Chapter 4 (Bonus/Epilogue)

Elsa darling –

Surprise, surprise! I imagine you weren't expecting to hear from me, but I want to let you know that I have somehow managed to land on my feet. I am writing from a remote corner of the world where I am advised that even a child like me will be able to ride out the miserable state of affairs in Europe (although it is increasingly apparent that there is nowhere on Earth that is completely safe from the madness.) I am here thanks to the generosity and foresight of our mutual friend, who I will not identify by name. The other small detail I must share is that said mutual friend is safely out of Austria and married off to his little governess. It's strange, isn't it, how differently things turned out than we anticipated, for all our plotting and planning. Remember the day we arrived in Salzburg? I must say I don't entirely understand what happened after that, and I daresay you don't either, but I am entirely confident that you, too, have landed on your feet. I would expect no less from my Baroness Machiavelli! Still, just in case, you ought to destroy this note once you have finished reading it. I send you my very best wishes and look forward to the day when we will once again meet in Vienna, for delectable gossip and endless champagne. Till then, darling, I am yours,

Max

With a sigh, Elsa Schrader put the letter down and lit a cigarette. Without giving its contents a second glance, she folded Max's note into a tidy packet that fit neatly in the ashtray, touched it with the glowing end of her cigarette, and watched it flare briefly into a bright flame before crumbling into flakes of gray ash.

Vienna just wasn't the same without Max, not to mention several others of their acquaintance who had vanished without explanation in the last month. Meanwhile, half of what remained of Viennese society wasn't speaking to the other half. The restaurants, bars, museums and concert halls were still full, swarming with throngs of Germans, but Elsa found most of them to be boring at best and crude at worst.

It was a relief to know Max was safe. And it was not exactly a surprise to learn that Georg had married his little nun. Elsa had seen that coming, probably long before the happy couple had! Sometimes it felt like she'd always known the two newlyweds would end up together, even during those first heady hours of her own marriage to Georg. Before it had gone off the rails, that is.

Elsa Schrader rarely made mistakes. In the early days of their friendship, Georg used to tease her that if the Emperor had the benefit of her strategic advice, the war would have turned out quite differently. Yet in the past year, she'd made one mistake after another.

For starters, she could have turned a blind eye to Georg's flirtation with the little governess. It had been building for weeks by the time she discovered them twirling about Georg's garden, but with only his children to witness it and his casual behavior afterward, perhaps she'd have been wiser to bite back the sharp remarks. And she'd gone to the girl's bedroom intending only to warn her away from what could easily have been an awkward situation for everyone involved – doing her a kindness, really. She failed to anticipate that Fraulein Maria would overreact and run away, her absence calling even more attention to her influence over Georg and his entire household.

At first, it seemed like Elsa had dodged the consequences of those early missteps, with Georg's proposal of marriage coming just a day or two after the party. Still, she had proceeded cautiously, even setting aside her dream of an elegant wedding in Vienna and instead suggesting a quick ceremony in Salzburg's city hall. After the wedding had come the lunchtime announcement of their marriage to his children, which had been met with polite nods and smiles and not a single tear. Flushed with success, Elsa let herself relax, leading to yet another misstep, the worst one yet.

She had relived the conversation with Georg a thousand times since then, and the nonchalant confession she'd made because she'd hardly thought it mattered.

"I thought that went well with the children," she had prompted him, once they had set out on a post-luncheon walk around the lake. Georg merely grunted before lapsing into a glum silence, the announcement to his children apparently having exhausted his reserves of cheerful optimism. "They were awfully sweet about it, don't you think?" she pressed on. "You know, perhaps this will let them focus on what's next, going back to school and so on. Have you thought about a replacement governess?"

She hadn't even gotten to the part about boarding school for the older children when Georg snapped out of his mood long enough to say, "There's no replacing her, Elsa. Not for the children, not for -" he stopped in midsentence and moved ahead of her and down the path in long strides.

Emboldened by the new gold ring shining on her right hand, Elsa had quickened her pace to catch up with him and speak her mind. "Look, Georg. I'm not blind. Whatever it was, this – fancy – you took to the girl, it wouldn't have ended well. Not for you, and more to the point, not for her. She admitted as much to me."

He stopped cold and turned back slowly in her direction, speaking in a low, measured voice.

"What do you mean?"

"I – well – as it happens, I spoke with Maria just before she left that night. I didn't tell you at the time because – I mean, she asked me not to say anything to you about our conversation. But let me assure you that if you truly have her interests at heart, the way it worked out was best for everyone. We both know these things never end well. I was just thinking of the children!"

