The Lonely Goatherd – Chapter 5
Georg von Trapp strode into the hospital. His steps were quick and full of purpose. As he approached the first ward, he glanced momentarily in the window but continued on his journey down the hallway when he saw the room was empty. Again and again he paused to look in each of the wards, but none contained the person he was searching for. Finally as he got to the last room, he saw her! His lips curled upwards in a small smile but just has his hand closed over the knob of the door to the ward, a voice cut through the air, causing him to jump.
"Back again, Captain?"
Georg turned around to see Sister Berthe standing right behind him, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. She wore an unimpressed expression but for a moment, Georg wasn't sure whether he detected a hint of amusement on her face. He had worked out over the past few weeks that while the nun-turned-matron of the hospital was a formidable woman and someone not to be crossed, she also had a softer side that could be tamed with a bit of gentle encouragement. And he certainly needed to be on her good side, particularly when he had such an interest in Maria. A little bit of charm would be just the thing to win her over, Georg thought.
"Ah, Sister Berthe. I didn't see you there," Georg replied casually, flashing her his most charismatic smile. "Yes, back again. You know the welfare of my men is of the utmost concern to me, and since Lieutenant Detweiller was injured, it has been my duty to ensure that he is making a swift recovery."
Sister Berthe nodded her head knowingly. "Of course, Captain." Georg silently congratulated himself for coming up with a quick cover story to disguise the fact that he had actually come to the hospital in search of Maria. "Still," Sister Berthe continued. "I am still surprised to see you here, especially because Lieutenant Detweiller was discharged two days ago, which you were no doubt aware of." She gave him a pointed look and tapped her foot impatiently.
Instantly the smile on Georg's face disappeared and a wave of cold rushed over him. Oh no! He inwardly cringed. He'd been caught out!
"Ah," he replied, letting out a nervous chuckle. An awkward silence followed as he felt the older woman's eyes sizing him up. His mouth suddenly felt very dry. It was one of those rare moments where he found himself tongue-tied and lost for words.
But Sister Berthe filled in the void for him. "May I suggest, Captain, that you were to here to see someone else? Err… One of my nurses, perhaps?" She gently inclined her head towards the closest ward where he could just see Maria with her back turned towards them finishing to strip one of the beds of its sheets. A small smile crept across the matron's face and Georg realised that he wasn't in as much trouble with the older woman as he'd first thought.
He let out a sigh of relief. "I believe you've caught me out, Sister Berthe," Georg chuckled. Georg knew there was no point denying why he was there at the hospital. "May I see Maria?" he asked Sister Berthe courteously, flashing her another award-winning smile.
"No, Captain," Sister Berthe replied shortly. "She's in the middle of her shift."
"Oh…" Georg's face fell. He was clearly very disappointed. Sister Berthe peered at him closely, scrutinizing him and his reaction for a moment before she changed her mind. "Two minutes. And that's all," she declared in a definite voice.
Georg grinned. "Thank you Sister."
He immediately went to open the door to the ward but Sister Berthe stopped him. "Before you see Maria, sir, I do wish to have a few words with you in private." Georg felt like he was a little boy again, about to be reprimanded by his nanny as she pulled him aside and began to speak.
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Inside the room, Maria heard voices outside the door. She looked out of the ward window to see Georg in the hallway… speaking to Sister Berthe! While she wasn't particularly surprised to see Georg at the hospital since he'd been there so often over the past few weeks that he was almost like a piece of the furniture, she was surprised to see him speaking with the matron. It didn't take much for Maria to guess what the elderly nun was talking to the Captain about. Maria knew that Sister Berthe was fiercely protective of all the ladies under her care and that the attentions from a handsome sea captain towards one of her nurses would launch Sister Berthe into her mother hen mode.
But Maria also knew that there was nothing for Sister Berthe to worry about. Weeks ago after Lieutenant Detweiller had been injured and Maria had made up with Georg, they had mutually decided to be just friends. Georg had declared himself far too emotionally damaged to launch into a relationship and while Maria didn't quite agree with Georg's self-assessment, she knew that she had committed herself to the life a nurse, serving her country and the men she cared for at the hospital that she didn't have the time for anything more. Besides, she hadn't come to Pola to find love.
