As for Charis, she’d begun teaching at the music academy on Tuesdays and Thursdays from ten ‘til four, and she’d started helping Sam Chandler in his little book shop on the other mornings of the week. She thoroughly enjoyed it. Sam was getting near to retirement and was trying to find a buyer for his shop. Once it was sold her job there would end.
At least once a week they tried to arrange their schedules so they could meet and have lunch together. The days that Charis taught at the music academy, she didn't take a lunch time – she just packed a sandwich to eat between lessons – but on the days she worked for Sam she was free after noon and could arrange any time to suit Ben.
The first time they met, on his very first day at work, instead of texting her, he’d sent her a beautiful bouquet of two dozen roses in shades of pink and cream with a note to tell her that he loved her and that his morning appointments at the health centre finished about one, so she arrived just as he was due to finish. She walked up to the reception desk and Kathy, the receptionist, smiled at her and said, “He'll be done in just a minute, Mrs. Sinclair.”
Charis noticed his office door down the passageway open and out walked Ben with his patient, who was heavily pregnant. Ben had is head bent forward, listening to her speak as he ushered her up to the reception desk, his hand gently on her back. He glanced up at Charis and gave her a smile, but most of his attention was on his patient.
“Kathy,” he said to the receptionist. “Mrs. Reeve is to be admitted early tomorrow morning. We don't want her to go any longer before getting these babies out.” Then he turned back to Mrs. Reeve and said, “You need to be here by seven-thirty in the morning. I'll see you at eight-thirty and we'll have those two here by the evening. Kathy will make all the arrangements for you and I'll see you in the morning.” He smiled at her before turning to Charis. He put his arm around her and kissed her lightly on her forehead. Quietly she thanked him for the beautiful roses.
“Were they beautiful?” he asked. She nodded with a smile. “I wanted beautiful flowers for my beautiful wife. I'm glad you liked them. Come with me to my office, sweetheart. I just need to get my jacket and then we can go.” Charis was aware that several patients in the waiting room were watching intently as they made their way back down the hall.
Their weekends together were very precious as, too, were the holidays they tried to arrange. The staff at the Health Centre had a rota for summer holidays and Ben had asked her where she would like to go on his two weeks off.
“Well,” she said. “One day I would like to go to Keswick and see where my Dad grew up, but I don't think that August would be a very good time to go to the Lake District - it would be too crowded. Do you think we could go to Cornwall? I haven't been since I was seven.”
“That might be crowded, too,” Ben replied.
“I expect everything will be,” she agreed.
So they postponed any decision for the time being.
Life is full of many little coincidences and just two days after their conversation about summer holidays they got a phone call from Tricia Maitland. She sounded excited.
“My daughter is getting married,” she said. “And we'll be going home for the wedding – two weeks in August. I’m not sure how you feel about the house being empty. We thought we would give Rosa and Amy (the American staff they’d brought with them) time at home, too. Perhaps you know of someone who would be willing to house sit?” she asked.
Almost not daring to ask Charis said “When?”
“Twelfth to the twenty-seventh,” came the reply.
“Do you mind if it's Ben and me?”
“Really? You'd be willing to do that?”
“Willing?” Charis almost shouted with excitement. “Oh, we would love to! Ben has time off work from the hospital then – it would be perfect!” She turned to him to ask, “Would you mind? Could we go?”
Ben was delighted to see her excitement. “Of course we can go,” he said. “It couldn't be more perfect.”
So their holiday was planned. Two weeks at Meadow Lea Hall.
“We'll go to Cornwall and we'll go to Keswick…but another time,” he promised her.
*****
August was going to be busy. Early in the month was Charles and Amelia’s wedding. It was also Charis’ twenty-first birthday and Ben wanted to make sure it was something really special, as he knew she hadn't had a proper birthday celebration since she was seven years old. It was going to take some thought because he knew she wasn’t one who usually enjoyed parties or fuss and it would fall while they were staying at Meadow Lea Hall, so he was in a quandary trying to decide what to do for her, although he’d already arranged for her present. He talked to Helen and his mother to see if they had any thoughts to offer on the matter. They both promised they would think about it and get back to him, so for the time being he put it to the back of his mind and allowed it to stew for a while. But something happened that pushed out all thoughts of August, Meadow Lea Hall, holidays and birthdays.
