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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

‘I don’t recall. I was beside myself with pain.’

‘What happened then?’

‘Here we go,’ Mhairi muttered. Sarah shot her a look, fiercer than she intended. Her curiosity was making her bold.

‘My eyes became heavy and I had a drouth like you wouldn’t believe. My mouth was parched, all the moisture in it dried. I could barely speak; my tongue couldn’t form the words. My arms and legs felt heavy; I couldn’t move them however much I wanted to. And then I was aware of the covers being pulled back and I felt the mattress sag.’

Nora swallowed repeatedly as though the reminiscence was causing her throat to dry again. She took a sip from her cup.

‘She got into the bed beside me.’

‘You must have been delirious,’ argued Mhairi. ‘No one in their right mind would get into bed beside you.’

‘It happened,’ Nora insisted. ‘I felt her hands caress my face and she spoke to me.’

‘You were probably full of laudanum, right enough. But it revealed your darkest desires, didn’t it?’

With that, Mhairi turned away, having had her fun.

‘What did she say?’ Sarah asked, ignoring the others.

‘That I should sleep, that it would soon be over. Something like that but repeated over and over.’

‘And then?’

‘I remember footsteps in the corridor. I think someone else was coming along. She jumped out of the bed good and quick after that. Then I fell asleep.’

‘That is most peculiar,’ Sarah said.

Nora looked urgently at her.

‘You don’t believe me, do you? Same as the rest.’ She was becoming agitated. ‘She gave me something to drink, something to make me sleep, and then climbed into bed alongside me and I’m the one said to have lost my reason.’

‘I do believe you,’ Sarah assured her. ‘But what I fail to understand is why? Why would anyone do such a thing?’

Nora spoke in barely a whisper.

‘I think she meant to kill me.’

FIFTY

logo missingaven was still feeling aggrieved by the time he reached Albany Street; being tasked with such a menial errand had done nothing to improve his black mood. However, when Archie himself answered the door, he realised his error. The chloroform was merely a pretext. It was Raven that he wanted to see.

‘I’m so grateful you have come,’ he said. ‘There is something I would like to discuss with you.’

Archie ushered Raven into a small study opposite the parlour. He accepted the bottle of chloroform and placed it on top of his desk, then indicated that his guest should sit. Archie remained standing, albeit restively, in front of the fire. Raven noticed that he was unshaven, coarse bristles speckling his chin. He looked wan, and possibly thinner than the last time he had seen him.