“Friends or those who watch over my houses receive it. Ivy keeps everyone informed through letters of where I am traveling, and where to send the mail. She can take care of having it all sent to the house in France, for instance. I know you’d like to go back there, but we could do some sightseeing here in Spain and take our time getting there. It could take weeks—maybe months—for the mail to catch up with us at my French home. They would be married by then; it would be unfortunate that you were unable to attend the wedding, but they would all get over their disappointment. We can return to England for a visit when you’re ready, and we don’t have to stay long if you prefer not to.”

Paulina stood and took both of Amala’s hands into hers. “I will support you in whatever you need, my dear, so that you can get through these challenges in your life with as little heartache as possible. Tell me what you want to do.”

“I want to leave here tomorrow, and I will pray that God forgives me for pretending that I didn’t yet receive these letters. I need time to come to terms with this, and I believe God will understand.”

“Yes, I believe He will,” Paulina said and kissed Amala’s forehead. “I’ll tell Miles and Ivy that I have a hankering to get out of this routine and go see some sights, and we’ll all start packing today. Arrangements can be made for us to leave before dawn.”

Amala breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” she said, far more relieved than she could fathom that she could gracefully avoid the wedding and allow herself some time to be ready to face the man she loved and her sister as husband and wife. Right now it was simply too much to bear.

* * * *

Amala lost track of the weeks and months that she traveled with Paulina, keeping her focus on the fascinating and unique experiences they shared. During her time alone—which was minimal—she read books or wrote in her journal, doing everything she could to avoid thinking about Henry and Kat, knowing they were married by now, and that all written communication her family may have sent to her was likely waiting at the house in France, which she didn’t feel ready to face. But Paulina was only too happy to indulge Amala’s desire to put off returning there, which would mean facing up to the full extent of how she felt about all of this.