Adam Lawford is only 10 when his father dies. Now the Duke of Ashton, Adam is taken from his
Indian mother and brought back to England. Lady Agnes Westerfield, who meets Adam, realizes the
boy needs love and makes him the first student of her new academy. Later in life, Adam disappears
after a steamship explosion and his academy friends begin a search, hoping to find Adam alive.
Mariah Clarke’s father, a gambler, wins Hartley Manor, a Cumberland estate near the beach. Her
father is away traveling when the previous owner, George Burke, arrives. He informs Mariah that
highwaymen murdered her father and provides her father’s ring as proof. When George proposes
marriage, Mariah suspects he wants to regain his estate, so she lies and tells him she is
already married.
After George departs, Mariah goes to the beach and rescues a man floating in the water. When
he revives, without any memory, Mariah tells him his name is Adam and she’s his wife. Adam
believes her, for the first name sounds right. His wounds heal, but his memory is slow to return.
Mariah realizes that Adam could be married and avoids her "wifely" duty until they can no
longer deny their mutual desire. Adam realizes that Mariah was a virgin and she confesses the
truth: she used Adam to free her from Burke’s attentions.
When Adam’s friends discover his whereabouts and rush to Hartley Manor, they tell Adam that
the explosion was no accident. When they convince Adam to return to London, Mariah joins them,
intending to see her father’s solicitor regarding her father’s death. Their arrival in London
leads to danger and discoveries that will change Adam’s and Mariah’s lives forever.
I loved the developing romance between Adam and Mariah—and the fears and doubts each
suffer. Loving a Lost Lord has an outstanding plot, an intriguing mystery and characters
so compelling that it’s the best romance I’ve read all year. I couldn’t put the book down. Mary
Jo Putney is an outstanding author, one who writes with superb sensitivity, humor, and exquisite
prose. After having been introduced to Adam’s academy friends in this book—the other "Lost
Lords" and all charmers—I anxiously await the next release.