When The Lord Closes A Door

Chapter 3

Georg finished the rest of his errands and drove back to the villa. The rest of the day had seemed like a blur and he'd had trouble concentrating in all his meetings since he'd run into Maria earlier that morning. He was still trying to get his head around the fact that she had been planning on returning to the villa all those months ago but hadn't due to seeing his engagement notice in the newspaper.

Damn! Georg thought to himself as he got out of the car and slammed the door shut. While it had seemed like the right thing to do at the time and the expected thing to do, he now knew what a mistake he'd made by marrying Elsa. When two people talk of marriage… no. He shook his head. How could he have married someone when he was in love with someone else? He felt like a fool and that he'd been utterly unfair to everyone involved. To Elsa – she was now married to a man who wasn't in love with her; she deserved so much more. And to Maria – she had such a capacity to love and now he couldn't show her how to spend her love since he was now married to someone else.

Georg rubbed his temples. He had a headache and he desperately needed a drink.

Opening the front door, he was greeted by Frau Schmidt who told him that Elsa was waiting for him on the terrace. Great, he thought. Just what he needed. Letting out a deep sigh, Georg placed his hat on the side table and strode through the main hallway out onto the terrace.

Elsa was sitting at the patio table having her customary late afternoon cigarette. Seeing Georg arrive, however, she quickly put it out knowing how much he detested her smoking.

"Georg, darling," she gushed as she stood to greet him. She offered her cheek to him which he dutifully kissed. "How was your day?" she asked sweetly.

"Fine," Georg replied, lying through his teeth. "Busy."

"Yes, of course it was. You did tell me how many things you needed to do after we were away for so long. Did you pick up my fabric?" Elsa inquired. "I'm dying to see it."

Georg shut his eyes and groaned. He had been on his way to pick it up when he'd bumped into Maria. After Maria had said goodbye, Georg was so intent on getting to his next meeting that he'd forgotten about the fabric. "I'm sorry Elsa. I got side-tracked and forgot to pick it up."

Elsa frowned. "But Georg, my appointment is with the dressmaker first thing in the morning. I need that fabric."

Georg let out a weary sigh. It was the last thing he wished to deal with at that moment. "Perhaps we can go into town a little earlier so we can pick it up along the way."

Elsa pursed her lips and looked displeased. "Georg, my appointment is at 10 and you know how much I detest getting up early. I really don't think I'll be ready to go into town much earlier."

Georg wearily pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to come up with a solution. "How about this: I'll go into town early and pick up the fabric and I'll get Franz to drive you to your dressmaker and I'll meet you there."

Elsa brightened up right away. "Perfect. Thank you darling." She squeezed his arm. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to freshen up and dress for dinner." She gave him a little smile then left him alone on the terrace.

Later that night, Georg made his way outside onto the upper balcony overlooking the lake. His mind still swam with the memories of bumping into Maria earlier that day, learning that she hadn't become a nun and that she felt something for him too. He also felt the burden of realising his big mistake in marrying Elsa weighing heavily on his mind. At dinner, he'd barely eaten a thing; too pre-occupied with all his thoughts that he'd just pushed the food around his plate.

As Georg gazed out over the lake, the moonlight glistening over the water, he could almost imagine Maria strolling down below along the lakeside, her hair blowing in the breeze and wearing the light blue chiffon dress she'd worn the night of the puppet show. She had looked so lovely that night and he remembered feeling so drawn to her that he could barely take his eyes off her. Knowing there was no way he'd ever be able to look at her like that again, Georg felt at a loss, like he was mourning everything that could have been.

So deep in thought that he barely noticed Elsa arrive on the balcony too, dressed in the most dazzling red, sparkly frock.

"There you are!" she exclaimed brightly coming to stand next to him. He didn't reply, merely glanced over in her direction and gave her a forced smile. He really wished to be alone, but he couldn't tell Elsa to go away without revealing to her what was really on his mind. He hoped she would get the hint and leave him to his thoughts, but she did not.

Elsa could sense Georg was distracted. She stood silently beside him as he leant his forearms on the balustrade and continued to gaze out over the lake. Elsa was an observant woman and she could sense that Georg wasn't himself. He'd hardly said a word throughout dinner and had been avoiding her ever since. It was unlike him to be this distant, even when he was in one of his dark moods.

"I really must speak to cook about the Wiener schnitzel," she remarked brightly, trying to generate conversation. "It's entirely too delicious for my figure." Georg gave her another weak smile but continued to say nothing. "And it makes you far too quiet at the dinner table," she quickly pointed out.

Elsa reached out and tickled his arm gently. Finally, she got a smile out of Georg. Deciding to probe a bit further, she asked. "Was it the wine?"

"Oh, undoubtedly the wine," Georg agreed but began to look out over the lake again.

