The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.
-Flora Whittermore
Here's the much longer half of Scissors and Threads. There's a lot of chaos in poor Georg's head that is explored here - I realize that "Georg" seems to be the primary perspective from which this story has drifted, but I just love being privy to the man's thoughts. I hope to change it up a little bit in Chapter 36.
The light was still on in the billiards room.
Why could this woman not learn to turn off a light when she left a room? Georg thought to himself with a laugh and a shake of his head. However, the state of the lighting soon became the least of his problems.
As he entered the doorway, the scene before him was unmitigated chaos, and he had to do his best not to cringe at the mess. There were brown paper tracings, pins and pin cushions, pieces of blue silk piled and bundled. He spotted scissors, cuttings and scraps on the floor, pieces of fabric all carefully laid out, but no sign of the perpetrator of this disaster. He smiled to himself, because what else could he do. She had tested his resolve over and over - to let things go - and this time was no exception.
He walked over to the pool table and picked up a large piece of fabric that she had cut out. He let the silk run between his fingers. It reminded him of sand running through his hands on a big, white beach contrasted against a blue and cloudless sky.
He was at once struck with a vision: Maria at the seaside, walking on the sand, splashing in the waves... Really, the woman was meant for the water. After all, she was quite familiar with his lake in many ways. Perhaps he could take her and the children to the Gulf of Trieste before the summer was up? She needed to see real water before she went back to Nonnberg.
He set the fabric back down and decided to see if he could find her. He flipped off the wall switch before making a start.
Stopping at the kitchen, he poked his head in and looked around the door frame, but not a soul was to be found.
He entered the foyer again and paused, straining his ears to see if he could hear her up in her room, but the villa was eerily quiet. It was a regular occasion to hear her singing behind the closed door of her bedroom as she prepared for bed. How many nights had he stood on the landing just listening to the sound of her voice? Too many to count by this point.
Shrugging his shoulders, he headed out the terrace door in the direction of the gazebo. If he had been out for a walk, or was purposefully looking for her, it was typical to find her out there. On those many quiet evenings he would join her, nestled between the panes of glass in the moonlight; well, until their conversations moved indoors to the sitting room or his study if it got too cool out.
Tonight, the moon was waxing but the stars were shining bright. The frogs, crickets and katydids provided the backdrop to the symphony of the night. A light breeze ruffled his hair, but it was still warm despite the late hour.
He looked at his watch: a quarter before eleven. It was very late, but given the mess she had left, he was quite certain she had not turned in for the evening.
He approached the gazebo but there was clearly no sign of Maria which surprised him. He turned back to the villa and looked towards her bedroom window. By this point in the summer, he had no issues picking it out from the many that lined the upstairs of the house. Her bedroom light was still on (of course!) while Elsa's room lay in darkness. Well, perhaps he had missed Maria somehow and she was already back in the house?
Sighing in defeat, Georg grasped the knot in his tie, rocking it back and forth to loosen it. Once he had managed to create some airspace, he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his crisp, white shirt. He walked along the path that hugged the lake until he reached the boathouse. The water was lapping at the docks and Georg poked his head in and spotted the Louisa in all her glory. His mind soon tumbled back to the day they had all fallen into the lake.
She had looked so happy to see him that afternoon. The unbridled joy on her face! On all of their faces, actually. Until everything came crashing down.
His temper had got the best of him, transforming Georg into a complete ass. The joy had all but vanished when he demanded she remain and face his wrath.
Her dripping wet frame. Her dirndl hugging her curves in all the right places.
His embarrassment, his desire, his internal turmoil all combined into a show of anger that he had not witnessed in himself in quite some time. As he raged, however, he saw it: a spark in her eyes that he had only ever seen while he was in the Navy. A poignant moment when a seaman knows he has nothing to lose. Surrounded by enemies, knowing that he has to pull out the stops - because if they are going to cut you down, you will go down fighting, not bowing out like a coward!
That is when she swooped in and saved him. Giving him the talking to he had not had in almost four years.
Her courage in the face of his cowardice - Georg owed her so much.
He ran his fingers along the fishing poles neatly lined up along the wall. The sentries of the boat house: for almost four years they had stood perfectly still guarding the dory. Since Maria had stormed into their lives, many fish had been caught while she and the children whiled away the summer afternoons along the lake shore. He had joined them the odd time when Elsa's social calendar allowed it, helping the boys to thread their bait onto the hooks while the girls looked on in disgust. He fondly recalled the afternoon last week when Kurt had chased Gretl across the lawn while dangling a very plump and wriggling dew worm between his fingers.
Despite the chaos that Maria seemed to cast wherever she went, it truly was organized chaos.
Bliss, actually.
