He was still in awe of their love. He continued to give thanks to the God he knew that had led him to her, or her to him, he wasn't sure which way round it had happened. He also felt that somehow her father, Paul, had given her to him to love and take care of for the rest of her life, maybe as a result of his reading Charis' letter from him. Whatever the reason, he felt a sacred obligation and prayed for the ability to be the kind of husband she needed. He’d been worried to start with that he was too old for her - ten years older. He’d argued with himself about it until he realised that although in actual years she was very young, the life she had been forced to live and the responsibilities she'd had made her mature in so many ways. Yet in other ways she seemed so natural, unsophisticated, and innocent. He wondered if he was being selfish in wanting her so much, but knew he didn't want to live his life without her. Ben hadn't believed that such love as he felt for his wife existed. He felt extremely blessed each time he looked at her or thought about her and grateful that she seemed to feel the same for him, had indeed known from the time that she was ten years old that there was something special about their relationship. And that was a confirmation to him that their love was meant to be.
For supper Charis made sandwiches with the beef left over from their mid-day meal. Ben talked about his work the next day. Allison was going to be his first patient at nine o'clock but he needed to be at work by eight as he had things to arrange. He had letters waiting for him with offers of NHS consultancy work at a couple of the hospitals he’d worked at previously while he’d been training, and he had to decide what hours he could spare and still keep up his private work. He wanted very much to do both. He asked what Charis was planning to do. Would she find enough to keep busy?
She hadn't paid much attention to the house for almost a month; it would take her all week to get up to date, plus washing, ironing and shopping. She’d received an offer from the music academy to teach part time and she had to decide whether to accept it. She thought perhaps she should go and talk to them about the schedule – when they needed her and if it would be compatible with the hours she felt she could spare. She also wanted to see the Chandlers sometime soon, and also James and Helen. Would he mind if she invited them over for a meal?
They’d been invited to spend the next weekend at Ben's parents’ home and Charis wanted to go. What if we drive down Saturday morning and come home Sunday evening? Did he mind? She was starting to feel like a real married lady!
“I'll stay busy,” she told him. “But I'll miss having you here with me.”
They made arrangements for her to go to the Health Centre at about noon the next day when he hoped they would be able to have lunch together at a nearby cafe. He wouldn't be really sure of his schedule until he arrived at work in the morning so he would text her and let her know what time would be best.
Tomorrow, she thought. Tomorrow is going to be the first day of the rest of my life.
That evening, when they’d finally gone to bed and they lay quietly together for a little while, Charis whispered into Ben’s ear, “Do I still please you, my prince?”
“Am I still your prince?” he asked.
“Always and forever,” she said softly. “You are my prince, my love, my life, my hopes, my dreams, my world, my everything.”
“Oh, my darling girl,” he said as he ran his fingers through her hair and down the side of her face. “You please me beyond belief and I love you more than I could ever have imagined.” Then he bent to kiss her tenderly. Her lips were soft and sweet, so he kissed her again…and again…and again.
PART VII
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Everything around her was black - thick and deep - not a glimmer of light anywhere. She could hear the footsteps running after her, pounding, pounding, and could almost feel and smell its breath on her neck, whatever horror it was that was chasing her. She was just a child and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, terror eating at her, desperate to escape its clutches. A faint glow of light ahead - an open doorway! Quickly run through and slam the door shut. Then came the banging, the thumping on the door. She screamed but no sound came. She sobbed and then he was holding her. She heard his voice.
“Charis! Charis, wake up. You're safe. Nothing is going to hurt you. I'm here.”
Ben! She woke with a start and clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably. He held her close, comforting her as he had done once before when she’d told him she’d wanted to die.
Gradually, her sobbing eased then ceased and he asked, “The shed?”
She nodded. He continued to hold her, comfort her and stroke her hair until she fell asleep again, safe in his arms.
With the exception of Henry, Ben had never hated anyone in his life up until now. His hatred for what Mildred had done to his precious, sweet wife, was so strong that he wished she wasn't dead so that he could place his hands around her neck and slowly squeeze the life out of her. Charis had told him that she still occasionally had nightmares about the night she’d been locked in the shed as a child, but this was the first time he’d witnessed one for himself. He lay beside her, silently planning the torture he would like to inflict on Mildred, until he, too, fell asleep.
They slept late, physically and emotionally drained. When they finally woke, Ben asked her to tell him about the dream…the nightmare.
Charis tried but it was difficult to put into words. She tried to describe it all, however it was mainly the terror she felt…how there was no escape from the blackness…the pit of darkness. She confided that in the past she’d always awoken too scared to try to sleep again. It was always the same. This was the first time she'd woken to comfort and safety…to Ben. He hoped that in talking about it she would get some relief.
