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England, Warwickshire
Lakeside Manor
Monday, January 11, 2016
Shoulders rigid, Hugh walked through the grand hall of Lakeside Manor. His echoing steps clicked on the marble floor, but sounded like war drums in his ears.
After a footman silently swung the tall wooden door open, he went down the wide, old stone steps and walked to where his mother, Martha, his brother, Richard, and Richard’s wife, Giulianna, were eating breakfast.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” were the three answers, followed by his mother tapping her cheek for a kiss that he dutifully delivered.
“You’re late,” she said, as he sat beside her and poured a mug of coffee for himself. Then she noticed his clothes and her eyes narrowed. “Are you going somewhere?”
Hugh licked his dry lips and glanced away from her stare be
