Twelve

A little while later, when Mina had calmed down, Maria walked along the mezzanine towards the stairs, so she could wait for Dr. Falk's arrival in the front hall. Looking down from the railing as she climbed down, Maria saw Liesl standing in the front hall, waiting for Rolf. But she was surprised to find that Friedrich was also in the front hall, pacing restlessly. Maria frowned at this, wondering if Mina's stiffening at the sight of Friedrich or Friedrich's shock at the sight of Mina went beyond today.

Deciding that answers would need to be found, Maria walked down the steps and smiled at the two eldest Von Trapp children. "Mina's eating her supper now."

Liesl nodded. "When will Dr. Falk come?"

"Frau Schmidt said before it was too dark," said Maria. "So any minute now."

Liesl nodded, and, as if on cue, the front door bell rung shrilly. Knowing it could only be one of two people, Liesl immediately went to the door and opened it. There stood Rolf, panting heavily from his bike ride, white as a sheet in the young moonlight, and with a look of pure anxiety on his face. "Is she…?"

"She's here, she's safe, and the doctor is on the way," replied Liesl immediately.

Rolf let out a great sigh of relief, and pulled Liesl to him for a hug. He held her tightly, and Liesl could feel his entire body shaking. The sixteen-year-old held him as tightly as she could, telling him that she was here for him, that now he was safe, too. Maria and Friedrich watched in silence.

When the hug finally broke, Liesl took his hand, said, "Come on, I'll take you to her," and led him up the stairs to the room where Mina rested.

When they were gone, Maria turned to Friedrich, who had begun to restlessly pace again. "Friedrich," she said.

He stopped and looked at her as neutrally as he could – and failing miserably. "Yes, Fraulein?"

She looked gently at him, looped her arm through his, and began to walk with him at a slower pace around the hall. "Is there anything you need to talk to me about?"

Suddenly, Friedrich went from looking fourteen to four by the fear in his eyes. Finally, he spoke softly: "You'll hate me, Fraulein."

Maria became even more concern, and squeezed his arm. "Friedrich, that is something I could never do. No matter what you tell me, I will not hate you."

"Promise?"

"Need me to put it in writing?"

Friedrich managed a small smile, but soon became serious and nervous again as he spoke. "Well…it happened before this summer. Last year at school, I…fell in with the wrong crowd. This group of boys who seemed so cool at first but who only turned out to be bullies."

Maria couldn't help a slight frown from crossing her face. The thought of Friedrich being a bully was something she could not imagine, and it certainly wasn't a pleasant one. But she stayed quiet and let him continue.

"One day in late spring, we went up to the roof of the school, and I saw they had brought a huge bucket of fish scraps; one of their fathers worked in the fish market. They thought it would be funny to dump it on the first person they saw coming out." Friedrich looked at his governess, who was looking at him with disapproving shock. "I swear, Fraulein, I had no idea they were going to do it, they'd never done anything like that before! I tried to talk them out of it, but their minds were made up. The first person who came out was Mina, who was in my year but a different class…I tried to stop them, but it was too late and Mina got the deluge rained on her…When she looked up to see what had happened, I was looking down to see if she was truly hurt. Only when she saw me did I realize that the others had run away and I was the only one she could see…The others had all run away. I never talked to them again…"

Maria sighed deeply, mulling this story over in her head. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense that Friedrich would have fallen in with a group of boys like that. It made as much sense as the pranks Louisa would pull on the governesses. All of the children had been angry with their mother's death and their father's exclusion, and each time they acted out was a desperate cry for help.

However, she had been silent a little too long for Friedrich's liking. His face fell and he murmured, "I told you you would hate me."

Maria stopped their walk, took his shoulders and turned him to face her. "Friedrich, I do not hate you for what happened or for any other reason. You made a mistake, nothing more. You never wanted to do something so cruel, and you tried to stop it from happening. And after it happened, you never talked to them again. How could I, or anyone, hate you for a mistake?"

Friedrich kept his gaze lowered to the floor in shame. "Mina does."

"I'm sure she doesn't," said Maria. "Were you ever able to explain to Mina what happened?"

Friedrich met Maria's eyes again and shook his head. "I never got the chance. She always ran from me until school ended, and then I had no idea where to find her. And then this summer, when you came, I forgot all about it."

Maria sighed. "Well, now you have the perfect chance to make things right. She can't run away, and you know you cannot be blamed for all that happened. She's a good girl, and I'm sure she will understand. At the very least, Friedrich, she deserves to know what happened and who she really should be angry with."

After a moment, Friedrich nodded. "When may I go and speak with her?"

