Chapter 27: One Evil and Twisted Woman
Georg's prediction of a long and sleepless night was correct. Maria continued to throw up for the next few hours as her body tried to get the drug out of its system. Each time, Georg would help her to the bathroom then carry her back to bed when she was done. Her fever persisted as well throughout the night and Georg spent most of his time sponging her face with a damp washcloth in order to reduce the fever. But finally just before dawn, Maria began to improve considerably. When Georg felt that it was safe to leave her alone, he crept downstairs to the kitchens to fetch her some hot tea and dry crackers.
Then as the sun rose and Maria was propped up in bed with copious amounts of fluffy pillows around her and sipping her hot tea slowly, Georg began to tell her everything he had learned from Camilla the night before about Lady Whitehead drugging her deliberately.
"I don't believe it," Maria stammered, her voice hoarse. The crockery gently clinked together several times as her hands trembled.
"I know," Georg replied, rubbing the corner of his eye. "If I hadn't have heard it with my own ears, I don't think I would have believed it either."
"But Camilla? Are you sure she was telling you the truth?"
"That thought immediately crossed my mind too. However I don't think Camilla would make something like this up, not when it implicated her as well."
"But she's lied before…" Maria protested.
"I know," Georg agreed. "But you didn't hear the genuine remorse in her voice, not only for last night but for everything she has put us through since we've been here. Not to mention how incredibly helpful and caring she was towards Liesl last night with all the awful things that Daniel did to her."
"Liesl? Awful things? What happened to her?" Maria blurted out. She sat bolt upright in bed and slopped a small amount of tea from her cup onto the saucer.
Georg took the cup and saucer from her hands and placed it on the bedside table. He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering that he still hadn't told Maria about what Daniel had done to Liesl the night before.
He scowled, pursing his lips. "Well that boy took our daughter down into the garden last night after you went to bed and tried to take advantage of her." Maria's hand flew to her mouth in shock.
"No, not Daniel!" Maria cried in disbelief. "He seemed so nice! I never would've believed that he'd behave like that!"
"I know," replied Georg. "Despite my initial impression of the boy, I had come to like him and thought he cared about Liesl. But thankfully Liesl had enough sense to put a stop to it all before it went too far and come and find me. However she was terribly shaken by the whole experience. Camilla was very kind and generous by taking care of her and putting her to bed."
Without saying a word, Maria pushed the bedcovers aside and tried to get out of bed. "Maria? What are you doing?" Georg asked her.
"I have to go to her…" Maria started to explain but Georg stopped her. "Maria, she's fine now. There's no need…"
"But Georg, there's every need," Maria practically sobbed. "I'm her mother but I wasn't there for her last night and I should have been…"
"I know," Georg replied gently as he helped her get back into bed. "But that wasn't your fault at all. Liesl understands."
"But does she know what happened to me?" Maria asked as she rested back on the pillows.
"No, no one does. I made up a story about you suddenly coming down with a migraine. I think everyone believed it. The only person who supposes differently is James, and that's all because Elizabeth was busily sprouting off how drunk you apparently were, when all the while…" Georg's voice trailed off as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"I'm sorry…" Maria said quietly.
Georg gave her a half smile, picked up her hand and kissed it lightly. "As I said before, this was not your fault."
"But the champagne…" Maria stammered. "You warned me about drinking it but I didn't listen. I thought I knew better… I thought…" Tears fell from her eyes.
"Maria," Georg cut her off. "Even if you could normally handle champagne, you couldn't have known that some evil, twisted woman was going to drug your drink. You weren't to blame. You're the victim here." He tilted her chin upwards so she was looking into his eyes. Slowly Maria nodded in agreement and Georg placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and pulled her into his embrace. Maria's weak body trembled slightly in his arms.
"So what are you going to do about Lady Whitehead?" Maria asked Georg eventually.
Georg shook his head in deep thought. "I'm not sure. I'm so furious with her that I can barely think straight. She could have killed you and for a moment last night when I found you in the bathroom, I thought…" he paused. "Well, it's been a long time since I'd been that scared before," he admitted.