The children were flourishing under her care. Agathe would have been so happy to see how much Maria loved the children; how she had loved them while he still could not. She would have loved how Maria threaded their lives back together, making quick work of the tear that had developed over the past few years. Just like when the robin gathers random bits of twig, yarn, mud, and grass to create a nest - no, a home - each spring, Maria managed to make something from nothing. Well, it was made from something, because nothing ever came from nothing.
He paused for a moment to remember that dream - the one with Agathe and Maria in the garden. The one that seemed to indicate this was all meant to be. The memories of the apparitions as poignant as the night he first saw them.
Georg eventually arrived at the end of the dock outside the big door, and he looked up at the hulking form of the Untersberg. The snow was long gone; by this point in June, the solstice had come and gone already, but the limestone alps with their beautiful marbles reflected what little moonlight there was as if it was high wintertime.
As he looked to the sky, he found himself remembering again. Walks with Agathe on that mountain, taking the train to the top to Hochthron, looking down on Salzburg. Picnics by the gondola. The way her hair blew about her face. How she cradled each newborn and managed to corral the older children while they romped about.
Oh God, he missed her. But it all felt so very different now.
The memories brought comfort instead of anger, and the little joys bubbled to the surface instead of pain. Agathe had never really left him, just as she had promised. She existed in the form of their seven children, or in the memories of times gone by that he now held dearly in his heart. Thanks to Maria, he knew them all again. Maria had indirectly helped him to find Agathe once more, and somehow, he was able to find closure. He had needed that more than he had realized.
What an ass I've been...
Lost in his reverie, he snapped back to the present and shook his head. Was he hearing things? The sound of music was rising up from the lake. His eyes, so well-trained to find their targets in the inky darkness, followed the direction of the sound until they found the source of that music. There on the far dock, lying on her back looking at the sky, was Maria.
The Queen of the Night.
Could it have been anything else, he wondered with a smile? In the darkness, he could make out the long line of her legs, which sent his mind back to the sensuous curves of the siren he had just pondered in his study; or back to the day that she brought Wolfgang into the world. It was obvious even from his distance that she had her hands behind her head and her legs were crossed at the ankles.
It was odd, really. How quickly he transitioned from thoughts of Agathe and their time together, to thoughts about her. Most of which were highly inappropriate of late. Of course, he knew she was attractive from the moment they met, but it was different now. It wasn't a rogue sailor's desire to lay her bare and have his way with her. It was almost as though he wanted everything she had to offer. He wanted to take his time with her. To show her that ...
Good Lord, he hoped that God wasn't reading his thoughts tonight.
The music, Georg! Focus on the music!
He relished the small pleasure of watching her and listening to her sing without anyone judging him.
There it was again - that itch that he could not scratch, a craving that started deep in his bones.
When she paused for a breath, he could just make out the line of her chest rising before the music continued again.
So bist du meine Tochter nimmermehr.
Aaaaah... meine Tochter nimmermehr.
Aaaaah...
Sot meine Tochter nimmermehr.
It was amazing, really, how she could hit those high notes while singing so quietly. But her passion for the music was evident. After a few moments of just enjoying the sound of her voice, he turned on his heels and headed back into the boathouse to get one of the wool boat blankets from the old cedar chest which he then carried outside under his arm.
Georg wasn't sure how he should let her know he was present without scaring her, but Maria soon ended her aria and took a deep breath. She lay still and then propped herself on one elbow to survey the scene.
"Oh, Captain," Maria exclaimed. "I had a sense someone was here."
Maria always knew when he was nearby. It was just a sense she had, but it was terribly hard to explain just how she knew.
"Apologies, Fraulein. I was just standing over there trying to decide how to approach without scaring the bejeebers out of you. Would you like some company, or would I just be intruding?"
"Of course not, silly. Please join me." Maria moved to sit up, but Georg waved her intentions away as he came near, squatting down to pile up the blanket-turned-pillow on the dock where Maria's head had been. Georg sat beside her before laying himself down on the dock parallel to her body. He allowed himself the gift of proximity - after all, had he moved much farther away, he would have surely tumbled into the water.
Maria sat on the dock dumbfounded as she watched the Captain get comfortable. He soon gestured to her, silently asking her to join him once more. She skillfully lay herself down without falling on him, and she tucked her hands under her head once she realized that if she had extended her fingers alongside her body, she was sure he could reach the tips of his. What was this, Maria wondered? The Captain, lying down on the dock beside her as if it was the most normal of activities for a decorated Knight?
"Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Fraulein?" Georg spoke towards the sky with a laugh.
"Indeed, Captain. A bit of an ear-worm come to life, you could say. You see, I had been working on my dress - that aria in my head the whole time! All the pieces are cut out now - but oh dear Lord, my back was so sore from hovering over the table. I came out here for some fresh air, and honestly, the thought of laying out flat for a while to remove the wrinkles from my spine was just too delightful not to enjoy."
