Comes the Dawn: A totally heart-wrenching and gripping historical page-turner (Wonderland Book 5) by Irina Shapiro

Author:Irina Shapiro [Shapiro, Irina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781805081548
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Published: 2023-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-FIVE

MAY 2015

Surrey, England

Hugo gave a low whistle, summoning Tilly to his side. The dog had sniffed him suspiciously when he’d first arrived, but seemed to accept him as the new master. The Lab was getting old, but she was always eager to go for a walk through the countryside, trotting alongside him faithfully. Hugo was nearly as eager as the dog to get outside. He was vibrating with nervous energy that he could barely suppress. He’d been cooped up in the house for two weeks, put through a rigorous training course by Simon and Mrs. Harding. He was shown photos, told anecdotes from Max’s past, given a list of people in the village with whom he’d been somewhat friendly, and taught to play cricket. Simon had also spent hours explaining the rules of rugby and made him watch several matches, his running commentary driving Hugo out of his mind.

It was not that Hugo wasn’t grateful for what the Hardings were doing for him; it was that the more they talked about Max, the guiltier he felt. Max was dead because of him, and he would carry that knowledge with him for the rest of his life. Had Max just gone on to Surrey as he’d originally planned, he’d be the one walking with his dog and enjoying the warm welcome from family and friends. Hugo still couldn’t comprehend what had induced Max to come to the Tower and offer to exchange places with him, but that fateful decision had cost Max his life. Archie had assured Hugo that it was some form of divine justice, but Hugo didn’t believe that for a moment. If Max had found God and repented, wasn’t that enough? Why would God reward him by taking his life, and in such a way that he was denied salvation?

Or was there another reason for Max’s actions?

By committing suicide in the Tower of London while presumed to be Hugo Everly, Max had, for all intents and purposes, stolen Hugo’s life. He had set Hugo free but made it impossible for him to continue on as Hugo Everly in his own time and place, forcing him to go to the future. It might have been a generous gesture, but it might also have been a trap. If Simon and Mrs. Harding refused to acknowledge Hugo as Max and denied him help, he’d never be able to pull off this ruse and wind up being as much of an outcast in this society as in his own. Was Max really so twisted with hatred that he would go to such lengths to destroy Hugo?

Hugo would never know the answers to any of these questions, but the uncertainty gnawed at him day and night. How could he inhabit Max’s life when he was an impostor and a fraud? Perhaps another man would simply enjoy his ill-gotten gains, but Hugo couldn’t bring himself to accept this perverse gift from the universe without much soul-searching.

He crouched next to Tilly and looked into the kind, brown eyes.

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