BooksBarbecue
Back Nottingham
Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. PART II
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. PART III
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. INTERLUDE
  35. PART IV
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. INTERLUDE
  45. PART V
  46. THIRTY-FIVE
  47. THIRTY-SIX
  48. THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. THIRTY-EIGHT
  50. PART VI
  51. THIRTY-NINE
  52. FORTY
  53. FORTY-ONE
  54. FORTY-TWO
  55. FORTY-THREE
  56. FORTY-FOUR
  57. FORTY-FIVE
  58. INTERLUDE
  59. PART VII
  60. FORTY-SIX
  61. FORTY-SEVEN
  62. FORTY-EIGHT
  63. FORTY-NINE
  64. FIFTY
  65. FIFTY-ONE
  66. FIFTY-TWO
  67. PART VIII
  68. FIFTY-THREE
  69. FIFTY-FOUR
  70. FIFTY-FIVE
  71. FIFTY-SIX
  72. EPILOGUE
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  75. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  76. Newsletter Sign-up

This prison cell, it was just a place. They’d been many places, and each was theirs to leave. Simply a matter of waiting for the right moment, and not hesitating to choose. Together, she and Will, they’d climbed out of much worse places than this.

That was a lie. This was the worst.

Elena had been in and out of gaol before, growing up in the maze of alleys on the south end of Nottingham. She’d chosen to leave that life. Catty-corner to St. Mary’s Church was a gaol that earned the name Sinner Mary’s. It offered more protection than the streets could, and on one occasion she’d been arrested on purpose since she knew Will was in for a stint. That was before he was hers. Rather, before he knew he was hers. She’d chosen that as well.

But Sinner Mary’s had still been a normal building, a tall stone square. This prison in the castle was something else entirely. It was a cave, clawed out of the earth beneath the courtyards. On the other side of her iron gate was more cave, only lit when the guards came. Otherwise, the dark. A small hole had been dug a handswidth deep beneath the bars where she was to relieve herself. Every so often, a man with a shovel would come by and remove its contents, not caring if it spilled over the floor in the process. She didn’t mind. The stink would protect her from any errant guard with an itch between his legs.

Time didn’t work down here. There was no telling when it was day or night, or how many of either had passed.

It was just a place. One more story to tell later. Beads on a string. That was life—simply a series of events. It was just a matter of choosing to move from one to the next, her and Will. Too many people complained about their lot, their life, their rotten luck. Elena chose to be better than that. That’s all it took, the act of choosing, and all that was left was to walk it. Out of the Alleys. Out of Ten Bell Yard. Sinner Mary’s. Red Lion Square. Anywhere. Redford. Locksley Castle. The Oak Camp. Bernesdale. Nottingham Prison. Somewhere Else. Somewhere Better. Somewhere Safe.

This is the last bead, her fear laughed at her. This is where you’ll die.