Long moments of silence ensued, as if they both needed time to simply accept this dramatic change in their relationship. Henry still wasn’t keen on the idea of keeping all of this a secret, but he kept his thoughts steered toward his gratitude that she was at least willing to spend time with him and give what they shared a fair chance. Trying not to think about the possible outcomes, he sought for a way to initiate conversation. That was what he’d wanted—the opportunity for them to get to know each other better, to become more comfortable with each other. Except for the secretive aspect of their arrangement, that was surely the purpose of courting. He just needed to look at it that way, even if their situation was far from conventional.

“I used to find places to hide in my home,” he said. “When I was a young child, my parents could hardly be in the same room without arguing, and I hated it. I would try to get as far away from them as possible—grateful that it was a very big house—and I would hide until I knew the argument was over.”

“What did they argue about?” Amala asked, sincerely interested.

“Everything,” Henry admitted. “To be truthful, my mother is the most difficult and cynical person I have ever known. I don’t say that to be unkind; it’s just a fact. As I understand it, from talking to different people who knew them before the marriage, she was always that way, but she pretended to be very much otherwise in order to catch herself a wealthy husband. Once they were married her facade quickly disappeared, and they were never happy together. I remember never wanting to be around my mother; I much preferred my father’s company. He was kind and genuinely interested in me. I don’t remember very much of him, but I do recall how he told me I would one day inherit all that was his, and I could do whatever I wanted with it, but the only way to be truly happy was to use such great blessings to do good. Those are words I’ve tried to live by.”

“What happened to him?” Amala asked, knowing his father had passed away many years ago.