title: The Secret of Marie
author:  Rebecca Bricker 
description: Rebecca Bricker is a memoirist, novelist, travel writer and blogger who lives out of her suitcase but finds herself at home in Florence, Italy, and Pasadena, California. She writes about her travels at rebeccabricker.com. Her previous books: a memoir entitled <i>Tales from Tavanti: An American Woman's Mid-Life Adventure in Italy</i> and a novel, <i>Not a True Story</i>.
zlib_text: **Escaping the Duke**
  
   _ **by Katherine Keats**_
  
  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
  or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior
  written permission of the copyright holder. Copyright © 2016
  
  **_Table of Contents_**
  
   _One_
  
   _Two_
  
   _Three_
  
   _Four_
  
   _Five_
  
   _Six_
  
   _Seven_
  
   _Eight_
  
   _Nine_
  
   _Ten_
  
   _Eleven_
  
   _The End_
  
   _Bonus Chapter 1_
  
   _Bonus Chapter 2_
  
  **One**
  
  Rebecca moved through the bustling crowds with all the skill of a cutpurse.
  More than a few stopped to stare at her as she fled by in a blur of blonde
  hair and blue cloth and they clutched their belongings tightly just to assure
  themselves that they were still there. Rebecca barely paid heed to the folk;
  they were only obstacles to be negotiated as she ran home with the biggest
  smile painted on her face. Her head was filled with visions of how her mother
  and father would react. She could imagine squeals of joy and dancing around
  the table