Charis
Authors: Mary Francis
C H A R I S
A Naïve English Girl Who Overcomes Tragedy and Trial
to Fight for Her Happily Ever After
by Mary Francis
First
eBook Edition, November 2013
Published
by ABC’s Legacy, LLC
Copyright
2013 ABC’s Legacy, LLC
All
rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or part,
without written permission from the publisher.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With grateful thanks to AJ Harmon without
whose help and encouragement this book would never have been written.
GLOSSARY
CHARIS
: (Karis) from Greek meaning 'grace' i.e. – 'divine grace' in
Christian context.
TINTAGEL
: Legendary birthplace and childhood home of King Arthur.
BEEFEATERS
: Common name given to the Yeoman Warders (guards) at the Tower of
London.
Reference to
BUCKINGHAM
PALACE
: From a poem by A. A. Milne. A conversation between Christopher
Robin and his nursemaid, Alice.
DISSOLUTION OF
THE MONASTERIES
: Henry VIII's looting and
confiscation of land and properties belonging to the Catholic Church. Much of
it was sold to wealthy subjects as a means of filling his treasury. Begun in
1536 and lasted four years.
de SELLE
: (Sellay) name believed to date back to the Norman Conquest in 1066
HADRIAN'S WALL
: Wall built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 122 across northern
England from the east coast to the west coast, used as a barrier to keep the 'barbaric
tribes' of Scotland from invading the Roman Empire's territory of Britannia. A
World Heritage site.
QCs
: Queen's Counsel – Senior barristers appointed by 'letters
patent'. A distinction conferred by the Crown to 'a select few regarded as
worthy of the prize, awarded to the specially diligent, learned, upright and
capable members of the bar'. (Cox & Spiller, Queen's Counsel 2000 NZLJ 371
373) When they are appointed they wear a silk gown (known as 'taking silk'). They
take precedence over other barristers.
MEWS HOUSE
: From the 16th to the 19th centuries a mews was an area used to
house the horses and carriages of wealthy people living in large cities. The
buildings were situated around a large courtyard and usually supplied
accommodation for the grooms and their families. In recent years they have
often been remodelled into very desirable residences.
A & E
: The Accident and Emergency Department of a hospital.
BANNS
: The Calling of Banns is a requirement of various churches before a
wedding to allow members of the public time to register opposition to the
marriage,as in the 'let him now speak or forever hold his peace' part of the ceremony.
GP
: General Practitioner – Primary Care Physician
SAT NAV
: Satellite Navigation - GPS
PROLOGUE
The two men stood deep in the shadows as they talked, ignoring the
bustle of the busy marketplace nearby, heads close together, voices soft and
insistent. They argued, they bargained and finally came to agreement. Money
changed hands. The taller one nodded to the other then they turned and left in
opposite directions, melting into the crowd.
The selling of human flesh is a dark and evil deed.
PART I
CHARIS
In later years, when Charis looked back on her childhood before her
father died, her memories were all happy ones. Although her mother had died
giving birth to her, she’d never felt deprived of love or attention. Mrs.
Patterson had told her how her father, although he grieved deeply for his
beloved Elizabeth, had cared for her with as much love and devotion as any
mother. He’d bathed her, fed her, got up to her during the night, taken her for
walks and played with her. Charis' own memories were filled with delight; of
walks in the countryside near her home, her father pointing out the birds and
animals, the trees and flowers to her. In the spring they would come home with
bunches of flowers or leaves from the trees, in the autumn with horse chestnuts
that had fallen to the ground. She remembered feeding the ducks on the village
pond and playing Pooh sticks on the little bridge that crossed the stream at
the bottom of their garden; the cosy cuddles in the big arm chair by the fire
when her father read to her before bedtime; how he always came to tuck her into
bed and kiss her before she fell asleep.
He taught her how to read and guided her first tentative efforts to
play the piano. He taught her to climb trees and indeed, how to enjoy life to
the full. He’d guided her first steps, not just as she learned to walk, but as
she embarked on the adventure of going to the village school. They walked to
the school together every day and he was always there to fetch her home again.
Life for Charis was full of joy, love, serenity and contentment.
Each summer they’d spent two weeks on holiday in Cornwall, the
beautiful southwest corner of England. They rented a cottage in a small coastal
village not far from Tintagel. She remembered the walks to the beach and playing
in the rock pools, eating Cornish pasties and having cream teas, or sitting on
the sea wall eating fish and chips. Once she’d said that Mrs. Patterson would
not approve and her father had mimicked their Scottish housekeepers voice,
looked down his nose and said, “Young ladies never eat with their fingers,” and
Charis had giggled so much she nearly fell off the wall. And then they'd go
back to the cottage and she'd have a hot bath and they'd enjoy cosy evenings
together.
