Her room was lovely, large and airy with an ornate wardrobe that rested against the wall and a wide bed with a feather eiderdown and large plump pillows and cushions. A smile tugged at Maria's lips as she looked around her new space, she'd never dreamed of staying somewhere like this, even when as a little girl she had dreamed of a fairy-tale like existence she hadn't been able to imagine such sumptuous comfort. She wondered vaguely if it was a sin to be so excited about having just a taste of this way of life, certainly, her desire to crawl underneath the thick, cosy bedding would fall under the category of sloth. However, surely one little taste wouldn't do any harm before she gave the rest of her life to the service of the Lord.
Not that giving herself entirely to that way of life would be an obligation, she thought quickly, in fact she looked forward to having that meaning and purpose to her life, to having a true home, something she'd never really had. Maria glanced around the room again, this should be a warm, family home and yet it didn't feel like one, instead it had the air of an abandoned ship about it, which was certainly ironic when you paused to think about it.
Well, she would certainly do her best to change that, Maria decided, children should be given the opportunity to be just that, children, and she was not about to let that pass them by. Shaking her head, she turned back to where she'd placed her carpet bag on the neat coverlet of her bed and eyed it somewhat suspiciously, she'd left it in the corner of the entranceway after all, and she didn't quite trust her new charges not to have planted yet another 'surprise' in it. Stepping forward unsurely, she unclipped it and tipped the bag away from herself as she opened it. When nothing out of the ordinary appeared, she let out a sigh of relief and looked into it; it was thankfully untouched, apparently, they'd only had time for one piece of mischief, she should no doubt count herself lucky for that.
Staring into the bag, she gave a small, soft sigh and pushed it away from herself, she disliked unpacking and in all honesty despite the Captain's earlier words of warning she was desperate to explore the rest of this house. After all she told herself; it was only naturally that the governess should know her way around, especially when it came to the schoolroom and the rooms of her charges. Her mind made up, she thrust the bag across the bed and turned on her heels, setting off determinedly down the hallway.
She opened the door closest to hers first and peered inside; it was the nursery, dolls sprawled across both two beds, and a small table with a brightly decorated tea set sat in the middle of the room. Now this was more like the picture she'd expected, no doubt Marta and Gretl shared this space. She could see the two littlest Von Trapp's playing happily in this space; that was of course if they ever had the time. Maria ran her fingers across one of the bedspreads, a pretty confection of pink, before her attention was grabbed by the doll's house in the far corner.
Her breath caught as she walked over to it, and she picked up one of the intricate wooden dolls, it had clearly once been so prettily painted, but the paint had faded and chipped round the edges. The house itself was much like a Gothic manor, in fact was exactly like one she'd once admired in a toyshop when she was young. She had known she would never have it of course, but that hadn't stopped her dreaming, or indeed of making one of her own. She had spent hours cutting up the cardboard from the boxes from the deliveries that her Uncle took in, painstakingly putting the house together and making cardboard occupants for it. Her small smile of remembrance faded; she'd only had it a matter of hours before it was trampled underfoot, an overanxious stable boy who'd rushed indoors and paid little attention to the destruction he'd inadvertently left behind.
Maria gave a small shrug it did not do to dwell upon unhappy memories, after all it had been a toy and although seeing her hard work destroyed like that had been difficult, it was a small trial compared to those faced by others. She studied the house closer, like the doll, the paint was chipped, the edges scuffed. Placing the doll back down where she'd lifted it from, Maria glanced once again around the room and realised that all the toys were more worn than she'd expect in such a grand house. The ragdoll that sat at the small table and chairs had a collection of stitches in her skirt and even a small patch to cover a larger hole across the bodice.
The nursery door suddenly slammed shut, cutting her train of thought short, and Maria whirled round in time to hear hushed giggling and the unmistakable click of a lock. "Oh..." she murmured as she realised that the children had decided to lock her in here. Nonetheless she tried the doorknob and confirmed her suspicions, rattling it quickly a few times in successions, which only resulted in more giggles and then the sound of footsteps disappearing down the hallway. She didn't bother to call them back; she already knew it wouldn't work and that it would simply increase their amusement.
