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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

It didn’t always work.

There were a few who refused to be muzzled or cease their efforts to instil fear. Fuelled by their own inner demons and the words of the minister each Sunday, these people, mostly men, would march up to the women and shake their fists, spit in their faces and try and intimidate them. When it became physical, the men were led away by their companions or wives. Only after they’d gone would Sorcha breathe a sigh of relief and still the trembling in her knees. Only then would her heart return to normal.

Sorcha was afraid it was only a matter of time before someone, bolstered by drink, friends, or a sense of godly duty, would do something that could not be undone. And if not His duty, then because of the thoughts Reverend Cowper continued to plant in each and every head at kirk.

Sickened by what the minister said, his ceaseless sermons about witches and the threat they posed to the community, the women nonetheless attended each week. Partly to show a brave front and remind people that they were innocent by law; that the likes of the reverend upon whose every word most hung, was wrong, partly to avoid the hefty fines the reverend threatened should they absent themselves, and partly to arm themselves in the event of more trouble.

Nettie believed the worst was over. ‘Give it time,’ she would say each night as they huddled before the fire. ‘Give it time.’ The men would soon forget about them, especially once winter passed and the drave improved and spring brought warmer weather. Sorcha prayed she was right and echoed Nettie’s optimism in her letters to Aidan, though she still hadn’t heard from him. Never did she reveal what was happening. Instead she imbued her words with hope and dreams of what might transpire if Aidan came home.

Not if… when… she would remind herself.

But as first Yuletide then Hogmanay came and went and there was still no word from Bavaria, and Janet wasn’t released (though there was talk a move to the Tolbooth was imminent), and no directives came from Edinburgh, Sorcha began to doubt Nettie was right.

If there was to be no more trouble and they all really were free according to justice and the law, why was the reverend still preaching so vehemently against witches?

More importantly, why was he still holding Janet captive?

Forty-One

FORTY-ONE

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They asked her how she came to say any thing that was not true; she cryed out, alas, alas, I behoved to say so, to please the minister and bailies…

— An Answer of a Letter From a Gentleman of Fife, 1705