A/N 1: I know someone of you are going to be like "say whate?!" when you see the time jump here, but I ask that you all trust me as I have a plan. That will all be revealed in the next few chapters. Additional notes at the end. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
Two months later
"Fraulein Maria is late to breakfast again?" the Captain asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.
"Yes," Louisa replied. "She said she was tired and would be right down, but we woke her up."
The Captain sighed. For the last couple of weeks Maria had been running late to breakfast, taking naps, and complaining of headaches. Once or twice, she'd been sick to her stomach from the strength of the migraine. Having suffered the occasional migraine himself, the Captain felt for her and offered to bring her to see the doctor though he also knew aside from opiates, there was little to be done for them. Maria had refused and he'd noticed had pushed through a few headaches in effort to get him to let up on his efforts to get her medical treatment.
The Captain was worried about her. After he found Maria on her mountain the night she had turned Heinrich Mueller down for a courtship, he had wanted a doctor to see her. She had said she'd taken a fall, but she refused to visit the physician. She seemed fine the next day and hadn't missed a beat until two weeks ago when this all started.
"Good morning, Captain," Maria greeted as she stepped into the dining room. "I'm sorry I'm late. This cooler, dreary weather just makes me tired. I had so much trouble at the abbey with this. We had to get up at 5am there."
"Ah," the Captain replied. "Yes, in the Navy as well we got up very early. There were times when I didn't even know if it was night or day on the U-boat. It was always dark. Then we would surface, and it would take my body days to figure out what was going on."
"Quite right," Max replied. "I remember many days when I couldn't tell if it was night or day except for the sunlight burning my eyes."
The Captain laughed, "If my children weren't present Max I would clarify for you the precise reason you couldn't tell night from day, my friend."
"Was it because Uncle Max was drunk, Father?" Brigitta asked.
"Yes," the Captain replied always amazed at what his daughter was able to observe. "Yes, Brigitta, we both were though Uncle Max a touch more than I at the time."
"Don't lie to the girl, Georg," Max bantered. "You were often so far gone that you tried to get a ride home. And we were in your quarters…"
"Max," the Captain shot him a warning look as the table erupted in laughter at the thought of the Captain undone by liquor and other misbehaviors of youth. "Boys, you never do any of the things Uncle Max tells you about when you grow up."
Maria ate her eggs quietly and smiled. The Captain was watching her. Since she had told Heinrich she was uninterested in his advances, her times with the Captain had become more frequent. They retired to his study each night after the children went to bed for tea, though he often chose a brandy instead, and discussion. The topics were numerous. They laughed together, and sometimes they worried together as the wireless told the of the instability of the political climate in Austria.
Maria knew how much that distressed the Captain. He had fought so hard and so long for Austria-Hungary only to see the empire dissolved into smaller states. Now, to lose even that identity, sometimes she would just sit there with him in silence, a quiet, stabilizing force. Sometimes, he would do the same for her, though she never knew what would bring on her spells of fear and anguish. Sometimes it was the sound of a voice on the wireless, sometimes it was a smell in the air…sometimes it was nothing at all, just a spark inside of her that was overwhelming brutal.
Maria had feelings so deep sometimes. There were times she felt so uncomfortable in her own skin, like she didn't belong anywhere. She had felt that at the abbey a lot, there had been a sense of hopelessness there that she managed to escape at the villa.
Now, though, she would dream. She would dream about hands covering her body, about vines scratching at her legs, about air being forced out of her lungs…and she would wake up with the urge to bathe, sometimes two or three times in a night. That's why she overslept. She would delay bedtime for as long as she could; then not get an adequate sleep. Still, that wasn't the Captain's affair, he was doing all he could and that was enough.
When the meal ended, Maria took the children outside for a walk. It was getting cooler, but it was a lovely day. The sun was shining overhead, and she felt that the fresh air could only lift her spirits.
Liesl walked next to her as the younger ones ran off ahead. "Fraulein Maria," Liesl began. "I was hoping you would speak to Father about something for me."
"Of course, Darling," Maria replied quickly. "What is it?"
"Do you remember when we went to the party a few months ago? There was a man there that I liked more than the others and we have been talking in town and near school before I have to go inside. He's asked if he could come around and speak to Father about seeing me and I was hoping you could bring it up with him when you speak to him."
Maria took a deep breath and thought it out for a moment. "Liesl, you are going to be seventeen in only three weeks time. I think it is to the point now where you need to seek out your father and have this talk with him."
Liesl opened her mouth to protest but Maria continued, "I will go with you, but if you are adult enough to have a formal caller that seems to be a bit older than you are, you are old enough to see your father about it and ask his permission yourself."
Liesl knew Maria was right, but she didn't know if she could do it. The Captain was much easier to approach now than he was even six months ago, but her pulse still quickened at the thought of seeing her father about this.
"We'll see him about it tonight then after supper," Maria determined. "It's warm out here today."
Liesl looked over at Maria. She looked so flushed. "It's not hot out, it's actually a little cool. Fraulein Maria, your face is really red. Let's stop here for a little bit."
