The Scold's Bridle: A NovelFew tears fall when rich, spiteful old Mathilda Gillespie's bloody corpse is found her bathtub, her wrists slit and the ancient scold's bridle clamped on her head. It seems Mathilda's favorite heirloom was also an instrument of torture form the Middle Ages, an iron cage used to gag yapping women. Among the Dorset villagers, only Sarah Blakeney, Mathilda's doctor for her final year, seems even mildly disturbed that the miserable nag has been muzzled forever. But suicide starts to look like homicide, and Sarah's sorrow seems a bit contrived when the bombshell drops that Mathilda has disinherited her daughter and granddaughter, leaving her entire fortune to Sarah. Now the object of vicious gossip and the police's prime suspect in a brutal murder, Sarah must prove her innocence by delving into Mathilda's past to unmask the real killer. |
Contents
Section 1 | 3 |
Section 2 | 17 |
Section 3 | 33 |
Section 4 | 51 |
Section 5 | 69 |
Section 6 | 87 |
Section 7 | 105 |
Section 8 | 123 |
Section 12 | 195 |
Section 13 | 213 |
Section 14 | 231 |
Section 15 | 253 |
Section 16 | 269 |
Section 17 | 289 |
Section 18 | 309 |
Section 19 | 331 |
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Common terms and phrases
afraid anyway asked baby barbiturates bastard believe better Bournemouth Cedar House Charlie Charlie Jones chuckled course damn daughter Dave Hughes dead death diaries died door Duggan Duncan face father feel fingers Fontwell Ford transit frowned gave geant Gerald Gillespie's girl glanced going grandmother Granny hand Hong Kong Hughes husband Iago Jack Blakeney Jack's James Gillespie Jane Marriott Joanna Keith killed King Lear kitchen knew laugh live looked Mathilda mind Minette Walters Miss Lascelles mother murder never night nodded Orloff Othello painting Paul Duggan Perhaps person police portrait rape Ruth Ruth's Sarah scold's bridle Sergeant Cooper shook his head shrugged sighed silence smiled solicitor someone sort Spede Stanley knife stared stealing suppose sure talk tell There's thilda thing thought told Tommy Cooper took turned Violet voice watched What's wife woman women wondered