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

“Ah! Terribly sorry, and all that,” Gerald muttered, looking abashed. “Still, at least one doesn’t have the wrangle of keeping everyone happy, eh?” There was a faint sound, as of a shin being kicked under the table, and Gerald started perceptibly. “More wine, Agnes?” he asked abruptly.


Looking across the table, George caught Matthew’s eye and smiled at him in gratitude.


They retired after dinner to the drawing room, where they listened to gramophone records until Matthew’s brothers pronounced themselves bored and insisted upon a game of charades. Jimmy was a fresh-faced boy of eighteen in his last year of school, Peter a couple of years younger. Both boys, unlike Matthew, seemed to favour their mother in their appearance—they had certainly inherited her height—but George found Matthew’s features more appealing, and appreciated not having to crane his neck to talk to his friend.


Chapter 39