Elbows leaning on the black metal railing, Georg stared out at the glittering lights of Vienna and momentarily wished that he was staring out onto his lake at home instead. His head ached from dinner that evening, from the rounds of salacious gossip and almost cruel laughter. Not to mention the way that most of them supported a political party whose values they did not truly understand. His lips tightened into a thin line, he truly did not understand why Elsa adored being out in Society as much as she did. For him, the comfort and distraction it had once brought him seemed to be quickly fading away.
The click of Elsa's heels against the tiles drew him out of his reverie and he turned to greet her, fixing his smile into place as she swept out onto the small space. Her hand wrapped around one of her arms as she gave a small shiver. "It's cold out tonight," she stated.
"Perhaps," he murmured. "But then the winds at sea are much worse."
A coquettish smile pulled at her painted red lips, her hand reaching out now to brush against his arm. "I sometimes forget that you are not just the man of legend," she replied, "That you really have seen and done so much."
"Whatever I did, I did for Austria," Georg replied easily.
"Well perhaps you shall soon serve Austria once again, if the rumours are to be believed," Elsa remarked.
His tone took on a much sharper edge, his muscles tensing as he told her, "Not if she continues down her current route, I love my country, but I will not fight for a cause I do not believe in."
Elsa blinked rapidly, trying to regain her composure, startled by his sudden change in demeanour. "You may not have a choice in the matter," she finally replied. "If you are conscripted you will have to fight regardless of what you believe in."
Georg gave a small shake of his head. "There are always other options," he told her.
Her lips thinned as she surveyed him, the handsome charming Georg Von Trapp, the man she had perused diligently for almost two years now, who she had coaxed out of his shell and brought him back into the real world after Agathe's tragic passing. And yet now as she stared at his brooding form, at his dark, determined eyes she realised that there was a large part of this man that she was not yet even remotely close to knowing. That, in itself, did not largely trouble her, marriage was by nature all about secrets, it did not do to know too much about one's spouse, but what did worry her was that this side of him had appeared more often on this trip. She did not mind if this was one small facet of his personality but the husband she wanted was the man he was in Vienna, the witty charming war hero. She did not know how to handle Georg when he was in this type of mood, she seemed unable to placate him. "Perhaps it will not happen," she finally offered. "Perhaps Austria will stay out of the whole affair."
"I fear we have already come too far for that," he murmured almost to himself.
Elsa shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the heaviness of the moment. "Either way, do come back inside, Georg," she finally encouraged. "It is very cold out here and while I miss your company, blue really isn't my colour."
For a moment she thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes, whether it be disappointment or disapproval she wasn't sure and it was gone as quickly as it had came, too quickly for her to be sure it had ever been there at all. But then he offered her his arm, which she gladly took, folding her hand over the crook of his elbow and flashed her that charming smile of his, the one that so many women discussed and fawned over as he remarked, "And of course we couldn't have that."
"No, it absolutely wouldn't do for me to be seen at less than my best," she laughed.
"Even though it is only myself and Max left in your attendance?"
"Even then," Elsa confirmed. "I believe that Max has some surprise for you in the form of a very nice bottle of Scotch he has found in my late husband's collection."
Georg shook his head. "We can always rely on Max to track down anything of interest."
"He does have a taste for the high life," Elsa agreed, a trickle of laughter escaping her once more as she added, "But then that isn't a bad thing now, is it?"
His lips pursing Georg thought for a moment, he could not really condemn his friends for enjoying the privileges of having money to burn but he did not enjoy the realisation that it did not seem enough for him. He would gladly trade all his riches for the chance to have Agathe back, or even to simply save his country from this ruinous path they seem determined on taking. "No," he finally replied. "I suppose not."
Her fingertips tightened slightly on his arm. "I have finally finished packing," she informed him proudly. "So, we can leave for your home whenever you see fit to take me."
"Good, we shall leave tomorrow morning then, I shall inform Max."
Elsa gave a small start. "Oh, I had expected you to want to wait at least a few more days," she admitted. "There are still so many parties that I know you would enjoy accompanying me to."
"And I am disappointed that we shall miss them," he lied smoothly, "But I really should get back to check on the children."
"I thought that was why one employed a governess," Elsa remarked tightly, she did not like reminders of Georg's abnormally large brood. "So that they checked on the children and allowed you to get on with your life."
Georg could not help the way his cheek twitched at her words, his jaw clenching, once the children had been one of the lights of his life and he would never have dreamt of leaving them to drink himself into a stupor surrounded by people who made his teeth grind almost painfully together. He did not like to be reminded of the man, the father he had once been, the father he could never be again, the man he could not find. "Perhaps," he finally replied, "If I had a governess that I actually believed was up to scratch then we could have stayed longer."
Elsa rolled her eyes. "Not this awful Postulant again, oh Georg I don't know why you persist in keeping her on if the idea of her bothers you so much."
"I required a new governess so I could visit you, and it seemed the best solution at the time."
"To be fair you don't know that she hasn't followed your instructions for the children. After all for once in all your stays here you have not had any hysterical phone calls, I believe that Max is quite disappointed, he did so enjoy them."
