suddenly the Baroness, who had temporarily relinquished her grip on the Captain's arm, took her by the hand.
"My dear Fraulein," she said, "It seems splendidly unfair that you must retire so early, doesn't it Georg?"
The Captain turned to them in surprise.
"Oh no, Baroness," Maria hastily reassured her, "Not at all - I have the children to attend to and I-"
"Don't be ridiculous, my dear!" she interrupted, "You simply must come and join us after our meal!" Her expression was inscrutable.
"That's very kind of you to offer, Baroness, but I really-"
"No, please do join us Fraulein," Lieutenant Steiner interrupted her for a second time, "I imagine you will make most fascinating company…" he smirked.
"Georg?" the Baroness tried again in a more coquettish tone of voice.
Maria looked at the Captain helplessly. He was frowning at Steiner.
"Well I..." he began, sounding rather reluctant.
She watched as he regarded her carefully, almost begrudgingly, and suddenly she felt as far away from him as she had close to him earlier that afternoon.
It was a disturbingly unpleasant return to reality.
"Honestly, Captain, it is very kind of you but-" she began again.
"Nonsense, my dear," the Baroness interjected yet again, "I'm sure that Georg will be most delighted to have your company." There was a slight edge to her tone now, and Maria saw the Captain's eyes narrow slightly. She looked between them in bewilderment, having no idea why Elsa was so keen to have her join them. The Baroness had always seemed coolly indifferent to her before, and certainly it seemed very out of character for her to invite the 'help' as she had once put it, to take drinks with her guests.
The Captain now seemed to have no choice but to agree.
"Well of course you may Fraulein, if you like."
He sounded rather irritated and her heart sank slightly.
"Excellent!" Elsa exclaimed, clapping her hands and reaching up to kiss the Captain on the cheek. He nodded rather stiffly and Maria could not help but notice that there was no trace of anything like the look he had given her earlier, even as Elsa ran her hand down his jacket sleeve to take his arm once more.
"Come down when you are finished with the children," the Baroness instructed her, suddenly sounding far more like her usual self.
"I... okay." Maria could not really think of anything else to say.
"Dinner is served," Franz had suddenly appeared in the foyer, and after a nod from the Captain began to lead the guests towards the dining room.
"Come along children," Maria gathered the children together and began to lead them towards the stairs, her mind still in rather a blur.
"Goodnight Father," they called back, "Goodnight Baroness Schräder."
"Goodnight," the Captain replied, and then answered Liesl's look with: "Absolutely out of the question!" before the girl could even ask if she could be permitted to return later with Maria. Liesl's face fell, and Maria squeezed her arm comfortingly.
As they reached the top of the stairs however, she heard the Captain's voice.
"Fraulein?" he called her. She ushered the children on ahead and turned back towards him. It appeared that Baroness Schräder had followed the others into the dining room for he was standing alone in the hallway.
"Thank you," he said slightly awkwardly.
"What for?" she asked.
"For what you said about the children," he paused, "It means a great deal to me."
She nodded mutely.
"I will... see you later, then Fraulein," he continued.
"If you're sure it's appropriate, Captain, I do not wish to intrude-"
"You could never intrude, Fraulein." The intensity was back, as was the sudden fluttering in her stomach.
"Thank you, Captain," she replied softly. He nodded to her and held her gaze for another few seconds before walking quickly back towards the dining room.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Baroness Elsa Schräder was most definitely at her best when surrounded by company. She had spent many years cultivating her reputation as Vienna's most illustrious socialite, and it showed. Indeed, she was positively glowing for most of the meal as the conversation, and the wine, flowed readily. She had been the 'perfect hostess', Georg thanked her quietly at the end of the meal, and that, she decided as she regarded the Captain from across the table in the salon later, was exactly what was needed in the future Baroness Von Trapp.
Elsa had not realised quite how much she had been missing her usual lifestyle until that evening - spending time with Georg and his family was an honour in its own way, but Elsa did miss the gossip and pretentions of the Viennese highlife.
She had also been missing Captain Von Trapp - the Captain Von Trapp whom she had come to know in the glitzy salons of Vienna. For a while that evening, as they passed stories back and forth across the table, she had had him back, and for a time it was almost as though they were still in Vienna, without children, business or troublesome governesses to disturb them.