"I know," she muttered softly as she blinked back tears. Maria pressed her forehead against Georg's and they sat together in silence, eyes closed, both thankful the other one was there.
Maria then snuggled closer into his arms. "But it's going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me, Georg von Trapp," she replied with a wry smile. Georg didn't reply but just held her tighter.
Finally Georg glanced at his watch. "It's almost breakfast time. I need to go and confront Elizabeth. I wanted to do it last night as soon as I found out what she'd done but my first priority was to take care of you. Now that I know that you're all right, I'll go and give her a piece of my mind and try and find out why she did this despicable thing to you."
"And if she denies it?" Maria asked.
"I don't think she can deny it, not with Camilla as a witness anyway. But regardless to what she says, we know the truth."
Georg squeezed her hand and stood up to shower and get dressed. But as he did, Maria tried to scramble out of bed as well. "Maria," Georg sighed. "You're not well enough to get up."
"I know that, but you have to let me come too," she pleaded. "This concerns me just as much as it concerns you, more even. I'll let you do all the talking, I promise."
Georg looked at her hard before he reluctantly agreed. He then helped Maria wash and shower since her legs were too weak to support herself on her own. But afterwards, now clean and refreshed and dressed in a simple white cotton blouse and long navy skirt, Maria felt some strength coming back to her.
But as Maria sat on the edge of the bed watching Georg finish buttoning up his shirt and knotting his tie, Maria wondered why Lady Whitehead had drugged her. She already knew Lady Whitehead didn't like her very much. From their very first night at the manor when Maria had observed the blood-chilling glare Lady Whitehead had given her from the grand hallway while they were going upstairs, to the number of arguments she'd had with Lady Whitehead in the couple of months following. But what Maria had done to the older woman to cause her to do such a hateful act? Maria didn't know.
Then Maria began to think through everything she could recollect from the night before. Her head pounded and her memory was fuzzy. She'd told Georg what she could remember about how Lady Whitehead, and Lady Prudence unwittingly as well, had coaxed her into drinking the champagne through the numerous toasts. But besides trying to find Georg when she knew something was wrong with her, everything else was a blur.
However as she reflected on what Georg had told her about Daniel's inappropriate advances towards Liesl, something just didn't seem right about the whole situation. It was like there was a missing piece of the puzzle that her brain was searching for. Her mind sparked, almost telling her that she knew the answer, that she'd seen or heard something the night before that made the entire situation make sense. But the more she tried to remember, the more the memory was slipping away. But it felt impossible: like trying to hold onto the lingering thoughts of a distant dream in first few moments of waking up.
"I just don't understand it," Maria shook her head to herself.
Georg was watching her closely as he shrugged on his jacket. "What is it?" he asked, seeing the intense look of concentration on her face.
"This whole situation between Daniel and Liesl."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure," she replied biting down on her lip in deep thought. "I keep having this sense that I saw something or heard something last night that may make sense of Daniel's behaviour. I keep trying to put my finger on it, but it's difficult. Most of last night seems so hazy now." She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her head in her hands hoping, somehow, the memory would return to her.
Georg sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "Maria, I know you're worried about Liesl and I am too. Daniel's behaviour last night disgusted me to no end. But we'll have to deal with that later. Right now we have to get to the bottom of what Elizabeth did first."
Maria nodded and stood up, ready to go. But as soon as she did, a wave of dizziness hit her and she sank back down on the bed. "Maria? Are you all right?" Georg asked, concerned.
"Yes, fine. I just stood up too fast, I think."
"Are you sure you're up to this?"
"Probably not," she sighed. "But we need to do this, together."
Maria and Georg slowly made their way downstairs. Georg wrapped his arm around Maria waist the whole time to support her in her weakened state. It was still early in the morning but as they came down the staircase and into the main hallway, they could hear arguing coming from the front door.
"No, I don't care what you want to tell me!" Georg and Maria heard Liesl cry out.
"Liesl please! Hear me out!" They heard Daniel reply.
