Chapter Five: “The Spencer Estate.”

Two weeks had passed since Julius brought Resena to his estate and with the help of him and Carla, she was finally starting to feel like she was at home. The first night she'd arrived, she met with Bellman, Julius' main Caregiver. He had been extremely polite and very direct. After taking both Resena and Carla on a quick overview tour of the mansion, Bellman asked if the ladies had a chance to have dinner. 

"No but I'm full of all the food I enjoyed today with Julius. What about you Carla?" 

Julius informed Bellman that Carla would be Resena's new lady's maid. Bellman promised her he would show her all the main quarters of the mansion tomorrow as well as introduce the entire staff to both women. 

"Um, no I haven't had a chance to eat yet. But you don't have to go out of your way! I'll be fine until morning!" 

"Nonsense, dinner is one of the most important meals of the day. Think nothing of it, I'll have it prepared in 15 minutes." 

"Thank you, Mr. Bellman." 

Just then, Julius walked up to Bellman, he was holding a stack of papers along with his communicator in his hand. 

"Bellman, I'll leave the ladies to you to get settled. I need to make a call to Raymon in my study." 

"Of course, sir, leave it to me." 

Julius walked over to Resena; he had a slightly somber look on his face as if he were sad about something. Resena wondered what could have caused his mood to change and briefly thought it was due to them separating. 

"Resena, once I finish speaking with my private investigator, I want you to join me in my study. I'll call you on your communicator so keep it near you." 

"Yes of course!" 

Julius smiled down at Resena; he felt a large sense of relief now that she was at his home. Finally, she could have a moment of peace and tranquility. Knowing she was close by made him feel better than expected. Just then, Bellman directed the ladies to follow him into the kitchen so that Carla could eat something for dinner. 

"If you would please have a seat at the breakfast table, our head chef Lawrence will be here shortly." 

Both, "Thank you!" 

As Bellman left the kitchen, Carla turned to Resena with glee in her eyes. 

"Oh, my goodness Ms. Resena!!! This is incredible!! Your fiancé is just amazing!! I'm so happy for you!" 

Resena could feel her face begin to turn red with blush, though it was all happening in real time, she still felt as if this was all a big dream. Could a person's luck really change that drastically? Resena could not help but feel both excitement but also fear, she kept waiting for herself to wake up and learn all of this was a dream. 

"I must admit, I still can't believe this is all happening. I feel like everything is going at such a rapid pace, I haven't really had time to process it all." 

Carla grabbed Resena's hands into hers, with a huge smile on her face she began to speak. 

"You know what Ms. Resena, you can take all the time you need now. I have no doubt that your fiancé will allow you to process everything and move at your own pace! I can tell he really adores you! I'm just happy I got to be a part of your new life! Thank you so much for bringing me with you!" 

Resena could feel her eyes watering up, she had not felt this type of friendship since Ella. She was beyond grateful to have Carla at her side. Just then a tall gentleman walked into the kitchen. Both ladies looked over a little startled as he greeted them. 

"My apologies! I think I may have startled you both. I'm Lawrence Davis, the manor's head chef! You must be Lady Resena and her lady's maid Carla, correct?" 

Lawrence was tall and handsome, he had light brown skin with dark wavy hair, his eyes were a mixture of hazel and green, and his teeth were sparkling white. He had a very soothing voice that felt very welcoming. As Resena stood up to greet him, she noticed an interesting look on Carla's face; she wasn't quite sure, but it looked as if Carla may have been blushing. 

"Hello Lawrence, thank you for the warm welcome. I'm Resena Blackwell, and this is my lady's maid Ms. Carla Turner."  

Smiling, Lawrence shook Resena's hand and looked over at Carla who was still very quiet. Walking over towards her, Lawrence picked up Carla's right hand and gently kissed it. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Turner." 

Blushing, all Carla could manage to say was, "Please, Just Carla." She wasn't sure why, but this amused Resena deeply, "I wonder if Carla has a bit of a crush on Mr. Davis." Smiling, Resena figured it may be better for her to do the talking for now. 

"Mr. Davis, I apologize for asking you to do this at such a late hour, but Carla hasn't had a chance to eat dinner. Mr. Bellman informed us you would be able to cook something?" 

"Please my lady just Lawrence, and you were informed correctly! I'd be happy to cook something for Ms. Carla, are you sure you do not also need anything to eat?" 

