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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

In the days after Robbie’s return, it had been strange for Sorcha to wake and find him rummaging about the cottage. Not only was he back in his old bedroom, but he had a way of filling the space that she’d so missed. Leaving his books, robes, paper and inkhorns lying about, empty quaichs, and his boots, she loved the reminders of his presence, even if she knew it was to be short-lived.

The reasons for him leaving the cottage were a cause for celebration, not commiseration. Four months after he returned, he moved into the roomy manse beside the kirk. Reluctant to shift the large Cowper family out before the orphaned children could find relatives who’d care for them, Robbie insisted they wait until summer and the roads were in better condition. Most of the children were off to Dundee and a distant cousin. The older two had decided to try and make their way in Glasgow. For them, Edinburgh was too close. Sorcha understood their need to get away, far from where the names Pittenweem and Cowper carried the connotations, curiosity and dread that they did. And for Seumas Cowper, the guilt.

With the arrival of spring, more incomers had travelled to the town to see for themselves the place where witches had been found and where death had haunted the streets and docks. It had been tempting to try and extract coin from these visitors. But whereas that had once been the goal of the reverend and the council, reminders of witchcraft and what had happened were now an embarrassment. The incomers were given no truck, their questions answered bluntly or not at all. Angered by the lack of information, their anticipated excitement thwarted, they never remained long and soon ceased to come.

Still, the thought of leaving Pittenweem for good had preoccupied Sorcha for weeks. Even Dagny, who came for a brief visit once she heard Robbie was back, bringing her two youngest bairns with her, had suggested Sorcha leave. She hadn’t offered her home, not that Sorcha expected or wanted it. But the temptation to turn her back on Pittenweem once and for all and start afresh had been very real. If Robbie hadn’t returned, she might have accepted Aidan’s invitation to go to Skye with him and begin a new life there. With Robbie home, and the witch craze all but over, and Nettie, Beatrix, Nicolas, Isobel and the others all returned to their homes and livelihoods, she could no more leave than throw a fine fish back into the ocean.