“And this must be the lovely Amala,” Howard said, turning toward her to kiss her hand as well. “Your father has told me so much about you. It is indeed a pleasure.”

“Indeed it is,” Amala said.

Howard then introduced his friend, Henry, who also kissed Kat’s hand and expressed his delight in meeting her. He then turned to Amala, and she wondered if they were meant to pretend they’d not met previously. But he offered a smile that brightened his countenance and took her hand, saying with enthusiasm, “Amala and I had the pleasure of meeting last night. She was kind enough to take pity on me and share a dance.” He kissed her hand, then held on to it a few seconds longer than necessary.

While Henry gracefully guided Amala to a chair and when everyone was once again seated, he told the others how she had been kind enough to share some conversation with him at the ball and how much he’d enjoyed being able to talk about India, since he was still feeling rather disoriented after his recent return.

Everyone was apparently thrilled at the delightful serendipity—as Viola called it—of Amala and Henry having already gotten to know each other. Amala couldn’t deny being glad to see Henry again, and when he smiled at her, it was impossible not to smile back. She thought of how comfortably they’d conversed the previous evening in the garden, and she couldn’t deny that she already thought of him as a friend. The problem was that in seeing him now, what she felt went far beyond friendship—and she wasn’t certain what to do about it. Concluding that this was only one afternoon and that for now she could do absolutely nothing, she relaxed and determined that she would simply enjoy the company of their visitors while it lasted.

Amala quickly liked Howard and could see why these two men were such good friends. They were both kind, thoughtful, and polite. And they were both rather amusing. They had a particular way of bantering between themselves that always made the others laugh, and she could understand why—when Howard had made the decision to go to India more than nine years ago—Henry had quickly been talked into going along. The two men seemed as inseparable as were Amala and Kat.