The Gates of Belvedere
"When you can unlock your dream life, your waking life will follow."
― Thomas Lloyd Qualls,
Georg had made his way beyond the city limits of Salzburg and was headed off through the countryside towards Vienna. He was still unsettled after encountering the little Fraulein outside of the villa this morning. He kicked himself, knowing he must have looked like a fool the way he stared blankly at her when he had caught her wandering the grounds.
He had toyed with the idea of speaking with her again before he left, but he couldn't find the words and his feet felt like lead. Images from the dream he had last night were kicked to the front of his mind and he was too embarrassed to face her. Instead, he had made a hasty retreat to his car. Pulling out onto the road, he was overcome with the same feelings he encountered yesterday when he found her in the ballroom. Was it dread…intrigue? He could not put his finger on it.
The way she looked back at him was entirely unsettling. She had crystal blue eyes that were laser sharp in their focus, like they missed nothing. He had a sense that she could read his thoughts had she been able to look long enough. No one had looked at him that way since…well…since…dare he even think it?
Those crystal blue eyes also seemed to reveal Fraulein Maria's inner thoughts. It was obvious that almost everything she thought or felt came directly out of her mouth with no filter. However, the few thoughts she did keep to herself were displayed quite clearly in her eyes. There had been a moment in his study yesterday when he was explaining trills and warbles and she seemed to have become terribly agitated. A deep flush started to rise from the neckline of her dress to eventually cover her face and she had to tear her gaze away from him. Could it be? What on Earth was she thinking? He could swear he knew that look and what her thoughts were, but for God's sake she was a postulant! Since when did he have such a hard time reading women?
Georg tried to focus on the road again, thinking about Elsa Schraeder at the journey's end. Looking out of the window to his right, he was awestruck at the way the sunlight was falling between the mountains and across the valley floor. It was a glorious morning and the sun rising over the mountains simply had to be enjoyed; he decided to let loose a little bit. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and quickly put the convertible top down.
Settling back into his seat again, he accelerated back onto the road and let the wind whistle through his hair. The rush of the wind reminded him of those cool and blustery days standing atop his submarine. The bright sun and the blue-blue sky above reflected in the blue-blue waters. Driving in the open air was the closest thing he currently had to those wonderful experiences.
With all these thoughts about the blueness of his sea, it didn't take long for the little Fraulein to return to his thoughts. Her recalled how her blush was so endearing; that coupled with her huge, blue, lemur-like eyes, he found himself musing about other qualities she had that might please him... He glanced in the rear-view mirror and scowled at himself for thinking such things.
It had only been about 18 hours since they first met the little Fraulein, and every waking hour since he had thought about her, considered her, pondered her. How does one solve a problem like Fraulein Maria?
Granted, sometimes he was angry with her: the whole debacle with the children dancing about in her room was infuriating. Other times he had been intrigued: she was already fiercely protective of his children. Asking when they played, avoiding the revelation of the pinecone at all costs, or making up excuses for Liesl.
In such a short period of time he realized that there were times when he was terribly attracted to her. Dare he say he desired her? He had not felt this way since….well…it had been a long time. The way she had looked at him when she blew her whistle and asked for his signal? That look had haunted him in his dreams.
Fraulein Maria was an intriguing mass of contradictions in a very pretty package. True, she wasn't a traditional beauty compared to how women of the aristocracy carried themselves. They were made-up and gaudy, not a hair out of a place. He had so many of those women practically throwing themselves at his feet after Agathe had died, and it continued even to this day, even in Elsa's presence.
Elsa was beautiful, but in a way, she was higher maintenance than he would have liked. After years in the Navy, he had developed an uncanny ability to read his men like a book, and he found that this intuition applied to Elsa, as well. Georg felt that she was always worried about saying the right thing to him, rarely demonstrating her true personality. He missed the freshness of conversation with Agathe terribly. She had pushed his buttons and added some much-needed zest to his life. They could banter for hours about music, literature, the children…it was all so easy. Georg realized now that he took those wonderful days for granted.
