Chapter Text
Rey Pennington arrived at the cottage by the Dorset seaside one windy evening late in autumn. She took off her beanie and gloves and stood there for a while, looking at the place.
Rey had heard fantastical stories about the cottage by the people from the village nearby, so much that she had become curious about it. It was a magical place, they said, one that young couples loved to rent for their honeymoon; anyone who did was sure that their marriage would be happy.
Well, Rey thought looking at it in the dusky evening light, the place did look gorgeous. As a matter of fact there were two cottages, with a sprawling garden in the middle. The buildings were rustic with thatched roofs, well-kept and cosy; the garden was an English countryside garden, vivid and colourful, with a small pond in the middle and interspersed with small figures that looked like they would come alive any moment.
Rey heard a nightbird over the peaceful scenery and decided that she should get moving. She had come with a purpose after all.
~ * ~ * ~
That went rather well, Rey thought half an hour later while she brought her suitcase to the guest room that from now on would be hers. It looked over the bay where a timid moon was starting to rise over the peaceful sea and was furnished neatly but austerely. Rey considered that it would look better as soon as she bought some nice things from her first salary.
She sat down on the duvet and looked out. So this was going to be her life for now, she mused. For God knows how long.
A foster child with no memory of her parents and only scarce education but capable hands and an enquiring mind, Rey had been blown by life all over the country until she had heard that Mrs. Kanata, the owner, was looking for a caretaker since she was getting too old to look after both houses, the garden and the occasional visitors.
Martha (or Maz, as she had said Rey should call her), had been widowed for almost ten years. She and her husband had bought the place from their savings and rented the second cottage for almost forty years now. Its particular location by the sea, the idyllic scenery and cosy atmosphere had made it popular with visitors from all over the county, particularly by young couples who always assured her later that their marriage had started in the best way at the picturesque cottage, with her good food and the long, peaceful walks they would take together in the countryside or along the beach.
Rey’s job would be helping Maz with cooking and cleaning the place, as well as tending the garden; Maz would take care of the accounting and the kitchen the way she always had.
Briefly seeing herself in the small mirror above the sink in the bathroom, Rey averted her eyes with a slight scoff. It was somehow ironic that she of all people would be working at what was known as the Enchanted Cottage.
All her life she had been mocked and felt ostracized for her plain appearance: having little money and feeling lonely among the other school kids who all had parents who loved them, she got used to dressing in a simple, practical way and wearing glasses that were too large for her face.
Rey never wondered why she never had had a boyfriend, or even an admirer. No one wanted a nobody who lived from one seasonal job to the other and didn’t have any roots. Rey loved reading and visiting museums or other interesting places, but her education was almost all self-taught. Secretly, she felt ashamed of herself although she knew that the way she lived wasn’t her fault.
Oh well. No use repining about what couldn’t be helped. Rey was glad to have found this job, with some luck she might have the chance to stay here for some time.
Even if it meant having to watch newlyweds flaunting their happiness right under her nose as a reminder that she was most probably destined to be alone.
~ * ~ * ~
Six months later, Rey knew the cottage almost by heart and had heard all of Maz Kanata’s stories while they sat together in front of the fireplace during the dark months. Even in winter, couples would come here, Rey was accustomed to that by now. She had learned cooking and baking many new recipes, fixing plumbing and electricity, getting along with the neighbours, talking to the customers, and Maz was slowly becoming more a confidante than an employer to her.
From time to time she would feel wistful, and walk through the countryside until she reached a spot from where could watch trains go by, wondering where they were going, who was travelling and with whom. She had come by train and she knew she would leave by train, too, whenever her time here would be over.
Sometimes Maz’s neighbour Luke would come for a visit: a middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper beard, gentle features and blue eyes that unfortunately did not see any more, he was a veteran discharged after he had been hit by shrapnel and lost his eyesight due to the infection. He was usually brought over by the spirited George, a ten-year-old boy from the village who inexplicably was called Grogu by everyone including his adoptive father. Other times Rey would go to see Luke on her own if she passed by his house; she liked his serenity, his dry humour and the fact that he always knew good advice.
On that particular afternoon in spring, Rey more heard than saw the car approaching while she was in the garden tending the bushes, hoping they would bear handsome roses in a few months; gardening was tricky, but she was learning that, too.
Maz came out on the porch. “Another honeymoon couple,” she said. “Rey, will you please make some afternoon tea?”
“Sure,” Rey said wiping her hands on her apron and disappearing into the house.
She heard the car finally halting, parking, the doors being opened and two voices talking animatedly to Maz who was welcoming them.