"No!" Liesl exclaimed. "I only agreed to see you as Lloyd told me you refused to leave unless I did."
"Please!" Daniel begged as Georg and Maria hurried to join their eldest daughter at the front door.
Georg glared daggers at the young man standing on the doorstep. Liesl held the front door open with one hand, looking like she was about to slam the door in Daniel's face. Georg stepped in between Liesl and Daniel, blocking Liesl from Daniel in an act of protection.
"Young man," Georg shouted. "I thought I had made it quite clear last night that you were to leave and never come back. I think you've hurt and insulted my daughter enough."
"I know I have," Daniel whimpered. "But I'm sorry, and I just want the chance to apologise to Liesl and explain."
"Explain? There is nothing to explain!" Georg exclaimed in exasperation. "Your actions towards Liesl were nothing short of disgraceful and completely ungentlemanly. What could you possibly say that would change that?"
Daniel looked so terrified that he was shaking in his boots. "Please Captain von Trapp, there's a reason…"
"A reason? For touching my daughter?"
"Please, I didn't want to… She made me do it…"
"She? Are you blaming Liesl for this?" Georg was astounded.
"No! Not Liesl!" Daniel appeared horrified at the suggestion. "I meant… her. L-Lady Whitehead."
Georg's head snapped up and he pivoted around to look at Maria who was now standing with Liesl. They locked eyes as Maria's hand flew to her mouth. They were both thinking the same thing: Not Lady Whitehead again?
Georg whipped back around to interrogate Daniel further. "What do you mean it was Lady Whitehead's fault? Explain." But before Daniel could reply, his parents, Charles and Lillian Collins, arrived at the front door behind him.
Charles stepped inside the doorway. "Oh Georg, Maria," said Charles, slightly out of breath. "Has Daniel had a chance to explain everything yet?"
"Not yet," Georg replied through gritted teeth. "He just started saying something about Lady Whitehead."
"It's awful isn't it?" Lillian practically wept as she joined her husband in the hallway. "We didn't know! If we had… we would have put a stop to it a long time ago."
"A stop to what?" If Georg hadn't felt frustrated and irritated before, he certainly did now. "Will someone kindly explain to me what is going on?!"
Charles gestured towards Daniel. "Go on son, you got yourself in this mess, you need to tell the Captain everything you know."
Daniel began to shake again as he started to explain. "She orchestrated the whole thing…" he blathered. "Lady Whitehead, I mean. She wanted me to take Liesl somewhere private and do things to her, not nice things… I knew it was wrong. I-I didn't want to go through with it, b-but I had no choice. …"
Georg ran one hand over his face, not knowing what to think or what to believe. He looked upwards at the ceiling, trying to make sense of it all when he heard Maria's voice.
"And that's why you were arguing with her… Last night. At the party."
"What are you talking about Maria?" Georg asked her. He felt confused.
Maria bit her lip and screwed up her face, like she was trying to think. "Georg. Before, remember what I said about feeling like I'd seen or heard something last night that had something to do with Daniel?" Georg nodded. "Well now I remember. Last night as I tried to find you across the dance floor, I saw Lady Whitehead and Daniel arguing. I didn't think much of it at the time because all I wanted to do was to get to you. But everything makes sense now."
Georg shook his head in frustration. "No, no, no! Nothing makes sense! Why on earth would Liesl's own grandmother wish to place her in that sort of predicament? And, more importantly," Georg turned back to glare at Daniel. "Why would you go along with it?"
"I had no choice," Daniel pleaded.
"So you keep saying," Georg replied coldly. "But there's something that you're not telling us. What is it?"
Charles answered for Daniel. "It's all my fault, well indirectly that is. You see Georg, I've made many investments over the years, as you know. But what you aren't aware of is that some of those investments ended up being bad investments. So bad that, and I'm ashamed and embarrassed to admit it, but I've lost almost all my fortune."
Georg groaned and slapped one hand to his forehead as he listened to Charles continue. "The truth is Georg, we're penniless. We barely have two pounds to rub together. All we have left is our family's good name and reputation, which unfortunately Daniel has now destroyed."
