Eyam Adam by John King

Author:John King [King, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-03-03T00:00:00+00:00

Tuesday, 31 October 1665

It must not be allowed to fester.

Let in the light!

They will come to be known a Plague Cottages. Once a haven for love and life and then—something else. Something dark and brooding. There are few who will cross the threshold of these cold, dark tombs that once were home.

The door creaks as Adam Torre pushes it open. Inside, the air is stale, suffocating—the scent of decay, sweat, and old herbs mixed with the acrid bite of vinegar. Shutters hang half-closed, filtering in only the weakest light.

Let in the light!

Three bodies lie on the floor, half-covered with thin sheets. The fire in the hearth has long since gone cold.

A rat scurries across the floor. What devilry has it been up to?

Let in the light!

Adam’s breath is slow, steady through a handkerchief tied round his mouth and nose. He does not flinch any more. It is a terrible sign of the times.

A call from outside rattles the silence.

—Leave them be, Adam. The dead will not thank you.

A bucket is set down and sleeves rolled.

—No—but perhaps the living will.

The villager outside lingers for a moment, then turns away.

Alone, Adam Torre sets to work—cleansing, burning rags, sprinkling lime. He moves methodically, as if scrubbing could cleanse the memories seared into his mind.

He has done this before.

He will do it again.

A book resets on a sideboard. It is split open revealing a page of verse. The Maypole, by Robert Herrick:

The May-pole is up,

Now give me the cup;

I'll drink to the garlands around it;

But first unto those

Whose hands did compose

The glory of flowers that crown'd it.

A health to my girls,

Whose husbands may earls

Or lords be, granting my wishes;

And when that ye wed

To the bridal bed,

Then multiply all, like to fishes.

Adam reads it before closing the book with a strong deliberate turn. These words no longer have any meaning here in Eyam. Those days are gone.

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