© 2019 Sira Montíguez ; All Rights Reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
THIS STORY IS NOT EXCLUSIVE OF THE WEBNOVEL COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO ME, AUTHOR AND CREATOR OF EVERY CHARACTER!
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'With the Enamorados you'll always fall in love!'
This was the wonderful greeting Juliette Babineaux received when arriving at the elegant mansion. It read in big and bold letters on top of a silky white banner, and nobody was around to tell her that she couldn't find somebody herself.
Literally nobody was around.
This was uncomfortable but expected, as the mansion doubled as the family's workspace. Juliette figured they were all on the other side of the house, by the garden, possibly interviewing an unlikely couple. Unlikely, but successful.
Oh yes, the Enamorados had the fame of intertwining the exotic and the quirky, giving 'fabulous' results when least expected. The reviews were more than enough to show that their service was effective, granting millions of single human beings every year at their doorstep, awaiting the magic of love.
Love was magic, for all she knew. It said such in the novels she'd read with a nightlight under the blankets in her old room, afraid somebody would take a peek at the titles of her precious books. Books forbidden by her mother and scoffed upon by her aunt.
Mother and sister lived under the same ceiling as Juliette. They crammed up in the tight apartment, surviving until the next month's due rent. As maids, the Babineaux ladies didn't earn much. They struggled to find a good family to work for, with a good pay -- instead, they would bruise their knees for a miserable check.
But today it would all change! Juliette was sure that the Enamorado family would welcome her with open arms and a big ol' check.
⊰⊱꧁꧂⊰⊱
Le manoir was bigger than Juliette ever expected. Calling it a mansion fell short, this was almost a castle!
The French maid admired the soft pink walls encrusted with creamy, white tiles of flowers (such as roses and pink carnations). White plaster swirls ran bottom-up the walls, the ceilings painted with cherubs and angels. Some areas had pastel blue walls with turquoise tiles and the same plaster patterns.
The enormous and pastel pink chandelier in the middle of the dining room took Juliette's breath away. Its tiny crystals, roses and diamonds made the light fixture look like part of the artwork painted in the ceilings. It looked and felt like heaven.
"You have been assigned with the upper left wing and the garden. Any questions?"
Crashing back to Earth, Juliette remembered that this fancy tour was just a walk around all of the surfaces she would have to clean. Suddenly the chandelier looked like a dust magnet, and it no longer felt like heaven. The French girl shrugged and shook her head for her supervisor.
"No, Mistress, I understood all very well."
The Head Maid asked Juliette to address her as "Mistress" while working under her authority. Being used to this kind of behavior with previous employers, the brunette did not think bad of her. This maid was her elder and deserved respect, and being a good employee could guarantee peace in the household.
It was an unsteady foot in the water for the young woman, nervous about her first time in Spain. She lacked Spanish vocabulary and feared that, if she did not put her best behaviour, the family could remove her thanks to incompetence.
"Very well," the older maid said. "You will greet the family this evening at dinner. Until then, follow me to your room and bathroom, where you will get ready and unpack."
With few words and following every command, Juliette settled in nicely in the new home, ready to meet her new family at any given moment.
⊰⊱꧁꧂⊰⊱
It was a la-de-la moment every time Julieta made a match. Seeing two strangers talk and get along from the first time made her happy. She could not explain the level of satisfaction she felt when scratching off two more names from her list.
Venus Enamorado agreed intensely on such feelings of joy, celebrating every couple with a glass of champagne up high in the skies. Her excitement mixed with the buzz at 5 o'clock made her the happiest woman on Earth.
"Cheers to another successful and fabulous couple!"
Mother and daughter clinked their glasses together, the bubbly liquid spilling droplets down their hands. They giggled like schoolgirls and stood up with immense tipsiness and giddiness.
"Antero! We made another breakthrough," Venus celebrated. Her husband waved from afar, talking with a man who seemed to be listing his ideal husband.
"Let's get something to eat, honey. I'm craving and tipsy," Venus exclaimed. Julieta followed suit.
⊰⊱꧁꧂⊰⊱
"Madam Venus, today arrived our newest member. She is by the kitchen, preparing a snack for you and Lady Julieta," a maid informed.
"Thank you, María. I will welcome her properly; you can start preparing the dinner table. Mister Antero will be joining us soon."
"Yes madam," María said respectfully, rushing to grab porcelain plates.
"Dad's with a client?"
The voice startled Julieta and Venus, but they both calmed down when noticing it was Romeo Enamorado.
"As usual, he's late wrapping up," Julieta mumbled.
Romeo nodded understanding. "And you two?"
"We made another perfect match before we left. It has been a highly productive day," Mother Enamorado exclaimed. "We were going to grab a snack and greet the new maid."
Romeo's ears perked up. "New maid?"
"Uh-oh," Julieta groaned. "There he goes."
"Excuse me," he said with a charming smile and a dimple on his cheek, rushing to the kitchen.
It did not take him long to notice the long haired brunette with a ponytail, chopping up a carrot quietly as the other maids gossiped over the bachelors they had seen today outside the manor.
"Hello, ladies," Romeo greeted. As the routine read, the maids smiled and giggled over him. To them, it was obvious that he would be their Romeo some day.
Juliette, unknowing and susceptible, twirled her head around and smiled shyly. "Good evening, sir. You must be Mister Romeo," she said, respectfully bowing her head.
"Just call me Romeo, miss…"
"Juliette."
Silence fell in the kitchen, the other maids' faces drooping. Romeo's eyes twinkled in delight.
"Romeo meets Juliette," he said happily.
The new maid understood the reference instantly, but seeing the other women made her nervous and shut down her smile. Uncomfortably, she nodded and turned back around to chop off carrots, anxious and breathing hard.
Romeo chuckled but decided to leave it a that. "Goodbye, ladies," he waved before walking out proudly. Venus and Julieta waited for him, each one with a different reaction.
"Handsome boy!" Venus burst out.
Julieta, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. "You're twenty-five. Act like an adult and not an immature teen."
Romeo laughed softly at his sister, shrugging her off and hugging Venus. He shooed himself away and let the two women check on the snacks themselves.
When Venus walked in, she noticed Juliette by the stove, twirling around a spoon in the casserole. With a swift turn, the maid froze and smiled nervously at the Enamorado Mother.
"Welcome," Venus said.
Distracted by her beauty and elegance, it took the French girl a few seconds to find the proper greeting. "Merci, Madame."
"Ah, you are the French girl, right?"
"That is correct." Juliette struggled to hide her reddened cheeks.
"I have heard wonders of you. When your mother told me you had worked for Giuseppe Courrier I was fascinated. That man is as strict as they come, but after speaking with him myself and hearing him say wonders of you, I could not let you brush away from my hands."
The blush on the new maid's face kept growing as the beautiful blonde praised her. 'I wonder what is her trick. Must be that Cupid blood. The woman doesn't age a single day, does she?' Juliette thought.
"Thank you, Madame."
"Of course."
Thoughts of her incredible beauty kept crossing Juliette's mind. Age seemed to be the only line she could not cross. 'Maybe if she was younger…'
On cue, right behind the elegant woman, appeared her younger replica, but instead of blonde and brown eyes, the woman had light chestnut waves and olive green eyes.
"Bonjour," Julieta greeted with a charming smile.
"Bon… jour," Juliette repeated.