One day early in July, Charis was preparing dinner when the phone rang. It was Ben - most unusual as he usually just texted her.
His voice sounded strange. “Don't hold dinner for me,” he said. “I have no idea how long I'll be. An emergency has come up and I have to stay as long as I'm needed. I'll try and let you know a bit later when I'll be home.”
His next communication was a text. Still can't leave. Don't wait up. I love you.
By this time in their marriage Charis was getting used to him having to be at some hospital at all hours. Babies don't arrive to order - they come in their own sweet time, so she assumed that it was some poor woman having a difficult birth.
As the next day was Saturday, and as she didn't have to be up early, she decided to wait for him, curled up on the sofa with a favourite book and a mug of hot chocolate. It was long after midnight when she finally heard the car pull into the garage. She’d just been drifting off to sleep. Several minutes went by and Ben still hadn't come inside. Worried, she stood up and moved towards the door when she heard the car door shut and his footsteps approaching the door. When it opened, he stood there looking totally haggard with an expression on his face that she couldn't decipher. As she walked toward him, he opened his arms to her, held her close, buried his face on her shoulder and cried. She was at a loss what to do. He was always the strong one, the one who did all the comforting. Charis held him and stroked his head and kissed his cheek, wiped his eyes with her hands until he finally managed to regain control of his emotions and they went and sat on the sofa together.
Many minutes passed in silence until he had full command of himself and said, “I'm sorry. I couldn't hold it in any longer.”
“It's okay,” she soothed. “What happened? Will it help to talk about it?”
“I really don't want to bother you with it. It'll upset you too and there's no point in us both being upset.”
“Ben, I want to share your life. I know I can't go to work with you and share your job, but I can share the worries that you have. And if it helps to talk about it, I would like to listen.”
He’d sat silently for a few minutes and then he’d started to talk. “I was doing a regular stint at the obstetric clinic this afternoon when there was an emergency call from A&E. They needed me to go and attend to a patient. Unusual but not unheard of. I couldn't believe what I saw when I got there. A little girl, three years old, covered in blood and still bleeding.” He’d started to cry again. She waited quietly until he could go on. “She’d been raped. Raped by her mother's so called boyfriend. So brutally raped that her internal organs were damaged. We couldn't do anything for her. We couldn't stop the bleeding. We tried everything we could think of but the damage was just too bad. Fortunately she was not conscious so I don't think she was aware of any pain, although she kept whimpering. Such a sweet little girl. How could anyone do such a thing? To anyone, let alone a child? Such a little child.”
She had no idea what to say to comfort him, so she didn’t s
peak…just held him and wiped his tears. Eventually she asked, “I'm so sorry, so very sorry, for her, for her mother, for you. What happened?”
“She died,” he said. “We couldn't do anything to save her. We knew she was going to die, but I couldn't just leave her. They'd had to sedate her mother…she was hysterical. That's why I was so late. I had to wait…wait until she'd gone.”
“What a terrible thing…a really…terrible thing,” Charis said, her sympathy obvious. “But at least now she’s free from pain and at peace.”
They sat in silence for a little longer, then he said, “There are times when I am totally ashamed of my sex…of being a man. Such an animal! Such a bastard! How could anyone do such a thing?” he asked again.
“Did the police catch him?” she asked.
“Oh, yes! The child's mother heard her little girl screaming and caught him in the act. She hit him over the head and knocked him out and then dialled 9-9-9. They got him alright. Just as well because if I'd come close enough to him, I’d’ve killed him.”
Charis made him a cup of hot chocolate, sat with him while he drank it, and then they slowly climbed the stairs and went to bed, knowing that it was going to be a long night…that neither of them would get much sleep.
