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Back The Darkest Shore
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

Alone in her bed for the first time in ages, that night Sorcha tossed and turned, praying her boat would reach port soon. Once more the Pittenweem community had rallied behind them and, if there weren’t quite as many folk to champion them as when they were first released, it was reassuring to know not everyone had been swayed by Patrick Cowper and Peter Morton.

Not yet.

It was mainly because of the reverend that they decided to celebrate their release. Forced to attend the kirk each Sunday since they’d been freed — not to go would attract fines they could ill afford and would be seen as an admission of guilt in the eyes of the reverend and his followers — they had to endure his sermons. Every week he warned people against witchcraft, decried the monsters and evil spirits who, he claimed, walked among them. He maintained the devil was loose in the world, even quoting from a sermon given by a Salem preacher, Cotton Mather, published in Wonders of the Invisible World, a book Sorcha knew well, as it had done the rounds among those who could read as soon as it was published. As he spoke, there were some who stared pointedly at the fishwives, craning their necks and casting them looks of fear, pity and even anger. Having to put up with this made Sorcha, Nettie, Beatrix and the other fishwives more determined than ever to defy the man and invite those so inclined to join them for some food and drink to mark their pardon.

Sorcha was brought back to the present by the voices of Nettie and Beatrix. Folk would be arriving soon. She calmly rose from the chest and went to help. Together, they’d spent the morning baking bannocks, stewing some fish they’d hoarded from the last catch, and cutting cheese bought from the farms. Lillie and Margaret had collected oysters and mussels, Therese Larnarch had cooked a coney pie and brought some slices of mutton she’d managed to barter from a farmer out St Monan’s way. There was also a steaming plate of neeps, eggs, and a custard. Bottles of whisky and some wine from France — no doubt courtesy of Thom White and the smugglers — were also among the booty they’d managed to rustle up at short notice.