She let out a puff of air that ruffled her fringe and took a moment to try and think about her situation sensibly. They could not leave her in here all night, but they could leave her in here until night-time, after all her presence would not be missed until dinner, and who knew what they had planned whilst they had her shut up, unable to supervise them.
Walking to the window, she noted with some dismay that there was no trellis for her to climb down, just a steep drop to the ground below. They had planned this well, she realised with a huff. Well, if she couldn't get out through the window then that only left the door, and she was not about to let the Von Trapp children best her quite so soon.
She walked around the room, scouring it for useful objects until her gaze alighted upon a selection of hair grips that were scattered across a small dressing table. Grabbing one triumphantly, Maria let out an exultant, "Ah ha!" and sent up a quick pray of thanks that she had taken them time to learn to pick a lock when she was younger. It had been a necessary skill for whenever she'd wanted to escape to her mountain and she'd been confined to her room as punishment for some form of overly exuberant behaviour, although when she'd moved into the Abbey she had thought she'd never need such a skill again. She shrugged, it was as she thought though, God did not send you a challenge unless it was one you could come through, you just had to have some faith.
Jamming it into the small lock, she wiggled it around, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she searched for the catch. When she found it, it simply took another few jiggles before she was able to twist the door handle and step free of her short term prison.
Stumbling out of the room slightly, she straightened just in time to see Frau Schmidt running up the stairs, a set of keys in one hand and the hem of her dress in the other, muttering under her breath as she went. She stopped dead when she saw Maria standing there and eyed her in surprise. "Oh, Fraulein Maria! Thank heavens, when I realised the children had managed to get hold of my keys I thought the worst and assumed they'd locked you in. It wouldn't be the first time," she murmured as an afterthought.
Maria smoothed down the skirt of her apparently 'hideous' dress and smiled calmly at the frazzled older woman. "I was locked in, but as you can see the problem has been resolved."
Frau Schmidt's shoulders fell, her face whitening. "Oh, I am very sorry, I do hope that this doesn't colour your views of the children, they-"
Maria held up her hands. "Do not concern yourself," she laughed. "It was only for a few minutes, five at most and as you can see, I've escaped unscathed."
She eyed her curiously. "Yes...well as long as you're certain."
"I am," she replied brightly.
"Good, I also came up to inform you that the Captain would like to speak to you in his office."
"Just now?" Maria enquired politely.
The older woman raised an eyebrow. "Yes," she replied with an exaggerated patience. "The Captain does not like to be kept waiting."
That was most likely an understatement, she decided quickly, still at least he'd restrained himself from summoning her with that whistle of his. Her mouth set into a determined line, she'd already decided that should he ever try to she was going to pointedly ignore it. "I'll be right there," she assured the housekeeper easily.
The woman simply looked at her as though she wanted to add something else, but instead her lips tightened momentarily and she simply gave a small nod. "It's straight down the corridor on the left of the staircase. I better get back to supervising the children; it is time for their afternoon march after all."
Maria watched her go. An afternoon march? Where was that one dreamed up from? If the Captain wanted his children to have some fresh air why not just let them play? Surely that would be simpler and more enjoyable? She shook her head yet again, she wondered why he wanted to see her, it perhaps another lecture on discipline, or maybe he wanted to further his discussion on why she should use a whistle to summon his children. Rolling her eyes, she stepped back into her room, intending to hide her bag just in case the children had something else in mind for celebrating her arrival. Much to her dismay however her carpet bag was on it's side on the floor, which was certainly not where she'd left it. Picking it up, she dropped it again when she saw that it was empty, it looked as though the children had taken their chance while they had it. Checking under her bed, inside the cupboards and her bathroom for her clothing, she was forced to conclude that they hadn't hidden anything in her room.