Elsa began to feel quite concerned. She was at a little bit of a loss of what to do next. She began to chatter away about the various wedding gifts she'd bought for him: the villa in the south of France and the yacht moored nearby in the Mediterranean and how she'd like to return there soon once the weather warmed up a little. But Georg remained distracted, merely nodding and adding the obligatory umms and ahhs when prompted.

Still trying to get him to talk, she sided up close to him. "You're far away, where are you?" she probed gently.

"In a world that's disappearing," Georg replied softly turning to look at her properly for the first time since she'd arrived on the balcony.

"Is there anything I can do to bring you back to the world I'm in?" Elsa asked. Georg merely shrugged then looked away out over the lake again.

Elsa bit down on her lip. The only other thing she knew to do to get his attention was to flaunt herself at him. Georg was a passionate man and perhaps spending some well-needed time in bed together would lift his mood. "You know I can sense that you're not really in the mood for talking tonight," she told him caressing her hand slowly up and down his arm seductively.

"Elsa…" Georg began to protest wearily. He knew what she was vying at.

"No, darling, don't say another word," Elsa murmured as she reached up to cup Georg's face with her hand. Slowly she turned his face towards hers and she placed a deep, long, lingering kiss on his lips. "Let's go inside, shall we?" she asked, taking his hand and starting to guide him back into the house.

Almost powerless to resist, Georg obediently followed his wife inside.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A little time later, Elsa sat up in bed and let out a sigh of frustration. "Is everything alright, Georg? You're certainly not yourself tonight."

"I'm fine," Georg growled back. But he was anything but fine. Elsa's attempts at seduction just weren't working. As much as he wanted to be able to give her what she needed, the truth was, he just wasn't in the mood for sex and there was no hiding it from her since his body was completely failing to respond to her attentions.

Seeing Elsa's crestfallen and disappointed face, he felt bad. It wasn't her fault that his mind was elsewhere. He sat up as well to face her then gently caressed her face. "I'm sorry Elsa. It's been a long and exhausting day and I suppose I'm just a little tense." He quickly kissed her on the lips.

Elsa looked at him, feeling hopeful that she could change how he was feeling. She ran one finger down his bare chest. "Is there anything I can do to help you relax?"

Wanting to try and find some sort of mood to please her, he replied, "possibly."

"Alright then," Elsa purred. Pushing her palms against his chest, she forced him back onto the pillows. "Lie back darling and let me do all the work."

She climbed on top of him to straddle his waist and Georg's eyes combed over her body which was attired in a slip of revealing, lacy lingerie. As much as Elsa looked attractive, he couldn't help but think how much more alluring she'd be if she'd allowed him to actually remove the delicate sheath of material. Never once in their married life had she permitted him to see her completely naked, always preferring to make love wearing any number of different coloured negligees.

Georg closed his eyes, trying to immerse himself in the sensation of Elsa kissing his neck and chest. But as he did, his mind started to drift and he began to wonder, if he'd ever had had the chance to take Maria into his bed, whether she would be the type to prefer sexy lingerie like Elsa, or be bold enough to appear before him in all her naked glory.

Georg groaned at the idea of being naked with Maria and at once he felt his body spring to life. He heard Elsa murmuring her approval at his arousal and she continued her kisses and caresses. Georg then reached out to run his fingers through her hair, only to be frustrated that she still had her hair pinned up in stiff curls. He began to imagine what it would be like to instead thread his fingertips through soft, golden hair like Maria's. At the thought of Maria again, he groaned once more and his body became even more aroused.

Although he knew it was Elsa he was in bed with, with his eyes closed, he could almost imagine that it was Maria who was kissing him, touching him and stroking him as his mind began to play out the fantasy that had been invading his dreams for the past few months.

Maria rose up above him; her hair all mussed up and wild, her red and swollen lips slightly parted as she panted softly with the pleasure he was giving her. His fingertips moved frantically across her creamy skin, touching, exploring and pleasuring every inch of her. His blood pulsed hotly through his veins; his body on fire as she rode him, harder and harder until his world exploded…

"Oh Ma…" Georg began to cry out, until he caught himself, suddenly realising where and who he was actually with. "m-my god…" he moaned as his body shuddered with intense pleasure.

Moments later, barely able to gain his bearings or catch his breath, he felt Elsa roll off him to lie next to him on the bed. Still with his eyes closed, he heard her chuckle in his ear, "Well Georg darling, after such a slow start, you are certainly one to rise to the occasion. You never fail to surprise or amaze me with your talents in bed." Elsa leant over and placed a wet kiss on his cheek. "That was wonderful, but I might leave you now to get some rest."

Georg felt the bed shift as Elsa got up. He opened his eyes just to see her finishing wrapping her robe around herself. She blew him a kiss and wished him goodnight, leaving him alone and feeling extremely guilty about what had just happened.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far. Sorry for the delay in updating - busy life and the usual reasons, blah, blah. Please review and let me know what you think of this latest chapter.