Chapter Three
It was astounding how a human mind was capable of boredom, even when there were a million things to keep it occupied. How was it possible to be bored and listless when the wind rustled through the trees like a restless sea? When the birds sung and dipped as they flew over fields of flowers in full bloom.
Simply it was because none of these things involved alcohol, naked women or money. Which, for Maximilian Detweiler, he needed at least one of to alleviate his boredom. Well, there had been that one summer evening back when he was much, much, younger that had involved a field of flowers. But, there had also been a young woman of negotiable affection in that field so that didn't really count. Besides, it was unlikely to occur again on the von Trapp estate.
Of course, being on the von Trapp estate did mean a large, and quite stocked, cellar but Georg had become irritated (more so than usual) that Max had been sneaking off with a bottle or two, and so he had given strict instructions to the kitchen not to let Max enter. And the cook – a fiery, middle-aged women with a moustache to rival Max's own – had not been amenable to his charms. He wasn't sure whether to feel grateful or disappointed with that outcome if he was completely honest.
And, so, he was working on the money. But, again, it was hard. With Sasha Petrie stealing every talented artist, Max had set his sights on the young Fraulein. Hoping to persuade her to speak with his brooding friend about letting the children into the festival. But Georg seemed to find him any time he managed to get the little nun alone.
At first, Max had brushed off Georg's intervening ways until he had actually sat back and noticed how often it was that his friend seemed to speak with the governess. And then there was the way he looked at her. It hadn't been until the children had performed their enchanting little puppet show that he had really noticed the way his friend looked at the governess – particularly when he thought nobody else was looking. It was a little unnerving. And very thought provoking. But, it had certainly helped with the boredom.
Currently Max was watching Georg, who was sitting on the terrace stairs with Fraulein Maria. He couldn't see their faces, but he heard the sound of Georg's laughter – something he was still getting to use to hearing again.
There was a huff from Elsa as she sat beside him on the terrace overlooking the grounds.
"What is he doing, Max?" she asked. "Doesn't he pay her to look after the children? What is the point of a governess if he's always with the children." Max turned to look at Elsa, who was staring at the pair with narrowed eyes. "I'm very much looking forward to the party tomorrow, darling, I need a break from those children."
"What?" asked Max, idly wondering exactly how much contact Elsa had had with the von Trapp brood, as she watched the governess stand and follow the children. "The children will be at the party, Elsa."
"I beg your pardon?" she asked, dragging her gaze away from Georg as he made his way back towards them. "Surely not?"
Her blue eyes were wide in shock before she schooled her expression as Georg took a seat to her left, slipping his jacket back on.
"Darling," Elsa purred, "Max says the children are attending the party tomorrow night?"
Georg frowned, still slightly puzzled about Fraulein Maria's abrupt departure. "Hmm? Oh, yes, of course they are." His eyebrows knitted in question. "Why wouldn't they be?"
Elsa gave him a smile, though Georg noticed it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Surely, they would be bored? It's going to be all your friends, no other children. I thought maybe the governess would keep them entertained in the nursery? Have a little tea party or... whatever it is children like to do."
"No," said Georg. "They will be attending, Elsa. They are all very excited. And this house has not been in such disarray due to their excitement just for me to tell them they cannot attend." He gave her a pointed look. "Why did you think they were so excited?"
"Of course, darling," said Elsa idly, patting her hair. "My mistake." She gave both men an eager smile as she stood gracefully. "Well, I better go freshen up before dinner."
Georg watched her sweep out, unable to help the irritated expression that graced his face as he watched Elsa leave. Dinner wasn't for at least another two hours. While Elsa did always look divine when she came back from freshening up, it didn't seem to be as spectacular as he had thought previously. It just irritated him. But then again, everything did. Well, at least, it had.
"How's your little Fraulein going?" asked Max jovially.
"She's not my little anything, Max."
Max grinned. "Mhmm."
With a sidelong glare at Max, Georg ignored the mischievous glint in his friend's eye.
"What were you discussing with her then? Just now on the stairs? Without a jacket?" wheedled Max.
"The children," replied Georg dismissively as one of the maids appeared on the terrace with a tray full of iced tea and cakes. "What else?"
