Comes The Dawn (The Wonderland Series: Book 5)

by Irina Shapiro

  “What’s happened? Is someone hurt?”

  “Yes,” Hugo said. The reverend would see for himself soon enough, and the less Hugo said, the better.

  Doctor Lomax sucked in his breath when he saw the state of the patient. He threw curious looks at Hugo while he examined Archie, but said nothing.

  “Will he live, Dr. Lomax?” Hugo asked anxiously as he squatted next to the doctor.

  “Call for an ambulance,” the doctor barked. “You should have done so immediately.”

  “Is there nothing you can do for him here?” Hugo asked, hoping the doctor would just patch Archie up.

  Doctor Lomax rose to his feet and glared at Hugo with indignation. “Are you mad, man? He needs a blood transfusion, and surgery, most like. I can’t tell if there’s any serious damage to his organs in this dark crypt. What happened to him anyway?”

  “I don’t know,” Hugo replied honestly. Archie had never regained consciousness, so there was no way to ask him anything or warn him that he was now in the twenty-first century.

  “I’ll call an ambulance,” the reverend volunteered as he disappeared up the steps.

  Hugo continued to watch Doctor Lomax, hoping for a clue as to Archie’s prognosis. Archie was strong and resilient, but he’d lost a lot of blood and had been stabbed more than once. The wounds looked fresh, but Hugo had no idea how long ago they’d been inflicted or how much blood Archie had lost in the interim. He refused to believe that Archie wouldn’t pull through, not with all the miracles of modern medicine at the doctors’ disposal, but a telltale moisture clouded his sight, and he turned away from Doctor Lomax so the man wouldn’t see him cry. He should have called for an ambulance. His indecision might cost Archie his life, but Hugo had been afraid of the consequences. Once Archie was taken to a hospital, there’d be no way to keep his presence in the village a secret. Questions would be asked — questions to which he couldn’t provide answers.

  “About five minutes,” Reverend Lambert reported as he came back down the steps.

  “Do you know his name?” the doctor asked Hugo, his fingers on Archie’s wrist.

  Hugo thought frantically. Admitting that he knew Archie would complicate things, so perhaps it was best to stall for a time until he and Neve could figure out what to do.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “How did you know he was here?” the doctor asked, persistently.

  “I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk. I came inside the church and heard moaning coming from the crypt. I came down to investigate,” Hugo improvised.

  The doctor gave Hugo a cold, disbelieving look. Max had not been a religious man. Perhaps going to church was not something he would have ever done. God, he hated lying, but bringing Neve into the equation wasn’t a good idea. Doctor Lomax had probably heard through the grapevine that Max’s living situation had changed, but explaining Neve and the children at this moment might prove difficult. People just assumed that Neve was Max’s girlfriend and the children belonged to her. He planned to keep it that way until they were able to marry legally in the twenty-first century and be a family again.

  “Have you ever seen him before?” Doctor Lomax asked, his eyes never leaving Hugo’s face. He could see Hugo’s distress and rightly assumed that there was more to the story.

  Hugo was granted a reprieve by the wail of an approaching siren. Two young medics came down the steps with a stretcher and lifted Archie up, securing him so he wouldn’t slide off when they carried him up the stairs. Doctor Lomax was issuing instructions as Hugo silently followed behind.

  “I’m going with him,” Hugo announced to the surprised medics, but they didn’t argue and allowed him into the ambulance. Archie would be in shock when he woke up, if he woke up, and the last thing he needed was to find himself alone in a strange place full of bright lights and beeping machines.

  The ambulance took Archie to Cranleigh Village Hospital in the High Street, a quaint looking red-brick structure that looked more like a private residence than a medical facility. Hugo stepped aside as Archie was wheeled into Casualty where the doctors immediately went to work. There were only two other people in Casualty, and neither one looked as if they required immediate assistance. Hugo took a seat on a hard, plastic chair and waited, relieved to see Neve when she erupted through the door a quarter of an hour later.