It made them even later. They had much to do to get ready for the day. It was Saturday and they’d been married for three weeks. Ben had survived, thrived, at his first week of work and this was the weekend they were driving down to Hampshire to see his parents.
Charis was glad to be getting away. She loved her home. She loved being married to Ben but he’d been back at work for only two days when she received the first telephone call. At first she was just annoyed. She’d answered the phone and there’d been no one there. She hung up and then it rang again. She answered for the second time. This time there was a voice that sounded far away.
“So, you're home again. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Egypt.” Then he laughed. She slammed the receiver down and found she was trembling from head to foot. She dialled 1471 to try and identify the caller. “Number withheld,” the automated voice said. Henry? Could it be?
*****
The day was beautiful – perfect summer weather as they drove past Winchester and on to Willow Bend. Only Ben's parents were at home when Ben and Charis arrived, but other family members were planning to arrive in the evening.
Charis felt awkward knowing that she would be sharing Ben's old bedroom. As a child she’d slept in Jennifer's room and the boys' rooms had been off limits, at least when she was visiting. His room was one of the rooms in the attic – in days gone by, a servants’ room - with its own small en-suite shower room. It wasn’t large but had a window seat and a beautiful view to the front of the house and over the fields.
They spent the afternoon outside, sitting first on the terrace and later in the shade of the oak tree where they enjoyed their afternoon tea. Giles had stood up, strolled over to Charis and put out his hand to her.
“Shall we?” he asked. “For old times’ sake?”
Charis smiled at him. Ben gave her an encouraging smile so she took Giles' hand as he helped her up from the grass and they set off together, Rufus at their heels. They wandered past the little lake and through the woods, as they had in previous times. Once more Giles was pointing out things of interest to her and occasionally she even managed to notice something before he did.
She felt very comfortable with him, enough eventually to ask, “Would you mind very much if I called you Dad?”
>
“I’d be honoured,” he responded. “I was never more delighted than when I found out you were to become a member of my family. I have thought of you almost as a daughter for many years now.”
They walked a little bit further, happy in each other's company, talking quietly about this and that and watching Rufus running around and sniffing at everything, before he asked, “Is that son of mine treating you properly?”
“Oh, yes!” Her voice was full of love for her husband when she added, “He's wonderful! I can't imagine my life without him. I've loved him for a very long time you know, I just didn't know how much.” A minute later she added, “And then he saved my life.”
Giles stood still and looked at her very seriously. “Did he indeed?” he asked.
She hesitated for a few minutes before she went on. “I got myself into a difficult situation in Cairo and...I wanted to...I tried to...” She found she couldn't continue. She felt tears beginning to come so she stopped and bit her lip.
“And he was there?” asked Giles.
“Yes,” she replied. She paused for a few moments and said again, “He was wonderful.”
“I'm glad,” was all Giles said as they walked back to join the others.
Ben and Emily had watched them go. Ben was delighted to have some quiet time with his mother. Since his father had semi-retired several months ago, he hadn't had many opportunities to be alone with her, except for the few brief minutes he’d spent with her before his marriage to Charis. They sat companionably chatting about a few inconsequential things, then moved on to some family news and then Emily leant forward, put her hand on Ben's knee and asked, “Are you happy Ben?”
“Blissfully,” he beamed.
“And Charis?” she continued. “Is she happy too?”
“I think so,” he responded. “We’re both very happy.”
“I worry about her so,” Emily went on. “She had such a lonely and unhappy childhood.”
“I told you once before,” he reminded her. “You have no need to worry. I love her very much and I will take good care of her.” They were quiet for a few moments before Ben continued. “Actually, I think things for her at home were even worse than we could imagine.” He told her about Charis' recurring nightmare…that the previous night was the first one she'd had since they'd been together and how distraught she’d been when she awoke.
“But at least you were with her,” his mother said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
By this time they could see Giles and Charis in the distance, returning home.
“Charis always enjoyed her walks with Dad,” Ben said. “She told me how it reminded her of time spent with her own father before he died.”
“I'm glad,” smiled Emily as Giles and Charis walked up the lawn towards them.
*****
The evening turned out to be extremely enjoyable. Emily had asked Charis and Ben to wear their wedding outfits as she wanted it to be a celebration of their marriage for family who’d been unable attend the wedding. Not only were Jennifer, Amelia and Charles there, but Elizabeth, Adrian and Simon with their spouses and Adrian's little girls, and Elizabeth and Hugh's three little boys, Emily's two brothers and their wives and Giles' brother and sister, their spouses and several assorted cousins. Most of them Charis knew, or had at least met before, but for someone who preferred not to have a fuss made she was surprised that she actually had a very pleasant time.