"I don't know," replied Max breezily, reaching for a small cake. "It's why I asked."
With a grunt, Georg grabbed a tall glass filled with iced tea, the ice clinking gently as he settled back into the chair. They sat in silence for a while until Max cleared his throat as a few of the children ran across the grounds, yelling with delight as they came up the stairs, closely followed by Fraulein Maria.
"Be careful! Don't run!" called Maria, following Gretl, Marta and Kurt up the stairs before pausing at the table. "Hello!" she added with a breathless smile.
Both men turned to face her, Herr Detweiler gave her a large smile in return while the Captain simply raised an eyebrow at her over the rim of his glass. She frowned briefly, and an angry part of her mused that he probably thought he looked intimidating, looking at her like that over his drink with that formidable expression on his handsome face. But he just looked ridiculous with his ice tea in hand - it had a paper umbrella in it. And it was pink.
"I just wanted to say thank you for your help again, Herr Detweiler!" said Maria, ignoring the Captain. "The children are having so much fun." She looked over to the large French doors that lead back inside the house. "They're onto the last clue. Your riddles were really quite ingenious."
The Captain snorted at that, and both Maria and Max turned to look at him.
"Something amusing, Georg?" asked Max.
"I never thought I'd hear someone call you ingenious," remarked the Captain, placing his drink down and pulling out the ridiculous tiny umbrella. "Clearly you are not as clever as our mystery writer."
Max shrugged. "Maybe not, but I haven't even seen this damn –" He grinned sheepishly at the governess. "Er, I mean, I haven't seen this letter anyway, maybe you just need my intellect to solve it?"
"I doubt it," came the muttered reply from the Captain.
They continued to bicker back and forth, and Maria felt like she was watching some complicated form of tennis. They reminded her of the children when they argued over something trivial. It was quite entertaining and she couldn't help but giggle as Herr Detweiler made an exaggerated claim to his intellect.
After retreating to the stables with the children, she had tried to ignore how much the Captain's earlier comment had hurt her. She didn't know what she'd been thinking lately. All this talk of dancing at the party had, despite herself, made her become excited about it all. Made her hopes soar. When she'd taken the children into town with Frau Schmidt to get new party clothes last week, she had been thrilled that'd she be with them and that she'd be wearing her own special dress.
The blue dress.
It was certainly the nicest dress she had, and she had been quite looking forward to wearing it again, saving it for the party after the puppet show. The material was lovely, and she had been filled with such joy when she had first received it from the Captain as a sort of thank you for all her help with the children. But now, after his comment about her wearing drapes to the party, she suddenly did not want to wear her dress. Didn't want to be seen in something she'd made herself. In her makeshift clothing.
Normally she was quite proud of her talents when it came to sewing, but now she felt less than enthused at the idea of wearing something she had made herself. But she had nothing else to wear. Nothing appropriate for a grand and glorious party.
She sighed.
"Fraulein," exclaimed Herr Detweiler, "you must let me see this letter!"
"Oh," said Maria, startled out of her musings. "Here-" she rustled into her dress pocket and pulled out the envelope. "Sorry, it's a bit worse for wear now."
"Really, Max," said the Captain, shifting in his chair, "it's just nonsense."
"You're just jealous she asked me to help her with her little riddle and not you," quipped Max, delighting in the disgruntled expression on his friend's face.
"I believe," said Georg slowly, with a raised brow, "that she asked you because you think along the same lines as a child – being one yourself."
Maria couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips at that and said, "But it was still all very clever, Herr Detweiler."
The man grinned, pulling the letter out of the envelope. "Why thank you, and please – it's Max."
Maria smiled. "Maria."
Max was certain he saw a muscle twitch in his friend's face. He laughed happily. "You make me feel like I'm fifty when you call me Herr Detweiler."
"But you are," snapped Georg.
"And, remind me, you are how old, Georg?" asked Max with an innocent expression that fooled nobody.
Georg glared. Maria laughed.
"Now, now, let's see," said Max, pulling a pair of rimmed spectacles out of the inner lining of his jacket. He then opened the letter and read it carefully. A grin spread across his face. "Looks like utter nonsense, Frau- Maria."
