Amala became distracted from her own misery when she noticed that one of the servants carrying a tray of champagne glasses was Indian. He was middle-aged and nice looking, and was wearing typical Indian dress rather than the conventional English suit that was worn by most manservants. She watched him discreetly, intrigued by what his background might be and what his reasons might be for being here. And why wouldn’t she be curious? He was the first person she’d seen in years who had the same dark skin and hair as herself. He’d clearly come from the country of her birth. How could she not be fascinated? She wanted to talk to him but knew that having a real conversation with one of the servants would be considered entirely inappropriate.

A few minutes later Amala noticed another Indian servant in the massive ballroom, and then a third—except this one was a woman. They were all wearing traditional Indian dress. She felt intrigued with the woman’s clothing especially, and thought that it looked far more comfortable than the chemise, corset, petticoats, and gown that were constricting her own body and making her sweat.

Katarina sat down next to Amala, sounding out of breath. “Oh, I could dance all night,” her sister said with delight.

“I couldn’t,” Amala said. “My feet are screaming.”

“We must get you some better slippers for such events,” Kat declared.

“Little good it would do. You don’t see any men lined up wanting to dance with me, do you?”

“They just don’t know you,” Kat said with her usual optimism.

“And they never will,” Amala said, stating an obvious truth. Since Kat was English and not her blood sister, she could never fully understand either. But she tried, and Amala loved her for it. “It’s just as it’s always been, Kat. The color of my skin keeps people from even trying to get to know me. Therefore, you are my one and only true friend for life.”

“Well, it’s not fair,” Kat said as if she’d never said it before. Amala couldn’t count how many times she’d said it throughout the years they’d shared. “It shouldn’t make any difference, whatsoever.”