Elsa flirted with him continuously and shamelessly, her eyelashes fluttering and she would tuck her chin into her chest and look up at him like a lost puppy. She was certainly good company, intelligent and witty. However, he wished he knew what Elsa really thought about things. Elsa's life was a patchwork quilt of parties, fashion, champagne, and waltzing. Georg also realized that did she did not seem to have a motherly bone in her body.
The only thing she had ever pressed him on was considering boarding school for the children. Likely because she would stand to benefit if the children were sent away and were out of her hair. Georg shook his head. He knew he could never send them away. That was one promise to Agathe that he would keep.
At the other end of the spectrum, there was the new governess. Georg hadn't known her for very long, but it was already very apparent to him that Maria was natural, simple, and bright. Just yesterday afternoon, he had her turn in a circle to confirm for his addled brain that he was seeing what he was seeing. After months of dragging himself to so many parties and get togethers, he craved simplicity, and she seemed to embody that mode de vie which he missed so terribly. If he were to close his eyes, he could imagine how the sun would glow on her auburn hair while they took walks in the country, how her freckles would darken on a summer day, and how those long lashes would settle on her cheeks when she dozed off to sleep.
The little Fraulein never hesitated to give her opinion, that he had figured out right away. It was refreshing to be in the company of someone who didn't cower in his presence, who wasn't worried about pleasing him. In so many ways, Fraulein Maria reminded him of Agathe when they were first courting. In one moment, she had him mesmerized, and in the very next, he found himself irritated with her forthrightness. She was the perfect package and he was so blessed to have called her his wife.
Georg drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in frustration. He had caught himself daydreaming about the governess again. Even worse, he found himself comparing her to Agathe. They had not even spent a whole day together and he was seemingly besotted and incensed with her all at the same time. What the hell was wrong with him? He ran his fingers through his hair trying to tame his locks as they battered about in the wind.
ooOoo
Within short order, Georg found himself in Boheimkirchen, a quaint little town almost at the halfway point between Salzburg and Vienna. He had little recollection of the actual drive to this point, save for his observation of how the light fell in the valley as the summer solstice approached just before he had turned the roof down. Christ! He could have run over a herd of mountain goats and would have had no idea! How did he get here so soon? This little Fraulein had truly got under his skin. Thankfully, Max would be able to pull him back to reality for the remainder of the drive, and then there would be Elsa's company when he arrived in Vienna.
Georg pulled up to the Boheimkirchen Banhoff. Turning into the angled parking lot, he crept in slowly and put the car in park and killed the engine. Really, Max could have just taken the train to Vienna, but since Georg was driving through, Max convinced him to stop and pick him up. Tomorrow Elsa was hosting another of her little soirées. He hated parties, but in the recent past, they had provided a good distraction from his pain.
With every new woman that flirted with him, with each gaggle of middle-aged women who pushed their daughters in his direction, the firmer he was in his conviction that no one could ever replace Agathe. Elsa was the only woman he had let near him, proximity-wise, but he still could not let her too close to him emotionally. He and Elsa had settled into an easy relationship and she never made demands of him that he could not meet.
He knew that the children needed a strong female influence and he was willing to make some personal sacrifices to get his family life back in order. He wasn't necessarily convinced that the children would take to Elsa as a stepmother, nor was he sure she would eagerly adopt the role of guardian and figurehead in the family. However, he really could not say anything good about his parenting skills of late, so perhaps if they worked together, they could start to make a difference.
Georg scanned the sidewalk and the crowds coming and going from the station, hoping to catch Max's eye so they could get on their way to Vienna. He was certain that once he got to Vienna, all these intrusive thoughts about the Fraulein would disappear so he was anxious to keep moving. Max, however, was rarely on time for anything and was as undisciplined an adult as anyone could find. Georg laughed to himself when he realized how different he and his token sibling were.