And she so enjoyed being the subject of Georg's attention again - he had finally turned back into the man who she had been certain could be everything that she wanted and needed in a husband. He had been more attentive towards her in those couple of hours than he had been at all in the few weeks they had spent at the villa - flirting with her, complimenting her, and even rivalling Lieutenant Steiner in his charms.
It had been the most perfect evening.
After the meal, the six of them retired into the salon, taking comfortable seats arrayed around a central table on which rested a decanter of scotch and a bottle of wine in an ice cooler.
Elsa had almost forgotten about Fraulein Maria until, after about fifteen minutes of continued small talk, the governess appeared in the room. Elsa had expected that the young woman would be reluctant to join them, that perhaps she would feel awkward or out of place intruding upon their company, but if she did, Maria showed no sign of it.
"Good evening, again!" she said brightly as she crossed the salon. Elsa noticed in annoyance that her eyes immediately flicked towards Georg's just as the Captain turned to meet her gaze. They smiled at each other and maintained eye contact for a second longer than Elsa considered appropriate.
Before Georg could say anything she interjected with: "Good evening, my dear," in her best and most simpering tone.
"Do take a seat, Fraulein," Herr Ebner said warmly, gesturing to the unoccupied chair on his right. Elsa frowned slightly as Maria thanked him and moved to sit down - the governess had ended up directly opposite Georg, from where she was certain it would be easy for the Captain's attention to stray towards her.
Christoph Steiner evidently noticed her expression and she watched as he smirked into his scotch glass.
The conversation was initially slightly strained. Steiner immediately seized on Maria's presence with his usual alacrity and began asking the governess how she was enjoying her life in the villa and whether she believed that the Von Trapp children took after their celebrated father. Maria handled his questions well – annoyingly well in fact - she was polite, yet cool, and the young woman proved once again that she could be as quick-witted as Georg himself.
And, although Elsa could not quite bring herself to think it purposeful, the governess was unwittingly doing all the right things to secure Georg's attention. Meeting his eyes quickly at the start and end of every answer, running her hands over each other in her lap, and of course wearing the same bright smile that she almost always did when he spoke… Elsa was sure that the young woman was charming the Captain quite nicely.
A little while later however, Steiner's questions inevitably became somewhat more leading, and Elsa watched in interest as Maria finally began to look uncomfortable.
"So tell me, Fraulein," he said, "Is our dear Captain as formidable an employer as he was when we were in active duty?"
"Well I don't know, Lieutenant, but I-" she began, for the first time sounding slightly hesitant.
"O-ho!" Georg interjected with a laugh, "I think it was perhaps Fraulein Maria herself who was the most formidable when we met!" His eyes found hers again.
Steiner's eyebrows rose slightly at the teasing tone of the Captain's reply and the speed with which he had come to Maria's defence. His amused smirk returned.
"Is that so, Fraulein?" he asked, exchanging the briefest of glances with Elsa.
Maria had no more than a second to think of a reply, before the Captain spoke again: "And I do believe, Lieutenant, that you had left the Navy long before I became an active Captain!" His tone was good humoured, and the conversation immediately shifted away from Maria and back to their earlier reminiscing about their days at sea.
The conversation was still continuing some thirty minutes later, and Elsa felt herself becoming exasperated again. Maria had somehow become embroiled in a conversation - well more a monologue, Elsa privately thought - with Herr Ebner. The Baroness could not help but feel slightly sorry for the young woman - although she had met Herr Ebner for the first time that evening, Elsa already agreed with Max's opinion that he was a terrible bore. Max had warned her that at all costs she was to avoid mentioning anything to do with munitions manufacture, as Ebner had enough opinions about it to last for the rest of the evening. Without sufficient warning, however, it seemed that Maria had somehow managed to do exactly that, and Elsa reckoned that it had been at least ten minutes since the governess had contributed one word to the conversation. She was acutely aware too that Maria's full attention was not focussed on the subject of Ebner's ramblings, and indeed, Elsa supposed that she could hardly blame her - she was equally distracted herself by the highly compelling presence of the Captain.
