The Witch's Brat Read online

  Lovel stood where he was, still staring at the growing stump of the church tower. He felt suddenly very tired. He was generally tired, but it was only sometimes that he noticed it. He must, by Brother Eustace’s reckoning, have bled quite a lot of his own life away with Nick Redpoll. And with the sudden tiredness came a wonderful quiet, and in the midst of the quiet, a sense of freedom; freedom from all the things that were tangled up with having been stoned out of his village for a witch’s brat. And yet he knew that in another way he would never be free again, because he would belong to every sick soul who came into his care.

  A hover of butterflies, brought out by the sudden warmth, danced across the raw new stone-face of the tower; and again a memory brushed across Lovel’s mind, hesitated on the edge of being lost, and then stayed. ‘You will be one of the menders of this world; not the makers, nor yet the breakers; just one of the menders. . . . When the time comes, you’ll know.’

  Nick had reached the top of the ladder.

  ‘That was a good miracle,’ said Rahere’s voice behind him.

  ‘A good miracle,’ Lovel agreed.

  Both Lovel and Nick Redpoll would have been surprised if they had known that in later years, among the list of miracles credited to St Bartholomew’s Priory, was that of a boy call Nicholas who had been instantly healed there of a stiff leg, and in gratitude had stayed on to work in the kitchens.

  About the Author

  Rosemary Sutcliff was born in 1920 in West Clanden, Surrey. With over 40 books to her credit, Rosemary Sutcliff is now universally considered one of the finest writers of historical novels for children. Her first novel, The Queen Elizabeth Story was published in 1950. In 1972 her book Tristan and Iseult was runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award and in 1978 her book, Song for a Dark Queen was commended for the Other Award. Rosemary lived for a long time in Arundel, Sussex with her dogs and in 1975, she was awarded the OBE for services to Children’s Literature.

  Also by Rosemary Sutcliff

  Capricorn Bracelet

  Knight’s Fee

  Sun Horse, Moon Horse

  Tristan and Iseult

  The Shining Company

  THE WITCH’S BRAT

  AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 17311 2

  Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

  A Random House Group Company

  This ebook edition published 2013

  Copyright © Rosemary Sutcliff, 1970

  First Published in Great Britain

  Red Fox 9781782950844 1970

  The right of Rosemary Sutcliff to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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