  “What’s happening?” she asked. “Will he be all right?” Neve looked as if she were about to cry. She needed to hear that Archie would live, but Hugo couldn’t lie to her and give her false hope. There was a very good chance that he wouldn’t, but Doctor Lomax had assured Hugo that they would do everything they could to save the young man.

  “I don’t know yet. They’re working on him. How’s Frances?”

  “Exhausted, overwrought, frightened. She’s so thin, and Archie looked downright emaciated. What do you think happened to them?” It was a rhetorical question, of course. Hugo had no way of knowing.

  They both looked up as Doctor Lomax came toward them. He was attached to this hospital, so Archie would remain his patient throughout his stay. Doctor Lomax’s eyebrows shot up at the sight of Neve, but he didn’t ask any questions and directed his comments to Hugo.

  “The man you found has been stabbed several times. Two of the wounds are not severe, but a third has punctured his kidney. It will need to be removed. He’s been savagely beaten and has sustained several broken ribs. He’s also malnourished and has lost a considerable amount of blood. They are prepping him for surgery now, but his chances are not good. Did he have a wallet on him, or any other form of ID? We’d like to notify his next of kin.”

  “Not that I saw,” Hugo replied. He tried to keep his voice flat, but it shook nonetheless. Archie’s next of kin was at Everly Manor, and she would be heartbroken if Archie didn’t pull through, as would the rest of them.

  “How long will he be in surgery?” Neve asked, her voice filled with worry.

  “Several hours. He will need a blood transfusion before the surgeon can operate. You can come back in the afternoon,” the doctor added. “No need for you to hang about.”

  “I’ll stay,” Hugo replied. “Someone should be here.”

  “Suit yourself.” Doctor Lomax gave Hugo a searching look. He suspected the truth, Hugo was sure of it, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Neve and Hugo to confer.

  “Neve, go home and see to Frances and the children. It’s best if you don’t bring her here. I will ring you as soon as I know anything. In the meantime, we need to devise some sort of plan. Questions will be asked.”

  Neve nodded. Her face looked blank. “Go,” Hugo said gently. “You look like you need a strong cup of coffee. I’ll see to things here.”

  “All right,” Neve agreed reluctantly as she rose to her feet. “Keep me informed.”

  “I will.”

  **

  The sky beyond the window turned a deep violet, the last remnants of daylight leeched from the world outside. The hospital room was softly illuminated by a bedside lamp that cast a mellow golden light onto Archie’s face. It was still pale, but his lips were no longer bluish, and there was just a hint of color in his cheeks. Hugo reached out and gently squeezed Archie’s hand in a gesture of support. The hand was warm and dry, but not unnaturally hot. No infection. Archie was still asleep, the machines overhead beeping quietly and reassuring Hugo with every beep that Archie was still alive. The surgery had lasted well into the afternoon, longer than Doctor Lomax had predicted, and now Archie looked like a mummy, his ribs bound and his stomach bandaged. He also had a plaster over his right cheek, a few stitches on his chin, and a cast on his right hand to aid in the healing of his broken fingers. An IV was hooked up to Archie’s left hand, the clear liquid meant to hydrate and nourish him. Archie had lost a kidney, but Doctor Lomax assured Hugo that he would recover and lead a normal life. Little did Lomax suspect that what was a normal life for him, was anything but a normal life for Archie.

 
“Max, what’s your involvement in this?” Lomax asked quietly after the nurse had left and they were alone with only an unconscious Archie between them. “Do you know this man? Is he someone you met while…?” He let the sentence hang, but Hugo knew what he meant. He shook his head. After a few moments of silence and an irritable shrug of the shoulders, the doctor left. He’d done all he could for his nameless patient, and he was off home to his wife and a good dinner. Hugo ignored his growling stomach. He hadn’t eaten all day and didn’t have his wallet on him. He should have asked Neve for a few pounds before she left, but he’d been too upset and worried to think about practicalities. Now he was starving.

  Hugo looked up as a nurse poked her head into the room. “You must be hungry, love,” she observed. “Shall I bring you something from the cafeteria?”

