The cottage was functional and cozy, with bedrooms upstairs for Amala and Pauline, as well as a spacious bathing room. On the ground floor were rooms for Miles and Ivy, a kitchen, dining room, and parlor. But the rooms were not necessarily large, and Amala liked the dramatically different atmosphere after having lived years in a place like Willenbrock House.

Since word had been sent of their arrival, a couple of local women who had worked for Paulina in the past had aired out the house and cleaned it up, putting everything in order for their arrival. The kitchen had been stocked with bread, cheese, fruits and vegetables, and some wine. However, Paulina told Amala they would eat simple meals at home for breakfast and occasionally for lunch, but very little cooking would actually take place in the kitchen, since she preferred to take advantage of the colorful cafés in the village, and there were also many friends there who always insisted on inviting her and whomever she might be traveling with over for dinner whenever she stayed there.

Amala settled quickly and comfortably into the pace and rhythm of life at Paulina’s seaside cottage. She loved the little house, the sea, the village, and the people. Some were snobbish toward her for being different, but many were only curious or fascinated by her origins, and some didn’t even seem to notice.