And so I must always remember, as I continue my search, whenever I may feel as if a winter lies within myself, through external events happening outside my control, this feeling does not exist in isolation and is merely part of a whole, as inside me there is also a spring, with its anticipation of new life, the acceptance of autumnal decay and an endless warmth emanating from an invincible summer.
It still remains that the portrait of the Scarred Man is destroyed and its creator dead, but I now realise I require neither image nor artist to continue in my search for him and, ultimately, Malone. I have the memory of the Scarred Man’s present-day appearance firmly etched in my mind from when I saw the portrait, and although it was unfinished, I am confident in my ability to provide Mary once more with enough detail for her to sketch another true likeness, with which I can then furnish George and Bridges. I will broach the subject with her tomorrow, as I believe she sleeps now.
There are several questions which remain to be answered, however. What led Wicks to be interested in the portrait and subsequently become directly involved, for I know he was involved, as my intuition tells me the artist did not commit suicide or destroy his own painting? In that respect, as the bad dream I had last night, in which the artist was murdered by Wicks, has come true, does this mean he is also connected in some way with the Scarred Man? If so, is that why George and Bridges were involved in their hostile encounter with Wicks’ men a few days ago, as they made enquires, and why Wicks paid his visit to the Fountain Inn? But how did Wicks find the artist? As the landlord did not know where he resided, I can only assume my instincts were correct and I have been careless enough to allow myself to be followed; this must not happen again.
The main question that waits to be answered, however, concerns myself and whether or not to continue my quest of finding the Scarred Man. This doubt has arisen through the artist’s words which have returned to me again. ‘However much this man has wronged you in the past, for your own sake you must let this matter rest,’ I hear him say. But I cannot let this matter rest, I cannot. Although it saddens me to know my actions in pursuing the Scarred Man have caused the death of the very man whose words these were, I do not feel guilty, I must not feel guilty, because I know to do so would cause me to question every action I have undertaken and encumber any future ones. Every decision we take, every act we perform, contains within it a consequence, though these, of course, are not usually seen until later. If Gregor-Smith had not had a liaison with Lydia Tozer, or introduced her to opium, her husband would not have sought revenge and carried out the murders. Yet should Gregor-Smith be held accountable for those subsequent actions through his own? As we cannot ever fully comprehend what consequences our actions will elicit, tragic or otherwise, I believe we can only proceed with good intentions and aim to stay pure in the actions we carry out.
And so this is what I must do in regard to another revelation of the day: that of Lockhart’s proposal. Mary informed me of her ‘most wonderous’ news on my return home this afternoon. I gave my immediate approval, in response to her request, as I did not wish to bring disharmony into the household at this present time. In the months to come though, between this present time and the date they will soon set for their betrothal, I will do everything within my power to discover the truth surrounding the mysterious Lockhart and then act accordingly. And so I am to remain in Bath for the foreseeable future. Nothing has changed since my initial decision those few weeks ago, other than that I have the additional reason of finding the connection between Wicks and the Scarred Man.
As I sit by the bedroom window, in the early hours of the morning, looking out upon the darkened streets of the city, I feel as if one chapter of my life is closing and another is soon to begin. What will the future hold? Am I really as close to finding the men responsible for my father’s death as I feel myself to be? Certainly all the clues I have investigated during these past years, the potential leads, the possible sightings, the alleyways of hope, the passageways of despair, have finally proved worthwhile through the chance conversation I overheard in London, which brought me to Bath in the first place. And even though the murdered Malone was not the one I sought and I have yet to encounter the Scarred Man again in person, since two days after my arrival in Bath, the fact that Wicks is possibly involved with the Scarred Man leads me to be optimistic.
Whatever may be yet to come though, I have now arrived at the realisation that if I was ever to cease my quest, without the proper satisfaction of an appropriate resolution, I would be denying an integral part of myself which has been shaped by the events of my past and to which I must remain true in the future. In that way, the two are so inextricably linked that I believe one cannot exist without the other and where the past informs the future through experience, the future can enlighten the past through acquired insight. Therefore I must not only remain authentic in myself to the experience of this past future, but also to the possible insights arising out of the future past.
About the Authors
David Lassman is a scriptwriter, author, journalist and lecturer. He has appeared many times on television and radio, including BBC’s The One Show, Radio Four’s The Today Programme, News at Ten and Good Morning America. He currently teaches at City of Bath College and runs the Bath Writers’ Workshop. David was born in Bath and now lives in Frome.
Now a full-time writer, Terence James is an award-winning editor (Murder of Shirley Banks, Dangerous Music) at ITV. Throughout an illustrious career he has held various roles on prestigious television programmes such as Man Alive (BBC) and The Avengers (ITV) as well as feature films at Elstree, Pinewood and Shepperton studios. He was born in London but has lived in Bath for more than forty years.
The Regency Detective series of novels are being written in conjunction with the development of a television series of the same name. The project is based in the city of Bath and has the backing of the Bath City Council, Bath Film Office, Bath Tourism Plus, The Jane Austen Centre and several other organisations in and around the city.
Copyright
Map courtesy of Bath in Time, Bath Central Library.
First published in 2013
Reprinted in 2013
The Mystery Press is an imprint of The History Press
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This ebook edition first published in 2013
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© David Lassman & Terence James, 2013
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EPUB ISBN 978 0 7524 9384 8
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The Regency Detective Page 27
