Vienna, Austria, 1798

November 27th, 6:23 PM

It was in my deepest desires for the rest of the evening to go as well as my time with Stephen. Soon after he left, Mother returned from her game of chess, raving about how Herr Leitner would be here soon. His arrival always made itself into a priority in my mother's mind. It seemed she had already forgotten she was angry with me just before she left. That wasn't something to complain about, though. Immediately, she went to her room and applied some more makeup.

"Daphne," she called, "does my wig still appear presentable?"

I inspected the grey curls of her wig and at last verified their appeal.

"Why don't you go upstairs and get yourself into a nicer dress? Perhaps the one with flowers?"

"I hardly think this causes for such formal attire."

"Very well, dear. Wear whichever gown you'd like, just make sure you look nice. Allow Rebecca to help you."

With a nod, I went upstairs to my room to pick out my evening dress.

My bedroom was one of my favorite places. It had white walls and a bed with a baby blue comforter and curtains with white floral decorations. In one corner of the room, I had a white wooden vanity with a thin golden frame around the mirror. I preferred using the vanity more as a desk for my musical studies than as a place to put on makeup and jewelry. The vanity was covered in manuscript sheets and had a small bowl for my ink, which was next to my writing quill. Despite my being fond of them, all of my makeup and jewelry were kept in the drawers.

I sighed as I looked through my collection of evening dresses. After a few minutes of pondering which I should wear, at last I decided on a royal blue dress with black lace accents on the sleeves and collar. Preparing for an important evening often gave me joy and made me feel rather bubbly at times when my excitement was especially elevated. Tonight was no cause for such behavior, but it still made me pleased to wear a nice gown and to wear makeup and style my hair. Such activities were a chance for me to embrace my femininity. Simply fantasizing about stroking my cheek with blush while humming a tune gave me bliss. Fortunately for me, the experience was one I knew well, being a young upper class woman in Vienna who frequented balls and dinner parties most weekends. The city had plenty to offer for me, it being a place of musical flourishing for so many composers. I had met a few already, and by each I was enchanted.

After getting my gown on, I sat at my vanity to do my hair. I gathered the several sheets of manuscript paper into a messy stack and set them aside to make room for my accessories. With the help of Rebecca, my hair was styled into a high bun with a piece of curly brown hair let down at either side of my head. I topped the bun off with a diamond hair pin.

The last touch of the outfit was black lace gloves. My mother had insisted I wear them to hide my bad habit of biting my nails. As I slipped the gloves on, I mentally prepared myself for anything that might happen tonight. Mother had been urging Herr Leitner to propose to me already, and although he was a charming gentleman, I never found myself attracted to him besides his good looks. There was something about his cluelessness that bothered me, as if he was constantly trying much too hard to get my attention but never once considering my interests as a conversation starter. At times I thought myself selfish. So many young ladies were dreaming of being wed to Herr Leitner, and it was pitiful that his bride-to-be would be the one who didn't want him at all. Besides, once I was married, I wouldn't be able to spend time on my musical studies. I would be pressured to go to parties with Herr Leitner and spend my days as the wife of a businessman.

I shuddered at the thought of quitting what I loved most.

Stop thinking ahead so much, I mentally scolded myself, or else you'll panic.

I took a deep breath and looked at my complexion in the mirror of my vanity. The only thing left to complete was makeup.

I rather enjoyed wearing makeup, especially on nights like these. All of the powdery blush and glossy lipstick made me feel like royalty. I sighed and hummed blissfully as Rebecca began to whiten my face and stroke soft pink blush across my cheekbones. I puckered my lips once she applied my lipstick and beauty mark under the corner of my eye and stood up from the vanity. Just as I did, there was a knock on the door from downstairs, which meant that Herr Leitner had arrived.

"Daphne!" my mother called, "Come greet your fiancé-to-be!"

I rolled my eyes and made my way downstairs.