  Hugo shook his head. “I left my wallet at home.”

  “Not to worry. You can repay me later. Cheese and pickle or ham and tomato?”

  Hugo would have gladly taken one of each. “Ham please, and a cup of tea.”

  “Back in a tic,” the nurse said and disappeared.

  I’d better bring Archie some clothes, Hugo thought as he finished off the second sandwich. The nurse must have realized how hungry he was and brought two sandwiches, a cup of milky tea, and an almond biscuit. He could have easily eaten more, but there was nothing left. He leaned back in the chair and looked over at Archie. He was still asleep, but his breathing had changed; it was deeper, not shallow like before. Hugo hoped that it was a good sign. He suddenly realized that he had no idea what happened to the bloodstained clothes Archie had been wearing, but fervently hoped that no one would look at them too closely. One didn’t need to be an expert in history to see that the clothes didn’t belong in this century. Perhaps it would be assumed that Archie was an actor. The best-case scenario would be that whoever prepped him for surgery had simply cut off the bloody fabric and tossed it into the rubbish bin. Archie would have nothing to wear when he was ready to be released. If the recovery went as planned, Archie would be discharged in about a week. Keeping Frances away for that long would be difficult, but it was imperative that no one saw her just yet.

  They would work out all the details once he had a chance to speak to Archie. Hugo took a spare blanket out of the cupboard and settled more comfortably in the recliner. He had every intention of staying by Archie’s side until he woke.

  Chapter 55

  I wasn’t sure what woke me, but I was jolted out of sleep, suddenly wide awake. I’d fallen asleep next to Frances last night after speaking with Hugo one last time. Hugo sounded calm and reassuring, but I felt cold fingers of dread walking up my spine. Archie still hadn’t woken after the surgery. Surely that wasn’t a good sign, but Doctor Lomax seemed optimistic, so I pushed away my fears and tried to focus on other things.

  Frances hadn’t woken either. She’d slept all through the day and was still out when I climbed in next to her. I felt her forehead for a temperature, checked her pulse, and listened to her even breathing. She wasn’t ill, just exhausted. Whatever happened left her utterly depleted, and the best medicine for her was rest. I curled up next to her, but sleep wouldn’t come. My mind was spinning, my thoughts going in several different directions. I’d call Simon first thing in the morning. He had proven himself to be invaluable in a crisis, and he would be a great help in dealing with this situation since his feelings weren’t involved. In the meantime, there was nothing to do but wait. I must have finally drifted off, but felt as if I’d just fallen asleep when I woke.

  I looked about the room. Everything was bathed in moonlight, the silvery pall just enough for me to see clearly. Frances stood by the window, staring out at the sky, her arms wrapped around her middle. She was still wearing my dressing gown, and her hair cascaded down her back and framed her face, her pale skin unnaturally bluish in the moonlight. She looked like some mythical creature, bloodless and immune to the ravages of time, but that was just an illusion. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw the silent tears rolling down her cheeks and the tension in her shoulders.

  I slid out of bed and came up to stand behind Frances. I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her on the temple. Frances leaned into me, but her body was still tense, and the tears continued to fall.

  “Tell me,” she said quietly. “I need to know.” I felt her tremble, her anxiety mounting as she braced herself for what I was about to say. She’d been preparing herself for the worst, and now the moment of truth was here.

  “He’s alive, Franny,” I hurried to reassure her. “He’s very badly hurt, but he is alive.”

  “I have to see him,” she cried. “I need to be there.”

  I gently turned Frances around to face me and brushed a curl out of her eyes. “We can’t go to the hospital. Not yet, but Hugo will ring as soon as there’s any news.”

  “Ring?” Frances asked, confused by my choice of word.

  “Send a message,” I clarified.

  I led her to a chair by the hearth and asked her to sit down. I thought of lighting a bedside lamp, but changed my mind. To Frances, it would be too bright, too garish. So, instead, I lit a few candles which Hugo kept on the mantel. He liked to sit by candlelight sometimes, preferring it to the harsh light of electricity. Frances sat on the edge of the chair, tense and silent; her arms wrapped around her middle, as if she were trying to hold herself together.

