Virtue and Vice - 9780425242988

"A Handmaiden versed in the erotic and the spiritual discovers the one thing she hasn't trained for--true love... Years ago, lowly kitchen slag Notsah stole bread--and while fleeing the king's guard, she burst into the private chambers of the very man she was stealing from. Prince Jarron Bydelay, scarred by a hereditary illness, wasn't expecting an audience to his pleasure. But when Notsah threw herself at his feet, he surprised himself by showing her mercy and dismissing her pursuer, Erekon, Captain of the King's Guard. Erekon had his own reasons for wanting Notsah captured, but he dared not disobey a prince... Ten years later, Notsah has returned to the palace as Sister Redemption, Handmaiden to the new king--Jarron, a man in desperate need of solace. She hasn't forgotten Jarron's kindness, but it's not her place to remind him of the past. Uncomfortable with the attention his position brings, he'd rather spend time with advisors than in the pleasantries of court--and refuses a wife, fearful of passing on his illness to a child. But soon he suspects he has fallen for his beautiful and talented Handmaiden. He might not remember her past--but Erekon does. And as the country moves toward war, he is determined to use her to get what he wants from his new king. Now, if Jarron learns her secret, she'll lose the only man she's ever loved--and if she doesn't tell him, he'll never truly love her back.."--