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

Mrs. Connaught smiled and went on her way up the stairs.


“Please look after him,” George blurted out to her retreating back.


She didn’t answer, which was really only what such an absurd entreaty deserved.


Left now with no choice but to carry on downstairs, George considered for a moment escaping to shiver in the gardens until all the guests had gone. But damn it, that was a coward’s course. Squaring his shoulders, George stepped once more into the throng. Pevensie, thank goodness, had his back turned, and George was able to walk up to Matthew’s father without interruption.


“May I…May I please borrow your study, sir? I’ve a rather important letter to write.”


The reverend, who had been talking to a stout lady in crimson, turned to give him a gentle smile. “But of course, dear boy. Here, let me take you there and make sure you have everything you need.”


Chapter 50