As a last ditch attempt she stuck her head out of the window, and scanned the ground below...nothing she noted in dismay. Bringing her head up, she caught sight of the seven children in question marching across her line of sight, with the first four in the lineout shooting her a triumphant, knowing smile. Oh, they were good, but they had underestimated her, because she was not one for giving up.
Setting her lips into a determined line, she turned to start her search for her missing clothing. She started with the remaining bedrooms on that side of the house and the schoolroom, her search coming up fruitless. Her clothing must be downstairs then, she decided grimly.
Running down the elegant staircase, Maria scoured the entranceway and moved quickly towards the back of the house, letting out a note of delight when she saw through the clear patio doors that one of her slips was draped across the stone balustrade. Making a small noise of triumph, she ran towards it; the treasure hunt had begun.
Tapping the end of his pen irritably against his desk, Georg wondered where on earth the blasted governess had gotten too. He'd made it perfectly clear to Frau Schmidt that he wanted to speak to her as a matter of utmost urgency and he didn't understand what was holding her up. His finger tapped against his whistle that was lying on his desk, he was very tempted to blast her signal out, her sensibilities be damned.
Letting out an irritated groan, he got to his feet and stormed out of his office, after all if Mohammed wouldn't come to the mountain...
As he stepped into the entranceway, he caught sight of her striding determinedly towards the back of the house. Perhaps she didn't have a grasp on basic directions, he thought uncharitably. He wasn't sure why but the girl riled him, she looked so innocent and yet she had no compunction in answering him back without a second thought. He wondered if she did it deliberately, or if she simply didn't think through her words and actions before she followed through.
An image of that smile as she saluted him appeared unwillingly in his mind. Those clear blue eyes challenging him, he couldn't remember the last time someone had teased him in such a way. Actually that was a lie; it had been Agathe, only days before she'd fallen ill. Max did try but it was different, much more calculated for laughs and designed not to really have any long-term impact on him, whereas this Fraulein Maria seemed to know exactly where to hit at him to get a response.
Irritably he followed her through to the patio, his initial feelings turning into a bewildered bemusement when he heard her cry out and rush towards a flash of white material that was inexplicably lying across the cold stone. His eyes narrowed as he asked lowly, "What, may I ask are you doing, Fraulein?"
She whirled round to face him, and he realised with a sharp burst of realisation that that startling white material was one of her slips. He watched her cheeks burn pink as she quickly followed his gaze and whipped the offending item behind her back and out of his gaze. "I put my bag on the windowsill and it tipped, and my clothing went...uhm...everywhere," she finished weakly.
It was his children who were responsible, he knew that and yet where other, much older and much more experienced women would have been in his office ranting over his children's behaviour, she was covering for them. He didn't know if he was impressed or annoyed, as long as she was planning to deal with the problem herself then he was impressed, although he was unsure as to how she could possibly be planning to do so. Something about those flushed cheeks and innocent blue eyes made him want to push her though, see whether she'd buckle under pressure. "Your clothing fell from your window and scattered about the grounds?" He repeated questioningly.
"Mmm hmm," she agreed, nodding frantically.
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Odd," he murmured.
She followed his gaze and asked apprehensively, "Is there a problem, Captain?"
He rubbed the corner of his jaw thoughtfully with his thumb, "I just find it...strange that your clothing fell from a window all the way over there," he inclined his hand in the direction of her window at the far end of the left of the house. "Landed over here and over there," he waved his hand over to the bushes at his far right where there was a tent like...he thought it was a nightgown and saw her blush turn almost scarlet, but still he continued almost mercilessly, "Especially when you take into consideration that there is no wind today."
Her chin tilted as though this aspect had not dawned on her until now, and he saw her eyes slide back towards the nightgown again, he knew she was desperate to run and snatch it up. Her mouth twitched and he realised that despite her obvious embarrassment she was still going to stand her ground and argue with him. He felt a small grudging pull of respect even though the thought simultaneously annoyed him. "There was a sudden gust of wind, so quick you'd barely notice it," she told him, her jaw jutting out obstinately. "It was very unfortunate really."
"Quite," he replied, his eyebrow arching in disbelief.