Every year they explored Tintagel castle and Merlin's cave by the
water’s edge, climbing the steps from the beach, which Charis always counted
and got a different number every time, and they’d cross the footbridge high
above the water. Charis was always terrified they would fall, but felt safe
with her hand held tightly in her father's. They went further afield too, to
Boscastle which she enjoyed, and even to Devon to visit the donkey sanctuary.
She very much wanted to take a donkey home and her father promised that when
she was old enough to take care of it by herself, she could have a donkey of
her own.
They spent quite a lot of time in London, too; a week or two in the
summer, the Easter holidays, a few days before Christmas and every half term.
Her father had to visit his publisher regularly and so he combined business
with pleasure. And they would always spend some time with James too, which
pleased Charis. She liked her father's friend and felt comfortable with him.
She loved the hustle and bustle of shopping for Christmas presents, the
Christmas displays in the big shop windows, and the huge tree in Trafalgar
Square. They always went to a pantomime. She remembered seeing Cinderella,
Aladdin and Peter Pan. It delighted her to “Boo” the villain with all the other
children and cry out “Oh, yes he is” as loud as any of them. She had many
favourite things in London. Getting on the little boat at Westminster Bridge
and going down the river to the Tower was one of them. She was fascinated by
the stories her father told her of things that had happened there and the people
who’d been imprisoned – or worse! She loved to look at the Crown Jewels and the
uniforms of the Beefeaters. She enjoyed going to the Victoria and Albert Museum
and the National Gallery. She was intrigued by the Whispering Gallery in St.
Paul's Cathedral and loved walking in the park and watching the changing of the
guard at Buckingham Palace.
They had a ritual where her father would recite the poem about
Christopher Robin walking down with Alice, but when he came to the part about
the King, Charis would say, “Do you think the Queen knows all about me?” and
her father would answer, “She's sure to dear, but it's time for tea.” Then they
would laugh and laugh and go home for tea.
They had other outings too, especially on long weekends, or if her
father was doing research for his latest book. She came to love the history and
the traditions of her country and enjoyed their time together exploring new
places.
The Christmas when Charis was five her father gave her a puppy as a
present; a beautiful Golden Retriever she called Lady. Lady became her best
friend – next to her father of course – and went everywhere with them, even on
their annual holiday to Cornwall. She walked with them to and from school
during the week and she explored the countryside with them at the weekend. The
only time she wasn't with them was when they went to London. Paul told her that
it wouldn't be fair to take her to the city as the traffic and noise would
upset her, so Lady stayed home with the Pattersons who loved her too, and her
precious Lady would accompany George as he worked in the gardens or sometimes
curl up and sleep in the kitchen while Marjorie worked.
But life wasn't always quite so enjoyable. Lurking in the background,
as if ready to pounce at any moment, was Mildred and the malevolent presence of
Henry. At that age Charis was too young to understand their relationship or
reasons for being there. They were just there, hovering…menacing. And Charis
was afraid of them both.
*****
The year was 1540 and Henry VIII was intent on his quest to dissolve
all the monasteries. So far the little Abbey, just a few miles from Castle
Combe on the road to Bath, had escaped his notice, but not anymore. Although
not rich in worldly things, the Abbey was popular with the local people for the
good works the monks did for the community; taking care of the sick, the
elderly and the poor, and teaching some of the children to read and write. The
leading family in the area was the de Sellés, said to have come from Normandy
at the time of the conquest, and as Henry's greedy eyes fell upon the little
Abbey, Robert de Sellé offered to buy it and so saved it from destruction. He
bought the buildings and the land and saved as many of the monks as he could,
but couldn't save them all. Those who managed to escape returned to their homes
and former lives.
Robert and his wife enjoyed their new house. They turned the old
buildings into a large and sumptuous family home and as the land of their
original property ran alongside the old Abbey grounds, they now had ownership
of extensive holdings. Rich in worldly things, they were also kind people and
benevolently kept up as many of the monks’ good deeds as they could. But by
1580 Robert and his good wife had gone the way of all the earth and it was a
somewhat dissolute grandson who now had ownership. He gambled his way into debt
and it looked as though he would lose the property, but instead, he sold off
large swathes of the old Abbey land and made just enough money to keep the
house. The biggest section, known as the Monks Meadow, was bought by one Thomas
Beresford, where he built a house, married a wife and raised his family. They
called their home Meadow Lea Hall.
Thomas was twelve when he first went to sea. He’d gone to Bristol to
look for work and found a job as a cabin boy and so began his career. By 1577,
he was sailing with Francis Drake aboard the Golden Hind on its epic three year
voyage around the world. He arrived home, thirty years old, feeling the need to
settle down and with enough gold in his pockets to be comfortable for the rest
of his life.