"So, it's going well, then?" Georg replied, being careful to not mention that he had already sought her out in the billiards room and saw for himself all that she had accomplished that evening.
"Yes, of course, thank you. I really needed the space to spread out my things - and it was a good block of time to accomplish something."
"It's a great feeling, isn't it?" he asked.
"What do you mean, Captain?" Maria inquired.
"Making things with your own hands. Creating something from nothing. Well, from something. I mean, I have never sewn a dress, but I have done makeshift submarine repairs with less-than-ideal materials in even less than ideal conditions." he chortled.
"Oh, Captain. I find your life in the Navy to be a handful of contrasts!" Maria blurted out.
"I don't follow, Fraulein?" Georg exclaimed.
"Well, Captain, you know - the joy of the sea, the peacefulness of open water - not that I have really seen such a thing for myself other than the lakes around the Salzkammergut. That contrasted with the fact that you are out there in war. You are stalking them...them stalking you."
"War is not pretty, Fraulein," Georg replied. "I know you understand that. But principles, justice, and honour are far more important than fear in those moments."
He paused before continuing.
"Like now, things are changing, Fraulein. People are being harassed for their beliefs. The Germans are making overtures to Austria, even though the Traité de Saint-Germain-en-Laye forbids us joining them. The poor state of the economy has people looking for quick solutions, but unfortunately, they are looking in the wrong places. I can't believe everything this Empire stood for at one time is beginning to crumble. Countryman vs. countryman is more common than camaraderie."
Maria wasn't sure what to say. Normally she just blurted out the first thing that came to mind, however, this time she was more purposeful in her word choice.
"Your love of this country is admirable, Captain. Your dedication, even more so. I do share your angst; things are changing so quickly and sometimes I wish there was someone to talk to about it all, but these days you don't know who you can trust. Although the Germans are not in Austria, they might as well be. They are sabre rattling, and this hurts us all. It's not the kind of Austria I want for any of us, especially for the children."
"You're right, Fraulein...so, so right." Georg sighed feeling comfortable about his position for the first time in a very long time. Max was always telling him to get along with people while Elsa was always making excuses, encouraging him to look beyond the changes and accept them for the good they would bring.
"You are correct in your assessment that not everyone shares our feelings, Fraulein. I especially have to be careful what I say, and to whom. I may be a great naval hero, but I suspect that alone will not protect me from the winds of change."
"Surely, they won't ask you to serve, Captain?" Maria gasped pondering the possibilities of the children losing their father. "You've been out of service for some time. Not to say you could not, Sir, you're likely as fit as the day you left the Navy."
Where did that come from? Maria wondered to herself. She could feel her cheeks on fire. Thank Heavens the Captain could not see them.
Georg laughed quietly to himself, however, the gravity of the situation soon rendered the humour to dread.
"I am a hero, as much as I hate to say it out loud. It can go one of two ways, I suppose. If Austria strives to defend itself, I will be first in line to serve as a member of my former Emperor's army, mostly as a strategist since my expertise is on the water. The alternative is that Schushnigg just hands the country over, which seems to be more and more likely these days. I heard that Colonel Schneider from Berlin...well, he was just down the road "visiting" a few weeks ago.
If the Germans continue to walk into Austria, I have a sense that I am someone they'd like to make a statement with. You know, the old guard submitting to the new order? The big naval hero is going to join the movement, or else he will be used to demonstrate what happens to people who don't join the cause. Germany has a lot of coastline, Fraulein."
Maria sighed. "Oh, Captain, why does this have to happen now...? The children only recently just found you again. They can't lose you now!"
"Fraulein, if Hitler marches into Austria, I will be marching my children straight out of this country in the opposite direction. I will not forget all that I have fought for. I will never stop loving this land, it's former Emperor, the people who have given their lives building this place. However, I will not submit to their ways, either. I will not be a model soldier in their so-called army and most definitely not in their navy. You have my word that I will not orphan my children once again!" Georg stated firmly.
The enormity of the winds of change were not lost on Maria. Although she could not see the Captain very well in the dark, she could hear the angst in the tone of his voice. The way his words threatened to break when he talked of his love of Austria and his children. Guided by some unknown force, she removed her hands from under her head and extended her arm, gently laying it above his wrist and giving it a gentle squeeze.
Georg could only reply with a "Mmmm", but it gave him considerable comfort to know that Maria was on his side. Someone who thought he was sane of mind. Someone he could talk to and trust.
"Fraulein, it's comforting for me to know you are here and we think alike on these issues," Georg sighed. "I don't feel quite so alone in my beliefs now. You see, Elsa...well...let's just say I know I can trust you. Thank you."