Maria thought for a moment. "It would be best to wait until tomorrow morning. The doctor is coming any minute, and I am sure she will want to rest when he is finished tending to her. The poor thing has gone through a terrible time, and we all must be patient, kind, and gentle with her. All right?"

Friedrich would have liked to have gone to Mina right now and cleared everything up, but he knew his Fraulein was right. "All right," he consented.

At that moment, the doorbell rang a second time, and Maria went to the door to let Dr. Falk inside.

Liesl led Rolf to what was now Mina's room as fast as she could, and it was all she could do to knock before he opened the door. Once he saw his sister sitting up in the comfortable bed, her wrist wrapped and her face still so marred, Rolf rushed to the bed and embraced her, remembering to be gentle. Both siblings held each other and cried for a long time, whispering to each other. Liesl, feeling like an intruder, decided to leave them alone and went out of the room to wait in the hall.

When their embrace ended, Mina asked, "How is…he?" She could no longer bring herself to call that man 'father.' And neither could Rolf.

"Grousing from a nasty hangover and bump on the head. He's sleeping it off now and will be until the afternoon, probably. So I don't have to leave in a hurry."

Mina nodded, relieved. "And he believes you weren't involved?"

"You know he blacks out when he drinks," said Rolf. "When I told him you had knocked him unconscious and run away, he had no trouble believing that. So, you are forbidden to ever come back and you are no longer his child."

"Thank God," said Mina in a flat voice, and Rolf couldn't help but chuckle.

"You are free now, sister," he said, gently hugging her again. "Nothing and no one will ever hurt you again. And soon we will be away from here and making our way to America, now that we have the money…I only hope you can forgive me for not getting there in time."

"Rolf," she sighed, pulling away to look at him. "I've already told you: I don't blame you in the slightest for what happened, and I'll have no more apologies from you. All that matters is that I am free from him now, you will be free of him soon, and our new lives are within our grasp at last."

Rolf nodded, but averted his gaze, still looking guilt-ridden – and because he hated looking at her sister when she was so bruised up. Mina sighed, and squeezed his hand to make him look at her again. "But if you really feel you must do something, then there is something that you must do now."

"Of course, Mina, anything."

"You must tell Liesl and Maria about the Captain."

Rolf's eyes widened, and he could only stammer, "B-but, Mina, I –"

"I'm safe now, Rolf, and we have the money to leave the country any time we like," said Mina firmly. "They need to know, Rolf."

"I know," he said quietly. "But I hate to tell them without any kind of a solution."

"How could they expect you to come up with that on your own?" asked Mina fairly. "They never could. Just explain everything you know, and they will understand. And with some luck, they will be able to find a way to help him." Rolf still looked a little frightened, so Mina cupped his face to make him look at her. "Rolf, please. Maria has been so good to me, and I know how much Liesl means to you. They need to know the truth."

Rolf still looked afraid, but he nodded firmly. "You're right, I know you are…I'll tell them tonight."

At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Mina called for whomever it was to come in. It was Maria, along with a middle-aged man carrying a medical bag and wearing a kind expression on his face. "I'm Dr. Falk," he said, holding out his hand for Mina to shake. She gave him her good hand. "We'll just have a look at you and fix that wrist right up."

"Maria, would you stay with me?" asked Mina softly; she knew she would be examined and interrogated about her injuries, and wanted the woman who could understand her experience with her. And it would only make Rolf more upset and angry to see the extent of the damage.

"Of course," said Maria, sitting on the bed beside her.

Mina looked at her brother. "Go to Liesl now," she said, with a meaningful look in her eyes which Rolf understood.

He nodded to everyone, returned Mina's look, and left the room. When he had closed the door, he saw that Liesl was standing in the hallway, which saved him the trouble of finding her. She gave him a hesitant smile which he couldn't return. He walked up to her immediately and took her hands. "I…there is something I need to tell you…" he said, finding the words so difficult for good reason. "But perhaps it would be better if your Fraulein were with you…"

Liesl's chest began to fill with a cold dread, and somehow she could guess what the subject was, based on where Rolf worked now. "Is it about Father?" When Rolf nodded slightly, Liesl gasped. "You have news of Father? Oh, what is it?" When Rolf's expression merely held that fear and sadness, Liesl felt even more frightened. "Is it good news or bad news?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Rolf merely shook his head.

Feeling like she would burst out crying and needing to control herself, Liesl squeezed his hands and said, "All right. I need to put my brothers and sisters to bed. Go downstairs and go into the drawing room – the door to it is open. Wait for me, and I will bring my Fraulein with me, and you can tell us then."

She then walked quickly away, biting her lip in a desperate way to keep her tears at bay. Rolf covered his forehead with his fists as he obeyed Liesl's orders, praying to God he would be able to find just the right words. Or were there any at all?