Georg Von Trapp was on his finest form - he was witty, funny and a most sensational raconteur, sparring good-naturedly with both Max and Christoph Steiner as the three men recounted many of their experiences in the Navy. Even she, Elsa Schräder, with all of her experience of society and numerous encounters with men trying to win her affections, found the Captain utterly irresistible when he was like this. He exuded a confident charm and a very masculine appeal, which Elsa found a potent combination. So too, it seemed, did Fraulein Maria. Elsa had now seen the younger woman's eyes flick in the direction of the Captain more than a dozen times, each time the look on her face being one which Elsa was sure she should not be seeing in a future nun.
Her plan was spectacularly backfiring, she decided grimly, and she could not even really blame Steiner - aside from the fact that he was probably unaware of her intentions, the conversation was still focussed on the three men's later days at sea, when Georg had been happily married and therefore immune to any kind of scandal.
"So how long did you serve in the Navy for, Herr Ebner?" Maria seemed to have finally gotten a word in.
"Oh a good twenty years," he replied, refilling Maria's wine glass despite her mild protests, "I achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander," he continued, "Only unlike Christoph here, I do not feel the need to use my title for disreputable purposes!"
"Disreputable purposes!" Steiner exclaimed, pretending to be annoyed, "That is the first thing resembling a joke that I have heard from you in ten years, Andreas!" He tilted his scotch glass towards Ebner, who was laughing good-naturedly, and took a generous mouthful.
"And it is alright for you," he continued a moment later, his eyes gleaming, "You are happily married!" He inclined his glass towards Frau Ebner and bowed his head slightly, "It is the Captain and I who require the benefit of our titles now!"
"Oh I think you require it more than I do, my friend!" Georg quipped back.
"Come now, Georg," Steiner replied, refilling his own brandy glass for the third or fourth time, "I seem to recall a time in our lives when both of us found it very beneficial to borrow our superior officer's title for the evening...!"
Georg looked suddenly rather awkward.
"A 'trio of Parisian dancers', wasn't it Georg?" Herr Ebner chuckled, "I think I have heard this one before!"
"Yes, I think we have all heard this one before," the Captain replied, in a tone plainly showing that he wished to move away from the subject as quickly as possible. Elsa however sensed the opportunity she had been waiting for all evening.
"I don't believe that I have heard anything at all about Parisian dancers, darling," she purred, leaning forwards with a smile, one eye still resting on Maria. Georg's eyes flashed at her in annoyance as Steiner laughed loudly, taking another swig of brandy.
"Nevertheless-" he began, his tone now not good-humoured at all.
"Ah-ha!" Steiner exclaimed, "You mean that poor Elsa, your betrothed-to-be," Elsa watched smugly as Maria's gaze fell towards the floor, "Does not even know where you learned your 'tricks of the trade'?"
This was exactly what Elsa had been hoping for.
"I do not believe that it is-"
"Oh, don't worry darling," she cooed, flashing Steiner a winning smile, "I promise I will not be too scandalised!" She refused to acknowledge Max's warning glare - of course the impresario now knew exactly what she was up to.
Georg opened his mouth to protest again, his eyes flicking towards Maria, but Steiner, probably more knowing than he was letting on, would not be silenced.
"It was an autumn evening in Paris, if I recall," he began, not reacting at all to the Captain's murderous glower, "And the first shore leave for us... inexperienced sailors!" Even Frau Ebner chuckled, and Elsa smiled as she saw Maria's eyes widen slightly. Good, she thought, Maria was listening, and had at least understood what kind of inexperience Steiner was referring to.
"Christoph..." the Captain's warning fell on deaf – and rather intoxicated - ears.
"The Parisian women were very accommodating," Steiner continued, "They do say, no one does it quite like the French, and even now I am most inclined to agree..."
"After an extensive number of comparisons, I'm sure," Max interrupted dryly, but Steiner just laughed.
"Try it sometime, Max," he replied outrageously, "You will never want to go back! Anyway," he paused, "When two 'sea Captains'" he mimed the quotation marks with his fingers, "of the Imperial Navy came to shore, we could not believe our luck when we found a trio of Parisian dancers who were more than happy to fill in some gaps in our... education!"
"How tremendously wicked of you Georg!" Elsa exclaimed, as she pretended not to notice the fire in the Captain's eyes. She laughed along with the others - even Max gave a half-hearted chuckle. Maria and Georg were the only ones to remain silent.
