# Belinda Mary Bartholomew — The Clue of the Twisted Candle character guide

> Belinda Mary Bartholomew in The Clue of the Twisted Candle by Edgar Wallace.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Belinda Mary, Miss Bartholomew, Miss Belinda, Belinda, Mary

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

Sir William's daughter, who lets herself into her father's house at midnight and later leaves a monogrammed handkerchief wrapped around a bloodied pair of scissors.

## Who they are

Belinda Mary Bartholomew moves through the fog of Portman Place with a key and a scheme, congratulating herself on a plan she cannot fully control. She is the story's most dangerous kind of innocent: frightened enough to seek out T. X. Meredith in her hour of danger, yet implicated by a cellar, a locked door, and a pair of long-bladed scissors wound in her own handkerchief. Her presence forces the detective into an impossible choice between duty and mercy, and that choice drives the middle of the book.

## Relationships

### [T. X. Meredith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/characters/t_x_meredith)

_social_

Belinda Mary Bartholomew and T. X. Meredith are acquaintances, likely through social circles or the investigation.

### [T. X. Meredith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/characters/t_x_meredith)

_social_

Belinda Mary Bartholomew and T. X. Meredith are acquaintances, likely through social circles or the investigation.

### [T. X. Meredith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/characters/t_x_meredith)

_social_

Belinda Mary Bartholomew and T. X. Meredith are acquaintances, likely through social circles or the investigation.

## In the story

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xi)

Accused of stealing a snuffbox; T. X. dismisses her from Kara's service.

### [The Cellar Discovery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xiv)

Implied to be involved through the monogrammed handkerchief on the bloody scissors; T. X. suspects she may have killed Kara or the dog.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xv)

Mentioned as having drawn a considerable sum from her bank account; her whereabouts are unknown.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xvi)

Confronted by T. X. about the scissors; admits to killing Kara's dog but hides details of her escape. Later retrieves her mother's snuffbox from home.

### [The Twisted Candle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xvii)

Meets T. X. in Green Park; teases him about his supposed marriage and family.

### [T. X. and Belinda Mary's Mysterious Secret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xviii)

Enters smiling and radiant, hints at a wonderful secret she cannot yet tell; shows suppressed eagerness when Lexman is mentioned; agrees to lunch with T. X.

### [The Clue of the Twisted Candle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xix)

Requests that Lexman lecture at her rented Blackheath house and is added to the guest list.

### [The Gathering of Experts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xx)

Observes the gathering from the doorway and is introduced to the guests by T. X.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/chapters/xxiii)

Reveals that Grace Lexman is alive and describes how she found her in Kara's cellar and killed the guard dog.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/characters/belinda_mary_bartholomew
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_clue_of_the_twisted_candle_se/characters