"Charles I am sorry to hear that," Georg told the man genuinely. "But I still don't understand how Elizabeth is involved in all of this."
"She found out somehow about Father's misfortune," Daniel said, speaking up for the first time in ages. "And she knew what it meant for our family, and my future. You see, Captain, I have always wanted and desired to go to university. To Oxford to study medicine. But with Father's fortune gone, there would be no way we would ever be able to afford it. However Lady Whitehead offered to help me out. She said she liked me and wanted to take me under her wing. She told me she thought I would be a marvellous doctor and she wanted to do everything in her power to make it happen. She said she'd give me the money to go to university."
"But she wanted something in return?" Georg asked.
"No, not immediately," Daniel replied. "Lady Whitehead had always said she was giving me the money from the goodness of her heart. But then several days ago, she came and found me in town and told me that she'd take all the money away and tell everyone how I'd stolen from her unless I did what she asked."
"Which was?"
"Disgrace Liesl at her party," Daniel admitted in a low voice.
As Georg was still trying to process all that Daniel had told him, Lillian tugged on Georg's arm. "Please Georg, we didn't know any of this until last night after the party. Daniel had told us that he'd won a scholarship to go to university. If we'd had any idea that he was taking money from Lady Elizabeth…"
A second later Daniel pushed past Georg and dropped to his knees in front of Liesl, grabbing at her hand. "Liesl, I'm so sorry, I should never have done it. I-I just… I was scared of losing my place at university, and I was scared I was going to be found out… I should have said no. I-I'm so, so sorry… you see, I've fallen in love with you…"
Liesl shook her head in disbelief, tears running down her cheeks. "But you can't have been in love with me if you were so willing to trade me off just for some money!" She stopped and glanced at Maria next to her, then her father still standing in the open doorway. "If there is one thing I've learnt from my parents since they married and from leaving our country, all our friends and everything that we had, it is that money can't buy happiness or love. There are much more important things than money, such as honesty and trust. My parents have that between them and I thank them for showing me what it is like to be in an honest, trusting and loving relationship. You, Daniel, are not honest, nor do I trust you anymore, and I certainly do not love you after you did this and chose money over me."
Liesl took a step backwards away from Daniel who was still on his knees. "I never want to see you again," she said coldly as Maria put one arm around her shoulders.
Georg took this as his cue to usher the Collin's out the front door. "Charles, Lillian, I am truly sorry to hear about your misfortune. But I cannot condone what your son did to Liesl. I think it's time for you all to leave."
Charles presented his hand to Georg who shook it. "That's fair enough, Georg. But I do want to apologise again on behalf of my son."
"Thank you," Georg replied, accepting the apology.
"What are you going to do about Lady Elizabeth?" Charles asked.
"I'll go and speak with her immediately," Georg replied through gritted teeth. "There seems to be many things about my former mother-in-law's behaviour last night which I need to get to the bottom of."
After the Collins's left, Georg gave Liesl a hug. "You were very brave sweetheart. I am sorry you had to go through that." Liesl nodded and wiped the last remaining tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.
"But now Liesl, I need you to do something for me while your mother and I go and speak to your grandmother in private. Gather your brothers and sisters together and pack everything you own. Ask Hannah to do the same for your mother's and my things as well. Then wait in your room until we come and get you." Georg looked directly at Maria. "We are not spending one minute more than necessary in this house. We are leaving today."
Georg patted Liesl affectionately on the cheek then waited for her to go upstairs. "Is there no end to that woman's wicked and malicious ways?" Georg muttered under his breath, his expression set and severe.
"Come on Maria, let's get this over with." He then took Maria's hand and together they left to confront Lady Whitehead.
A/N: My apologies for the delay in updating this story – I had not forgotten it! Besides the usual busyness of this time of the year, I had the great privilege of participating in the TSOM ProBoards story gift exchange which was so much fun (if you haven't read the three stories I wrote: "Cat and Mouse", "It Started As A Dream" and "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", then please do go and read them)! I promise it won't be as long before the next update!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! Thanks.