Nothing new, Rey thought while she poured simmering water over the tea leaves. She had seen many couples come and go here by now, all of them happy and delighted by the beauty and charm of the place.
“This is Rey, the housekeeper,” Maz said as Rey came to the living room with cups, teapot and spoons on a tray.
The man, who had been looking out of one of the windows, turned around and Rey’s heart almost stopped.
He came towards her and said, “Pleased to meet you,” he said. “Ben Solo. Can I help you?”
Rey snapped out of her stupor. “Thank you, no,” she said maybe a little too curtly before arranging the teatime on the small table between the two couches.
She would have wanted to leave but Maz gestured for her to sit down by her side.
While everyone was busy sipping their tea and nibbling at the tea cakes, Rey had ample time to assess them.
The woman was striking with her long black hair, large dark eyes and long nails, dressed to the nines; a typical career woman, smart as a whip, witty, self-assured. She had introduced herself with a name Rey couldn’t even remember.
Because all of the time, she had to be careful not to stare at the affianced husband. Ben was tall and large, with a deep resounding voice that made shivers go down Rey’s back, warm brown eyes, big hands and sensual lips. There was an aura around him that she could only feel as magnetic. He was dressed well and obviously educated, a little bashful, hiding his ears underneath long black bangs and making fun of his nose and the spots that he had on his face.
“I’m lucky Bazine even noticed me,” he laughed when they told the two women how they had met during a business party. The black-haired beauty put her hand on Ben’s and laughed along. Rey felt a sting in her heart the way she never had.
Later, they got up and inspected the house and its surroundings.
“It’s somehow out of the world,” Bazine mused. “The nearest city must be miles away.”
“I think that’s kind of the point, darling,” Ben smiled at her.
“When did you plan your honeymoon?” Maz asked.
“In six weeks,” Bazine said happily.
“If I don’t get drafted before that,” Ben laughed. “You never know these days.”
Rey had fallen behind, and hearing those words she stood still and decided that she couldn’t go any further. She would clear up the tea table and then go to her room, Maz did not need her to explain their guests this place that she knew like the back of her hand.
Rey’s hands shook slightly while she worked, calmly and efficiently like always. Bazine didn’t seem to realize how lucky she was - affluent, successful, beautiful. And most of all, she had Ben. Rey’s heart ached thinking how a man like that would never do so much as look at her. It had transpired that he didn’t think of himself as attractive; Rey thought he was the most attractive man she had ever met, and it was a mystery to her why any woman should not see it.
She considered taking her free days during this couple’s vacation here, so she would not have to see them walking around the place hand in hand, happy as they should be, while she, Rey, was left to dreaming of love in her lonely little room. If things were different - Ben might have been the man she would have loved to be with…
Rey shook her head resolutely. She had not indulged in self-pity until now, and she wouldn’t start. A few days off wouldn’t hurt her, and she wouldn’t have to meet Ben at every corner, getting timid just at the sound of his voice, feeling like crying every time he would call that black-haired beauty “darling”.
~ * ~ * ~
“And here is the window with all the names,” Maz was explaining.
Couples had engraved their names into the small panels of the parlour window, each one of them, complete with the dates: starting at the first row by the windowsill, then working their way up.
“So this goes back to… forty years ago?” Ben concluded.
“Yes,” Maz nodded. “All of them called again or wrote to me after years at an anniversary, saying that their marriage was still happy.” She smiled. “Our cottage isn’t called ‘enchanted’ without a reason.”
“Then we should waste no time,” Ben said and held his hand out to his fiancée.
Bazine gave Ben her engagement ring, giggling. Ben proceeded to write their names into one of the window panels when there was a small clicking sound and something fell to the ground.
“Oh, how unfortunate,” Maz said and picked the diamond up that had detached itself from the frame.
“Too much pressure,” Ben laughed. “I will have it repaired, never mind.” He pocketed the ring and the diamond.
“Plenty of time for that when we will be here after the wedding,” his fiancée said as she linked her arm into his and they left the room.
Maz was walking behind them, slowly shaking her head.
The two got into Ben’s care and drove off. Rey came to the porch and looked after them until the car had disappeared out of sight.
“Those two are not meant to be together,” Maz said over the cry of a seagull.
Rey’s head whipped around to her. “What? Why?”
“The ring broke when they wanted to engrave their names,” Maz explained.
Rey laughed a little nervously. “Maz. Don’t tell me you’re superstitious.”
“You’re bound to become a little superstitious when you live in a place that has a magic of its own,” Maz said drily.