"Oh no, I'm still full! Besides, if I find myself hungry later, I'll just heat up some of my leftovers, thank you for asking." 

"Think nothing of it. Anytime you find yourself hungry, don't hesitate to call me! I'll be at your service!" 

Resena could not help but blush, Lawrence certainly had a way with words. She could understand the instant appeal he had on Carla. Just then, Lawrence looked over to Carla and asked what she would like to eat. Not wanting to be too much of a bother, Carla asked if a quick pasta meal would be okay to make. 

"Absolutely, I have something in mind I can make. Do I have your complete trust?" 

Blushing, "Y-Yes, of course." 

Smiling, "Very good! Leave it to me!" 

Lawrence grabbed an apron from the pantry and began to prep for his meal, just then Mr. Bellman walked back into the kitchen with another young woman. 

"Lady Resena, Ms. Carla, I would like to introduce you to Ms. Sabrina, she is one of the caretakers on the estate. She will be showing you both to your rooms. Lady Resena, your room will be temporary, the Master has a suite being prepared for you, it should be completed by Friday." 

"Oh yes! He did inform me of that early today! Thank you for getting a room ready for us at such short notice." 

Both Resena and Carla bowed their heads to Bellman and Sabrina. Just then, with a huge smile on her face, Sabrina grabbed Resena and Carla by the hand. 

"Oh, my goodness! Lady Resena you're so beautiful! I'm so glad the young master has finally found someone! You're going to love living here and we're all at your service! Ms. Carla, welcome to the team of House Spencer!" 

Letting out a loud squeal, Sabrina gave Carla a huge hug. Both ladies began squeaking and laughing, Resena could not help but also smile, the staff was amazing. Resena could not help but feel lucky. Just then, Lawrence announced dinner was complete. He made chicken parmesan with a homemade marinara sauce and fettucine noodles. The smell was divine, even Resena tried some of it. After dinner, Sabrina led the two women up to the east villa, the first stop was Carla's room, Resena could hardly believe her eyes. For this to be the room of a servant it was beautiful! The walls were a soft lavender with beautiful flower designs along the wall. The room had a huge bay window with a perfect view of the estate. The furniture was a soft cream color with silver handles and her bed was a large soft bed with beautiful linen. Carla stood in amazement, the rooms for the servants at the Lanster house were hardly in comparison. Each room was small with a tiny bed, one dresser, and a small desk. Even the guest rooms were not this beautiful. 

"Um…is this room temporary? I mean until my actual room is ready?" 

Sabrina looked at Carla with a puzzled look on her face. Suddenly, she began to smile because she had understood the confusion, typically, nobles do not go out their way to make sure their staff is so comfortable. Smiling, Sabrina began to clarify. 

"You know, I've been living here for so long, I've forgotten how spoiled we are here. Actually, Ms. Carla, this is your permanent room. The East Villa is the wing of the staff. Bellman placed Ms. Resena here temporarily only because it's closest to everyone until she is more familiar and of course until her suite is ready. But this room is yours."  

As Sabrina continued, her expression was soft and filled with love. 

"Mr. Spencer, well he's a bit different. Unlike others, he actually cares about his entire staff, when this estate was built, he made sure even the servants' quarters were that of luxury design so that we could also feel at home. That's why we all love working here so much! He truly is one of a kind!" 

As Resena listened on, she could not help but feel pride, she'd known for a while now that Julius was most certainly a kind and caring soul, but hearing such admiration and gratitude from his staff, it brought back memories of her childhood. Her parents had always been so kind and warm, the staff loved working for them. Knowing that she was fortunate enough to marry someone with those same values filled her heart with unspeakable joy. 

"Well Ms. Carla, we'll leave you to it! Please feel free to get as comfortable as you can! My room is directly next door to yours so if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. Tomorrow Bellman will provide you with your own personal communicator and walkie." 

Sabrina and Resena left Carla's room and began to make their way down the hall. As they passed some of the rooms, Sabrina informed her who each of the rooms belonged to. Finally, they arrived at the room Resena would occupy until Friday. Like Carla's, this room was also beautiful. The walls were a deep orange and there were beautiful designs in earthtone colors. The bed was large with a deep velvet orange bedding set. The bay window was towards the back courtyard so Resena could see a perfect sunset. "I can't believe this is a possible room for a staff member. How beautiful!" After Sabrina left, Resena noticed her bags were already in the room, Julius had not called her yet, so she decided to take a shower and put on some more comfortable attire. As Resena began drying her hair, she noticed her communicator buzz. 