Herr Leitner was a tall young man with jet black hair and a dazzling smile. Tonight, though, his hair was covered by a white powdered wig. He wore a navy blue coat with gold accents on the wrist part of the sleeves and black trousers. He bent down in a bow when he saw me.

"Good evening, Fräulein Schmidt. You look absolutely beautiful tonight," he greeted.

He really was a gentleman.

I smiled and curtsied.

"Good evening, Herr Leitner. I'm so glad you could make it."

We smiled at each other and my mother led us to the dining room, where our chef had prepared käsespätzle, spring asparagus, and apple strudels for dessert.

"Frau Schmidt, you've outdone yourself," Herr Leitner remarked as he took a seat.

"It was nothing, dear. I'm always happy to please a future member of the family."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes by forcing another smile as I sat down next to him

There was little talking as we ate; only conversation between Herr Leitner and my mother about his profession as a businessman. His father wanted him to join the family business of carriage selling, but Herr Leitner had different dreams. Soon after trying to at least listen to the conversation, my mind wandered off. I began to think about the odd encounter with Stephen I had earlier. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he was a real time traveler. I had so many questions I wanted to ask him. Would the French take Austria as their territory? What new inventions were there? How had musical studies been affected? I was immensely eager for him to return so that I could know more about the future. He was also quite nice to be around, at least that's how I felt being with him for those few hours. And he was also quite handsome. When I was looking for the medical supplies, Rebecca had told me it would be nice for me to have him as a fiancé instead of Herr Leitner. How absurd that was! I couldn't go falling in love with a man who belonged to a different time. It was as simple as that. Mother would need a visit from our doctor if she knew he was in our house at all, therefore it was impossible to imagine how she would react if I ever developed feelings of affection for him. It was a good thing I didn't need to worry about that, though, because Herr Leitner was going to be my fiancé. He was handsome and had good intentions. Naturally, I felt no attraction to him at the moment, but perhaps after some time, I would feel different.

"Daphne, you've been quite silent tonight," Mother interrupted, "Are you alright?"

I cleared my throat and nodded.

"What's your opinion of all this?" she asked.

It took several seconds to remember what they had been talking about. When I glanced at Herr Leitner, he was looking at me curiously. I did my best to form a charming smile.

"I agree with you one hundred percent," I managed. I still had no idea what they were talking about.

It seemed Mother knew that I had tuned them out, because she was glaring at me as I fumbled with my fork. I wasn't amused about the lecture I would receive once Herr Leitner left.

"Say, Fräulein Schmidt," he said, "I heard Don Giovanni is going to be performed next Thursday night at the Theater am Kärntnertor. Would you like to join me? Frau Schmidt was just informing me of how much you love Mozart's operas."

"Herr Leitner, that's such a generous offer." I hesitated as I made a decision. He was most likely meaning to propose that night if I accepted. I thought about declining, saying that I already had plans for that day, but my mother knew I didn't have any plans. She would be furious if I lied. I had no choice.

"I would love to go. Will anyone be supervising us?"

"No. I shall make sure we can have the evening to get to know each other properly."

He was definitely going to propose.

"That sounds lovely," I said.

The rest of dinnertime was spent eating in silence. I knew Mother was pleased, though. She smiled as she took her last few bites of apple strudel. Knowing that she was proud of my decision somewhat comforted me. I began to relax. Once I made eye contact with Rebecca, though, I felt guilty. She was standing in the living room, giving me a sympathetic look. She was the only one who knew I didn't want to go through with an arranged marriage. Her gaze made me uneasy again. My independent life would be over sooner than I thought, and that meant my musical studies were coming to an end as well. Suddenly my life began flashing before my eyes. I remembered my first cello lesson when I was six years old, and my first recital at seven. After a few years, I wanted to know more about music than just the performance aspect. That's when I began studying music theory. Throughout the years, studying music and playing instruments and attending operas were my favorite things to do. There was frustration along the way, but I always wanted to learn more. It frightened me to know my dreams were coming to an end so soon. As it dawned on me that I would have to lead a whole new life, my breathing became quicker. I dropped my fork next to my plate, causing my mother's smile to fade.