Yet, she knew something was happening between her and Georg. Each day after his visit with Max, Georg would stop by to say hello. Sometimes he'd stay for a while, waiting patiently while she finished her shift before they'd head out together for the afternoon. Sometimes they'd go and see Elsa at The Lonely Goatherd; other times they'd take tea together at the tea house. And they'd talk for hours – no actually, Maria would talk and Georg would listen. She didn't mind his quietness really. She was pleased to see him starting to heal slowly. He had suffered a terrible heartache after the loss of the Agathe and his men and although she had seen him let down his guard that night in the hospital when they sang The Sound of Music together, she knew that it wasn't just a simple matter of singing a song to suddenly reverse everything he'd shut out over the past few months. It would take time.
But she had seen a change in Georg since that night. He'd lost some of that stern façade that he portrayed and he was relaxing more and more around his men. Gone were the regimented marching routines with whistles and orders, instead he ran alternative training programs that were still disciplined but the change in his persona had won him respect and undying loyalty from all under his command.
And as for Maria, Georg was slowly starting to open up to her, bringing down the walls that he'd put up around himself. And she liked what she saw behind them. He was a fine man, and a brave one. He was patriotic to his country and devoted to his men. He was kind to her and she enjoyed his company very much. Maria looked forward to Georg's daily visits to the hospital and had been disappointed when she'd learnt that Max was due to be discharged as it would mean that Georg would no longer have a reason to visit. Yet, each day since Max had left, Georg had turned up at the hospital just to see her.
As much as she'd like to try and deny it, she couldn't. Maria knew she was falling hard for the handsome Captain. The more time they spent together, the more Maria found herself craving to be in his presence. And while Georg had never made any further mention of their relationship moving to beyond just friendship, Maria sensed he felt the same way about her too. She'd observed the way he'd light up and become animated whenever she arrived and how his eyes would follow her about a room. Then there was this one time when they were at The Lonely Goatherd when Elsa had come swooping in to kiss Georg fully on the mouth, but Georg had caught Maria's eye before politely offering Elsa his cheek instead.
There were also times that they'd look at each other where Maria felt like she could hardly breathe. Georg would gaze at her with his deep, dark blue eyes that burned with an intensity that frightened Maria in a way she never thought possible. Not that she thought he would ever physically harm her, no, Maria knew she was more frightened of her growing feelings towards him and what that meant if, perhaps, she was wrong and had misinterpreted all the signals and Georg didn't feel the same way about her. She could scarcely believe that a man like the heroic Captain Georg von Trapp would fall in love with her.
So time and time again, Maria tried to convince herself that she didn't feel anything more than friendship towards Georg. It seemed easier to hide away and use the hospital as an escape rather than face her feelings.
As all those thoughts were racing around her head, she'd hadn't noticed that Georg had finished talking to Sister Berthe and it wasn't until he'd placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump, that she'd even realised he'd come into the ward.
"Georg," she gasped, trying to recover from the fright he'd given her. "I didn't hear you come in."
"That's obvious," he remarked with a smile. "You seemed a million miles away. What were you thinking about?"
"Oh…" Maria felt her face starting to flush knowing exactly what she had been thinking about. "Nothing…" Maria quickly dismissed his question with a smile and a wave of her hand. Georg gave her an inquisitive look, like he was trying to work out whether he should push her further or not.
But before he could say anything more, Maria changed the subject. "So, you're looking well today." She looked at him more closely. "Have you done something different with your hair?"
Georg shrugged like he didn't know what she was talking about but inwardly he felt pleased that she'd noticed. In fact he had spent almost an extra half an hour trying to perfect the poof of his hair. But he didn't want to tell her that. Instead, he complimented her in return. "And you Maria, you're looking well too."
"Thank you," she replied, a broad smile on her face. Georg smiled back and as he smiled, he gave her that look again – that smouldering look intensity that almost, quite literally, took her breathe away. She found herself rooted to the spot, grinning back at him like an idiot, unable to move.
His penetrating gaze was unsettling and Maria wanted to look away but she couldn't. But thankfully Georg looked away first then cleared his throat as an uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them. It was moments like these that Maria really wished that she could hide from her feelings rather than face them. Georg gave her another quick glance before walking several steps away from her to look back out the window into the corridor, his hands clasped behind his back, the fingers on his left hand twitching nervously.