Her eyes darted to the bushes again, and he saw her foot tap once…twice against the stone paving, as though she was desperate to run towards it. He felt another flash of annoyance, as if he were interested in her nightwear, he wondered of all postulants were so skittish in this regard. Most likely they were he decided after a moment, they did have to take a vow of chastity after all. Still, he was too busy to wait for her to gather her errant garments to have this conversation with her. "Did Frau Schmidt have a chance to pass along my message?"
Maria's eyes met his again. "Yes, Captain, Sir, she said you wished to speak with me. I was on my way when the bag..."
"Fell," he offered dryly.
If she heard the sarcasm in his tone then she choose to ignore it and simply gave a bright smile and a nod. "Yes, exactly." Her gaze travelled back to the bushes and she asked cheerfully, "Shall I meet you in your study once I'm done then?"
Georg let out an annoyed hiss of air between his teeth at the idea of him waiting for her, she was the employee, if he said jump she should be asking how high. "No Fraulein, I require to speak to you now. Here will do as well as my study."
"Yes, Sir," she chattered back, and his glare deepened at the reminder of her earlier mocking salute., although he was relieved to see that she was not about to repeat that particular mistake.
His teeth gritted together and he forced himself to think of Elsa's calming presence, so unlike the whirlwind of this postulant. Elsa had poise and grace, she soothed him, whilst this girl was cheeky and seemed to jump about like a livewire, making him feel uncertain. "I wished to inform you, Fraulein that I will be leaving for Vienna in the morning, I have some business to carry out there-"
"I thought you were retired?" Maria blurted out an interuption, her smooth forehead creased into a frown.
Georg's eyes flashed in annoyance. "I was unaware, Fraulein that I had to run my personal matters past you, obviously the Mother Abbess extended your job description."
She had the decency to flush in embarrassment, realising she had overstepped her boundary. "Forgive me," she murmured. "Occasionally my mouth runs away with me."
He looked at her in surprise, he hadn't expected her to apologize, she didn't seem the type to admit to being wrong, and apparently in this case it was he who was in the wrong. He did not enjoy that feeling. His narrowing he continued unheeded, "This of course means that you will be fully responsible for the children in my absence. I trust you will be able to maintain order whilst I'm away."
Maria gave a small nod, it fascinated her how he could make what should have been a question sound more like an order. "I'm confident that I shall rise to any challenges thrown at me."
There was something in her tone Georg decided that betrayed her otherwise innocent expression, rather warily he realised that he may have underestimated the young Fraulein and that perhaps it was his children who had met their match. "You do remember the routine that the children are to follow, do you not, Fraulein?"
"I do."
"And you are aware that it is to be followed to the letter."
"Very much aware, Sir."
"Good," he murmured, although he still did not quite trust the glint in those incredibly blue eyes. He silently reprimanded himself at that thought, he should not be thinking about the governess's eyes, no matter how blue they may be.
"Do the children know that you're leaving?" she asked suddenly.
"No, I shall inform them at dinner tonight." For once she did not seem to have a reply and he wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. No, of course he was relieved, he decided firmly. Giving an irate sigh that was aimed more at himself than at her, he told her, "I shall leave you to continue with your search then," he glanced further into the grounds where his children were doing another circuit and added, "Although do feel free to have the children assist you in your search."
Her eyes followed his and she remarked, "Oh no, I'd hate to disturb their routine."
Despite himself, his mouth twitched, she was damn well mocking him again, the girl simply did not seem to realise where to draw the line. For the second time that day he was alarmed to find himself without a reply. Tapping his fingertips agitatedly against his thigh, he finally turned on his heel and made to walk away, unable to help himself from looking over his shoulder and much to his horror saw that instead of taking the steps like a normal young woman of any standing would do, his governess had simply jumped over the balustrade.
He rolled his eyes, who knew, perhaps her peculiar ways hid her suitability for the job, after all the children had yet to scare her off despite their efforts so far, and the Mother Abbess must have seen something suitable in her in order to have sent her here. At least he fervently hoped she had.