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Dearest Emily,

I yearn for the warmth of your touch It has been six weeks since my division last ht another war—a inter The cold steals our sanity and our lives We battle daily with the rain, snow, th froth from you In these dark times only h to ize more Your letters are creased, cracked, and caked with dirt I thank you for them, my love I read them to my men who have no one to reach out to them Your words are joy, comfort, sunshine in our bleakest moments

Your love, Maxwell Wynwood

E the tears that filled her eyes She gently folded it and placed it on the stack, carefully retying the ribbon Marcellus had been true to his proht, devastating her senses with pleasure, anddesire, but instead of filling her with joy, she felt as if she’d betrayed Maxwell Oh God, Marcellus had been so thorough He had taken her until she pleaded for rest He had spoken to her in theher hoeet her pussy tasted while cupping her vagina, so she kneithout a doubt what he referred to His drawls had been explicit and soul destroying as her body had reacted to each promise of hoould fuck her with increased wildness She had hurt as he prohtful hurt

“Are these packaged right, h, the head housekeeper, queried

Emily strolled over to the table that was laden with parcels in the drawing room

“Yes, they are, Mrs Bough Thank you” Emily had been very specific in her instruction on the type of paper the gifts should be wrapped in She wanted bright, vibrant colors “Did Ho on the other list?”

“He tried his

best,He had to send to Charlbury for several of the items”

Emily nodded, filled with bleak despair She was not the only one that had lost in this war She ee who had lost sons, husbands, and fathers She had been grateful when Marcellus whisked her away from Grosvenor Square to his family estate in West Oxfordshire Grief had almost drowned her in London, but here she had found purpose Her father and ford, had been scandalized she would re Emily had been amazed that in such wartimes they were concerned with propriety

“Carry on, then; ill deliver these to the hospitals I have several presents for our tenant families And then ill take the rest to the woford”

Sighing softly, she collected her fur-lined winter coat, muff, and cloche hat, then headed for the door Mary, the head housees, following her Ehtened with bundles of nerves Marcellus always took her on her Wednesday outings to the infirmary She served as an aid nurse three times per week, but it was only once per week that she visited the tenant farmers affected the most by the war Tension coiled in her belly, and she wondered if he would be waiting She had ordered the chauffeur to be available in the event that he was not present Oh God, she was not sure how to face him

After their waves of loving he had held her as she slept Their night had beenHe was Maxwell’s twin brother Pain slammed into her, and she stumbled He was not Maxwell She doubted Marcellus could ever be like Maxwell; they were too different

She did not understand the emotions she felt for Marcellus, but she kneas not love She fought the tightening in her chest and the tingle between her legs Heto be possessed by him, and he made her behave completely unrestrained Emily had pleaded for hihty phrases he had commanded her to use He had stripped her barriers and revealed the wanton in her But he had also been her rock since Maxent off to war Then Marcellus had become her sanity in the past three s for Marcellus were like nothing she had ever known, yet the e love she felt for Maxwell Confusion bubbled in her, and her throat burned, and moisture filled her eyes

“Milady, is all well?” Mary asked tentatively