Thomas and his wife Elizabeth built their home in the Elizabethan
style – in the shape of an E, and of Cotswold stone. They had a magnificent oak
panelled hall with a large inglenook fireplace, a wide oak staircase, and
leaded glass, stone mullioned windows. It was not as big nor as impressive as
the de Sellé house, but very appealing nonetheless - a warm and comfortable
family home. In due course their son William grew up, went to Oxford to read
law and on to London where he became a successful barrister, wealthy and
important enough to marry Sarah de Sellé. Her dowry was the remainder of the
original Abbey land and it was large enough to have a home farm. Meadow Lea
Hall was now complete.
The Beresford family had arrived.
*****
Four hundred years later, another William Beresford was the owner of
Meadow Lea Hall. It had changed little since being built by Thomas – enlarged
somewhat by succeeding generations but never losing sight of its more humble
beginnings and always in the same Cotswold stone. The gardens were lovely, the
lawn behind the house sweeping down to the little stream that ran along the
boundary of the garden and the beginning of the home farm.
William and his wife Jane had been married for several years when
she discovered she was to have a child. They were delighted and hoped for a
boy, someone to inherit Meadow Lea Hall as their ancestors had done for hundreds
of years. It had taken so long to have a baby…they realised there may not be
another. When the time came, Jane was delivered of her long awaited child; a
daughter, Elizabeth, at the cost of Jane's life. William hired a nurse to take
care of his baby girl and retired into his study, saddened and bitter at the
death of his wife and old before his time.
Elizabeth grew and, despite all odds, was a happy and bright child.
Gradually she began to pierce her father's unhappiness. At an early age she
developed a love of music and began to pick out little tunes on the piano. He
found a piano teacher for her and before long she could play simple pieces of
music for him and kept him amused with her games and antics. By the time she
was about six or seven years old, William started thinking about getting
married again. He felt Elizabeth would need a mother as she grew up, which was
when Mildred entered the picture. William brought her home to meet Elizabeth
but instead of falling in love with William and his daughter, she fell in love
with his house.
Mildred was a widow with a twelve year old son. As soon as she saw
Meadow Lea Hall she coveted it for her Henry. She could tell William doted on
his daughter and decided the best way to get to William would be through
Elizabeth. The ploy worked. Before long William married Mildred and she and
Henry came to live at Meadow Lea Hall. To begin with, Mildred made an effort to
be pleasant and outwardly affectionate towards Elizabeth. But children are
perceptive and Elizabeth was uncomfortable around her and Henry and the tension
began to show. Soon all pretence was gone and, at best, an uneasy truce held
sway. It was about this time that William visited his solicitor to draw up a
new will.
Things were better when Henry went away to school, paid for by
William, and he was only around for school holidays. By the time Elizabeth went
away to school, Henry had embarked on his archaeological studies at Cambridge
and was home even less. Once again William retired to his study and Mildred had
her say in the running of the household. Things changed each time Elizabeth
came home. William became more of his old self and laughter was heard in the
house once again. Music played a more and more important role in Elizabeth's
life and as her school life ended she chose it as her career. She went to
London to study. Her visits home were the only light in her father's life.
Sometimes he went to London to hear her play, especially as she began to be a
soloist with well-known orchestras.
Then one weekend she arrived home with Paul. They were obviously in
love with each other and were married soon afterwards. William's health was
beginning to fail so Elizabeth and Paul came to live at Meadow Lea Hall.
Elizabeth sensed her father didn't have long to live and wanted to make sure
his last months, hopefully years, were happy ones.
*****
Paul Ainslie was a successful writer of historical mystery novels
and already had two of his books made into films and one into a television
drama. It was while he was working on the TV show that he met Elizabeth. She
was hired to play the piano in a scene of the show. As he watched her play he
was mesmerised – he thought she was absolutely lovely and so totally oblivious
of everyone as she lost herself in the music. The scene concluded and as he approached
her, she turned and smiled at the director standing nearby, pleased with her
performance and glad it was over in one take. Her smile dazzled Paul and he
felt unable to move. The director turned and saw him standing there.
“Ah Paul, I'd like to introduce you to our beautiful pianist,
Elizabeth Beresford. Elizabeth, this is Paul Ainslie, author of the story we're
filming.”
Elizabeth turned and saw a young man of medium height, brown hair
and a charming smile. This time her smile was just for him.
“How clever of you to write – I've read your books – I really enjoy
them.”
“And you are so talented,” he managed to say, hoping his voice
wasn't squeaking too much. Then he added, “And beautiful.”
Her hair was a deep gold colour and she had lovely blue and
expressive eyes which he thought were laughing at him. Somehow he managed to
ask her to have dinner with him and was surprised and elated when she agreed.
They found they had much in common and delighted in each other's company. It
wasn't long before she invited him home to meet her father and a few weeks
later they were married.