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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

‘Och!’ exclaimed Gerard and went to wrest it back. Before he could, the stranger swung it and smacked Gerard on the side of the head. He fell to the ground. Immediately, Seumas began to kick him. Others ran forward and joined in.

Across the road, Janet locked eyes with Sorcha and gave a slight shake of her head, warning her not to interfere — either with Gerard’s beating or her intentions. Through bloodied lips, she blew a kiss, then winked. Faster and more furtively than Sorcha could have imagined, Janet darted down a darkened wynd.

It was a mere second before the crowd realised the focus of their rage had vanished. When they did, the spell of the musket broke.

Seumas raised his head, Clem Brady and the stranger too. With an almighty bellow, they pointed to where Janet had been.

‘Don’t let her escape,’ Seumas shouted.

In a crush of men, a few women and steel, led by the three who’d beaten Gerard bloody, the crowd took off after Janet Cornfoot, the witch who had got away once.

If they had any say in it this time, she would not again.

Forty-Nine

FORTY-NINE

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What’s done cannot be undone.

— Macbeth, Act V scene i

It took Sorcha a moment to gain her bearings. When she did, she went to check on Gerard. Angus was trying to help him sit up. Gerard’s lip was bleeding, there was a long gash on his forehead. One eye was already swelling. He groaned and spat a great glob of blood on the road.

‘One of us must go to the bailie’s house,’ said Nettie, nodding in the direction of Bailie Cook’s place. ‘Tell them what’s happened.’

‘You’re right,’ conceded Sorcha, passing a kerchief to Gerard. She knew they had to separate to give Janet a chance. ‘But we need to be careful.’

They were one whisky away from becoming the targets of this witch-frenzy.

‘I’ll go with Gerard,’ said Nettie, indicating the constable who, daubing at his head, gave a reluctant nod. ‘I’ll be safe enough.’

‘Then Angus and I will try and follow Janet.’ Sorcha waited for agreement from Angus before looking towards the water.

Angus hoisted Gerard to his feet. Those who hadn’t bolted down to the harbour approached cautiously.

Sorcha wiped a hand across her forehead. ‘Once we find her, we’ll take her to the Tolbooth.’ She didn’t add what she was thinking — if it wasn’t too late.

Nettie folded her into a tight hug. Sorcha squeezed her one last time, then before she could change her mind or allow the terror batting at the edges of her mind to overcome her, signalled to Angus. Nettie and Gerard left at the same time.