"Oh! That must be Julius!" 

Resena placed her hair dryer on the bed and picked up her communicator, suddenly she shrieked! Turns out, she had several missed calls from Julius. "He must've called while I was in the shower, oh no!" Resena called Julius back, her heart suddenly racing in panic. "Will he be angry with me? I didn't mean to miss his calls?" Just then, she heard a soft and welcoming voice on the communicator. 

"There you are. I was beginning to think you may have fallen asleep." 

"Oh! No! I'm sorry! I decided to take a shower and get comfortable, I should have waited! I'm so-…" 

Julius interrupted Resena before she could finish. He didn't want her to apologize, he was glad she could shower and relax. 

"No apologies, I'm glad you were able to unwind. I'm on my way to your room, are you decent?" 

She wasn't sure why, but suddenly Resena felt extremely shy. Julius was on his way to her room. Is that allowed? Should she not meet him in a more open environment? In any case, he was on his way, so she quickly began to look around to make sure there was nothing inappropriate out. Taking a quick look in the mirror, Resena wanted to make sure she was in fact "decent". She was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. Though her clothing was not inappropriate, Resena decided to put on her bathrobe as well. Just then she heard a knock on the door. 

Julius walked into her room, doing a quick look around to make sure the room was sufficient. Satisfied with the room Bellman picked, Julius then turned to Resena who was standing near the bed. Suddenly, Julius began to feel shy. There she was, standing before him, she was wearing shorts and a T-shirt with no sleeves, her hair was curly and pinned up into a ponytail, she had a scent of strawberry probably from the bodywash she'd just used, and although she wore nothing fancy, Julius could not help but be in awe of her. How was it she'd managed to look so radiant? Suddenly, Julius' thoughts began to darken in a way he was not familiar. He would have to make this visit quick as he no longer trusted his own actions. 

"I won't take up too much of your time. I just wanted to make sure you were able to get settled in." 

"Oh! Yes! Everything and everyone have been so amazing! This room is so beautiful, Carla's room as well! I can't thank you enough for this." 

"There's no need. Your happiness means everything to me Resena, so I'm glad everything is to your satisfaction. Though this room is temporary, I still want you to feel comfortable." 

Resena began to blush, hearing her husband to be sound so thoughtful made her heart race. She wondered if there was something she could do to show her appreciation, she would have to seek assistance from Carla and Sabrina for that subject. 

"Well, I better take my leave, my communicator is always on so please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. I'll come running." 

"O-Okay. Thank you." 

Suddenly, just as she had before when they were in the car, Resena felt her body take over as she ran towards Julius and wrapped her arms around him. As she embraced him in a hug, Resena began to feel an influx of emotions. Her eyes began to fill with tears, perhaps the events of today finally came crashing, or maybe she was just overwhelmed, but Resena suddenly began to cry. Julius stood froze, he didn't understand what was happening. Was she crying tears of joy or sorrow? Too afraid to ask, Julius decided it was just best to let her cry while he embraced her. They stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity when finally, Resena stood up straight. 

"I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" 

Julius began to smile, he couldn't help but feel since of pride, Resena trusted him enough at least to allow his comfort. Patting her on the head, Julius began to speak. 

"It's okay. I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to allow me to comfort you. That is my job after all."

Julius gave one more pat to Resena's head and turned to leave, as he made his way out the door, Resena suddenly called out to him. 

"Julius! Just so you know, you can come to me too! You know, for comfort…if you ever feel bad or lonely. I-I'm here." 

Smiling, Julius thanked Resena, his emotions were too overwhelming to say anything further. Knowing she wanted to comfort him was a feeling he could not explain. As he walked out of the room, Resena felt a tinge of sadness, suddenly she could not wait until tomorrow to come.

Back in his study, Julius could not help but smile as he replayed those moments over and over. Resena's smile, her sent, her warm hug; and those lingering words, "Just so you know, you can come to me too!" At that moment, Julius was completely sure, he had made the right choice in marrying Resena. That night, he decided to go into his art studio and paint, the sudden inspirations of roses and sunshine filled his mind as began to sketch what he deemed the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.