They spent that weekend at home…quietly…just the two of them, sometimes talking, sometimes just sitting together, and always thinking about the horror…the sadness of it all. When they lay in bed together Charis held Ben as one would an unhappy child, just to give him comfort until he finally slept. It wasn't until Sunday night, after they had changed and were ready for bed, that he came to her, took her in his arms and said, “I don't know what I would’ve done without you, Charis. Thank you for being so understanding. You’ve been balm to my wounded soul.”
“Oh, Ben,” she said. “As you have to me, so many times.”
He bent his head to hers and kissed her, slipped her nightdress from her shoulders and watched it fall to the floor. He took her to bed. Her Ben was back.
It had helped Ben to be totally open about his feelings with Charis, so that by the time Monday rolled around and he had to go to work again, he was calm enough and in control of himself again. She was glad that she could help in some small way. He’d been right though. She would much preferred not to have known about it…if only it had been another doctor. But Ben cared and had cared enough to stay until the end, and she loved him for his caring. And after all, marriage was about sharing the bad times and the sad times as well as the good.
*****
Jennifer was due to arrive later that day. She was to be Amelia's bridesmaid next month and had to come to London for a fitting for her dress. She’d taken a couple of days off work – she worked as a legal secretary for a law firm in Winchester – and would be staying with Ben and Charis. She arrived soon after Charis returned from her mornings’ work in Sam's bookshop. They spent a couple of hours together, talking about the wedding and the family, and chatting as only long standing friends do, before Charis started preparing dinner for when Ben came home.
They were still all sitting chatting quietly around the table after finishing their meal when there was a knock at the door. Charis, sitting closest, went to answer it. Standing on the other side of the door was a good looking young man; quite tall, with fair hair and blue eyes. He was smartly dressed in a suit, white shirt and tie.
He smiled at her. “Mrs. Sinclair?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I'm sorry to disturb you.” He pulled his warrant card from his pocket to show her. “I'm Detective Sergeant David Bryant from the Metropolitan Police. I wonder if I might have a word with your husband, Doctor Sinclair.”
“Of course,” she said. “Please, come in,” and stood aside to let him enter.
“Thank you,” he said and gave her a charming smile.
Ben got up from the table and extended his hand to the detective – they shook hands, liking each other on sight. “I'm Ben Sinclair and this is my wife, Charis. What can I do for you?” he asked.
But by this time the young policeman had seen Jennifer, still sitting at the table, and was staring at her. Jennifer was looking at him, a similar expression on her face. She was the first to look away, blushing. The Sergeant managed to turn back to Ben, somewhat embarrassed and said, “I'm sorry, Sir. I seem to have lost my train of thought.”
Ben and Charis caught each other's eye and both grinned.
“I was just about to introduce you to my sister, Jennifer Covington,” Ben said, indicating Jennifer. “She’s spending a few days with us. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?”
“David Bryant,” he said as he moved to shake Jennifer's hand. “I'm pleased to meet you,” he said to her.
Ben cleared his throat to get the young man's attention. “How can I help you Detective?”
“Well, Sir,” David began.
“It's Ben. Please call me Ben.”
“Very well – Ben. I need to talk to you about Amanda Billings. I believe you were the Consultant who attended her in the A&E on Friday night?”
“Yes, I was,” answered Ben, and as it was a very pleasant summer evening, he added, “Why don't we go and sit outside on the patio?”
The two men headed toward the door. Charis looked at Ben with a worried expression on her face.
“It's okay,” he said to her quietly and smiled reassuringly. “I'll be okay,” he whispered as the two of them went through the french doors into the back garden.
Charis watched them go, the worried look still on her face. But Ben seemed to be doing all right, so after a minute or two she turned her attention to her sister-in-law. She wasn’t surprised that a man would find Jennifer attractive. She’d always considered her friend to be gorgeous. She had dark brown hair, which she kept cut quite short, large brown eyes and a heart shaped face with a hint of a cleft in her chin. She was a couple of inches taller than Charis, and slim so she looked willowy and very graceful. At twenty-two years old Charis considered Jennifer to be a good catch for any young man. And this David Bryant seemed to be quite smitten. An interesting situation.
