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Back The Art of Dying Save as PDF
Chapters (90)
  1. PROLOGUE
  2. 1849
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. EDINBURGH
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. SEVENTY-SEVEN
  81. SEVENTY-EIGHT
  82. SEVENTY-NINE
  83. EIGHTY
  84. EIGHTY-ONE
  85. EPILOGUE
  86. HISTORICAL NOTE
  87. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  88. Extract from A Corruption of Blood
  89. 1850
  90. ONE

logo missingrs Glassford’s remains arrived at 52 Queen Street towards the end of the morning. She was brought there upon a cart, which had to sit in place until the clinic was over so that the patients would not witness the body being carried inside by Raven and Jarvis. The butler’s face was unreadable throughout the short journey, with no hint of discomfort or clue as to what introspection might be going on regarding the unusual duties his appointment required of him.

The man was indeed a mystery to Raven, but, despite an air of cold detachment often bordering on disdain, he found it difficult to believe anything truly wicked or deceitful of the fellow. Of course, he reminded himself, the ability to present such a façade would provide the perfect disguise for such wickedness and dishonesty.

The small waiting room at the back of the house had been closed off to allow a post-mortem to take place. Dr Simpson had requested Raven carry out the examination himself, having received an urgent summons to attend to a lady at Tait’s hotel. An examination table had been placed in the middle of the room and several lamps lit due to the dullness of the day. The bleak weather seemed appropriate to the task that Raven had been given, congruent with his mood, but as he rolled up his sleeves a shaft of winter sun broke through the cloud, illuminating innumerable motes of dust as they spun in effortless spirals above the shrouded corpse on the table.

Raven paused for a moment, considering how fleeting our existence could be, how suddenly death could arrive. He thought of Archie Banks, who had seized life with unrestrained vigour once presented with its cruel shortening. He could not help but reflect upon the comparative wisdom of certain choices he himself had made; though ultimately his doubts all came down to one choice in particular.

Holding her in his arms had brought back so many feelings he had thought lay buried. Though it hurt to see her upset, and the thought of her torment to come caused an ache in him, the warmth of her embrace made him aware of how cold he had been. It took a burst of her sunlight to remind him he had been living in darkness.

While Raven was abroad, he had told himself that what he felt was merely an infatuation: two people who had been thrown together in straitened circumstances, an unlikely dalliance from which they both would be wise to move on. But upon his return, when he was confronted with how Sarah had moved on, he realised how deep his feelings truly ran.

He had been a fool.