...Christine Merrill Chapter One ‘Of course, you know I am dying.’ His mother ex- tended 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 tell you will be said today. I do not have the strength to tell them twice, and certainly will not be here at Christmas to force another 6 The Inconvenient Duchess promise from you.’ She gestured to the water glass at the bedside. He filled it and offered it to her, supporting her as she drank. No strength? And yet her voice seemed steady enough. This latest fatal illness was probably no more real than the last one. Or the one before. He stared hard into her face, searching for some indication of the truth. Her hair was still the same delicate blonde cloud on the pillow...
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...The Magician's Guild Trudi Canavan The Black Magician Trilogy Book One This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers 10 East 53rd Street New York, New York 10022-5299 Copyright © 2001 by Trudi Canavan ISBN: 0-06-057528-X www.eosbooks.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Eos, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. First published by Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Australia First Eos paperback printing: February 2004 Eos Trademark Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. and in Other Countries, Marca Registrada, Hecho en U.S.A. HarperCollins® is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. 10 987654321 This book is dedicated to my father, Denis Canavan. He provided the spark that lit the twin fires of curiosity and creativity. Acknowledgements Many people have given me valuable encouragement, support and constructive criticism during the writing of this trilogy. Thank you to: Mum and Dad, for believing I could be whatever I wanted to be; Yvonne Hardingham, the big sister I never had; Paul Marshall, for...
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