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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

Falling silent, he took her by the hand and helped her step over the lip of the tub, holding her steady as she lowered herself into the steaming waters.

Shutting her eyes as the level rose around her, relishing the feel of the scented liquid lapping her flesh, the sting as it touched her wounds, she sank deeper and rested her head against the edge, releasing a long, contented sigh.

Uncaring that he saw her at her most vulnerable, bore witness to the cruelty that had been inflicted upon her physically, she opened her eyes and brazenly watched him as he knelt beside her, sleeves rolled up, a cloth in one hand, soap in the other. For all the world as if he was his ma and she one of his sisters. He kept his eyes fixed on the body part he was administering to, being careful not to let his shock at her state, the numerous wounds, the still-healing scars, show in his expression. He’d a task to perform and he would do it. As he worked upon her body, he distracted them both by humming a tune, a wild, sweet refrain. It made her think of grass blowing in the wind, seagulls bobbing on the water, and the way the clouds would sometimes dance across the sky. Any nervousness or anxiety fled. At one level, she’d lost all sense of humiliation in the Tolbooth, but at another, she’d found the strength to demand what she wanted.

She wanted a bath, aye, to be clean and thus cleansed. But, as the captain carefully lifted her other arm and began to soap it in gentle circles, rinsing and then repeating before moving to another part of her body, she knew deep in her heart, she wanted this man too.

Thirty

THIRTY

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My Lord, this is not the tenth part of what may be said upon this subject…

— A Letter from a Gentleman in Fife to his Friend in Edinburgh, 1705

When Sorcha woke the next morning, she was at first confused. What was she lying on? What was that sweet smell? The quiet but steady breathing? She was so warm, so comfortable… Not daring to move lest she disrupt the dream, she lay still, her fingers resting against the sheets. Sheets! Slowly, her memories of the previous day returned.

She was in her cottage in Marygate. She was free of the Tolbooth. She was clean. Never again would she have to endure the pain and suffering of the last months. Her thoughts flew to the others, to Nettie, Isobel and Nicolas. How were they faring? And what of Lillie, Margaret, and poor, poor Janet? Her heart flipped as she thought of Janet Cornfoot, exchanging places with Beatrix in the cold dampness of St Fillan’s Cave; for some reason, she’d been selected to pay for all their sins. Beatrix had survived. In what condition she was yet to learn. Hopefully, Janet would as well.