"I told you," muttered the Captain.
"Oh." Not that I should be surprised, she thought. "I thought it might have just been something made up."
Max shrugged. "Ah, well, we all like to dream don't we?"
"Yes, I suppose," she said. "What makes you so sure, though?"
The man sniffed it. "It smells like coffee. An old trick used to make documents appear all old and faded." He gave her a large smile. "Not worth your time, I'm afraid."
"But who wrote it?" asked Maria, still puzzled. "I thought-" She cast a nervous glance towards the Captain. "Uh, I had thought that it belonged to the Baroness?"
"I think Baroness Schraeder has more important things to do than writing letters about non-existent treasure," remarked the Captain dryly.
"Oh, um, no," she Maria, awkwardly pushing her fringe across her forehead. "I meant, the late Baroness." Before the Captain could say anything, she hastily added, "I was thinking maybe the letter was not even about treasure, but about the children?"
It had been rolling around her head since she'd read the letter and she'd wondered if maybe it had been the late Baroness von Trapp that had written one last letter to her husband. It had a certain tragic romance about it. But then, it hadn't made sense. The Captain hadn't seemed to care at all that his children had hold of such a, as it would be, treasured possession. And he was always asking her what progress they had made. If he knew it was his late wife's then surely this whole thing would have been resolved.
"No," said the Captain carefully. "It is not." Maria saw him glare at Max, who was looking very happy. "Fraulein, I'm sure my children must be absolutely filthy from their little adventure today," said the Captain, turning his unblinking gaze onto Maria. "I am sure you will need to start getting them ready for dinner."
She scowled at him. "I'm sure the children are capable of getting ready without me. Besides, dinner isn't for another two hours, Captain."
"Oh?" replied the Captain, his gaze still holding her relentlessly. "I'm sure I've mentioned that I pay you to look after my children? And not to dally about?"
Maria stuck her chin out defiantly. "I am not dallying."
Georg's eyebrows shot up as he regarded her with a mocking expression of disbelief.
"Oh, ignore him, Maria," said Max with a wave of his hands. "He's all bark and no bite." He patted her on the arm. "Though, I do think the children would be better company than an old sea captain."
With a smile, Fraulein Maria left, leaving the two men behind.
"What the bloody hell was that, Max?" said Georg. "You are not here to flirt with the governess."
Max laughed. "Flirt? Ha! I was merely being polite – unlike you."
Georg grabbed another cake, ignoring the urge to shove it into his friend's mouth. Fraulein Maria had practically ignored him, she'd been far more interested in talking with Max. Max! And that smile she'd given him. She usually smiled at him that way, not Max. And Maria. If anyone should be calling her that it should be him, and in a low purr as his hands held her close. With the cake half way to his lips, he paused and had the horrible realisation that he was jealous. He shoved the cake into his own mouth.
"Now, are you going to tell me what this is?" he heard Max ask, flourishing the letter in Georg's face.
"I thought it was you who was supposed to be telling me," said Georg, coughing slightly on the cake as it went down. He cleared his throat and threw an expression of irritated disdain towards Max. "Being the clever little man you are."
Letting the comment roll of his back, Max just laughed. "Oh, I know who wrote it. I'm just wondering, why?"
Georg stiffened momentarily before he let himself relax. He eyed Max with a smirk. "Oh, sure you do, Max."
"Yep," he replied. "You did."
With a roll of his eyes, Georg scoffed. He'd been ready for it, knew it was coming as soon as he'd seen the little grin on Max's face when he'd read the letter. He opened his mouth to speak but Max raised a hand.
"Don't deny it, Georg," said Max. "I recognised your handwriting straight away, along with that showy emerald ink you use. You've written me enough cheques."
"Indeed," muttered Georg darkly.
"But, like I said, I am so curious as to why."
"It was for the children," said Georg, keeping his tone casual. "To keep them amused."
"And?"
"And, what?"
Max unfolded the letter again and read, "'You have managed to steal a part of me, or maybe I gave it to you without even knowing. All I ask is that you keep that part of me safe with you. Whatever good I am, it is because of you.'" He put the letter down. "What was that all for?"
