Loving a Lost Lord by Mary Jo Putney Page B

time.”
    â€œIt’s such an interesting mixture of things that you know and you don’t know,” she said thoughtfully. “Surely you will recall everything soon.”
    And the sooner, the better. It struck her that with Burke leaving Hartley, she could now tell “Adam” the truth—that they were strangers, not spouses.
    But she couldn’t do that to him. Not when he looked at her as if she was the center of his universe. She could not bear to tell him that he was alone, with no name or friends or family. His help had freed her from Burke. Now she must aid him while he was vulnerable.
    â€œTell me about yourself,” he said. “Where were you born? Where is your family from? Now that your father is gone, do you have relations nearby?”
    She smiled ruefully. “I know little more about my family roots than you do. My father and I were close. I knew him better than anyone in my life. Yet he would never talk about his past. I don’t know where he was born, who his family was, how he and my mother met, or even how she died.”
    â€œSo you have had two men of mystery in your life.” Adam’s mouth quirked up. “Why wouldn’t your father talk about his past?”
    â€œI think that he was born into a gentry family, and that he was cut off because of bad behavior,” she said candidly. “He was barely twenty when I was born, and he lost my mother when I was about two. I remember nothing about her. After that, I lived with my grandmother in Shropshire. My father would visit several times a year. We had the loveliest Christmas holidays. Then he’d go off and join some hunting party.” She sighed, remembering how hard it was to say good-bye whenever he left.
    â€œHis family was from Shropshire?”
    â€œThough Granny Rose lived there, I never heard anything to suggest that we were related to anyone in the neighborhood.” She didn’t intend to say more about her grandmother but changed her mind. The fact that she had told Adam a big lie made it seem essential for her to be truthful in everything else. “Granny Rose was half gypsy. She was my great-grandmother, actually. The village midwife and healer.”
    Mariah watched to see if Adam was shocked to hear that she had gypsy blood, but he seemed only interested. “I can hear in your voice how special she was to you. Did you get your brown eyes from her?”
    Mariah nodded. “She said the gypsy blood made the women in our family irresistible. I think the blood has thinned in me, but Granny Rose was beautiful till the day she died, and her daughter was lovely enough to win the heart of a gentleman.”
    â€œThe blood has not thinned in you,” Adam said firmly.
    His gaze was so warm that Mariah blushed and looked away. “I was eighteen when Granny Rose died, and after that I traveled with my father.” Her lips thinned. “Burke accused him of cheating to win Hartley, but that’s a lie. Papa never cheated. He didn’t need to. Burke threatened to sue me to regain the property, using cheating as his grounds. If I’d have him for a husband, no lawsuit.”
    â€œOutrageous that he talked so to a married woman! I should have thrown him into another wall before he left.”
    â€œYou weren’t here and I didn’t really discuss my situation with anyone.” She laughed a little. “Not talking about the past seems to run in my family, so I can understand why he didn’t believe me. But it was maddening that he thought I needed a man to take charge of Hartley Manor. Though I don’t know much about agriculture, I can learn, and I’m far better with the account books than George Burke ever was.”
    â€œWhen I’m a little stronger, I can take over managing the farm,” Adam said.
    She stared at him, startled by his calm presumption that he would take over management of her estate. But he thought he was her