Georg had first met Max Detweiler aboard the S.M.S. Zenta and they became fast friends. Georg rarely made strong friendships with anyone in the Navy, let alone with a subordinate. It was something that just didn't happen. Yet, there was just something about Max that was appealing. His personality, his brutal honesty, his jokes, his running mouth, his ability to dig up important information. Yes, Max was certainly an asset in more ways than one.
The Detweiler clan originally hailed from Switzerland, but for decades they had lived as citizens of the Empire. Max's father ran a pleasure boat enterprise that ferried passengers up and down the Danube, and he also owned boats on the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Seine. If one river was a good money-making endeavour, then three or four was obviously better! Georg laughed to himself as he remembered Walter, Max's father. He was just as much a charming sponge as his eldest son. Max had certainly inherited his father's sense of humour and his knack for spotting money-making activities.
In the early days aboard the Zenta, he recalled the long evenings when Max would tell him jokes, recount stories about the many musical acts that had performed on his father's boats, and chat about all the interesting people he had met. Many contemporary stars of the greatest opera halls of Europe had started their careers on Walter Detweiler's boats.
While Max had zero musical talent himself, he certainly had an ability to recognize it in others. In fact, Max's keen observation skills were just one of the many reasons he was such an asset in the Navy, even if he lacked the self-regulation to excel at times. He didn't miss much, so Georg came to rely on him often to provide important insights and observations. However, sitting back and watching talented people make money for him was a longstanding dream of his, not ordering a motley crew of men about a vessel.
Max certainly didn't have the drive to be a naval commander, he much preferred the social aspects of Navy life. He did develop some important skills, however. He became an exceptional telegraph operator and a surprisingly decent spy. On land leave he would dig up all sorts of seemingly insignificant details that ultimately ended up inside the head of Georg Von Trapp, and with them, he was able to do wonderful things. Any advantage to understand the enemy, the local geography, prevailing weather, etc. gave him the upper hand while hunting enemy ships.
When Georg was given command of his first submarine, Max remained above the sea on the Zenta. Although their subsequent assignments had separated them, they always stayed in touch and enjoyed their shore leaves together. Eventually they reunited several years later while serving on a submarine mission.
After the Great War and the collapse of the Navy, it was no wonder Max had chosen to take up telegraph work on land, eventually moving into the construction of telephone lines and returning to his first love of hustling musical talent on the side. Through his musical efforts and his work in the telegraph and the telephone industries, he became an acquaintance of Hugo von Hofmannsthal, one of the founding fathers of the Salzburg Festspiele. Herr Von Hofmannsthal, along with Herr Max Reinhardt and the great composer, Richard Strauss, had turned sleepy Salzburg into Continental Europe's "music central". Eventually, Max ditched his ambitions to sell telephone service to the upper crust of Austria and focused primarily on scouting talent and living off the spoils of his wealthy friends.
Although they had entirely different personalities, Max and Georg became inseparable, spending shore leave and holidays together. Max had been in attendance the day Georg's submarine was christened by Agathe Whitehead, the woman who would eventually become his wife and the light of his life. With a bit of encouragement from Max, the rest was history. Max served as Georg's Best Man when he married Agathe.
Years later, it would be Max who would introduce Georg to Elsa Schraeder. While he could never love her the way he loved Agathe, he had to admit that she had pulled him out the dark place he had been in for so long. She was all class. Suave, intelligent, well-connected, and definitely well-dressed. They had spent a considerable amount of time together in Vienna attending parties and balls, mingling with the upper crust of Viennese society.
No matter what he did, Georg felt like he was trying to escape from something. Although he was madly active, there was always something missing. Obviously, Agathe left his heart in tatters and her absence was always palpable, but he tried to push thoughts of her away, thinking it would help him in the long run. When in Salzburg, Georg ached to be in Vienna, and when he was in Vienna, he ached to be in Salzburg. Fortunately, or not, he did have his stays in Vienna punctuated by regular return trips home to see to the hiring of a new governess. He recalled that his troubles really began when he started seeing Elsa regularly, and Governess #7 had had quite enough of his absences and decided to take a job with the Strauss family.