He took his much bigger hand and shimmied it on top of hers, giving a quick squeeze in return before he grasped his hands together again over his chest.
They lay on their backs for a time in companionable silence before Maria could no longer stand it.
"Captain. What did you like the best about being in the Navy?"
Georg smiled to himself. She had this way about her. She could take an uncomfortable situation and still manage to find considerable joy in it. He appreciated how she lightened his mood.
"Well, Fraulein, at first it was adventure! My father had been a Navy man; I learned so much from him. It was just natural that I would go off to the naval academy. The idea of getting out of school and seeing the world inspired me. I went to the Fiume Academy and realized I was home. The more I sailed, the more intimate I became with the waters, the lands that framed them. I met so many people. I met Captains who had years of experience on ships, those who had fought in the Austro-Prussian War or the Italian War of Independence. I befriended hardened men and seasoned sailors who taught me everything I could ever want to know about ships and the ocean. I saw so much of the world from the deck of a ship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
In the years leading up to the Great War, the Navy started to develop U-boats. I read everything I could about them, I talked to submarine captains who were pioneers in the underwater realm. I soon realized that was the place for me. There was just something about it that spoke to me. Being a Captain on a submarine, you are bobbing along in your isolated tin can in the inky waters with a motley crew of wonderful sailors. You are in charge of your own destiny. You take in surveillance and then you make a decision. It's almost like chess in the water. The Navy above the sea is very top down, and sometimes there are stupid ideas from old men who haven't fought a battle in 20 years, but in a submarine, you make your own decisions. A lot of what you do they can't see, there's less immediate praise, for example. I liked that. Eventually, I learned to live for the thrill of the chase. I thrived in that environment."
"The Dread of the Adriatic, hmmm...?" Maria chided.
Georg laughed out loud.
"Haha yes - I see you have read your history books."
Georg turned his head at that moment and tried to study her face despite the darkness.
"I hate that nickname, by the way!" Georg laughed out loud. "I hope you know that although I was known as the Dread, we Navy men were also expected to learn how to waltz and play the violin. We do have some redeeming qualities! Those "arts" skills were just as important as navigation, mechanics, and torpedo operations."
"Dread, you see Fraulein, is hardly a positive moniker. Despite the thrill of the chase, there was always a cost. I had to end young men's lives to win the battle, but I never lost any of my own men. That makes me the most proud. My first big show was the Boxer Rebellion, but above water, of course. I was a smart officer and was recognized for this. Subs were, of course, new and novel. The SMU-5, my pride and joy at that point in my life, was launched before the Great War. It was small, cramped, and smelly, but it was my primary focus. The day it was christened, a beautiful young woman by the name of Agathe Whitehead smashed the traditional bottle of champagne over the hull.
I guess you could say it was love at first sight. That day my love of the submarine was upstaged by the heart and hand of an incredible person."
Georg was amazed at how little pain he felt as he recounted that day.
The quiet descended upon them both once more before Maria's mind took her in another direction.
"Captain. Do you remember that night we talked about Polaris? I believe you had just thrown your whistle into the lake and I intercepted you along the path?
Georg nodded and 'uh-huhed'. He wanted to speak, but somehow, he felt opening his mouth would ruin this moment. The two of them laying on their backs under the stars, him speaking of Agathe with joy instead of pain in his heart, Maria asking him about his life's passion. Elsa had never once asked him what it was like to serve.
"So, tell me, how does it work when you're on a submarine? I mean, how would you use Polaris to navigate?" Maria inquired.
"Well, Polaris doesn't move, Fraulein. It's the one constant in this life." He tilted his head towards hers so he could approach his lesson from her vantage point. She smelled like vanilla and lavender and it was a scent he could drown himself in and die a very happy man.
"See, you can find it using the Big Dipper, or the Plough as my wife called it. Those Brits!" he said with a laugh as he pointed at the constellation.
"You know where the Big Dipper is, right?" He asked.
Maria nodded, but in the dark, he felt it more than he saw it.
"If you can't see the Big Dipper, like, if you're navigating in the wrong season, Cassiopeia also points the way."
He took her hand and used it to point in the direction of the constellation.
"Polaris is always in a straight line off the ladle side of the spoon. You know, where the soup would come off of and slide into your mouth."
...or slide between those pillowy lips of yours...
He drew a line in the air, trying to get his focus back on stars and away from her facial features that drove him wild.
"All the constellations spin about the North Star; it's very stable and sits very close to the North Pole. The Big Dipper will turn counter-clockwise around it. Knowing this helps you with direction. Besides the North star, if you know the placement of the constellations at any time during the year, they also help to guide your way. Wherever you are in the northern hemisphere, the North Star will be the same angle above the horizon as your latitude. So a good sailor will pull out a sextant to measure the angle, but you can always make a good estimate of latitude with an outstretched fist…"
Georg put his fist into the air, shimmying up on his elbows to get the angle right. Maria also sat up and tried it.
