Absolute Solace — Megan Hart

Five stories of the Handmaidens of the Order of Solace and the patrons they serve.Five Principles of the Order of SolaceThere is no greater pleasure than providing absolute solace.True patience is its own reward.A flower is made more beautiful by its thorns.Selfish is the heart that thinks first of itself.Women we begin and women we shall end.Includes the novels:Pleasure and PurposeThree women, bound to serve so that they might bring their patrons absolute solace.Stillness, Honesty and Determinata, all Handmaidens in the Order of Solace, and all women in their own regard.Edward, Cillian and Alaric, three best friends torn apart by the tragedies of their youth, each unable to find the solace they crave.Each Handmaiden must do her best to provide peace, passion and optimism to the man she's been sent to soothe – no matter how they are fought or discouraged or refused. Love is not the endgame in this war for solace, yet it's entirely possible that in the end, love might be the only real victory.No Greater PleasureThere is no greater pleasure than providing absolute solace.For Handmaiden Tranquilla Caden, each new assignment brings the chance at leading one more patron into solace.For Gabriel Delessan, the services of a Handmaiden are a luxury he can afford—but not one he truly believes he deserves.When a sense of duty becomes something more intimate for both of them, Tranquilla must convince Gabriel to accept what she can offer him – solace, yes. But more than that...love.Selfish is the HeartFor Annalise Marony, taking her vows as a Handmaiden isn't a matter of faith –it's a matter of the heart.Betrothed to her childhood companion Jacquin, Annalise finds herself facing a lifetime of marriage to a man she loves – but who can never be a true husband to her. Determined that neither of them shall face that fate, Annalise concocts a plan. She will enter the Order of Solace just long enough for their previous arrangement to be sundered, giving them both the out they desire.What Annalise does not expect is to find something more important to her than escape in her lessons of service at the Order.Cassian Toquin is a man of secrets, a carrier of lies. As Annalise's teacher in the Order, he also becomes her formidable foe...and, perhaps, the only man to fulfill her destiny.When love and faith collide, there can be only one path to absolute solace – if only Annalise and Cassian can bring themselves to walk it.Virtue and ViceYears ago, Jarron Bydelay's mercy allowed Notsah Mevoot to flee the House Bydelay and find her way to the Order of Solace. To prevent the need to take a queen he's called for a Handmaiden – and she's the one who arrives.Now called Redemption, the former thief remembers the man who is now king all too well, but Jarron does not recall her. With her former lover and head of the king's guard pressuring her to convince Jarron to bend politically in a decision that will change the entire province, Redemption must discover which is more important – her duty as a Handmaiden?Or her duty to her heart.Beautiful ThornsTenacity and Eamon...Ten years ago, she was his Handmaiden, and she left him.No Handmaiden has ever been returned to a patron and no patron has ever been granted a second chance for absolute solace, but when Eamon's petition to the Mothers-in-Service is accepted, Tenacity goes back to Dugal House to confront the man who broke her heart and changed her life forever.Eamon wants only the opportunity to prove himself worthy of not only Tenacity's service and the blessings of the Order, but also the chance to gain what he so foolishly cast aside those many years ago -- her love.In the teachings of the Order of Solace, a flower is made more beautiful by its thorns, and in matters of the heart, even flaws must be a part of love. Tenacity and Eamon have been granted another chance to be together...but can they overcome their flaws and accept the chance to embrace the truth in their hearts?