Charis Read Online Free Page A

District, near Keswick in Cumbria where he’d grown
up, had been sold. With his share of the proceeds he had put a deposit on a
house, and had been fortunate to pay off his mortgage with the royalties from
his first few books. He and Charis would live there on their frequent visits to
London while he was still alive and it had never been sold. Instead, James had
arranged for it to be rented on a long lease. As luck would have it, the lease
was recently up and the house was empty, except for the basement flat which was
occupied by the Chandlers.
    Sam and Eve Chandler were an older couple who’d lived in the flat
for as long as Charis could remember. Sam owned a little second hand book shop
which Charis had often visited and loved to potter among the books. Eve, Yvette
really, was French. She and Sam had no children and had doted on Charis when
she was young but they hadn't seen her since her father's death over nine years
before. They were delighted to see her again and helped her and Mildred get
comfortable in their new home.
    Pretty soon life settled into a routine. Charis realised that she
was no nurse, so arranged for regular home care for Mildred. She spent her time
taking Mildred for walks in her wheelchair, or for doctor visits or hospital
appointments, reading to her, and running the household. She cooked and cleaned
and shopped and had very little time for herself. Sometimes she managed to find
time for her music, an occasional concert or playing quietly to herself on the
piano. And once or twice she treated herself to a visit to the Victoria and
Albert Museum or the Tower, bringing back memories of the wonderful times spent
with her father. Mildred had been given six months to live but the six months
came and went and then a year had gone by and she required twenty-four hour
nursing care, which Charis arranged. By then Mildred was too ill to go for
walks or need much attention from Charis, so she began to have time on her
hands. She knew that Oxford was now out of the question so, hiding her
disappointment, she resumed her musical studies. For months she’d been
e-mailing Henry, begging him to come home and see his mother. All Mildred
wanted and talked about was her son.  Finally, after they’d been in London for
almost eighteen months, he came. He was as unpleasant as ever, and he seemed to
be watching her, as though sizing her up for something, but then he’d look away
if she turned to face him or caught his eyes so that she was even more
uncomfortable than usual in his presence. But it cheered Mildred up and that
was all that mattered to Charis. Mildred, happy to see her son, was much more
bearable than when Henry was not there. He stayed a week.
    When Mildred died, Charis was filled with relief. It made her feel guilty
but she knew she was justified. In all that Charis had done for her, not once
had Mildred said thank you. She behaved as though Charis was her servant and
demanded more and more of her. Henry came home for the funeral but not until
Charis had made and paid for all the arrangements, with James' help. Two days
later Henry had gone again and that, too, was a relief. To start with, the weight
off her shoulders felt   so great that Charis wandered around almost in a daze.
No more Mildred to boss and bully her around – she was now free to do whatever
she chose. One of the things she decided to do was learn how to drive, and even
though she didn't have a car, and wouldn't as long as she lived in London, she
thought it was a good thing to know how to do. When she received her drivers'
licence she was proud of her achievement and felt very grown up.
    After a while she realised the house was too big for her. She
approached James with the idea of buying another house. She could never sell
the St. John's Wood house but she could lease it again and it would give her a
good income…not that she needed it. The Meadow Lea Hall estate was pretty much
self-sustaining even before the money that came from