He went downstairs to breakfast and the whole gang was there. Everyone but Catherine and Daniel jumped to their feet to give him a kiss. Catherine had gotten several on the way to the hotel. He told them to go easy as he didn’t want to tear any stitches.
Gabriella showed some restraint but Tina and Lucy showed less as they were just a little panicked about his getting hurt. Miriam gave him a peck on the lips and skipped back to her chair blushing.
Megan could do no less than Miriam and surprised Ben with a chaste kiss on the lips. “I’m glad you’re ok Ben!” she whispered as she held his eyes with hers. He saw she’d been shaken by the event.
Sophia and Rachel gave him kisses while they gently pressed their bodies to his. He was beginning to show a reaction so he quickly moved to his chair between Gabriella and Tina. Catherine sat across from him.
They had their breakfast and conversation returned to normal. He was really pleased to see Tina up and about. She still claimed to feel drained but her nausea was under control this morning. She stuck to toast but snuck some scrambled eggs from Ben’s plate with much giggling while he made exaggerated growls of dismay at losing his food. Daniel and Miriam thought it was hilarious.
The plan for the day was to visit the Palace of Versailles. They’d take a train out and back and spend the day seeing the buildings and exploring the grounds. Tina felt up to going and Lucy promised to stick close to her to make sure she was ok.
Once everyone was ready they made their way to the train station. Soon they were riding the rails out to the Palace. The mood was light and Tina rested against Ben’s side. Lucy sat across from Ben and watched them with a sweet smile.
Daniel sat next to Lucy by the window and took pictures. Ben was really impressed with the eye the boy was developing. His photos were improving in quality and the subject matter he was capturing showed his keen observation of the world around him. Ben told him so and watched the boy’s confidence grow.
The line to enter the palace was fairly long even though they had managed to arrive early. Lucy found some shade for Tina to sit in and Ben bought their tickets. Then he got into the line for ticket holders. Once he was almost at the entrance his party joined him and he handed out the tickets. Everyone picked up their headsets as they entered.
Daniel listened with rapt attention as they moved through the rooms and everyone absorbed the beautiful paintings and luxurious appointments in each room. Ben kept an eye on Tina to see if her energy levels were flagging.
The Hall of Mirrors took their breath away and Sophia grabbed Ben for an impromptu ballroom dance. She took his hand and led him to the open space in the middle of the hall and curtsied to him. Ben bowed deeply and the crowd pulled back to watch the performance. He held his hand out to her with a flourish and she placed hers in it with a gentle touch.
Soon they began to move together, slowly at first. Ben surprised Sophia by knowing the steps and their speed increased until the two were sweeping around the large open space with a grace and elegance that made their audience catch their breath.
Other tourists were gathering to watch what appeared to be a re-enactment of a dance from a formal ball. There was a coy smile on Sophia’s face and Ben held her eyes with a slight smile of his own as they moved through the steps without flaw. Too soon the dance reached its end with Ben bowing over Sophia’s hand which he held to his lips. The gathered crowd burst into applause and Daniel was grinning broadly as he’d filmed the entire dance. Ben and Sophia seemed to finally notice they had an audience so they bowed to the tourists and made their way back to their party.
“Where did you learn to dance like that Ben?” Catherine exclaimed.
Ben stopped and thought about it with a puzzled frown on his face. “Uh… I- I’m not sure. The steps just came to me. Like muscle memory. Somebody must have taught me when I was a kid. My body just knew the steps. Huh.” He turned to Sophia who was still breathing fast from the dance and bowed deeply to her again. “My thanks for the honor of the dance with so lovely a partner.”
Sophia blushed and curtsied. She caught Daniel’s eye and the two reviewed the footage. She complimented him on his excellent camera work and asked him for a copy of the movie. He beamed with pride and nodded. Catherine, Rachel, and Megan gathered around Sophia and they moved along to the next room while they asked what it had felt like to dance like that in the beautiful room. She gushed that it felt like a dream or something from the movies.
Lucy was staring at Ben like he’d just performed some magic. Tina leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Ben’s an excellent dancer. He took me dancing and the night was so much fun. It was perfect! He’s going to take me dancing again when we get home. I will hold him to that promise.” She smiled fondly at Ben.
They finished the tour of the building and dropped off the audio guides. It was approaching noon so they made their way to a restaurant to grab a quick bite.
As they ate they discussed how people wanted to tour the gardens. They could rent bicycles for a self-guided tour, take a Segway guided tour, or just walk. Catherine and her daughters decided to try the Segways and Gabriella and her kids chose to rent bikes. Ben opted to remain in the shade with Tina and Lucy and eat ice cream. The party split up and promised to meet up in a couple of hours. Ben found a bench under a tree and sat with Tina. He gave Lucy some money to go into the snack bar to get some ice cream for them.
When they were alone Ben turned to Tina. She smiled up at him and he felt something tingle in his heart.
“We haven’t really had a moment to ourselves to discuss the significance of what’s happening within you have we.” She shook her head. “I want you to know I’m completely in awe of you at this moment. Something that should have been impossible and you made it happen. Granted it was an accident, it’s still a miracle in my book. I would have understood if you hadn’t wanted to have another baby.”
“I want to have your baby, Ben!” Tina gushed. Ben pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. Passersby paused to see the passionate embrace of the two on the bench and a few even stopped to boldly take a picture.
When they pulled back from the kiss, Tina was panting. She clung to his arms and tried to catch her breath. She looked at him with need in her eyes but there really wasn’t anything they could do in the crowded gardens.
“Sorry,” he said.
She just nodded and rested back on the bench.
Lucy arrived with their ice cream and noted their flushed faces and Tina’s plumped lips. She smiled to herself as she looked around at the people glancing over at the couple on the bench. She felt the sexual tension radiating from Ben and Tina. Ice cream would have to suffice… until they got back to the hotel at least. The cool treat was a welcome distraction.
Ben moved to the center of the bench and Lucy moved to his other side so both women could lean against his chest and snooze. A warm, gentle breeze blew up the hill carrying the scents of the garden below. Ben watched the people go by and many would smile and nod as they saw the two young women sleeping so contentedly against his sides.
The time slipped by and Ben began to doze himself. Then he heard Gabriella’s voice as she spoke to her daughter while they climbed up to the bench. Daniel walked over to show him the picture he’d taken of Ben dozing with the two ladies. It was a very sweet image and he told him so. He kissed the tops of the ladies heads and they woke up and stretched. They headed off to the restroom and Gabriella sank to the bench next to Ben and he kissed her head too.
“Did you have fun?” he asked.
“Yes, it was gorgeous and seeing it by bicycle was wonderful! The grounds are HUGE! We saw so much but there was so much more to see!”
“I saw a bunny!” Miriam blurted. “It was so sweet!”
They saw Catherine and her daughters walking up towards them being trailed by four young men, probably in their twenties. The men were talking non-stop but Ben couldn’t understand them. It sounded… Italian?
“Oh, oh. Looks like Catherine and the girls have some cling-ons.” Gabriella said.
“Intervention required?” he asked her.
“Yeah, they look tired. I’ve got this one.” She got up and walked towards Cat. Then she started to speak Italian and the men shut up as their heads swung in her direction. They looked at Ben and they didn’t look happy. He gave them a scowl. Two immediately turned and walked away. A third seemed torn then blushed and left. The last one tried to yell back but Gabriella verbally spanked him until he turned away and hustled to catch up with his friends.