"What. Exactly. Did. She. Say. To. You?" His voice was still low but had taken on a dangerous edge.

"I told you, Georg, she asked me not to-"

"Elsa!" The voice cold and sharp as a knife.

"She – she was in love with you, Georg."

"She said that?"

"Not exactly, but she might as well have, and I simply tried to give her the benefit of my experience, you see -"

Within the hour, Elsa was on her way back to Vienna. Eyes cold and face pale with rage, Georg had dismissed her from his life in a few short sentences.

"To let that girl believe that I would have been dishonorable enough to – and to disregard my children's happiness – and the simple lack of honesty with – with your husband," his lips had curled with apparent distaste at having to use the word. "You will pack your little bags this minute, and return to Vienna, where you will await further instruction."

Elsa could hardly believe the man who ordered her back to Vienna was the same one who had called her his savior only weeks before. Why, she hadn't even gotten a proper wedding night! Perhaps if she had been patient about the whole matter of boarding school for Georg's children and waited to introduce the idea until after he'd spent the night in her bed – and it would have been the first time ever, given his oddly old-fashioned ideals about marriage – he might have been in a better mood.

Instead, what followed was a terse letter from his solicitor outlining the terms of their separation, followed by the long months of pretense designed to preserve Elsa's place in Viennese society, so long as she kept her mouth shut. On the first day of each month, without fail, Georg would appear on her doorstep precisely at noon. After marching upstairs and settling into the guest room, he would escort her through the social whirl for the next two days. In public, he was as charming as ever. Alone with Elsa, he was perfectly polite and chillingly distant until the third day of his monthly visit, when he would scurry out of her house and her life without a backward look. Knowing he'd be back the next month, as consistent and remote as the moon, didn't make it any easier.

Only once had Elsa tried to address the tension between them, to apologize for her mistakes. In a few curt sentences, Georg had summarily reminded her that his presence and ongoing financial support was contingent on her silence about their arrangement, a silence she was expected to maintain even when they were alone. If she had anything to say, she could speak to his solicitor. Of course, Elsa would never have said a word to anyone else in Vienna about the little governess, because to do so would have revealed the humiliating truth about her ill-fated marriage. People were probably talking as it was, what with Georg spending so much time in Salzburg. But she didn't quite understand why Georg remained so sensitive about matters better left behind in the past. As Georg himself had noted, he was the honorable sort, so it was impossible to believe that he'd have laid a finger on the girl, let alone bed her, at least until he was free to remarry.

And so month after month, the arrangement between Elsa and Georg had dragged on, the two of them yoked to one another in resentful silence. It had almost been a relief when he had arrived off cycle, on the twelfth of last month, and proposed the audacious trade: a divorce in return for the villa and a shockingly large cash gift. It was a relief to accept his offer and bring an amicable end to things. Not that she'd had a choice, but with time and distance, it was easier to let go of him, as Elsa began to realize that Georg von Trapp might not have been the right man for her after all.

And in the end, something good had come from their months-long, humiliating standoff. The truth was that most of Elsa's missteps could be traced back to her money woes, which had thrown her into such a panic that she'd fired off that telegram to Georg that led to her visit to Salzburg. Only Elsa knew that there was very little money left from Henrik's estate, far less than Max or anyone else would have suspected. Max wasn't the only one who needed Georg's money to stay in the family, and he'd have been shocked to know that her household was perilously close to collapsing when she'd sent her last penny on that gown for the disastrous "grand and glorious" party. Now, thanks to the allowance provided through Georg's solicitor every month and the divorce settlement afterward, the Vienna townhouse was fully refurbished, its dilapidated furnishings restored or replaced. Her wardrobe was refreshed, too. And she was able to pay her servants enough to assure their discretion.

The shrill ring of the telephone cut into Elsa's thoughts. Once, twice, three times it went unanswered, before she remembered that her butler had disappeared three days ago without giving notice. It was proving increasingly difficult to keep good staff these days, even if you had money to pay them.

"Hello?"

"Am I speaking to Baroness Schra – ehrm – von Tra - ?"

Elsa gave the safest response.

"This is she."

"This is Herr Rudolf. The property agent for the villa in Aigen, the one deeded to you by-"

"Yes, yes, I know the one," she cut him off.

"I believe I've found you some tenants. The Party – the Nazis, that is – they have been looking for a property in Salzburg that can accommodate offices, housing for some of their men and some space for entertaining. I just wanted to be sure that you were comfortable with - ehrm – I know some people might not welcome -"

"It's fine," Elsa cut the man off. "What are the terms?"

