Stephanie’s hands froze when her sister mentioned Arsene and Ben felt her panic. “I don’t like that man. I’m going to have to do something about him,” Ben growled deep in his chest.
The blind woman’s hands went immediately to his face and Ben held still while she mapped him in her mind. She gasped when she found the scar across his face and the small bandage on his chin. Her hands finished with his face and moved down his thick neck. Her brows furrowed and she concentrated hard as her mouth hung open as he grew in scale in her mind.
“Ben, take your shirt off. Let her feel what you’ve experienced,” Gabriella said gently.
He looked at her questioningly then pulled off his shirt. Alexis gasped as she saw the scars over his chest. He reached for Stephanie’s hands which were held out before her and guided them up to his shoulders as he knelt before her.
“Big,” the woman breathed as she felt how wide he was. When she moved her hands down over his pecs she encountered a large scar. She traced it with her fingers then moved on and found the next one. She found each with her gentle fingers. She was careful with his stitches on the few she encountered.
When she felt the bullet hole scars she looked puzzled as their shape was different than the others. “Those are the oldest ones. Three bullets,” he said gently.
“I have to sculpt you!” Stephanie suddenly blurted, her face was flush and she was wearing a huge grin.
Ben looked at her in surprise and looked over to Alexis who had tears in her eyes and was clutching her hands together by her mouth. She looked at Ben with profound gratitude.
“Uh, I’ve never been a model before,” he mumbled, embarrassed. He stood up.
“Alexis! I need new clay! Lots of it! This will be the largest piece I’ve done. I need you to contact Richard and ask him to make me a wire armature based on male proportions but one hundred and twenty centimeters tall,” Stephanie blurted excitedly
“One hundred and twenty! That’s not going to fit in our kiln!” Alexis cried.
“It’s not going into the kiln. I’ll explain later! When can I start?” Stephanie asked.
“Can we at least feed them dinner first?” Alexis chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes.
“Yes, yes! Of course! Where are my manners! Ben, will you pose for me after dinner?” she asked.
“OK, sure. I’d be honoured,” he replied.
She suddenly stood and stepped forward colliding with Ben who was looking at Gabriella in surprise at the time. He quickly caught Stephanie as she bounced back from his bare chest. Her hands went back to his skin and she smiled. “You are big!”
“Yes,” he smiled.
“Excuse me,” she said and Ben moved aside. She unerringly found the phone on her desk. “I’ll call Richard myself. I need him to get started on it right away.”
“See you at dinner Stephanie!” Gabriella said.
Stephanie immediately stopped and turned with open arms. Gabriella stepped into them and was given a firm hug. She whispered something in Gabriella’s ear who chuckled and whispered back. Stephanie blushed and grinned for her cousin. Ben raised an eyebrow at the whispering as they left the room but she just shook her head at him with a mischievous smile. He tugged his shirt back on.
Once they were out in the vestibule of the chateau Catherine and the rest of the group descended the stairs and everyone moved into a large sitting area.
Alexis crushed herself against Ben’s chest and gave him a firm hug. “Thank you so much for drawing her out of her shell! I haven’t seen her this passionate about her work in years!”
“I didn’t do anything!” Ben asserted.
“What didn’t he do?” Béatrice asked as she came into the sitting room.
Alexis spun to see her partner. “Stephanie is out of her shell! She’s going to make a sculpture of Ben. One hundred and twenty centimetres tall!”
“We need to get more clay!” Béatrice said excitedly with a brilliant smile.
“I’ll go out tomorrow to get it,” Alexis said.
“I was hoping to go into town” Béatrice said with a cute pout.
“Why don’t you both go?” Ben asked.
They looked at him with a troubled look in their eyes. “We haven’t done that since Stephanie was attacked.”
“So he knew you were both out of the house when he… did that?” Ben said struggling with his rage.
Alexis nodded as she looked at Ben with wide eyes. “We have to drive past his house to get to town,” Béatrice said.
“You should both go to town tomorrow. I’ll stay behind to greet any unwanted visitors,” Ben finished with a growl.
“We were planning on driving to Turin, Italy tomorrow,” Gabriella said.
“I’ll sit this one out if you don’t mind,” he said and she nodded. “I can do some of those renovations you’ve hinted at.”
Alexis’ eyes lit up again. “What can you do?”
“Framing, insulating, plumbing, electrical, drywall, tile work, painting… pretty much anything but don’t ask me to wall paper. I hate that,” he grinned.
Alexis’ answering grin was wide. “Tomorrow morning we will do an inventory and we’ll pick up whatever you need.”
“Sounds good!” he replied.
“Speaking of good, our cook Marie would like to let you know we are having authentic Coq au Vin tonight with fresh baked bread,” Béatrice informed them. “The vegetables are from our garden and the chicken was locally raised as well. Dessert is a wild berry medley and/or ice cream, also locally sourced.”
The group made appreciative sounds.
“Dinner will be served in a little under an hour in the dining room which is just through that door,” Béatrice said with a smile as she headed back to the kitchen.
Alexis turned to Gabriella. “We just got some mountain bikes and there are good trails nearby. Helmets are included and have those little movie cameras attached so you can film your ride. You have to offer those little perks to keep the tourists happy. Richard has horses and offers horseback riding. We can see if there is availability if you like.”