Amala awoke with a quickened heart, as if the fear she’d felt in the dream had been real. It took minutes for her heartbeat to return to normal, but her thoughts remained with the dream—and almost against her own will, she couldn’t keep herself from thinking about Henry. She reminded herself that he was charming and they had something in common, but she absolutely knew it could never be more than that, and she carefully put her frame of mind in place to keep her thoughts within proper parameters. They could be friends and nothing more; she could not lose sight of that. No other possibility could even be considered. She’d already considered carefully—over the course of many years—the possibilities of marriage and children for herself. And it simply would not, and could not, happen within this society. She had accepted it, and she was content to be grateful for the good life she had been given; she would not waste time mourning over what she could not have. The fact that Henry was coming to tea with his friend later today was of no relevance beyond their common interests and the possibility of conversation about shared interests.

Amala proceeded as normal with her day while she did well at remaining convinced that her inability to get Henry Beckenridge out of her head was simply a result of her anticipation of experiencing more of the stimulating conversation she’d enjoyed sharing with him the previous evening. If she had actually met Mr. Howard Roderick and had been given a chance to speak with him, it would have surely had the same effect on her. But for all the logic she was strictly imposing on herself, she couldn’t find any justifiable reason for her nervousness in anticipating the visit of these two gentlemen. She considered the possibility that she might feel less nervous if she didn’t feel as if her parents were attempting to match her with a possible suitor. In Kat’s case, such efforts were completely appropriate, but Amala didn’t understand why her parents couldn’t see the obvious in regard to herself. No gentleman would align himself with a woman like Amala, and her parents seemed to think that the problems associated with such a possibility might magically go away. Amala made up her mind that she needed to speak with her parents and clear up the matter so there would be no further room for misunderstanding. But by the time Amala figured out she needed to have that conversation, lunch was over and there was no time for broaching such a delicate matter when company would soon be arriving.