Part 7 — Chapter 1

Summary

• In 1918, Edwin has no brothers and only one foot; having lost his brothers and a foot in World War 1.
• Constantly worried and fearful of his wartime experiences, Edwin never rests and avoids sleep. PTSD triggers his wartime memories.
• Edwin's parents find it hard to understand him— he's a war hero but an invalid. The war drastically changes Edwin. He empathizes more with his mother, Abigail, who is mourning her own losses.
• Edwin talks to his dead brother Gilbert even when he knows he's not there. Edwin is in good physical health, but mentally, he struggles. He physically survived the war, but he didn't mentally make it out.
• Edwin doesn't really care about inheriting his family's title and estate now that Gilbert and Niall are dead.
• Edwin is surprised one morning to see Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a man he met in a church in British Columbia, waiting for him in the garden.
• Gaspery reveals that he understands the war experiences Edwin went through. His conversation with Gaspery helps Edwin to understand that his hallucinations are real and are from elsewhere in time.
• Gaspery leaves Edwin abruptly to attend an appointment in Ohio.