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Back The Darkest Shore Save as PDF
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Also by Karen Brooks
  4. Title Page
  5. Dedication
  6. EXPLANATORY NOTE
  7. PART ONE
  8. One
  9. Two
  10. Three
  11. Four
  12. Five
  13. Six
  14. Seven
  15. Eight
  16. Nine
  17. Ten
  18. Eleven
  19. Twelve
  20. Thirteen
  21. Fourteen
  22. Fifteen
  23. Sixteen
  24. Seventeen
  25. Eighteen
  26. Nineteen
  27. Twenty
  28. Twenty-One
  29. Twenty-Two
  30. Twenty-Three
  31. Twenty-Four
  32. Twenty-Five
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. PART TWO
  37. Twenty-Nine
  38. Thirty
  39. Thirty-One
  40. Thirty-Two
  41. Thirty-Three
  42. Thirty-Four
  43. Thirty-Five
  44. PART THREE
  45. Thirty-Six
  46. Thirty-Seven
  47. Thirty-Eight
  48. Thirty-Nine
  49. Forty
  50. Forty-One
  51. Forty-Two
  52. Forty-Three
  53. Forty-Four
  54. Forty-Five
  55. Forty-Six
  56. Forty-Seven
  57. Forty-Eight
  58. Forty-Nine
  59. Fifty
  60. Fifty-One
  61. Fifty-Two
  62. PART FOUR
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Epilogue: Autumn 1706
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. GLOSSARY
  75. LIST OF CHARACTERS
  76. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The reverend was so pleased with Peter whenever this happened, he would hold him and pray for him and speak to him as his father never did. Whereas his da seemed almost embarrassed by what was happening to his son and was unable to remain in the room with him, the reverend gloried in it. He visited every day, brought cakes, cheeses and other temptations to try and whet the lad’s appetite. Reverend Cowper would settle in the chair beside the bed and read from the Bible, as well as stories from the city newspapers, and from a book about Christian Shaw, replete with detailed descriptions of her suffering. On two occasions he’d read accounts of events in a place called Salem in the New World. It was a small village in a territory Peter couldn’t pronounce, let alone try and spell, but all the same, it resonated. It was in the colonies, which just went to prove that witchcraft, as the reverend said, knew no bounds. Whereas his da rolled his eyes and snorted when Peter tried to keep him by his side and share what the reverend had told him, Reverend Cowper was never so dismissive. When his da demanded his son rise and return to work, saying he’d had enough of his idleness, the reverend scolded his father thoroughly. After that, his da was banned from the bedroom.

Apart from some of the bailies and their wives, and members of the kirk the reverend trusted, Reverend Cowper was his main visitor. He would sit close to the bed, run his fingers through Peter’s hair, not caring if it wasn’t washed or combed, and call him a ‘good lad’, a ‘brave and bonnie man’, and a ‘child of God’. Together, he promised, they’d expose and oust the devil and his assistants from the Weem. He said over and over that he, Reverend Cowper, and God, needed Peter’s help. Ever since, Peter feared to disappoint him.

When the reverend asked to see his legs so he could comprehend why he was experiencing such pain and saw nothing, Peter knew the man was frustrated. He didn’t stay long, nor did he read or praise him that day. So the next day when Peter cried out each time a name was mentioned, arching his back, twisting his neck and huffing and puffing as if he’d run from St Monan’s to the Weem, Peter was pleased to reveal his limbs when the reverend lifted the covers. Covered in red marks like scrapes from a fine needle, crusted in blood, deep at the ends, shallow in others, the gashes were shocking to see. When the reverend asked who put those marks upon him, Peter denied knowing how they got there, only that they added to his terrible torment.