'We will use these backstage photographs to pin up above the catwalk' Max instructed her. 'I expect them to be the same standard as always. You capture subjects very well. And Elsa is indeed a worthy subject. She will look sublime.'
Maria had to agree. She took some sample shots when Elsa was practising her route. It wasn't much different from her usual fluid walk but the dress just elicited a slight more wiggle. Maria would be setting up the reel on the day to capture the event but however wonderful the models would look on moving camera, the viewpoint would be static. Here she could take some varied angles of Elsa on her own. The lone model turned to look over her shoulder at the camera. Smiled just for her, captured in a frame. Maria was captivated.
Max clapped.
'Stupendous. You will also lead the models in the final walk at the end. You were created to be my muse.'
'Don't tell my mother' Elsa giggled as she sipped from the glass of white wine he had bade Maria to pour.
'That gargoyle is not invited.'
Elsa laughed harder. Maria wondered what kind of life the Baroness led. Where was her husband? Or was she a wealthy spinster? She'd ask Max later.
'She's a widow. Her elderly husband popped his clogs and left her sitting on pots of cash. She's free to do as she wishes.'
'Did she love him?'
'In her own way. It was an arranged marriage. Lots of men fought for her hand. By all accounts he was a gentleman. A bit of a waste if he couldn't give her children but who knows what goes on behind closed doors?' Max shrugged. 'She's spent a lot of time with Captain von Trapp recently but nothing has happened. She is not lucky in love.'
Maria now understood Elsa's response to Max's Aphrodite comment, thought of the careless goodbye wave, the graceful strut out of the door, leaving the others behind, staring as she drove off into the horizon. She was a catch, most people would agree. Someone hard to forget. Maria sighed, knowing that Elsa made her like most other people.