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[snip]
> "If the root word ends with a silent -e preceded by a consonant
> and if the suffix begins with a consonant, the silent -e is
> usually retained.
> [your suffix doesn't begin with a consonant, so this
> doesn't apply ... it goes on ...]
However, the silent "e" --as someone else pointed out-- affects the sound
of the preceeding letter combination...changes it from a hard ch to a
soft "sh" sound.