SOLVED. Regency Romance - dying noble looking for specific doctor. Doc is dead so marries daughter. [s]

[Lynda]

This is a full size romance book, not one of the smaller monthly regency series. I think I read it a year or two. I'm very certain the book isn't more than 10 years old as I think I read it straight after buying it from Walmart. I also think it may tie in with other books by the same author.

The book starts with a nobleman (possibly a duke or earl?) that has been ill for some time and everyone, especially he himself, believes he is dying. He is frequently bedridden; weak, uncoordinated, numb limbs, headaches, and disoriented. He believes there is only one doctor that can help him that he knew in his past. He hunts down the doctor only to find he has died. The doctor's daughter is in financial straights and being pressured to become the mistress of another man. For some reason, she hates the noble but agrees to marry him. He is unaware that she helped her father and knows a great deal about medicine.


He gets worse and they all think he is on his deathbed. For some reason, she reaches underneath the bed and discovers a pan of mercury. Because of her medical knowledge, she knows this is what has been causing the symptoms. Her husband is being poisoned. She gets his cousin/friend to help her find a reason to move the noble. They want to set a trap for the poisoner. I don't think it's a spoiler alert that in a romance novel, the good guys win.


The cousin/friend is more powerful than the noble and was recently married. It sounded as if he had also had a book about him.

[Kris]

A Momentary Marriage by Candace Camp matches your description.

Here is the Google Books preview - https://books.google.com/books?id=JAl...

(Google search -- site:www.goodreads.com "historical romance" "doctor's daughter" "thinks he's dying")

[Lynda]

Thank you Kris! That sounds like the right book!

[Kris]

Great. Glad you found your book, Lynda. I searched the preview and found a reference to mercury poisoning.