  “Franny,” I began, “you will see Archie very soon, but first, I need to explain some things to you. And you need to tell me what happened. Can you do that?”

  Frances nodded mutely. She just stared into the empty hearth for a few moments in an effort to muster the strength to tell me. “Oh, Neve, it all went so wrong after you left,” she finally said.

  “What did?”

  “Liza’s body was found by the side of the road the day you’d gone. She’d been strangled with the reins of her horse.” Frances sighed and finally turned to face me. “Archie was arrested and charged with Liza’s murder. He’d been seen on the road to Haslemere that day, so the constable never even bothered to look for anyone else. In the eyes of the law, he was guilty. They would have hanged him, Neve.”

  Once Frances began to talk, the words flowed like a torrent of water. I remained silent, just letting her get it all out. She spent the next half hour telling me about Archie’s incarceration, his daring escape, the death of the sisters at the convent, and Jacob Wilmot’s attack. I noticed her hand going to her belly several times as she spoke, but waited for her to tell me.

  “I killed him, Neve. I smashed his skull in,” Frances whispered.

  “Are you sorry?”

  Frances shook her head. “I’m only sorry I didn’t do it sooner. He would have killed Archie. He nearly did. But now I’m damned. I will go to Hell for taking a man’s life.”

  A terrible anger welled inside me. I wasn’t really sure who I was angry at: God, fate, or maybe just luck, but I was furious. What had this poor girl done to deserve such suffering? She’d lost her mother, was sold to the highest bidder by her father at the age of thirteen, had been horribly abused by her husband, lost her baby, and now this. She would have to live with this for the rest of her life. She’d done what she had to do to save Archie, but she murdered a man in the process. Her conscience would never be clear.

  “You will NOT go to Hell, Frances,” I said with more force than I intended. “You killed a man who attacked you for no reason and nearly killed your husband. You did what anyone would do under the circumstances. You protected the person you love. God makes allowances for self-defense.”

  “Really?” Frances asked, her voice small. “You think so?”

  I nodded. “I’m sure of it.” I suddenly understood why Frances hadn’t said anything about the baby. She was terrified of losing it. She’d said something a long time ago about God taking baby Gabriel to punish her for leaving her husband, so perhaps she thought that God would take this baby as well as punishment for killing Archie’s attacker.


  “Neve, what’s going to happen?” Frances asked, sounding like a child.

  “Hugo will look after Archie, and I will look after you. I will explain some things to you about this century, and then we will find you some clothes and make you look like a modern woman.”

  “But when can I see Archie?” Frances persisted.

  “Franny, things are different in this time. Every crime is investigated by the police in order to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. Archie was stabbed and savagely beaten. Questions will be asked. If I take you to the hospital, the police will demand to see your identification and demand to know what happened, and what you were doing in the crypt. We must keep you hidden for a few days and allow Hugo to deal with the police. Do you understand?”

  Frances nodded. “Yes. I will do whatever it takes to keep Archie safe.”

  “Good girl,” I said. “Would you like to go back to bed, or would you like to begin your education?”

  Frances smiled shyly. “I would like something to eat. I’m famished.”

  “Of course, you are. Foolish of me not to guess. Let’s go down to the kitchen. I’ll make you a cup of hot chocolate, and there’s some shepherd’s pie left over from dinner.”

  “Hot chocolate?” Frances asked, a small smile on her face. “I haven’t had a cup of chocolate since France.” The smile was instantly replaced by a look of sadness. “I wish Jem was here.”

  “Me, too.”

  Chapter 56

  Hugo carefully folded the blanket and returned it to the cupboard. He’d managed to get a few hours of sleep, but the nurses came in every hour or so to check on Archie. The nice nurse from last night was in the room now, changing the IV bag.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I brought you a cup of tea,” she said brightly. “Thought you’d need it. We have an electric kettle at the nurses’ station. Just come by if you’d like some more.”