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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

Isobel Adam, the first to cross her threshold that year, a young woman possessed of fair hair, had brought deadly trouble on them all.

Twenty-Seven

TWENTY-SEVEN

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Corpus deliciti.

(Body of evidence.)

Patrick Cowper stared at Captain Ross, absorbing the man’s words. He resisted the urge to whoop with triumph. He was vindicated. Edinburgh had at last seen sense. They agreed there was enough evidence to bring the witches to trial. Patrick put down the glass he’d every intention of topping up once the captain left his study and, without appearing too eager, reached across the desk and took the offered missive to read it for himself.

‘The details are in there,’ said Captain Ross and, without waiting for an invitation, sat.

Patrick delayed breaking the seal and pretended to examine the outside of the letter while surreptitiously scrutinising the officer. The captain looked weary, and not only from travelling back and forth to the city on an almost weekly basis or writing countless fruitless letters on the witches’ behalf. It was the kind of weariness that came from understanding all your efforts were for naught. Was it unchristian of the reverend to feel a frisson of pleasure at that?

In this instance, he knew God would forgive his lack of charity.