Predestination

From Absolution: A Question of Conviction: “Catherine’s hands trembled as she set the letter aside and lifted the small wooden box beneath. Normally she would have considered it quite a pretty thing; its wax-polished surface gleaming, and the edges were carved with delicate scrollwork. A single acorn motif centred on the lid gave her a … Read more

From Resurrection: The Heresy of a Jesuit: “They plunged across the stream, man and horse in perfect harmony, galloping for their lives. His tattered and mud-splattered cape streamed behind him, and his breeches bore the scratches and rips that headlong flight through dense woodland had inflicted. And yet, his mind sang with exhilaration that approached … Read more

From Speculation: Undercurrents of Treachery: “Meanwhile, common folk suffered. Labourers found their earnings almost worthless overnight. Craftsmen watched lifetimes of savings melt away. Widows with fixed incomes slid from modest comfort into grinding poverty. Throughout England, whispers of discontent grew into murmurs, then shouts, as the realm trembled on the precipice of rebellion. This was … Read more

From Insurrection: Weddings can be murder: “He crawled a little closer to the edge of the rood loft, intent on concealing himself between the newly replaced statues of Christ on the cross and the Virgin Mary. He cursed as a jagged splinter from the roughly hewn loft floor speared into the palm of his hand. … Read more

From Resurrection: The Heresy of a Jesuit: “England had been a Catholic state for almost a thousand years. It had obediently followed all the rites and customs of the See of Rome from St Augustine’s evangelisation of the Kingdom of Kent in 597 AD through to King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy in 1534. Catholicism … Read more

From Absolution: A Question of Conviction: “The ancient oak had stood sentinel over the crossroads for centuries, enduring harsh Norfolk winters, wet springs, and all too brief summers. If it could have a favourite season, it would be autumn, with golden light and the pleasant buzz of insects. But not the autumn just past. No, … Read more

From Restitution: Fire and fury: “John Dee peered through the drizzle, over the heads of the sizeable crowd, toward the simple wooden scaffold on Tower Hill. This was the first execution he had ever attended, and by preference he wouldn’t be here now. He had no desire to witness the state-ordered ending of anyone’s life. … Read more

From Speculation: Undercurrents of Treachery: “”Ye seek a cave, I hear,” the old man whispered. Dee looked up, surprised. “How did you – ” “Folk talk,” the fisherman shrugged. “And there ain’t much happens ’round here that goes unnoticed.” He hesitated, then added, “There’s places along this coast best left alone, master. Places where the … Read more

From Proclamation: Poetry will be the death of me: “The muffled clink of harness and the soft hoof fall of a hundred horses were the only sounds that emanated from the column of riders as it emerged from the enveloping mist onto a low ridge. Robert Dudley shivered as he gazed south along their planned … Read more

From Restitution: Fire and fury: “The cannon roared. Smoke billowed. A tongue of flame licking out from the muzzle as the ball shot forward, a dark blur against the pale winter sky. It struck the wooden wall with a sound like God’s hammer. And punched straight through – a fusillade of wooden splinters peppering the … Read more