"Daphne, what's going on?" she asked, irritated.

"Forgive me, Mother. Forgive me, Herr Leitner," I apologized through ragged breaths, "Allow me to take in some fresh air."

Without waiting for permission to leave, I stood and headed outside to the backyard.

I heard footsteps behind me as I stood on the grass and turned to see Rebecca. I smiled at her through tears.

"Rebecca, I'm an utter mess. I never expected to be engaged so soon. I'm only nineteen years old. Herr Leitner is a perfectly nice young man, but I'm not ready to marry."

"I'm very sorry, Daphne. I can't imagine how scared you must be. But maybe he won't propose at the opera."

I scoffed.

"As if that could be the case. With Mother being so obvious about it, that's the only possibility. His family wouldn't pass up this opportunity either. Being divorced, my mother only wants to keep our social status. I'm happy to make her proud, but I just can't stand the fact that my life is being decided for me. I don't want to spend the rest of my days as a housewife."

Rebecca was quiet for a few seconds, then smiled.

"Maybe you don't have to marry Herr Leitner."

"What are you saying?" I asked, my eyes narrow.

"What about Herr McAdams? You could go to the future with him."

"Oh, Rebecca, I don't feel attracted to Stephen either. I only met him today, and I doubt I could survive in the year 2025." I sighed. "It would be an escape from my boring life, though. But I can't just leave like that. Think of the rumours! And how heartbroken my mother would be."

After another few seconds of silence, I felt calm--or perhaps a better word for it was numb. There was nothing I could do to avoid the life ahead of me. Wiping my tears, I straightened my posture and recollected myself.

"Thank you for the talk, Rebecca."

I went back inside to the dining room and found my mother glaring at me and Herr Leitner smiling at me.

"Forgive me. I just needed to relax myself a bit."

I smiled and sat at my chair next to him.

"So, Herr Leitner," I began, "You're very charming. I bet you have several maidens hoping to be engaged to you. Fortunately, I'm the one who will be your fiancée."

"Fortunately indeed, Daphne. I've had eyes for only you for years."

I forced a chuckle as I took a sip of my cider. When I looked at Mother, she was no longer as angry.

After some time of conversation between us three, Herr Leitner dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and stood.

"I really should get going. This was a lovely meal, Frau Schmidt."

He turned to me.

"And lovely company, Fräulein Schmidt."

My mother and I stood and accompanied him to the door. As Herr Leitner and I said our goodbyes, he gave me a kiss on the cheek. I smiled at him as he walked out. When my mother closed the door, I expected her to scold me for leaving in the middle of dinner, but instead, she only smiled at me.

"I'm very satisfied with you, Daphne. Now get to bed. Tomorrow we will rehearse how you will say yes to his proposal at the opera."

I kept my smile until I finally got to my room. Once I was behind closed doors, I collapsed on the chair of my vanity.

Looking at the stack of manuscript paper, I took in a shaky breath. Sooner or later, I would have to say goodbye to my musical studies. Musicians were only servants in this day and age. Mother would never approve of her only daughter as a servant. I wished I could have Stephen's strange watch so that I could listen to all of the music I wanted to without paying for tickets to the symphony or the opera. Then I could still keep learning about music, because there would be so many unheard pieces to discover. But alas, that wasn't the case. I couldn't have that. In an attempt to make myself feel better, I looked through the different unfinished compositions I had written. This only made me feel empty because I knew that once I was married, these symphonies and sonatas would remain unfinished forever.

"What are you sitting here crying about?" I asked myself.

And so I decided on one of my pieces and got to work.

The serenade was in the key of A Minor. It started with a lower strings arpeggio, which the violins echoed. After that, the theme I had chosen was played in various different styles. The texture was called theme and variations, and it was one of my favorites to work with. And that was how I had spent the rest of the night. Just me and endless musical discoveries to be made. My perfect evening.