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collapsed beside her on the bed, one hand still tangled with hers as his shoulders heaved and he tried to catch his breath.
    She couldn’t breathe, either. Her whole self felt so deliciously weak, and she didn’t want to leave this very spot. She gently caressed the taut, damp line of his shoulder, his bare back.
    After a few silent, stunned moments, David reached out to turn back the sheets and helped her slide beneath them to keep the encroaching chill at bay. For an instant she was afraid he would leave her, but then he laid beside her in their soft cocoon of linen and velvet and took her into his arms.
    She wrapped her arms around his chest and felt his fingers move slowly, caressingly, through her hair. She could hear his breath, and the faint strains of dance music from the party. There had never been anywhere she wanted to be more than this, in David’s arms, safe and warm.
    But what would happen when the dawn came? Would this dream shatter like a beautiful, delicate bubble and be gone?
    She propped herself up on her elbow to look down at him, studying him in the moonlight. A faint smile curved his lips, and his eyes were closed. She thought he might be sleeping, but then suddenly his eyes opened and he looked back at her.
    â€œWhat are you thinking about, Lulu?” he said. “It must be something very important for you to have such a fierce frown on your pretty forehead.”
    â€œI was just wondering—why did you never come back to see us at Hatton Hall?” she said. “We’ve all missed you so much.”
    â€œDid you? I would have thought you never wanted to see me again.”
    â€œOf course not! Why would that be?”
    â€œBecause I’m a reminder that I am here, and your brother is not. Because you shouldn’t have to look at my scars and remember what happened.”
    â€œWhat rubbish!” Lulu cried, throwing herself back down to lie beside him. “Mum and Dad would never blame you for what happened. In fact, Mum always says you were Bill’s only comfort in France, his only friend from home, and how much worse it all would have been if you weren’t there with him in the trenches. Didn’t you get her Christmas letters and all her invitations?”
    â€œYour mother is a saint,” David answered. “And I do hope I was some comfort to Bill in those nightmare days, as he was to me. But maybe there was something else I feared at Hatton Hall.”
    â€œLike what?”
    His arms closed around her again and he rose up above her to press her against the mattress. Lulu laughed in surprise.
    â€œI was afraid that I would lose control with you,” he said with a growl. “And I was right. Look what happened tonight.”
    â€œBut I wanted you to lose control,” she said. She wound her arms around his neck and summoned up every bit of deep-down courage. “I love you, David. I’ve been in love with you for years and years, and I’ve missed you so much.”
    â€œOh, Lulu.” There was surprise in his voice, and sadness, too. But there was also a hint of hope, and she clung to that. “You shouldn’t waste your time loving me.”
    â€œWhy?” she demanded. “Because you don’t care about me?”
    â€œBecause I care about you too much.” He bent his head and kissed her, a soft, gentle kiss that spoke of longing and sadness. “Because I think I’ve loved you for years, too. Once, when I was younger, I thought that when the time was right I could court you, but after the war… You deserve much better.”
    Joy flooded through Lulu at his words. He loved her! She was not alone in this crazy emotion. She had hope again. She tightened her arms around him, not letting him leave her.
    â€œThere is no better,” she declared. “All those silly boys I met in London, they were nothing compared to you. I knew I could help you, that we could be happy together. Just give