The Devil's Surrogate (29 page)

The metal
contraption was an old scold's bridle, something Matilda had only
previously seen in picture books at her former home. The iron bands
were dull, but any rust appeared to have been removed and the
hinges showed traces of having been oiled. Her initial reaction was
to draw back, attempt to resist having the cruel device placed upon
her head, but she quickly realised that such an action was futile
and likely only to earn her even more dire retribution.

Set in the
latter half of the seventeenth century, in an England ruled by fear
and superstition, this is a tale of ignorance versus wealth and
so-called education where, despite the fact that the notorious
Witchfinder General has supposedly died in disgrace some fifteen
years since, his acolytes continue his nefarious work in the more
remote villages and hamlets.

Greed, torture
and a clandestine white slavery network are all intertwined here,
where the wrong word, a misinterpreted glance, or simply a pretty
maiden spurning the advances of a powerful admirer, can lead to a
gruesome death, or worse still, a life of degradation, humiliation
and constant agonies.

Add a handful
of genuine witches, with their own speciality of 'wyrd' sex,
abduction and torture, and life in rural Hampshire starts to become
more than just a little precarious.

-oOo-

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