Wounds of the heart are the hardest to heal. Solicitor’s clerk George Johnson has a secret goal when he moves into a London boarding house in the winter of 1920: to find out if his fellow lodger, Matthew Connaught, was the wartime traitor who cost George’s adored older brother Hugh his life. Yet the more he gets to know his quarry, the more George loses sight of his mission -- and his heart. Blessed with boyish good looks and charm in abundance, ad man Matthew is irrepressibly cheerful despite having lost an arm in the Great War -- and soon makes plain his attraction to George. As George’s feelings for Matthew grow, so does his desperation to know the truth about what happened that day in Ypres. Even if bringing all their secrets to light means he’ll lose the man he’s come to love.

To Love a Traitor

Matthew gave him an odd sort of look but didn’t say anything. “So, will you take it?” he asked after a moment’s silence.


Of course he would, but for appearances’ sake, George cocked his head and pretended to consider the question. “Well, the rate’s reasonable, the place seems clean, and the company congenial. Yes, I rather think I will.”


“Excellent! Let’s go and tell Mrs. Mac the good news.” Clapping him familiarly on the shoulder, Matthew led the way back down to the kitchen. “He’s going to take it, Mrs. Mac!” he called from the doorway.


She nodded as if she’d expected no less. “Will you be paying monthly or weekly?”


George suspected that was a veiled enquiry as to how long he might be planning to stay. “Oh, monthly, I think,” he said, anxious to get off on the best possible footing.


And indeed, he was certain he could detect a definite softening in her demeanour. “I’ll require a deposit of one week’s rent—I hope that won’t be a problem?”


Chapter 3