Amala and her aunt revisited many of their favorite spots while in the city, and Amala loved writing the details of each day in her journal. She also loved how every minute that she was distracted by everything going on around her kept her from thinking of Henry. She was already starting to feel a glimmer of hope in having the heaviness in her heart lightened, and she hoped and prayed it was the same for him. She was surprised to also find another weight lightening. Until she’d actually had the opportunity to have some distance from her family, she hadn’t realized how much she’d been carrying a burden of guilt and regret in believing that she was holding Kat back in her own social life. She felt more and more certain that Kat had restrained herself to some degree in seeking out suitors and attending social events because she’d not wanted to hurt Amala’s feelings. Amala felt some joy on Kat’s behalf to think of her sister now enjoying a full social life without any such strain in the family to hold her back.

Leaving Paris behind was difficult in some ways, but a part of Amala had grown weary with the bustle of the city. She loved the river and the bridges and a certain beauty that was unique to the city, but she was more accustomed to country living and looked forward to getting settled at Paulina’s home.

The distance from Paris to the southernmost part of the country felt daunting to Amala, but again Paulina insisted on never being in a carriage for too many hours a day before they would stop in some city or village where she always knew the best places to stay and to eat. Amala absorbed every piece of the experience into her memory, and at Paulina’s suggestion she had begun a journal of her travels soon after they had left England so that she could always remember this season of her life in detail and recall it fondly. Amala enjoyed writing in the journal; she filled up one book, and Paulina bought her another. And tucked between the pages were tickets and brochures and other little mementos of their adventure.

When they finally arrived at Paulina’s French house, Amala was pleased to discover that it was only a few minutes’ walk to the beach, but the little cottage was surrounded by enough land that it didn’t feel as if the neighbors were too close. And yet they could walk a few minutes in the opposite direction from the sea and be in the center of a delightful village that had everything available they might need.