The Enigma Stolen

Juan stretched and looked her over from head to toe with admiration. “I would rather you come back to bed. However, you haven’t eaten in a while, and eating for three is important. Take four steps back, and I will get dressed, and we will go down together. I would have no idea where to go if you left me.”

She laughed and took six steps back, well out of reach, and he still was at her side in a flash. He thoroughly kissed her and almost distracted her enough to forget about eating, when one or both twins kicked.

Juan reached down and placed his hand on her rounded stomach as he asked, “Okay, which one of you did that? I get it, eat first, and play later! Good idea.”

A few minutes later she led him down the stairs toward the dining room and told him about the house and each of the rooms they passed on the way. He wouldn’t remember most of the details, but she looked so happy, telling him about pictures or what she and Petra did as children while running around the house. Even though he knew they were tutored at home as youngsters, they seemed, from her stories, to also have had many fun activities and adventures.

The house, or rather mansion, was huge. She had mentioned twenty rooms including the breakfast room they had just entered. Food was ready on the tiled shelving against the wall, inside the associated warmers. Not for the first time, Juan worried he had reached way above his station in life. He had expressed his concern to Carlos at the wedding only to be reassured that neither Julie nor any of her relatives seemed to stand on ceremony or lead with their money.

He knew Julie loved him, but he also knew she kept secrets. Some, he suspected, he would never know the real answers. He mused at their first meeting, when she had presented him with his new identity. The confidence that she exhibited during that first meeting was only a small part of why he’d fallen in love with her.

A small woman with slightly grey hair came through the doorway and smiled as she spotted them. Her European accent, similar to Haddy’s, was evident as she commented, “Miss Julie, so glad you are up and hungry. I have your favorites, but Grayson will fix anything you wish. Young man, I am not certain what I should call you, but I will get you anything you wish as well.”

Julie flashed her megawatt smile as she happily responded, “Miss Gwen, I am so glad you are here this morning. Please, I would like you to meet my husband, Juan. I call him darling, honey, and love muffin, but you can call him Juan or Stud.”

Juan felt the red creep up his neck and to the tops of his ears when he grinned and said, “Miss Gwen, it would be my pleasure if you called me Juan.” He then rose and performed an elegant bow toward Gwen.

“Oh, no,” Gwen muttered. “Two of you that both tease a body. Perfect match.

“So tea, coffee, juice, or even hot chocolate? Also, Miss Julie, does your doctor have any food requirements for you?”

Julie chuckled, “No, Miss Gwen, he just requires me to eat often but not huge quantities. These guys are hungry often. Mom told you there are two in here, right?”

Gwen nodded then added, “Yes, she did. Small frequent snacks then. When you get a chance, let me know both of your favorites, and Grayson will try to please.”

“Madam, I am not a fussy eater so anything that Julie likes will be just fine. Please don’t go to any trouble.”

Gwen nodded her understanding, smiled, suggested a few changes worth viewing around the estate, and then left them to their breakfast. They both ate and chatted about the possibilities for the day. She wanted to show him the house and the grounds. They both wanted to see the nursery that Gwen indicated was almost ready with various workman moving things around. It should be ready tomorrow, and until then she’d asked for them to stay away from that area of the house. Julie knew the area, as it was the nursery where she and Petra had played until they had grown enough for their own rooms.