Chapters (76)
- Cover
- About the Author
- Also by Karen Brooks
- Title Page
- Dedication
- EXPLANATORY NOTE
- PART ONE
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- PART TWO
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- PART THREE
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- PART FOUR
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Epilogue: Autumn 1706
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- GLOSSARY
- LIST OF CHARACTERS
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
‘Aye. Only their bloody pintles. Poor Lizzie Johnson. She wasn’t believed; not at first,’ said Nettie. ‘Didn’t help that Reverend Cowper put it about that any woman fraternising with the soldiers deserved what she got.’
Sorcha shook her head in disgust. ‘Lizzie Johnson comes from a good family.’
‘Not as far as Cowper’s concerned,’ said Beatrix. ‘They’re Jacobites, remember?’
‘Aren’t we all,’ sniggered Nettie.
‘Anyways,’ Beatrix frowned at the interruption, ‘Lizzie was stepping out with a soldier so Cowper said she brought it upon herself. Didn’t matter the man who ravished her was not the same as the one who was sweet on her.’
Nettie pulled a face. ‘You know I’ve no time for the reverend and while I don’t want to defend him, there were some who thought he said that to prevent fights breaking out between the fishermen and the soldiers. The Johnsons and the McMannings were fit to murder and God knows what would have happened had they set upon the soldiers. Cowper’s words, blaming poor Lizzie, made them think twice.’
‘Wasn’t Cowper made them think twice,’ said Beatrix. ‘Was Captain Ross. He be a good man… for an incomer.’
‘Aye,’ agreed Nicolas. ‘For an incomer.’
‘To incomers,’ said Nettie, raising her cup again. They drank another toast.
Reaching for the bottle of whisky and first topping up her friends’ drinks, Sorcha added the last of it to her own. This captain had done the nigh-on impossible — earned the admiration, if not gratitude, of not just Nettie and her friends but the close-knit villagers. Something that had all but eluded her mor. Sorrow threatened to swamp her.
‘Och, you’ve naught to worry about when it comes to Captain Aidan Ross,’ said Nettie, misunderstanding where her friend’s thoughts had taken her and nudging the others. They giggled. ‘He’s doing a much better job of keeping his men in order than his predecessor or those soldiers tonight indicate.’
‘Well, he did stop them,’ said Beatrix. ‘Him and the sergeant.’
‘According to the reverend,’ said Nettie, ‘the captain doesn’t exercise enough authority. At least, not in the way Cowper thinks he should.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Cowper only moans because he believes his flock is straying,’ said Beatrix, flapping her hand. ‘It’s not up to the captain to force parishioners to attend kirk on Sundays. It’s hardly his fault if some of the men like to share a drink with the soldiers instead of listening to Cowper blast fire and brimstone upon them. I know what I’d choose if I could afford the fine.’
They raised their cups in agreement, all except Sorcha, who was deep in thought. As an officer, Captain Ross might know something of the war. He may even know about the fate of any prisoners…