Mary's eyes narrowed at that. "I spent months and months in Paris," she corrected him. "You were off doing something or other- I didn't know where to write to tell you and then when I got back... well, there were other problems. And now you come back asking for the same girl you left... how long ago? I don't even remember. But it's been a good long while. Things change. People change."
Honestly, he was being perfectly obtuse and she sighed in exhasperation. "Oh, Ian, I don't want to argue. You're the first person I've been happy to see in ages," she said imploringly. "It's only that I have to be Mariana now. I have to- I've got the name and the papers. I'll marry the lord or the general or the whatever else or I'll be a mistress maybe if mother decides so." She shrugged and put her hand on his. "It doesn't mean I won't help you if I can."