"Oh I am sure you will thank them for it someday, my dear," Steiner saluted Elsa with his glass again; "If you haven't already of course!" he winked at Georg. Elsa could barely contain another smile as she saw Maria look down towards the floor again. 'Perhaps not such an unblemished hero to you now, then?' she thought vindictively. She was sure that whilst living in the abbey, Maria would never have heard such scandal.
'Perhaps you will fear his glances now, my dear, and not crave his lustful eye!'
"That is quite enough!" the Captain declared even more definitively now, practically slamming his own glass down on the table. Elsa had never seen him so enraged in company before.
"Oh but we are all friends here, Georg," Steiner replied, laughing his words away.
"This is an inappropriate conversation for such an evening," Georg replied firmly, his gaze instinctively returning to Maria who was still sitting silently, examining her hands intently.
Steiner caught his glance and immediately laughed, "Ah, of course," he replied, "You wouldn't want such stories spreading around your servants - I quite understand!"
"Fraulein Maria is not a servant," Georg replied icily, "She is kindly on a… uh… sabbatical from Nonnberg Abbey and I-"
"The abbey?" Steiner exclaimed, "You mean you are a nun, my dear?" he sounded positively delighted and Elsa shook her head in amusement. Christoph Steiner revelled in being outrageous - the more outrageous the better, and certainly telling such a story in the presence of any of the sisters of Nonnberg would have been deliciously contemptible.
"Not yet," Maria replied calmly, lifting her eyes to meet his, "I am a postulant. I take my vows in September."
Steiner bowed his head towards her as Georg glared at him in warning again.
"In which case, please accept my most humble apologies if I have offended you at all," he said, his tone highly patronising, "I do hope that this has not altered your opinion of our dear Captain?"
Georg's look was unfathomable - he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it as Maria's clear voice cut across the room again.
"I do not believe that I am the one you have offended, Lieutenant," she replied, "And I am quite sure that there is nothing you could tell me which will affect any of my opinions at all."
Steiner looked surprised for a second before laughing.
"A nun indeed…!" he continued a second later, "Perhaps we had better not remember your track record when it comes to them, eh Georg?"
Elsa pricked her ears in interest – now there was something she had never heard even a hint of before.
"I think you have had enough, Christoph," Georg's tone was calm, measured, and undeniably dangerous. He reached his hand out for Steiner's glass but the Lieutenant waved it away.
"Oh don't worry my dear Captain!" he drained the last of the brandy from his glass instead, "Even I would not be so uncouth...! And at least the good Lord has not struck you down yet!" he continued a second later before spinning back towards Maria, "I hope you do not think that likely, Fraulein?"
"I believe the Lord said that it is those who spread gossip about their neighbours who shall be punished the greatest," Maria replied evenly.
"Touché, my dear," Herr Ebner interjected, leaning forwards with a slight sigh, "Now do tell me Georg, as an educated man," he went on after a pause, "What is your view of our celebrated Chancellor Schuschnigg's efforts for Austria?"
...
"A most interesting creature, that Fraulein!" Steiner declared to Elsa a while later. The two of them were out on the terrace, having taken their leave of the others for a cigarette. Elsa certainly needed it.
"Highly spirited!" he continued enthusiastically, blowing a light puff of smoke into the air and turning towards her, "I wonder that she is destined to become a nun-"
"She may still not at this rate," Elsa interrupted him icily.
"Aha!" Steiner sounded positively delighted at her tone, "You mean if our dear Georg has anything to do with it?"
"I wish you would not sound so delighted at the prospect," the Baroness replied testily, "He seems... utterly infatuated with her!" She had known Christoph Steiner for many years, and had they had confided in each other on several occasions - despite his pretentions and outrageous behaviour, she considered him a very good friend.
Steiner laughed and her irritation mounted. She stabbed the end of her cigarette angrily on the stone balustrade that they were standing against. He looked surprised.
"I have never seen you like this before, my dear," he said lightly, "Especially not because of a man!"
"He is no ordinary man," she replied, "And you would not believe the tension I can sometimes feel between them..."
"Yes," he agreed, replacing her cigarette with another from a case in his pocket, "It is deliciously palpable, isn't it?"
Despite herself, Elsa could not help smiling at the expression on his face.