"I have had no phone calls or telegrams at all," Georg reminded her. "That is quite unusual."
"Not I believe when a governess does their job properly, they are not meant to pester you day and night."
"Regardless, I feel it is best to return sooner rather than later."
"Then I will not argue, I am just delighted that you affording me the privilege of meeting your children."
"They shall adore you," he told her reassuringly. Or at the very least he thought to himself they would all keep civil tongues in their heads. He tried to continue to listen to Elsa's chatter, but it began to blur together in his head as he thought of his children and their governess. He had a sinking feeling that all would not be as he had left it when he did arrive home.
Maria could not sleep, for all that she tried every trick she knew it simply was not happening. She frowned as she pulled on her robe. She should be able to sleep, after all running around Salzberg with seven children to watch over was incredibly tiring, and yet it continued to evade her. Perhaps some warm milk would help, she reasoned.
Pushing her foot under her bed slightly, she located her slippers and teased them out before putting them on, the tile flooring here while wonderfully impressive was also undeniably cold.
She crept out of her room, her footsteps soft, almost silent as she made her way along the corridor, past the children's rooms and down the grand staircase. Truth be told she still felt horribly out of place amongst such grandeur, as though she were a child playing make believe. She skimmed her hand along the smooth banister and tried to imagine sweeping down these stairs in an elegant gown on her way to greet her guests. She only just repressed a snort at her own fanciful imagination; she'd most likely trip and fall into the party.
Still smiling to herself, she saw that one of the doors just off the corridor on her left was open slightly and she paused, unable to help herself. Despite the weeks she had been here she still hadn't seen most of the rooms in this house, the children informing her that most were off limits to any governess. After all she was only here to mind the children and if they had no need to be in a room then why should she?
And yet she was so painfully curious, she most desperately wanted to explore, even with Captain Von Trapp's warning still ringing in her ears. She was simply going to close the door, she told herself, after all every door was supposed to be closed at this time and she knew what a big fan of order her employer was, and it wouldn't do to disobey, and if she just happened to see something well that wasn't really her fault.
Looking over her shoulder carefully to ensure that she was in fact alone, Maria tiptoed to the door and peered into the dark room, her eyes squinting slightly. She let out an irritated sigh, well really one couldn't see in front of their face it was so dark. She should turn away, should get her milk and go back to bed, she knew all of this and yet she pressed forward, stepping fully into the room.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realised with a dart of surprise that she had managed to walk right into the Captain's study, his sanctuary. It was still much too dark for her to make out any of the decor, even with the moonlight streaming in through the large picture window. Still though, she glanced around the room, trying to gain some form of understanding about the man.
She did not understand him in the slightest, how he could close himself off from seven children who so desperately wanted his attention? It made her so angry and yet so sad at the same time, for if he had not always been like this – which the children insisted he had not – then he must be unhappy himself. Or perhaps he was simply used to coping in such a way and did not know how to change.
Her eyes alighted on a small round side table and the photo frames that sat upon it. They were of the children mainly, but there was one that she could only assume was of the late Baroness Von Trapp. She moved closer but did not pick it up, unwilling to disturb what was no doubt a treasured item to the entire family, still though her curiosity pulled at her. The children did not mention much of their mother, the younger ones having very few memories and the older ones simply unwilling to relive what they had lost. She however did want to know more about the woman whose passing had devastated this family.
It was Louisa's features who looked back at her, she realised, although her hair dark with what appeared to be the tendency to curl, a tendril resting against her cheek. She was truly lovely, her smile and eyes shining brightly in the picture. Such a waste it all was, Maria thought to herself, she very rarely questioned God's plan but sometimes it did seem...well...unfair.
Shaking her head, she forced herself to look away, pondering as she did so. The Captain was a man who very clearly wanted to ignore the past, ignore reminders of what he'd once had and had so tragically lost, and yet he kept those photos, they sat neatly in the room very clearly on display, hinting at a man who was proud of his family. Maria sighed, she simply did not understand him she thought again, and she wanted to. She wanted to fix what had been left broken.
Her eyes narrowed into a frown that was quite unlike her, she wanted to understand and to fix for the children's sake she added onto her last thought, that was why he occupied so many of her waking thoughts. It had nothing to do with the way he stared at her. Her skin heated slightly at the memory and her toes curled in her slippers, oh she was being foolish and utterly fanciful now. She did not think of that blasted man as anything other than an errant father and she wanted to help for his children's sakes, it had nothing at all to do with him.
And yet, and yet sometimes she closed her eyes and could see him, could see him standing there stern and disapproving but with that quirk to his mouth and the look in his eyes that try as she might she just couldn't fathom. When he stood close to her, when he told her off and barked instructions at her, she felt her skin prickling, not with discomfort but with a sensation that try as she might, she just couldn't understand.
Her skin felt tight, she could smell him in this room, and it was just as she had the morning he left and it was odd how it made her stomach flip, but she wasn't sure if it was with nerves.
She needed to leave this room, she needed to go back to her bed, lack of sleep was making her head swim with strange, vaguely unsettling thoughts. Making sure that the picture was exactly how he had left it, Maria fled from the room, closing the door tightly behind her.