"You know I just had the most interesting conversation with your Sister Berthe," he commented, his back still turned towards her.
"Yes, I saw that," Maria replied, feeling like the conversation between them had suddenly become awkward. "What did she want to talk to you about? Warning you to stay away from me no doubt," Maria half joked.
Georg partially turned around with an expression on his face that made Maria immediately know that she'd hit the nail on the head. He chewed on his lip for a moment. "Yes, something like that," he admitted softly thinking back to Sister Berthe's warnings just only minutes earlier about not breaking Maria's heart.
Maria waited for Georg to elaborate on his conversation with the matron but he did not.
"Well, there is nothing that Sister Berthe needs to worry about," Maria replied brightly trying to fill yet another uncomfortable silence. "After all, we are just friends…"
At Maria's words, Georg all of a sudden looked crestfallen. "Just friends," he repeated softly, almost to himself. "Yes, of course."
Instantly Maria wanted to kick herself for her thoughtless remark. All this time she'd been mulling over her growing feelings towards Georg and the first opportunity to perhaps approach the topic of whether they might be more than just friends, she'd put her foot in her mouth. Again. Why did she always have to speak first, think later? She closed her eyes and winced. Stupid, stupid, stupid Maria!
"Georg, I…" she began but he cut her off.
"Anyway," he glanced down at his watch as he turned back around away from her. "Sister Berthe has only allowed me two minutes with you since you're still in the middle of your shift so I better make this quick. Elsa wanted me to let you know that she's giving some sort of big party tonight at The Lonely Goatherd and she's insisting that you come along. They'll be dancing, I believe – not quite my thing if truth be told, but it will most likely be a good night…"
"Well, that sounds lovely…"
"… and it'll be a nice way to say goodbye."
At once Maria felt like she'd been hit square in the chest. "G-goodbye?" she stammered.
"Yes," Georg replied, turning back to look her in the eye. "I'm leaving in the morning, Maria. Back out to sea. Commander Zeller says we've been on shore too long and well, there is a war we're meant to be fighting."
Maria felt like she'd had the life knocked out of her. Of course she knew that Georg was a sailor and there was a war on - that's why there were all there in Pola. But the last month with Georg stationed in port had been so wonderful that it had almost made her forget that he would be leaving again soon.
"I see…" she whispered. "How long will you be gone this time?"
"Not sure, Maria, not sure. Last time we were at sea, we were gone for months."
Maria opened her mouth and was just about to tell Georg that she would miss him when Sister Berthe appeared at the door to the ward.
"I believe I gave you two minutes, Captain. I think you've taken five. I'm sorry but you need to leave and Maria needs to get back to work."
Georg nodded reluctantly. "So I'll see you tonight then?" he asked Maria as Sister Berthe escorted him from the room. Maria promised him that she'd come as the matron bustled her back into the ward to continue her shift.
Out in the corridor, Georg gave Maria one last lingering look. Then he took off back down the hallway and out of the hospital.
Silently from her place across the hallway in the linen closet, Margaretta watched him leave. She'd been noticing how often the Captain had been visiting Maria over the past few weeks. She'd also noticed a remarkable change in his disposition since his return to port. So many of the sailors she'd spent her free time with had even remarked on it too. No more Captain von Jackass, they'd said. His remarkable transformation had now won him the title of Captain von Awesome Commander, although since Margaretta still thought he was the most handsome sailor in the navy, she much preferred the nickname she'd given him months ago: Captain von Handsomepants!
There was no doubt in Margaretta's mind that as the finest sailor in the navy, she wanted him. But there was the problem of Maria that she needed to solve. It was clear that the Captain liked her friend but Maria had declared time and time again that she and the Captain were just friends. So, that left a space for Margaretta to try her luck with him, didn't it? After all, Maria had once said "Well, if you like him so much, Margaretta, you can have him!"
Hearing about the party at The Lonely Goatherd that night gave Margaretta an idea, and she was determined that she would not leave the tavern that night without her Captain von Handsomepants.
A/N: Thanks everyone for their reviews. Please review again and let me know what you think of this latest chapter.