Elsa's first husband, Heinrich Schraeder was a wealthy Swiss railway Baron who had been close friends with Max's father, Walter. He had chosen to invest a rather significant inheritance from a wealthy uncle in transportation. He and some wealthy acquaintances began building an alpine railway under the Simplon Pass in 1906. The first railway line in Switzerland had been constructed between Zurich and Baden in the mid-1800s, and from that point on, private investors like Heinrich began linking smaller towns and blasting holes in mountains to improve the transportation network around the country. Eventually the Swiss government bought up all these private lines and connected them under one national corporation. Heinrich did very well for himself in the sale of his lines, and he took his money and moved to Vienna to retire early. It was there he met Elsa whose extended family had owned a hotel in Vienna.
Elsa had been born into a wealthy family, most famously known for their primary real estate asset the Hotel Sacher. Elsa's maternal uncle, Franz Sacher was a famous pastry chef who opened the hotel in 1876. Generations of Sachers worked at the hotel, Elsa included, although she worked less for the money and more for the social aspects of the job. She enjoyed the comings and goings at the hotel, helping to organize wedding receptions, balls, and parties. It was at a reception at the Sacher that she had planned where she met Heinrich, sixteen years her senior. They fell deeply in love and were married 18 months later. All at once she went from being a relatively well-off society woman to one of one of the wealthiest in Vienna. When Heinrich died six years ago, he left her with a terrible fortune.
Max had been introduced to Elsa by his father, who regularly visited with Heinrich even after his marriage to Elsa. Max and Elsa became fast friends and often found themselves in the same social circles in Vienna as Max mingled with the Reinhardts and the other important movers and shakers in music in Vienna. Both of them enjoyed each other's company and Heinrich had always adored Max. Elsa particularly enjoyed Max's joie-de-vivre and he always had such wonderful gossip that she was more than happy to take part in.
Georg laughed at how influential an entertainer and charming sponge like Max Detweiler was in his life's path. The connections he had made with Max on a Navy ship had eventually led to relationships with the two most important women in his adult life.
Snapping out of his recollections and back to the present, out of the corner of his eye he saw a young woman on the sidewalk. She had long strawberry blonde hair that was swept up in a bun and she was wearing a flowy blue sundress. Georg did a double take. For a moment he was certain he had just seen Fraulein Maria, but of course, the woman's hair was all wrong and he was 250km from home.
The woman looked left and right before stepping off the curb to cross the street and they made brief eye contact. Although she had blue eyes, it most certainly was not the little Fraulein. Georg was taken by the colour and shade of her dress and how it had accentuated her blue eyes. "Damn! That blue-blue reminds me of the Adriatic. It reminds me of her."
There was a 'tap-tap' on the passenger side door of the car and Georg looked away from the woman in blue dress and noted Max peering at him with his nose practically in the front seat of the car. Max laughed heartily at Georg's surprised face and opened the door to throw his luggage on the back seat. Max slid into the front seat and gave Georg a knowing smile. "Well, my friend, I see you are taking in some of the glorious sights at the Banhoff" he wiggles his eyebrows as he glanced in the woman's direction and quickly back to Georg.
"Max, you are outrageous!" Georg retorted.
"Not at all, not at all!" Max laughed heartily.
Georg backed the car out of the parking spot and soon he and Max were on their way to Vienna. The conversed cheerfully about Max's latest hunt to find talent to enter in the Folk festival that would be taking place again this summer. For a festival that had been rather hit and miss for forty years, it had become the pre-eminent music festival in Europe since Reinhardt and his contemporaries had become involved in 1920. Stars were made at the Festival and no longer on boats, and Max was hoping beyond hope that managers to the stars would also be born there.
Once the latest updates about all things musical had dried up, Max changed the subject to more interesting news back in Salzburg.
"So, Georg, how is the new governess working out? This is, um, number twelve now, I think? Could be an Austrian record, you know! However, it seems that you have managed to keep someone in place now for…" Max glanced down at his watch and did a little bit of mental math. "…almost 24 hours, that is certainly an improvement over the last one!"