"Do you think I ought to be worried?" she asked Steiner the same question which she had put to Max earlier.
"Perhaps," he replied honestly, "But in the end she is just a governess - I think that he will either have his way with her, or lose interest."
"Then he will lose interest," she said firmly, "I'm sure that he would not consider doing anything… improper to her - the children are in the house, and... and she is a postulant for God's sake!"
"But that only adds to the appeal, my dear!" Steiner teased her. She could see a wicked gleam in his eyes and laughed softly, despite what he was saying, "It must be driving him crazy," he continued, gleefully rubbing his hands together, "A high-spirited, virginal young woman who teases and charms him unknowingly - in a way that even she does not understand... but one who will not fall onto her back so easily!"
She laughed properly now. "You are as incorrigible as ever, Christoph!"
"And you as enchantingly beautiful as I remember," he replied smoothly. He came up beside her and put his arm around her, tugging her closer towards him. For a moment she made to pull away, thinking of her tacit agreement with Georg, but stopped as she felt her anger with him take hold again.
Steiner chuckled into her ear as she instead leant closer towards him. 'Let him see,' she thought angrily, 'if he can bear to drag his attention away from the Fraulein for long enough...'
"It is a dangerous game, making a man jealous," Steiner pulled her nearer as he whispered into her ear, "And one that I very much enjoy playing," he paused, before leaning in even closer, "Consider my services at your sole disposal, my dear..." he began to run his hands down her sides and towards her waist. This time she did stop him. He let out a mock sigh of disbelief and shook his head, feigning annoyance.
"And there was I thinking that we would re-enact our night of passion..." his tone was shamelessly flirtatious.
Elsa laughed again, privately thinking that other than dear Max Dettwelier, Christoph Steiner was probably the only person who could have made her feel better that evening.
"Our night of passion?" she flirted back in an incredulous tone, raising an eyebrow at him, "You know just as well as I do, Christoph, that there has never been anything of the sort between us..."
"A man can live in hope," he bantered back immediately, winking at her, "One of these days you will succumb to my charms, my dear Elsa and..."
She laughed, "Don't count on it!"
He shrugged, feigning annoyance again, "Well then I suppose I shall have to rely on my superb imagination, won't I darling?" He winked at her again, and gave her an appraising glance, making it very clear what he was thinking.
"You are utterly wicked!" she exclaimed, joining in the pretence and crossing her arms with an indignant sounding sigh. Truthfully she was charmed in spite of herself.
"So I have been told, my dear, but I think you will agree that I am perfectly good at it!" he draped an arm around her shoulders.
She wished that Georg would appear at that moment - perhaps seeing his supposed fiancé in the arms of another man would make him remember himself.
They stood in companionable silence for a few minutes before Steiner finally spoke again. This time his tone was serious.
"Georg will get over her soon enough," he said softly.
"I hope so," she replied, more honestly than she expected.
He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, "I'm not sure why you stand for it..." he didn't quite ask her the question, but she answered anyway.
"I love him, I suppose," she admitted, "At least..." she paused, "I love the man who I thought he was."
He raised an eyebrow, not pushing her, but silently letting her know that he would listen if she wanted to talk.
"He's so different here," she said quietly, "In his home, with the children... and with her," she paused, "He once said that I was his saviour - that I brought some meaning back into his life after dear Agathe died, but I think... I think perhaps I just gave him a way to escape - a place to go to get away from what was troubling him here..."
"And now?" Steiner prompted as her words trailed off.
"Now, he seems to have found his home again," she said softly, "And it is not with me in Vienna."
"Then it will be with you here," he said firmly, "You are a truly extraordinary woman, Elsa," he continued seriously, "And Georg knows that."
She smiled at him, suddenly lost for words. He squeezed her shoulder again.
A few moments later they heard voices coming from inside and Steiner subtlety took a step away from her.
"He will get over his infatuation as soon as she is out of his sight," he reassured her again when there was no sign of anyone coming onto the terrace, "After all, he is only a man, and we are not so complicated!"
His comment lightened the mood, just as he had intended. Elsa laughed again.
"Not all men are like you, Christoph!" she replied teasingly.
"I know. I pity them, don't you?" he winked at her again before holding out his arm to lead her back inside, "Shall we return to the party, my dear?"