by Ruth Barrett
“Make him ready,” said the magistrate.
As placidly as a docile horse, Calverley allowed himself to be taken by his chains and roughly stripped by Jack. The assistant gleefully assessed the clothing as he folded each item. Handing the garments over to Hugh, he winked at the boy’s dumbfounded expression.
“For safe-keepin’, lad. A boon for me. They’re about my size-- and he won’t be needin’ ’em in Hell now, will he?”
Leventhorpe was shocked by the outrageous theft but no one else seemed fazed. It must be routine in such matters, he thought. Perhaps it was considered part of the assistant’s payment.
Calverley was made to stretch out face up on the cold floor. A jagged stone was placed underneath the small of his back. His ribs standing out in sharp relief, he arched his body upward to accommodate the work of Master Key’s calloused hands. The prisoner’s long limbs were pulled into a cruciform position and shackled to the iron rings. At a quick count of three, the two gaolers heaved the plank from where it stood. With a grunt, they laid it over top of Calverley’s naked torso. The strain showed immediately in his breathing.
From where he stood, Leventhorpe had the clearest view. Only the doomed man’s face was visible at the top edge of the plank. Leventhorpe looked closely at his one-time friend. Calverley’s full lips were parted as he gasped from the burden already on his chest-- and the anticipation of what was soon to come. Beads of perspiration dotted his moustache and beard, and sweat soaked the thick waves of his dark hair. Leventhorpe felt sick with pity. For all that Calverley had so brutally performed to visit this fate upon him, his serene determination from the outset to lighten the work of his own executioners gave him the aspect of a martyr.
Perhaps he hath repented. Will he at last speak his mind to the Law?
Leventhorpe could not catch his eyes to ask this silent question. Calverley had disconnected. He fixed his unblinking gaze on the grimy ceiling, entombing any emotion he may have felt deep within and unreachable.
The magistrate stepped forward from the corner, where he’d been absorbed in the examination of loose threads on the hem of his cloak. He had paid little attention to the tasks of the others. Master Key pulled his apprentice out of the way and made him drop the bundle of clothes he’d been hugging to his chest.
“Ye’ll need to keep yer hands free now, son.”
The nervous boy leaned his halberd against the wall, where it slipped along the moisture and clattered to the floor. Already skittish, Leventhorpe and John started at the racket, and John pressed up against his back as if to be shielded from the very Devil. The magistrate clenched his jaw and waited for the echo to subside. He spoke in a strong voice that belied his great age.
“You had your chance to speak before the Assizes. You chose silence. I therefore put it to you here and now for the Crown, and before these good men: Sir Walter Calverley, how do you plead?”
Leventhorpe stood waiting by his friend’s head. John’s nervous breath was hot on his neck.
There came no reply from Calverley but laboured breathing.
“Very well-- ” The magistrate stepped aside and nodded to the gaolers.
“Lay on the weights.”
On Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-ebook/dp/B005L38G8E/
In paperback on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-1-Ruth-Barrett/dp/1453643001/
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, look out for more upcoming titles from Ruth Barrett and Spirited Words Book Co. We have a lot in the works!
Short Story Collections
Tales Unfolded-- A chilling world of deadly deeds and unearthly tribulations.
Those Ills We Have-- Twisted stories of urban lust and loss.
A Novel of a Revenant Spirit
The Rake’s Chronicles-- A fatal mélange of sexual obsession, untimely death and supernatural revenge set against the tidy backdrop of Victorian England. (‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ meets My Secret Life.)
And in the fullness of time…
THE DEAD DRUNKS: a series of quirky, character-driven mystery novels. Follow the unlikely investigative team of wigmaker, Teddy, and ex-cop, Winston as they track down murder most foul in the world-famous theatre community of Stratford, Ontario: small town, big politics. Things behind the scenes are definitely not what they seem… Keep an eye out for book one-- In the Bag.
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Or drop me a line at: [email protected]
Ruth Barrett was born in Pointe Claire, Quebec and grew up in Barrie, Ontario. She attended Trent University in Peterborough where she studied English Literature, and began her love affair with the United Kingdom during an exchange year at the University of Leeds. After earning her B.A., Ruth returned to England and studied Classical Drama at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA).
In her years pursuing an acting career in Toronto, Ruth performed onstage, in television and radio, and eventually specialized in voice-over work—most notably as the voice of ‘Creakie’ (a domineering little blue monster!) in the Treehouse TV show, WEE 3.
Always a storyteller, Ruth honed her skills as a writer through further training at George Brown College, and the Humber School for Writers correspondence program under the enthusiastic mentorship of Booker Prize-winning author, Peter Carey. Ruth went on to publish several short stories in anthologies and literary journals, earning a few awards and a Toronto Arts Council grant along the way.
In her ‘day job,’ Ruth applies her background in both writing and television as a writer of descriptive narrative TV and film scripts for the visually impaired and blind. In April 2011, Ruth was tasked with co-narrating the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton with the CBC and the Accessible Channel in a six-hour marathon of live improvised description.
These days, Ruth resides in the beautiful town of Stratford, Ontario—home of the world-famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
Copyright © 2012 by Ruth Barrett. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First Edition, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9877703-4-9 (Kindle Edition)
Spirited Words Book Co.
Suite #2, 26 Ontario Street, Stratford, Ontario N5A 3G8
[email protected]
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An earlier version of ‘Family Secrets’ appeared in Wordscape 6: Mystery & Suspense MTB Press, 2000.
Dedication: in memory of Isabella.
Book Cover Design by Neil Jackson.
Thanks (as ever) to Craig.
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