While the men talked outside, Charis and Jennifer cleared the table, stacked the dishwasher and tidied the kitchen. Charis was amused at the number of times Jennifer's gaze wandered beyond the french doors and into the garden. After about half an hour the men returned to the house. Ben's face looked strained and Charis was concerned for him. But he smiled at her and she could see he was handling it as best as he could. Jennifer was just finishing making a pot of coffee so she offered them both a cup.
“Thank you,” David said smiling at her as he took his cup. Jennifer blushed again and for the second time Ben and Charis caught each other's eye and grinned.
“Please,” Charis said to him. “Come and sit down with us. Did you get all the information you needed from Ben?”
“Yes, indeed. He’s been very helpful.”
“Well, now that’s over, perhaps we can put it out of our minds for the time being and just relax and be comfortable,” she suggested.
So they sat and enjoyed their coffee and each other's company before David stood up and said he must go. Before either Charis or Ben could say anything else, Jennifer jumped up and said, “I'll show you out.”
David thanked them for their help and shook their hands. “I hope to see you again,” he said before he walked to the door with Jennifer.
“Well, you took your time,” Ben said, smiling at his sister when she finally came back inside.
“We were just talking,” she answered defensively, flushing a little. “Apparently there's a little pub on the embankment called 'The Coach and Horses'. He's asked if we'd like to meet him there after his shift ends, about nine o'clock.” Her eyes were pleading with him to say yes.
“I don't see why not. He seemed a nice young man.”
“Thank you!” she beamed at him.
Nine o'clock saw them walking to the pub. David was already waiting for them.
“I hoped you'
d come,” he said, smiling at Jennifer.
Charis and Ben were quietly entertained watching the romance between Jennifer and David blossom right before their eyes. Jennifer had to be back at work on Wednesday, she had the fitting for her dress on Tuesday morning and the train to catch home in the afternoon. At some point during their hour at the pub on Monday evening, David had managed to arrange to meet her for lunch the next day. Before Charis left for the music academy on Tuesday, Jennifer asked if she and Ben would mind if she came to stay with them again next weekend. Charis tried to hide her amusement.
“Of course not,” she said smiling. “You're welcome any time.”
Telling Ben about it that evening she said, “I'm so glad that we were in Cairo while we were falling in love and didn't have an audience.”
“The kind of romance we had? It's just as well there was no audience,” Ben reminded her, the expression in his eyes making her blush at the memory.
She snuggled closer to him. “I wouldn't have had it any other way. To have you come to my rescue like a knight in shining armour, my prince Charming, was a dream come true for me.” She put her hand to his face to caress his cheek.
He took her in his arms and kissed her. “I think it's time we went to bed,” he whispered.
*****
Charis had all but forgotten the phone call when she received another one. This time there was no voice, just very audible breathing. And then a laugh. She hung up. Once again she was shaking. Why would he do this to me? She was sure it was Henry. She must find out where he was, what he was doing. But how? And what did he want from her? Money? Was he trying to terrify her again? If that was his plan it was working. She went about her daily routine and tried, rather unsuccessfully, to forget.
Ben's birthday was in the middle of July. They went to dinner at his favourite restaurant and Charis gave him a new watch. He’d talked about looking for another one - he'd had his old one since he started University when he was seventeen. Emily invited them down to Willow Bend for the next weekend so the family could celebrate his birthday - even though it was a couple of days late - and fortunately Ben was not on call that weekend. He had each weekend off, but twice a month he was on call in case of emergencies; one weekend for the NHS hospitals and the other for St. Anne’s and the Health Centre. So far he hadn’t been called in to either but he couldn't go too far from home on those weekends in case he was needed.
Charis Page 14