tried his best to give him courage and Ted had felt for him because of the horror his job forced him to endure but the courage did not come. All night, his bowels kept opening until he thought there could surely be no waste left in his body. But still it came.
The doctor came, with brandy, which he was suddenly greedy for and drank down so fast it took his breath and made him choke. He held out the glass and, after hesitating, the man poured more. Ted set it on the table in front of him. When they came for him he would swallow it, at the last minute, before he was taken again down the endless narrow corridors.
There were no corridors. He was almost asleep, and in the claws of a nightmare, sitting at the table with his head in his hands, when he was wakened by the warderâs hand on his arm, shaking him hard, and then by the opening of the door. Two men entered, a tall warder behind a man of middle height, slight, with a small moustache. He wore a dark suit with a smart white handkerchief in the top pocket.
Ted did not know where he was or what was happening, until his own warder handed him the brandy he had kept. âDrink it up quick,â he said softly. He held it for him while he drank, as if Ted were a baby, because his hand shook too much. This time, though it burned his gullet, it did not choke him.
âFollow me please.â
The wooden cupboard had been pushed sideways. It slid easily, as if oiled. Ted hesitated, then stepped behind the man into the room beyond.
And it was here. No corridors. No keys. Here. The small room.
Time did not stop or go backwards, time went on in the old steady way, but so little time, seconds, before he was standing where the man told him, the chaplain was making the sign of the cross, there was another man binding his arms, then bending down, and before another second had gone there was a strap tying his legs together. His bowels heaved and opened. He screamed but the scream was muffled by the cloth bag over his head, over his face.
A muffled click and his head cracked open, as if it were hitting stone and the light inside the bag went out.
OTHER BOOKS BY BY SUSAN HILL
Black Sheep
The village of Mount of Zeal is built on three levels. Ted Howker, his father and his brothers live in Middle, stuck between Lower Terrace and Paradise. But, to the great shock of his family, Ted is not content to follow in the footsteps of his father.
A Kind Man
Tommy Carr was a kind man; Eve had known that immediately. But after the tragic death of their young daughter, Tommyâs personality is eroded by grief. What happens next is entirely unexpected, not least for the kind man ...
The Beacon
The Prime children grew up in a bleak country farmhouse called The Beacon. Only Frank got away. He left for a career in journalism: the publication of a book about his childhood brings the fame and money he craves â and tears his family apart.
The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read
A young school boy becomes friends with a beekeeper and begins teaching him to read; a country girl fights against becoming a downtrodden domestic skivvy; a gang of boys plans an unforgivable deed. In this collection of expertly crafted stories, Susan Hill presents us with an utterly captivating panorama of human nature.
The Service of Clouds
At the far end of the long white gallery is a painting of a woman, in pale flowing clothes and lying on a sofa beside an open window. This image is to prove the catalyst for the most significant event in
Floraâs life.
The Service of Clouds
is a profound exploration of love, loyalty, friendship, growing up and growing old.
Mrs De Winter
Rebecca
was Daphne du Maurierâs most famous and best-loved novel. Countless readers wondered: what happened next? Out of the fire-wracked ruins of Manderley, would love and renewal rise phoenix-like from the ashes of the embittered past?
The Mist in the Mirror
For twenty years Sir James Monmouth has pursued his fascination
The doctor came, with brandy, which he was suddenly greedy for and drank down so fast it took his breath and made him choke. He held out the glass and, after hesitating, the man poured more. Ted set it on the table in front of him. When they came for him he would swallow it, at the last minute, before he was taken again down the endless narrow corridors.
There were no corridors. He was almost asleep, and in the claws of a nightmare, sitting at the table with his head in his hands, when he was wakened by the warderâs hand on his arm, shaking him hard, and then by the opening of the door. Two men entered, a tall warder behind a man of middle height, slight, with a small moustache. He wore a dark suit with a smart white handkerchief in the top pocket.
Ted did not know where he was or what was happening, until his own warder handed him the brandy he had kept. âDrink it up quick,â he said softly. He held it for him while he drank, as if Ted were a baby, because his hand shook too much. This time, though it burned his gullet, it did not choke him.
âFollow me please.â
The wooden cupboard had been pushed sideways. It slid easily, as if oiled. Ted hesitated, then stepped behind the man into the room beyond.
And it was here. No corridors. No keys. Here. The small room.
Time did not stop or go backwards, time went on in the old steady way, but so little time, seconds, before he was standing where the man told him, the chaplain was making the sign of the cross, there was another man binding his arms, then bending down, and before another second had gone there was a strap tying his legs together. His bowels heaved and opened. He screamed but the scream was muffled by the cloth bag over his head, over his face.
A muffled click and his head cracked open, as if it were hitting stone and the light inside the bag went out.
OTHER BOOKS BY BY SUSAN HILL
Black Sheep
The village of Mount of Zeal is built on three levels. Ted Howker, his father and his brothers live in Middle, stuck between Lower Terrace and Paradise. But, to the great shock of his family, Ted is not content to follow in the footsteps of his father.
A Kind Man
Tommy Carr was a kind man; Eve had known that immediately. But after the tragic death of their young daughter, Tommyâs personality is eroded by grief. What happens next is entirely unexpected, not least for the kind man ...
The Beacon
The Prime children grew up in a bleak country farmhouse called The Beacon. Only Frank got away. He left for a career in journalism: the publication of a book about his childhood brings the fame and money he craves â and tears his family apart.
The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read
A young school boy becomes friends with a beekeeper and begins teaching him to read; a country girl fights against becoming a downtrodden domestic skivvy; a gang of boys plans an unforgivable deed. In this collection of expertly crafted stories, Susan Hill presents us with an utterly captivating panorama of human nature.
The Service of Clouds
At the far end of the long white gallery is a painting of a woman, in pale flowing clothes and lying on a sofa beside an open window. This image is to prove the catalyst for the most significant event in
Floraâs life.
The Service of Clouds
is a profound exploration of love, loyalty, friendship, growing up and growing old.
Mrs De Winter
Rebecca
was Daphne du Maurierâs most famous and best-loved novel. Countless readers wondered: what happened next? Out of the fire-wracked ruins of Manderley, would love and renewal rise phoenix-like from the ashes of the embittered past?
The Mist in the Mirror
For twenty years Sir James Monmouth has pursued his fascination
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