Dawn at Stonehenge — Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Tess and Angel find brief sanctuary in an abandoned mansion, sharing five days of perfect intimacy while the outside world searches for them. For the first time since their wedding, they exist only in the present moment, refusing to speak of the past or future. Tess reveals she never told Angel about his sleepwalking episode when he carried her to the stone coffin - a moment that could have prevented their separation. When a caretaker nearly discovers them, they flee north toward Melchester, walking by night like refugees from their own lives. Their journey leads them to Stonehenge, the ancient stone circle on Salisbury Plain. In this mystical place older than civilization, Tess lies down on what Angel realizes is an altar stone. She asks him to care for her sister Liza-Lu and even suggests he might marry her someday, wanting someone pure to take her place. As dawn breaks over the ancient monument, police officers emerge from the shadows - sixteen men surrounding the stone circle. Tess has been found. Rather than despair, she feels almost relieved. She's had her moment of perfect love, and now she can face her fate without Angel ever learning to despise her. The novel's themes of fate, ancient forces, and the price of passion converge in this haunting scene where prehistoric stones witness a modern tragedy.