JUDGED CHAPTER SIX BEN AND DYLAN

(A/N: Warning for mentions of domestic violence. Apologies that this section will run over two chapters, but it does concern two different characters. Also, the Immigration laws mentioned in this chapter are purely fctional.)

Ben Chiltern was a genuinely kind and compassionate man. When he was a small boy his mum took him to see Bambi. He had wept bitterly over the fate of the little deer's mother, but had been enchanted by the rest of the film. From then on, Ben wanted to 'be good to animals'. He loved it when his turn came round to look after one of the school pets, and they were all safe in his hands. His mother asked him if he'd like a pet for his seventh birthday and he'd shaken his head.

"I thought you loved animals, Ben."

"I do. But please can I be a vet for my birthday then I can help all animals?"

His mum had told him gently that being a vet took lots and lots of hard work and you couldn't buy it. Ben vowed he'd do the work, and twenty years later, he'd achieved his goal. But he wasn't just kind to animals. Ben was patient with dithering old ladies and nervous children. He paid into charity collections and, more importantly, did voluntary work for them. When his assistant at the surgery told him he was looking tired and needed a holiday, Ben wisely heeded her words. He booked a holiday independently in early October, through the Internet, to a small mid-European country called Valamain.

It was one of the loveliest places Ben had ever visited, and he savoured every moment of his two- week break. Especially as he met Sapphira there. She'd been a waitress in the local taverna and Ben noticed that on some days she looked strained and anxious. He also noticed how beautiful she was, with her chestnut- coloured hair and melting brown eyes. One night a man came into the restaurant and threatened her. Ben stood quietly between them and asked the man to leave. He was spat at for his pains but an angry command from the restaurant's owner made the intruder sidle out. Ben offered to see Sapphira home and she was grateful. She confided in Ben that night and he learned that she had managed to get a divorce from her violent husband but that occasionally he would still threaten her at work.

It was only a matter of days until Ben and Sapphira became lovers. One night he noticed ugly bruises on her back and arms. She told him everything and ended up crying on his chest. She felt his own tears falling into her hair as he held her, murmuring how he loved her, how he'd never let anybody hurt her again. They queued for over three hours in the Embassy the next day but at the end of it Sapphira had a temporary visa and would be going home with Ben at the end of his holiday. She had four months' time before her visa ran out.

Before that happened, they met the irritable ex-pat Dylan Keogh. Dylan had moved from the UK, of which he was heartily sick, with his dog, an old Lurcher called Dervla.

"I had to lose her to quarantine for six months, but she's here to stay now, aren't you, Stinky?" Dylan addressed the dog.

"Is she a good guard dog?" Sapphira asked, thinking how safe she'd feel with a large dog like Dervla in the house.

"Useless; the old fool's as soft as a brush" Dylan snorted, ruffling Dervla's fur. Then he said baldly:

"I've a better way of defending myself."

Ben wondered what he meant but didn't pursue the subject. By the time Ben went back to the UK, Dylan, who normally begrudged any time he had to spend on a computer, was exchanging e-mail addresses with him.

The time Sapphira and Ben spent together was, for them, idyllic. She didn't seem to mind the cold winter weather in Britain; she just kept saying how good it was to be away from Valamain, away from HIM. Ben had asked her about calling the police and she'd laughed bitterly:

"The police in my country aren't too concerned about a woman being beaten, Ben. Half of them think she must have deserved it."

Christmas was special for them. He took her to a pantomime and his heart filled with warmth at the way she marveled over the special effects and giggled at the silly slapstick gags. On Christmas Eve they decorated a Christmas tree together, smiling at their handiwork.

The same night, she had the first nightmare. Her ex – who she'd finally mentioned by his name, Ramon Kyriou – was in a room with her. He was slapping a leather belt with a hard gold buckle, from hand to hand and telling her how he'd mark her face for life.

She'd awoken screaming and clinging to Ben. Then she ran to the bathroom to be ill, and came back shaking.

"The first week in January is nearly here, Ben, when I must go back. I – I can't go back there alone. If I do, I will kill myself, I swear it."

"If you're my wife they won't send you back" he said, the simplicity of what he'd just said suddenly thrilling him. He asked her to marry him, knowing he loved her with all his heart. She agreed joyfully.

The new immigration laws, however, were not so flexible. They could extend Sapphira's stay in the UK for three more months, but then she would have to return to Valamain.

She clung to Ben, weeping, that night.

It was as she lay in his arms that Ben had his inspiration. He'd ask Dylan about moving to Valamain himself. If Sapphira had to go back she wasn't going there alone.

Dylan, although he would never have admitted he'd worked so hard for his new friend, tirelessly searched websites, spoke to people in the neighbourhood, went to the Tourist Information centre which he loathed because it was always full of noisy, over-enthusiastic travelers asking the most inane questions. Dylan had sworn under his breath on hearing a young girl ask where the theme parks were. But eventually he found Ben a job; a clerical position in the city centre. As Ben was fluent in French, the language spoken in Valamain, it was a job he could manage. Not with his beloved animals, but now he had a more important goal – keeping Sapphira safe. Ben's visa was renewed for another two years, with a view to a further renewal at the end of that period.

The thing that surprised Dylan most about himself was the way he'd suggested that, until they had some money behind them, Ben and Sapphira lived with him. He had a large spare room, they both liked Dervla, and Dylan knew Ben would not default on the rent.

By the time Ben was thirty-three, he was a legitimate citizen of Valamain, and Sapphira was pregnant.