title: The Inconvenient Duchess
author:  Christine Merrill 
description: Christine Merrill wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. During a stint as a stay-at-home-mother, she decided it was time to write that book. She could set her own hours and would never have to wear pantyhose to work! It was a slow start but she slogged onward and seven years later, she got the thrill of seeing her first book hit the bookstores. Christine lives in Wisconsin with her family. Visit her website at: www.christine-merrill.com
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Inconvenient Duchess
  
  Christine Merrill
  
  Scanned and proofed by bils
  
  Version 1.0
  
  Chapter One
  
  ‘Of course, you know I am dying.’ His mother extended slim fingers from
  beneath the bedclothes and patted the hand that he offered to her.
  
  Marcus Radwell, fourth Duke of Haughleigh, kept his face impassive, searching
  his mind for the appropriate response. ‘No.’ His tone was neutral. ‘We will,
  no doubt, have this conversation again at Christmas when you have recovered
  from your current malady.’
  
  ‘Only you would use obstinacy as a way to cheer me on my deathbed.’
  
  And only you would stage death with such Drury Lane melodrama. He left the
  words unspoken, struggling for decorum, but glared at the carefully arranged
  scene. She’d chosen burgundy velvet hangings and dim lighting to accent her
  already pale skin. The cloying scent of the lilies on the dresser gave the air
  a funereal heaviness.
  
  ‘No. my son, we will not be having this conversation again. The things I have
  to tel