"Each fist is close to 10 degrees latitude. So. What is your guess, Fraulein, acknowledging it's hard with all these damn mountains in the way?"
"Well. Four and a half fists, I would say," Maria replied.
"Precisely. We'll always measure about 47 degrees with proper tools at this location."
Both of them returned their heads to the dock and Georg could tell Maria was busy processing this new information.
"So, Captain," Maria continued. "What do you do when you can't see the stars? Like, if it's cloudy? Or it's daytime?"
"Well Fraulein, any grumpy sailor will tell you the stars are your saviour. By day you can use the position of the sun; if there are clouds in the way, nautical charts and a compass are your guide. But, eventually you just know. It seeps into your bones, and you don't even need to think about it. It's hard to explain, really. It's almost as though your brain develops a sense of where it is in space, much like birds and butterflies that migrate. You just get to know when you're standing a top your submarine for hours on end. Prevailing winds. Ocean currents. Bird behaviour. You'd be amazed what things in your environment can tell you which way to go."
The companionable silence returned as Maria tried to process all the Captain was teaching her.
"So, your dress Fraulein. You mentioned earlier that you made some good progress despite the back pain setting in?" Georg asked.
"I did," Maria replied. "The pieces are all done. I got it all drawn out pinned and cut before I came out here. I promise to tidy up my mess before bed. Oh goodness Captain. My back was so sore. That's why I'm here lying flat."
Georg chuckled at her comment. The way she threw herself into everything around the villa, he was hardly surprised that she was not immune to the after-effects of too much activity.
"Captain. What is like to lose a vocation? Something you have dreamed of forever, or done forever"? Maria inquired in almost a whisper.
Georg took a deep breath and the air from his lungs rapidly whistled out between his teeth as he exhaled. He remained quiet for a time trying to decide how to answer.
"No, no, Captain, never mind, I am sorry I asked. That was much too personal of me. I apologize". Maria exclaimed.
Georg reached over and grabbed her hand again, cover it and keeping it still. He turned his head and took in her eyes, blown wide in the realization of just how far she had pushed him.
"Fraulein. It's ok," Georg replied. "It's just...it's just...well, no one has ever asked me that. Agathe understood because she knew me so well, but no one has asked me that directly. I think they all looked at me and thought 'the Dread' has no feelings. He can handle it. War heroes don't lose vocation, they just transition to being war heroes!"
"Truthfully, Fraulein," he continued. "It's terribly hard to transition to something new. Would I have ever left the Navy voluntarily? Probably not. It would have been too hard. War hero or not, I didn't have the courage to take that step. The end of the war forced my hand and I had to face the realization that everything I had known and everything I had ever wanted to be was suddenly gone."
Georg had a sense that this question was just as much about her as it was about his experience; she was trying to process how he had been feeling to help her understand her own thoughts.
"You can't do it alone. You need support. You of all people already understand how hard it is to do something alone. To remake yourself. You have already done it, Fraulein. As a small girl on the mountain." Georg replied.
Maria stared mutely at Georg as he spoke, her heart fluttering at his words. Was he really making a comparison between the end of the war and her little, insignificant life? The two were not remotely comparable!
"Losing a vocation is a lot like losing a loved one. When I lost the Navy, our coastline, I at least had the support of my family. My wife...a handful of children [3]. But you know, so many of my superiors transitioned out of the Navy on purpose because age had caught up to them. You can make a choice to do something different. You find new dreams, or new dreams find you."
It was quiet again, save for the crickets and frogs, but the voices inside Maria's head were unsettled. Could she find new dreams? Would new dreams find her? Surely not, the Abbey was where she belonged. Wasn't it?
"So, about tomorrow, Fraulein. Are we still on in the morning? To take Friedrich and Louisa riding?" Georg inquired, trying to fill the gulf of silence that had settled over them.
"Oh, well, about that Captain," Maria sputtered. "The Baroness caught me just before she went out earlier this morning and she asked me to help her with some alterations in the morning. She said it was terribly important and time sensitive, and she did not have time to get them into Frau Heineman to work her magic. Of course, I agreed to help. It's been very difficult between her and I since her arrival, she doesn't pay me much attention, so I thought this was a lovely gesture on her part!"
Georg sat up suddenly and hugged his knees with his arms.
"Wait, what? Did you just say Elsa asked you to sew for her in the morning?" he gasped.
He turned his head and could see the outline of Maria's head nodding in the darkness.
"Fraulein, while that is very kind of you to offer to help her when she asks, you will kindly remember that I don't pay you to sew for Baroness Schraeder, I pay you to spend time with my children."
"But, Captain, I know that - I can manage both I am sure..."