"Five thousand a month, five-year lease."

Five years! She had to swallow a laugh. The Nazis were odious fools, but she'd happily take their money for now, while fully aware that no one could be counted on to keep a promise for five years. Five years ago, she'd been living high on Henrik's money and Georg von Trapp had been a happily married father of seven, only vaguely known to Elsa for his title and military record. The Nazis couldn't possibly last for five years. In the meantime, Elsa would do whatever it took to survive. The earth would go on somersaulting around the sun, day after day, the years would roll by and five years from now, she might easily find herself right back where she'd started, her money and looks hopefully intact.

When Herr Rudolf rang off, Elsa carefully replaced the receiver in its cradle before clapping her hands together in glee. Five thousand a month! With the townhouse and her wardrobe already updated, what else could she treat herself to? A trip around the world, perhaps – but no, given the headlines, there might be somewhere better to go. Max would surely have some madcap adventure to suggest. Or perhaps better to buy some bonds and wait things out? Perhaps she ought to ask Georg-

But no. Of course not. Old habits died hard, but Max was gone, and the easy rapport between Georg and Elsa, who counted on him for financial advice, was nothing more than a distant memory.

Lately, she'd begun to wonder if she'd ever really known Georg at all. For instance, even before her ill-fated trip to Salzburg, Elsa ad Georg had nearly come to blows over the matter of the Nazis. There wasn't any way to stop them, she would tell him. You must learn to be a realist! Let them think you're on their side. The planet is full of all kinds of crazy people, she'd argued, and you're a fool to worry about anyone but yourself.

"I can't worry only about myself, Elsa. There is the matter of my children," he'd objected, but mildly. Georg's children were charming enough, but it hadn't seemed to Elsa that he was all that fond of his children, always rushing back to Salzburg to hire new governesses as quickly as possible before retreating to Vienna. He'd been a bit of a riddle back then, the grieving widower who nonetheless seemed keen to gossip, soak himself in champagne and waltz clumsily around Vienna's glittering salons.

But once Elsa had a chance to observe him in his native habitat near Salzburg, Georg was less of a riddle, revealed to be a dewy-eyed idealist, sentimental about trees, birds, his children, edelweiss and the Austrian flag, while stubbornly refusing to compromise. "I will not bow my head to men I despise," he'd nearly shouted at her at one point.

But hadn't Elsa had been stubborn in her own way too? She had clung to the idea of the Georg she wanted to be in love with and marry, while failing to see the real man right in front of her, a man apparently searching for very different things out of life. When she caught herself brooding about the loss of Georg's respect and affection, it always helped to remember all the things he hadn't been able to give her.

And now it was her turn! Her turn to be escorted by someone capable of navigating the changes facing Austria without pouting. Her turn to be adored by a man who needed her desperately, a man who might bring meaning into her life. Her turn to have a man who wanted to be in her bed!

Once again, the telephone intruded on Elsa's thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Baroness Schrader?"

"This is Baroness Schrader," she said crisply.

"This is Herr Apfel."

A quarter-hour of pleasantries later, Elsa found herself accepting an invitation to attend the opera tonight, as a guest in the box of a German businessman called Herr Apfel, who claimed to be a university chum of Henrik's. She couldn't remember Henrik having mentioned him, but even if he had, it would have been a very, very long time ago. Apfel sounded pleasant and cultured enough, a cut above the Nazis she'd encountered.

The clock on the landing chimed five. Even though it was too early to get ready, it was never too early to think about what to wear tonight. It was the letter from Max that had put her in this mood, Elsa thought, lighting another cigarette. It wasn't good for anyone to be alone with only thoughts about the past for company.

An evening at the opera would be just the thing.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Well, there you have it. When I wrote this story, which was supposed to be about M&G, I wasn't really thinking about E. But so many reviewers wondered where she is in this scenario, and it was fun to think about that question without making her either a cardboard villain or a pathetic loser. Figuring out that Elsa might have had financial woes helped resolve things for me. As did highlighting M&G's disagreements about the Nazis, for which I borrowed heavily from "No Way To Stop It" from the stage version of TSOM and I know will delight one of my reviewers. Finally, let's not forget that Elsa could not have trashed M&G without humiliating herself. (Note that Elsa got a few things wrong: she's wrong about the Nazis, obv, and she imagines that Georg stayed away from Maria until they were able to marry).

Still and all, I wonder if Elsa is fooling herself here and was still, always, a little bit in love with Georg. What do you think?

By now I hope it's quite clear that I don't own TSOM and I do this for love.