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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 did not allow myself to become close to anyone after I lost her,’ Archie said. ‘It was only when I feared life might be short that I let myself be open to love once again. That is why there cannot be a definitive answer, for if I had met you before I became ill, I would doubtless have suppressed any feelings that might have developed.’

They sat in silence for a while, Sarah thinking that there was nothing more to be said.

‘Perhaps what you really want to know is whether I would have done things differently from Raven.’

Sarah was shocked by his insight, as though he knew what she had been thinking.

‘He spoke to me of this,’ Archie continued. ‘It made me ask myself, as you too are presumably wondering, would I have acted in defiance of the judgment of my peers in order to be with you? At such a fledgling stage of my career? All I know of the difference between Raven and me is that I was not tested in that way. In my case the disapproval of my peers was no threat.

‘If you find him wanting because of this … I would say, do not judge a man by his mistakes, but whether he learns from them.’

Sarah left him to sleep, troubled by their conversation. She decided she would go home for a while as she needed time alone, time to think.

She had offered to move to Queen Street with Archie, but he would not hear of it. He wanted her to have some respite from his illness. He wanted her to remember him in a better condition, how he was in happier days. He was trying to make it easier to adjust; it would be a separation in stages.

‘I do not know how long I have left,’ he said. ‘But I know that you have to prepare for the future. That future will be at Albany Street, should you choose to stay on there. You ought to get used to being there without me.’

As she was preparing to leave, he had made a rather unexpected request.

‘I would like you to consider reverting to your own name, when I am gone,’ he said.

‘Why would I do that?’

‘There was never any requirement for you to change it in the first place. I have no jurisdiction over you, nor did I ever wish to have. You do not belong to me. I want you to be your own person.’

FIFTY-NINE

logo missingaven watched Sarah as she descended the stairs to the hallway and reached for her coat. He could tell she was trying not to cry. He wanted to give her privacy and was about to walk away, but she called to him.

‘What news of our elusive nurse?’ she asked. ‘Have you located her?’

‘She returned briefly to the cottage at Lochend,’ he said, ‘but her current whereabouts remain unknown.’