Georg swallowed hard and tried to be as nonchalant about Fraulein Maria as possible. After all, if you gave Max a tiny nugget of intelligence, he did have the ability to predict things you may not wish to know! He had done it before, after all! This was one of the hazards of being close friends with Max Detweiler: he often knew what was going on inside your head before you did.
"Yes, it seems that she has done quite well for herself - outlasted the children's pranks so far. At first, I wasn't convinced she would last very long, given how skilled the children are in scaring off new governesses. Mind you, things changed suddenly after dinner, and dare I say, they seemed to be getting along." Georg smiled inwardly as he realized the antics at the dinner table could hardly be considered 'getting along', but by that point, the little Fraulein seemed to be figuring out his brood.
Georg continued his simplified version of the Governess' first hours at the villa. "Last night after lights out I had to break up some festivities in her room as she and the children were all singing and dancing in their pajamas. I might have fired her on the spot if I didn't have to be here today to pick you up" he said caustically with a wicked half grin.
"Ha!" replied Max. "You mean you're more excited to pick me up than to be in Vienna for Elsa's party tomorrow?" Max knew how much Georg loathed big parties. He had always been one for more intimate gatherings. "But enough about that. What is it you just said about singing? Your new governess can sing? More importantly, can she sing well?". Max stroked his moustache while he was deep in thought. "I thought you had done away with that sort of thing?"
Georg could not help but chuckle. "Yes, Max, that is true, but this new governess has a mind of her own and a mouth that does not hesitate to speak it. In many ways, she reminds me of you!"
"Interesting. Perhaps this little Fraulein would like to explore opportunities to possibly become a sensation at the Festival this year. Under my tutelage, of course!" Max replied.
"Actually, Max" Georg chided, "the new governess is a nun-in-training, so I don't think that's really up her alley".
Max just about choked. "A nun, Georg? What were you thinking?"
"Not a nun, but a nun-in-training. This one is a postulant; she hasn't taken her vows yet." Georg winced inwardly, hoping she would not lock herself up in that Abbey. It would be such a waste.
"I have tried every other possible avenue for hiring governesses." Georg continued. "Experts in child psychology, renowned Austrian educators, British nannies with exceptional references... None of them could figure out my children. Well, maybe #1 and #7, but I can't even take credit for the first one, that was all Agathe's choosing. Anyway, I figured since there are no women in the Navy, perhaps Nonnberg would be my second-best choice if I wished to find someone who was strong-willed, disciplined, and backed by a higher power".
Max laughed heartily as he started to sketch out an image of the new governess in his mind, fresh from the convent. Actually, not very fresh, he thought, turning up his nose. He suspected this one must look a lot like the previous governesses, middle-aged, hard-faced and sturdy, but wearing a wimple instead of the traditional grey and tweed suits. Ah, but she can sing…!
"Let me guess, Georg, this one looks a great deal like #10, but is devoted to God and not to you!". Max roared in laughter at his own joke.
"Very funny, Max!" Georg bit into his lower lip trying to decide if he should burst Max's bubble and tell him what the new governess actually looked like. Instead, he decided to try something safer. "She is very unique and does not look anything like you are probably imagining. Much younger than even I expected. Short hair, which on its own is tad eccentric, but she is rather spritely. Appears already to be very brave and loyal to my children. She doesn't have too many redeeming qualities that would server her well as a future nun," he said in an outright lie. "But, I will give her credit where credit is due, she seems to have been able to connect with the children in a way no one has for some time".
Georg gritted his teeth trying to tamp down his desires and looked out the window as the buildings zoomed by. There was a great deal about her he did appreciate. He ran his fingertips slowly along his lips, savouring the memories of his dream, and breathing deeply.
"Come now, Georg, surely she looks something like a nun?"