Georg cut her off before she could say anymore.
"Fraulein, the woman has more dresses than I have naval knick-knacks, and I can tell you there is no emergency. Even if there is, I will talk to her about this matter and get things settled for her in town. You do not have to work on alterations for Elsa! You will not!" Georg exclaimed.
Georg shook his head. What was Elsa getting at with this little stunt? Asking the governess to sew her dresses? Elsa's skin practically crawled at the thought of Salzburg's sewing elite even touching her clothes, and yet, she was going to let Maria do work for her?
"Let's put it this way, Fraulein," Georg continued. "We already have plans for tomorrow, I have plans for tomorrow, and you are a key part of those plans. Tomorrow morning, we will ride just as we agreed on yesterday. Frau Schmidt will help the other five get on with their days. There will not be any sewing...at least not for Baroness Schraeder. After lunch, you are taking the afternoon off to work on your dress. At the rate you are going, it's going to be winter before you're done. You've missed out on many of your afternoons off, so it's the least I can do. What was it you said the day you arrived - all your worldly belongings are given to the poor? You should at least wear this dress a few times before then, hmmm?"
Maria could hear the smile in his voice, and so she sat up along side of his body.
"Captain, not to be disrespectful, but don't you think that will make the Baroness a little angry? I mean, to tell her I can't sew for her is one thing, but then to give me the afternoon off just so I can sew clothes for myself?" Maria asked.
"Fraulein," Georg replied with a big sigh. "I really don't care what the Baroness gets her knickers in a knot over. You are a governess, not Elsa's personal assistant. Besides, from what I can tell, she's not overly interested in spending time with the children, so someone has to. It will be my pleasure to take them in the afternoon and give you a break. The Baroness is welcome to join us or she can sip tea on the terrace with Max. Simple as that."
As if on cue, as Maria went to protest, she felt the Captain's long index finger come down over her lips, shushing her immediately. How did he know she was going to say something, she wondered?
Georg laughed to himself. This woman was beginning to be entirely too predictable. Well, at least in some respects. He was beginning to figure her out, at least.
Maria no longer knew what to say, so she didn't say anything; but she had a hard time suppressing a giggle. Soon both she and the Captain were laughing.
Georg rolled his ear onto his shoulder to look at her. What little light there was highlighted the angle of her jaw and her long neckline disappeared into shadow. What he wouldn't give to lift his hand to her face, to feel her soft skin. To tuck a strand behind her hear and let his fingers linger a little longer. To trace that line he could see in the darkness. To kiss her properly.
Oh God, where were his thoughts headed this time?
Clearing his throat, Georg lifted his arm towards his face and squinted down at his watch.
"Well, Fraulein, if we are going to ride tomorrow," Georg laughed, "I suspect I should hit the hay or I know for a fact that I will not be in any shape to beat you in a race across the pasture!"
Maria knew he winked at her in that moment, even if she could not see it.
Georg rose to his feet and adjusted his pants, shaking everything back into position - dammit, three times tonight - and dusting off any spider webs or dirt that he may have gathered.
Georg reached down and offered Maria his hand which she took and he pulled her to standing.
"Thank you, Captain,". She murmured. His hand clung on slightly longer than propriety demanded, and then he gently dropped it.
"Uh, let me put this back in the boat house, and then we can walk in together," Georg stated simply as he bent down to pick up the blanket, roughly folding it under his arms.
After emerging from the boat house, they walked towards the villa in companionable silence, neither wanting to break the quality of the moment. Both wondering why it was that the more time they spent together, the harder it was to part.
Maria looked up at the Captain, the lights from the villa and the coach lamps illuminating his profile. He really was a handsome man, especially tonight in the moonlit darkness with his tie loosened and the top buttons of his shirt undone. The chiseled jaw, those blue eyes, his dimples... oh how she loved to make him smile just so she could see his dimples.
They reached the stairs to the terrace and climbed up, practically silent except for the sounds of the night and their shoes padding along. Georg reached the door first and opened it, extending his arm as an invitation for Maria to go first. As she entered the foyer, Maria squinted against the light as her eyes tried to adjust. She took a few steps into the middle of foyer and stopped to turn towards the Captain.
"Thank you again, Captain," she exclaimed.
"For what?" Georg replied.
"For being good company, for humoring my questions about the Navy, for teaching me to find north and my latitude...and thank you for the kind offer of the afternoon off tomorrow. I think that will be exactly what I need to finish my dress. Speaking of...I should go and tidy up the mess I left."
"Here," Georg called. "Let me come along and help."
"No, no Captain, I won't hear of it. I made the mess, and it shall be my responsibility to clean it up!"