Liesl helped Maria sit down on a rock, then called out to Friedrich and Kurt to hold up the other children. "We have some water in the basket, I'll get it."
"I'm all right, Liesl, don't fuss," Maria soothed. "I just need to catch my breath."
Liesl didn't listen. She hurried down the slope to her brothers. "Let me get a cup and some water. Fraulein Maria isn't feeling well. I think we should go back."
"Can't we see how she is after lunch?" Kurt asked. "We'll do all the work."
"Let's see if she feels better with a little water. She didn't eat much breakfast," Liesl replied. She turned and hurried back to Maria.
The water did revive Maria's spirit and they spent the rest of the day on the mountain. Maria didn't participate in physical activity and Liesl or Friedrich were with her most of the time. They headed back a bit earlier than usual with Liesl sticking to Maria's side.
It touched Maria that the children were so attentive. She almost wanted to tell Liesl she would speak to the Captain about her young man but she knew how important it was for Liesl to start to speak for herself. If she was going to enter into a relationship, she had to be able to speak up for herself. She had to be able to speak to men, and her father was the best place to start.
Maria's mind flashed as they strolled back to the villa. She never had to opportunity to develop those social skills properly. She had learned on her own and that apparently attracted men like Heinrich Mueller and other more…
Suddenly she was there. She felt strong hands yank back on her legs, she felt the branches scratch the soft skin on her neck. Her stockings were pulled down and her skirt thrown up with violent force. She felt her shoe slide off and roll away, then felt the sensation of cold and rough rock on the sole of her foot.
Maria didn't know that she had zoned out until Friedrich spoke her name loudly, "Fraulein Maria!"
Maria jolted at his voice, it was much harsher than she'd ever heard. He sounded almost like an angry Captain, like an angry man. She covered her heart with her hand, "I'm sorry, Friedrich. I was thinking."
"As long as you're okay, you were walking in the wrong direction, almost went down the side of the ridge," Friedrich told her.
"I'm sorry, I haven't been sleeping well," Maria excused. "Let's go home."
Maria chose not to have dinner that night. She stayed in her room and tried to gather her thoughts for meeting with the Captain and Liesl. She had no hope that the Captain would be receptive to this, but if Liesl didn't at least ask, they would never know.
Liesl was nervous when Maria met her in the hallway. The Captain was in his study and the other children were occupied with games in the salon. "Go ahead, Liesl, knock on the door. The worst thing he can do is yell, the worst thing he can say is no, now go on."
Liesl raised her hand and knocked on the study door. "Enter," the Captain instructed, then looked up at Liesl pushed the door open.
The Captain's eyes met Maria's first to see if she would betray the reason for this visit. She tried to give him calming smile but didn't know if it worked.
"To what do I owe this honor?" the Captain asked as he rose from this chair. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes, Father," Liesl replied. "I…I just wanted to talk to you about something. To you and Fraulein Maria."
"I see." The Captain moved his arm to invite both women to sit down on the sofa. He took his desk chair and set it across from them.
The Captain leaned back and folded his hands waiting to see what Liesl had to say. "Well, Father," Liesl began. "When Fraulein Maria and I went to the von Klauss party a few months ago, I was asked to dance a couple times with a nice man, his name was Mathias Graber. I really liked him, and he liked me. We have been talking if we see one another in town and…"
Then Liesl froze. Her mouth went dry, and she froze. "And?" the Captain prompted. "Is this man harassing you? Do I need to…"
"Captain," Maria said softly. "Liesl likes him. I don't think she's asking you to make him disappear, are you Dear?"
"No," Liesl replied. "No, Father, Mathias, he wants to take me out sometime and he wants to do it right. He asked if he can come up to the villa sometime soon and talk with you."
The Captain froze. There it was. His little Liesl was a woman, Maria had warned him. It had started with that party, her first without him, and now here they were.
He turned his back so that his emotions wouldn't play on his face. This young man that was interested in his Liesl wanted to do the right thing, he wanted to be a man and come and speak about taking Liesl out for a date. He didn't want to lie and he didn't want to sneak around.
The Captain was about to turn and give his answer when Liesl shrieked, "Father!"
The about face was instinctive and perfectly executed. The Captain let his gaze fall directly on Maria. She had gone from a slightly dimmer shade of her usual rosy coloring to ghostly white in the few moments he'd had his back turned.
"Fraulein?" The Captain moved toward Maria very quickly. "Are you all right? What's wrong?" He reached out for her and as usual, Maria's instinct was to move away from him. When she stood up to do so, however, the dizziness that had been plaguing her since she entered the Captain's study took hold and she fell to the ground in an unceremonious heap.
The Captain ignored Liesl's gasp of fear and dropped to his knees beside Maria. "Fraulein!" he said firmly. "Fraulein! Maria!"
His efforts though, went unrewarded.
A/N: I know, I am terrible and horrible for yet another cliff hanger but I have decided to do my best to update every other day now that the story is nearly completed and I'm averaging about a half chapter a day with school and work. I can't promise but I will try my best. Please let me keep hearing from you. This story was something I had planned to write for nearly 20 years and was finally able to do it. I am glad that it seems to be speaking to so many of you.