"Far from it Max, I dare say even you will be rendered speechless. Mostly because the woman does not stop talking, so there will be little opportunity for you to get a word in edgewise. I dare say once we return, dinner will never be the same with the two of you around the table."
"Oh there must be a compliment in there somewhere, isn't there?" Max turned to him and smiled widely. "I do look forward to meeting her and hearing her sing, especially!"
As they left the built-up area of Boheimkirchen and onto the open roads that would lead them to Vienna, Max started to talk about his mid-week get together with Herr Bruno Walter, the great conductor and he recounted their arrangement to hopefully develop new and exciting ideas for the Festival. Georg drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he realized his earlier prediction had been correct. It would be almost impossible to ponder the problem that was Fraulein Maria in Max's company once he changed the subject to things other than the governess.
ooOoo
Several hours later, Georg and Max arrived in Vienna. Both men had settled into their usual rooms at the Hotel Sacher and Georg decided he should telephone Elsa to let her know he and Max had arrived. Elsa's butler had answered and she quickly came on the line, her voice low and sultry as she told him how much she had missed him. They were planning to go out for dinner to a quiet patio that served Italian al fresco. They confirmed their rendezvous time and he hung up the phone and proceeded to pour himself a glass of Courvoisier before unpacking his things.
It had turned out to be a small victory for the ex-Sea Captain. Normally Elsa would not even consider eating outdoors, but this time around he had somehow managed to convince her. They planned to meet outside the Sacher just before 6pm and they would walk down to the restaurant that flanked the Wienfluss, a stone's throw from the Strauss II monument. Georg always enjoyed walking through the park and it would be nice to have dinner there and try to forget about everything going on at the villa.
Earlier that morning, he was hardly speaking in jest when he chatted with Frau Schmidt about the tendency of the Von Trapp governesses to flee just as he was getting settled in his hotel. On several occasions, governesses had resigned while he was en route to Vienna, and he was greeted at the front desk by a telegram from Frau Schmidt informing him that yet another one had already flown the coop. So far, so good with Fraulein Maria! He shook his head as he tried to shake her image from his mind.
Sitting in the big chair by the window, he looked across the Albertinaplatz and gazed at the figures in the Albrechtsbrunnen Fountain. Although the Pallas Athene Fountain was his favourite in Vienna, this one was a close second. Like the Athena, this architectural delight represented his Empire: the relationship between the city of Vienna, the Danube, the Inn, The Tisza, the Mur, and the Salzach Rivers among others. For a Navy man, it was the epitome of the vast power and geography of the Empire. Well, the vast power and geography it had once occupied before the Great War had substantially shrunk its borders and taken away its coast lines.
The statue representing the Salzach River swiftly dragged his thoughts back to Salzburg and to Fraulein Maria earlier that morning. Even Max seemed to be intrigued and he didn't know half of the story of Fraulein Maria. Georg was, indeed, still distracted by the new governess back at home, and although he tried his best to appear as though the ship was sailing smoothly, it was a constant struggle. Normally Georg was so in control of his thoughts and feelings and he was irritated with himself for his lack of self-discipline.
For Georg, it seemed that he saw her everywhere, even with his eyes closed. First, it was the woman outside the Banhoff in the blue dress, and just as he went to ride up the lift to his floor, a young woman with her hair trimmed to her ears sauntered out, giving him the once over. When he closed his eyes, he constantly replayed visions of the way she had studied him in the gloomy light of the ballroom, her cheeky salute, the whistle, and the pinecone incident. He was also intrigued: so many governesses would have failed by this point, they would be waving the white flag, but not this one. There was so much he wished to understand.
As a Navy man, he could not rest until he understood what he was up against. Knowledge was power. Georg grimaced. He could not understand how this woman had managed to get under his skin in so little time. Never before had visions of any woman, save for Agathe, intruded his thoughts at all hours. Why this one? He sighed and ran his fingers along the knot in his tie as he loosened it, contemplating getting dressed for dinner.
Elsa was the answer. Dinner with Elsa would ground him again and help him to forget.
He would try very hard to forget.