Maria turned and made her way down the hallway to the 3rd door on the left, the Captain following along behind her. He darted off towards the kitchen, mumbling something about needing a drink. She continued on her own and reached around the doorway of the billiards room; she flipped on the light switch and the pendant lamp hanging over the billiards table sputtered to life, bathing the room in a warm glow. She was certain that she had left this on before she went outside?
Surveying the mess in front of her, she ran her hands through her hair exasperatedly and then immediately bent down to pick up the scraps and larger cuttings off the floor.
Back in the kitchen, Georg was trying to find something appropriate. He would have made her a cup of tea, but he just didn't feel like there was enough time. He could not let her get away on him into the night. Not just yet. Georg opened the icebox and was rewarded with a jug of iced tea that Josephine had made earlier in the day. He poured two tall glasses, put the jug away, and then made his way towards the billiards room.
His eyes scanned the room, not immediately seeing Maria, but the sound of her humming drew his eyes to the floor. Soon her found her, bent over and picking up bits of fabric, her round and dainty bottom pointed to the sky. He swallowed hard, willing the blood in his body to stay exactly where it was and to not get any foolish ideas.
Again.
Maria stood up and wiped the hair from her face.
Georg stepped towards her and extended his arm and a glass. "For you, please."
Maria reached out with her free hand and mumbled her thanks before grasping it. She slowly moved the glass towards her lips and took a sip, looking over the top of the glass at the Captain while relishing the taste of the sweetened, cold tea on her lips. She took a decent gulp, wiping the corner of her mouth with the outside of her thumb.
"Thank you, this is delicious!" she exclaimed.
Maria set the pile of scraps on the table. Nervously, her fingers traced the perimeter of the glass, trailing them amidst the drops of condensation that had gathered on the outside. Her eyes lifted to Georg's faced and time seemed to stop; Maria quite literally forgot to breathe whenever he looked at her like that.
Georg broke the burgeoning awkwardness of their stare-down and moved towards the sidebar and opened one of the doors. He dug around for a moment until he found what he was looking for. He set two coasters on its surface and placed his glass down. Gesturing towards Maria he offered to take hers, which she eventually passed to him after taking another long drink.
Maria moved around the table, picking up pieces from the floor. Georg gathered some from his side before reaching across the billiards table to hand them to her. She stuffed the scraps into a brown paper bag and gathered up the larger bits into neat piles.
"So, Fraulein," Georg asked. "How exactly does this work? I am sorry I just don't see it!". He gestured towards the table: there were folded pieces of fabric, some of them pinned with brown paper, long strips, pins and scissors.
"Well, you see Captain," Maria replied as she lifted some of the pieces still pinned to the brown paper. "These four pieces make the skirt. This one and this one go together, and then these two. You sew them at the back and sides. The fabric is cut on the bias..."
He looked at her like she was talking a foreign language.
"Bias, Sir, the way the fabric stretches. I had never thought of it, but Frau Heineman said it's all the rage in Paris. My purple dress was cut this way and it made so much sense..." Maria replied with a dreamy look in her eye.
Ah, the damn purple dress. Georg wondered if that dress had felt as lovely and soft as this one.
"...see Captain, this piece, here, is the bodice," Maria continued. "I decided to keep the flow of the skirt and build it into the sleeves."
"So these are the sleeves?" Georg said, holding up a wide strip of fabric.
"No, that's the waist band. These are the sleeves." Maria laughed, holding them up in the air for his view. "Then, there will be some smocking at the neckline and waist. It will by far be the loveliest thing I ever owned. Next to my opera dress, of course. Thank you again, Captain. What was it about this fabric that made you decide to pick it up, if you don't mind me asking? I found your explanation the day you presented it to me to be a little vague, but I was still a little afraid to push your buttons back then!" she laughed, throwing her head back.
Afraid of me then? But not now, Fraulein? Oh, how you'd run far, far away if you know what I have been thinking about today...
"Well..." Georg garbled something intelligent as he tried to get his thoughts in order.
"Honest answer, Fraulein. I didn't go out for fabric on purpose." Georg replied sheepishly. "I was shopping at my favourite tailor on the Eschenbachgasse, and when I exited the store, I stumbled into the daylight and into the path of an older couple. I greeted them with a tip of my hat and when I stood tall once more, my hat on my head, there was the window display: The Näherin Orientalisch. This fabric - the colour - it was captivating. It reminded me of the blue, blue waters at Lefkada Island, Greece. I have sailed there many times while in the Navy. It also reminded me of the blue skies over the Untersberg - on days it's not raining, of course."
Georg purposely left out the part about the strawberry blonde woman outside of the Banhoff - the one who looked a lot like Maria - who had been wearing a dress of that colour.
