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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

She was proving to be more stubborn than he’d thought. He knew the other bailies felt the same. They’d been here since before the clock struck one and all they’d managed to get out of her was what she’d readily admitted the day before in the Morton house: that she’d left the bucket and coal by the smithy, but there’d been no admission of it being a charm. Not yet.

Despite the shut window, raised voices carried into the room. The words were muffled, but their intention wasn’t. He’d seen the crowd gathered outside the Tolbooth. Among them were Sorcha McIntyre and her friend Janet Horseburgh. What he hadn’t expected was to see Captain Aidan Ross standing beside them. The officer had even thumped on the main door and demanded to speak to the bailies.

Under orders from the reverend, the Tolbooth keeper refused to admit him; after all, he’d no rights here. Patrick was surprised the captain remained. Astonished any of the crowd did, for that matter. Their persistence simply lent strength to his cause. This woman, these women, he reminded himself as an image of Sorcha and Nettie rose in his mind, were nothing but troublemakers.

Dear God in heaven but he resented this farce. They all knew the old witch was guilty as sin — sin that even now spilled from her thin, wrinkled lips. It was his duty to protect his congregation, indeed all the Weem, from the dangers of such as her — and her accomplices. It was because of people like the Laing woman that he had answered God’s calling in the first place. He was a soldier in His army and he would fight to the end, God willing.

‘I… I… said,’ began Beatrix, her lips parting with difficulty. Her mouth was parched; her lips cracked. She was having trouble speaking. One of the constables stepped forward to offer water, but the reverend waved him back. Let the biddy thirst.

Flicking the reverend a look that made Bailie Cook shudder, Beatrix snarled. Patrick fell back in his chair, his hand flying to his heart. Why, he felt that! It was as if the wily crone had punched him.

Bailies Cook and Vernour tore their eyes from Beatrix and studied him with concern. Bailie Bell, his thick white hair ruffled because he repeatedly dragged his fingers through it, stared at the ceiling, his mouth moving. Bailie Cleiland, his ruddy cheeks withered and veined, looked up briefly from the notes he was making, uncertain what had just taken place.