As the door closed after the Baroness, Maria leaned heavily against her bed, her head swimming. The series of events of the past few hours had now added confusion and erratic emotions to her already terrible day.
She had been quietly battling a sore throat for days, but that morning she had awoken feeling weak. Never one to lay in bed all day, however, she had determinedly pushed off the covers and gone about her duties, cajoling her seven charges to stay away from the kitchen and dining room where dozens of servants were bustling about, preparing for the evening's festivities.
By the time evening came, a headache had been added to her troubles. Trying not to mar the children's excitement, however, Maria suffered in silence. When Kurt asked for a dancing lesson on the Ländler, she had in vain tried to excuse herself. But then his father had stepped in, and for a few short minutes, Maria had forgotten her ailments as she floated through the night air with the Captain and gazed into his eyes. All of a sudden, however, she became aware that her heart was beating at least twice as quickly as it should have and that her breath was completely gone, forcing her to back away from her employer and the joy that she had felt in his arms. One of the children commented that her face was all red; Maria quickly attributed it to her lack of recent dancing experience.
After the young Von Trapps had sung the song they had so carefully practiced, Maria had turned towards the stairs with alacrity. Finally, bedtime was approaching. She did not remember the last time she had so looked forward to her pillows and blankets. Herr Detweiler, however, derailed her plans, insisting that she be his dinner partner. Maria resisted, but when Georg – the Captain – issued an invitation as well, she found herself consenting to join the party. She could not imagine disappointing him.
But all of the torments of the day did not compare with the one waiting for her in her bedroom as she ransacked her closet. The Baroness had come into the chamber, presumably to help her pick out an appropriate dress…and had ended up insinuating that it was high time that Maria stopped attracting the Captain's attentions to herself. Ashamed, in a flash, Maria saw what needed to be done. She needed to leave – to flee – before her foolish inclinations towards the Captain drove any further wedges between him and the children's future mother.
There was no time for rest. Blinking away tears and ignoring the poundings of her heart and head, Maria quickly crammed her personal possessions into a carpetbag, wrote a quick farewell letter, and packed up her guitar. Putting on a jacket and hat, she prepared to steal away into the night.
Guitar case and carpetbag and letter in hand, she crept out of her room and started to make her way down the hallway, trying to make as little sound as possible as she passed the children's rooms. A few feet from the stairs, however, her worn out frame had had enough. Darkness covered her vision, and she fell on the floor unconscious, as strains of dinner music wafted through the air from the first floor.
Hoping to post the next chapter relatively soon. This is my first Sound of Music fanfiction, so reviews would be greatly appreciated!