Maria did the math in her head. The night before the Captain had left for Vienna, he was not remotely happy with her: the night of the storm. The next morning, although they passed each other, they had not spoken. Before he had left for Vienna, they were not remotely friendly-like. In fact, those early hours of their relationship could be described as chilly. Antagonistic. Hostile!
Nevertheless, Maria knew that there was something about that first day that provided the spark that eventually smoldered into this friendship. The Captain, he must have noticed it as well, because for some reason beyond her understanding, he was drawn to a piece of fabric that was very much beyond the realm of any suitable fabric for a governess' dress. He returned almost two weeks later; they had argued, and he fired her on the spot. Then, he apologized and asked her to stay.
He then gave her this fabric. She looked down at the sky-blue silk in her hands. It was all so confusing. Her mouth was dry. She needed a drink! Wandering around to the side bar, she stopped to pick up her glass before taking a long sip.
Georg was watching the thoughts play across Maria's features, although he could not be sure exactly what they were about. Sometimes her eyes were a window into her world, but then on other occasions, it was hard to say what she was thinking. Whatever it was, however, he was sure it had something to do with him, and for some strange reason, the thought of this made him feel warm inside.
"Fraulein, where did you learn to do all of this?" he said, gesturing at the little piles of brown paper and blue silk.
"Well, my mother and my grandmother were both seamstresses, so when you are exposed to it at a young age you pick it up. Kind of like you and your father and your Navy. Also, living where we did - and with what little money we had - we always made and mended our own clothes. The design part is just in my head - in so many ways, design is a lot like music. Music is waves, vibrations...composition is really about putting notes - or bits of fabric - together with other notes to make beautiful things. Sometimes the music leads me to designs."
"So, let me get this straight," Georg continued. "You can sing like the Queen of the Night, we know that you can deliver breech ponies, you ride like the wind, sink rowboats, sew with musical inspiration, AND you've made money as a snooker champion. Is there anything you can't do?"
Maria just laughed and smiled. "Lots, Captain, you must know that by now, too. Piano isn't really my thing, despite your attempts to teach me. Following the rules...nah! Patience: that is most definitely not one of my virtues".
"You know," Georg said with a smile. "I think you and I are a lot alike when it comes to design. I mean, I know nothing about smocking or bias, but I can see how designing and sewing clothes is a lot like designing and fine-tuning submarines. You have all of these little pieces that you can mentally visualize fitting together to create something. For instance, you can turn a material 45 degrees and get an increase in the degree of strength or flexibility of that material."
Georg ran his fingers over his chin as if deep in thought.
There he was, looking at her that way again. Maria saw it more and more lately. He almost regarded her as if she was special, unique...someone with something important to contribute. He got so excited when he talked about submarines, and he wanted to share it with her. To seek her opinion on something she was clueless about, and yet, he wanted to know what she thought. She felt her cheeks flaming at the thought of it all.
"We should really sit down together some night and have a look at a submarine plan together," Georg continued. "I mean, I think your outside perspective would be valuable, and although it's top-secret work, I know for certain I can trust you. Just have look at what we have and see what you think. I will give you the basics. Just as long as you keep it between us!" Georg tipped his chin down and looked up to meet Maria's eyes, nodding his head in question.
Maria smiled widely back at him, placing her index finger over her lips in a shushing gesture.
Georg walked over to the sidebar and picked up his drink; tilting his head, Maria watched the amber tea disappear before he wiped his lips with the back of his hands.
Oh, his hands. And those lips. They were beautiful, really! Although Maria knew it was not God's will that she pay attention to them, she decided it was God's will that she appreciate all of His creations, and the Captain was a very fine creation.
"Here, I'll take your glass back to the kitchen if you like?" Georg asked.
Maria finished her drink and mumbled her thanks before handing him the glass.
Georg took the glass, nodded tightly and the paused as if he was about to say something. Instead, he swallowed awkwardly and fidgeted before turning towards the kitchen.
Maria gathered up all of her pieces and wiped the bits of thread from the table and tossed them into the waste bin. She bundled all of her dress pieces under her arm and turned off the light. Making her way down the hallway towards the foyer, the Captain emerged from the kitchen. He was nervously wringing his hands together, which was very atypical of him. They walked shoulder to shoulder down the hall, across the foyer and up the six steps to the landing.
Georg turned to look at Maria and smiled.
"Thank you for being such good company, Fraulein, and humoring my sewing questions. I mean what I said. I'd like your opinion on my work sometime over the next few days. Anyway, I hope you sleep well, and I guess breakfast will be here before you know it. We shall ride like the wind tomorrow?"
Maria nodded and smiled widely. Georg loved the way her eyes expressed her every emotion. In that moment, she looked at him as if he could hang the moon and the stars in the sky.
Just for her: he most certainly would if he could.
[3] don't even try to do the math relative to the movie setting and the real world. Let's leave it as a "creative liberty" and move on!