Georg tapped his fingers on the top of the terrace table and then realising what he was doing, immediately stopped. "The girls like that sort of thing – particularly Liesl. I had to get them all interested in it."
"Mhmm."
Silence fell and Georg kept his mouth shut. It had been for the children. He had been sick of them running around the house like headless chickens, their excitement over the party driving the staff – and himself – up the walls. And he'd known that the children snuck into the attic. So, he'd made his letter. He had intended for it to be less… dramatic. But the words had just written themselves. It had been freeing, in a way, to be able to write like that. To express his feelings towards a woman that had managed to capture his attention without even trying.
It had been foolish. And he had regretted it the moment Louisa had entered his study, waving it with glee. But it had been such a great excuse to talk to her – not Louisa – but the woman he'd intended the letter for. Fraulein Maria.
Of course, he'd taken liberties. He was nowhere near death – though, there was the German threat, looming closer and closer with each passing day. And how long would it be before the place he called home was taken?
He gave himself a mental shake.
"It was just a game, Max," he said smoothly. "And well done, you managed to beat a group of children." He smirked. "You must be so proud."
"There isn't any treasure?"
"No, Gretl, Fraulein Maria told you," sighed Kurt. "It was just a silly game."
"Oh." Gretl pouted. "But I wanted to find the treasure!"
Maria gave the little girl a reassuring pat on the head as she finished the last braid she'd been working on as she sat in the nursery. The children had all returned inside to freshen up and change for dinner, and she had informed them all about the fake letter. Of course, they had riddled her with questions – well, all except Brigitta, who had said little but had listened with a rapt attention that Maria found slightly unnerving. It reminded her strongly of her father. So, unable to think of a suitable explanation, she'd had just made up that their uncle had created it in the first place. They had accepted this, at least she was quite certain that they had.
"But we had our own little hunt, and you found things then, darling," replied Maria, giving the little girl a fond smile as she stood. "And that was fun, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was," said Gretl, perking up. "But we wanted you to have the treasure, Fraulein Maria. So you can buy all the things you want and have lots of money so you don't have to work and can stay here with us!"
"Oh, that's sweet," said Maria, unable to explain the ache in her chest. She gave the children a large smile. "Now, come on, let us finish getting ready or your father will be boiling mad with me if we are late for dinner." She let out a nervous laugh. "Again."
Checking the girls hair and making sure the boys had clean faces, Maria followed them out the nursery door. As she closed the door and turned around, she nearly bumped straight into Frau Schmidt.
"Oh! I am so sorry, Frau Schmidt, I wasn't looking."
The housekeeper smiled and waved a hand. "Oh, don't worry, dear." She extended a small bundle that had been in her other hand out towards Maria. "Here you are, Fraulein, this is for you."
It was a dress, and as Maria let it unfurl, she stared. It was very pretty with its light floral pattern on the skirt and sleeves, accompanied by a blue bodice. She let a finger run down the row of buttons at the front.
"It's lovely," said Maria. "But why are you giving me this?"
"It's for you to wear tomorrow at the party," replied Frau Schmidt. "It'll need an iron, but I can do that tomorrow morning."
Looking back down at the dress, Maria couldn't help the confused expression on her face. "But-"
"Don't worry, dear," said the housekeeper, patting Maria on the shoulder. "I know it's not an elegant gown-" She gave Maria a little frown. "You are the governess. But, Sofia – the housemaid - thought you'd like to borrow it for tomorrow night. She used to go out to a lot of parties in town before she had her little one."
"How kind of her," was all Maria could manage.
The housekeeper gave her another warm pat on the shoulder before she departed with a friendly goodbye and reminder that dinner would be ready in five minutes. Maria quickly hurried to her room and placed the dress on a hanger before she raced down the stairs, thanking God that she wouldn't have to wear her blue dress.
A/N Mystery solved! Though, it wasn't really that much of a mystery haha I'm no Agatha Christie. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the party (I have written a little bit already) but I am kind of happy to leave it here. But if you would like to read more, do let me cknow. I want this story to fit into canon so there will no AU changes and I won't be writing past Maria leaving.