Fortunately, Emily had passed on the request for no gifts – the same request they’d made for their actual wedding – so Charis didn't have to go through the ordeal of opening presents and pretending to like everything. And as several people asked Ben exactly how, when and where they had met, he took up his favourite position, half sitting, half leaning on the edge of the table, ankles crossed and clapped his hands demanding everyone’s attention.
“Okay, listen up everyone. This is the first and last time of telling the short and sweet story of the whirlwind romance of Ben and Charis! You all know that we have known each other for more than ten years now, and right from the beginning I think we both knew the other was special. But we kind of lost touch – my fault – over the past few years. We met again in Cairo where Charis was supposed to meet her uncle, who for some reason didn't show up, but I was there with my cousin Ravi, so we spent a couple of days together and decided not to waste any more time and to get married. End of story.”
Several of the guests had something to say about that.
“Oh, come on! There must be more to it than that!” “Tell us exactly what happened,” and so on, until Ben put up his hands.
“Whether there is more to it or not, that’s all you get and I'm not going to answer any more questions. Just know that I adore her and I think she likes me a bit, too, and we intend to live happily ever after.” And he refused to say anything more about it.
It was late by the time all the family headed home and they were finally free to go to bed, tired but happy. Ben and Charis walked up the two flights of stairs to his room, arms around each other. As soon as they entered Ben’s bedroom, he shut the door, took her in his arms and kissed her; her mouth, her cheek, her neck. As his hand moved to slip her dress from her shoulders he thought he felt her wince. His concern was immediate.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” she replied.
“Not nothing I think. Tell me, sweetheart.”
“I'm just being silly.”
“No,” Ben shook his head. “One thing you’re not is silly. So what is it then?”
“It's just...it's just I feel awkward here in your room. I feel like I should be in Jennifer's room…like it was when I came here as a child and this was your room and I wasn't allowed in. And your Mum and Dad just downstairs? What are they thinking?”
He grinned and held her a little tighter. “I don't expect they’re thinking anything at all – at least not about us! They are either already fast asleep or doing just what we are about to do!”
Charis looked surprised – almost shocked. “Really?” she asked.
“Why not?” he responded. “True, they are no longer young, but sex isn't the prerogative of the young you know. It doesn't end until you're dead! And they are very much alive and still in love with each other…just like we’ll be when we are their age. So, let's start over. Where were we?” he asked as he slipped her dress off her shoulders.
On Sundays, breakfast at the Covington household was at nine o'clock…before church at ten. Emily had always insisted that her family attend church on Sunday. Ben and Charis had slept until seven, filled in the hour before getting up at eight with ardent lovemaking, Charis having managed to overcome her qualms. They showered, dressed and were down for breakfast ten minutes early. Emily was busy preparing a roast for dinner so she could pop it in the oven as soon as they returned from church.
Their parish church was just a mile away in the nearest village, and as both Jennifer and Amelia were longing to ride in Ben's new Jaguar, they drove, but Giles and Emily walked. Charis took particular notice of how they walked - arm in arm, close together - how they looked at each other -and she agreed with Ben that they were quite obviously still in love.
The service was nearly over and the congregation was singing “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”. Ben listened to his wife's lovely voice, noticed how beautiful she looked in the dress she’d worn when they’d left for their ‘at home’ honeymoon, looked down the row past his sisters to his parents sitting on the end of their pew, and felt it appropriate to both praise and thank God for all the blessings in his life; his parents, his home and happy childhood, his brothers and sisters, his education, and a job that he loved. And now for his wife - his beloved Charis, the supreme benediction of his life. How unbelievably happy and blessed he felt.
Dinner wouldn’t be for a few hours - Sunday dinner in the Covington home was always sometime after one o'clock - so Ben and Charis decided to go for a walk through the woods and took the same route that they’d walked
together all those years ago. Once again, Ben helped her over the stile and held her hands as she crossed the stream, but this time he continued to hold her hand, or had his arm around her, as they wandered among the trees and over the fields, and occasionally he would take her in his arms and kiss her. They had Rufus with them and they watched and laughed at him running around pretending to chase rabbits or other furry little creatures until it was time to return home for the family dinner.
It was five in the afternoon before they left to drive back to London and their Chelsea home. It had felt to Charis as though she’d been accepted as one of the family now…that at last she had a family of her own. There were hugs and kisses all around before they left.
“Please don't leave it too long before you come again,” said Emily.
And they promised.
*****
Life for Charis and Ben gradually settled into a routine. Ben left for work each morning at about ten minutes to eight. He preferred to walk as the Health Centre was just a few streets away, but as most days he also was doing consultancy work for the NHS, and would have to travel between hospitals, he ended up driving a lot of the time. He was never sure what time his work day would end so he tried to text Charis in the late afternoon with an approximate time, as she liked to have dinner cooking when he got home.
Charis Page 13