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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

He thought of Mrs Glassford’s abdomen, the swelling of it portending death rather than new life. He pictured her drawn face, the growing tumour draining the vitality from the rest of her.

Raven was disturbed to find that this prompted thoughts of Sarah’s husband: how thin he was, how little he spoke and ate at dinner, his use of chloroform to help him sleep.

Suddenly Raven understood what should have been obvious to him before. Archie Banks was dying.

TWENTY-FIVE

logo missingarah, may I speak plainly?’

Sarah had been summoned to the drawing room, which was not an unusual occurrence, but the growing sense of suspicion and distrust amongst the household staff was causing her to feel unduly anxious about it. The look on Mrs Simpson’s face when she entered the room had done nothing to assuage her concern.

‘Things are not as they should be,’ Mrs Simpson said, and then sighed. ‘Oh, do sit down, Sarah. You’re not on trial.’

Sarah sat on one of the upholstered armchairs, noticing as she did so that the embroidered antimacassar on the back of the chair was in dire need of washing. Such a thing would not have been tolerated when she was a housemaid here. She straightened her skirt, focused her attention on Mrs Simpson and reminded herself that she had done nothing wrong.

‘I am beginning to feel that I am losing control of things. This house becomes more chaotic by the day. Problems seem to be mounting up and with Mina gone there is no one I can confide in.’

Under the circumstances Sarah was relieved that she was not being accused of anything, but was surprised by Mrs Simpson’s admission. To her mind the house was no more or less chaotic than usual, grubby antimacassars notwithstanding.

‘Dr Simpson is away from home so frequently he scarcely knows what goes on here, under his own roof. You know what he is like, Sarah; gathers up dinner guests on a whim as he makes his rounds, and anyone of importance who visits Edinburgh must come to see him, or so it seems. There are always visitors in the house, patients, the children to take care of. And now there is money missing.’

‘Mrs Lyndsay has said as much to me,’ Sarah replied. She decided it would be better to keep Mrs Lyndsay’s suspicions about the culprit to herself for now. ‘I gather Mr Quinton has uncovered certain discrepancies.’

‘Yes. He was supposed to lighten the burden by bringing order to Dr Simpson’s chaos, but he has merely added to my worries. I am supposed to oversee the running of this house, but I feel as if I am making a poor job of it. I worry that I am at fault.’