Beyond his love for Amala, Henry was most drawn to Oliver—perhaps for the simple fact that he was the only man in the household. The two of them pored over Oliver's Indian mementos and artifacts and could talk endlessly about all the things they both loved and loathed about the country they’d temporarily attached themselves to. He heard the story of the death of Amala’s parents from Oliver’s perspective, and it was evident that the tragedy had affected them all very deeply. Technically these people had been servants in the Hepworth household, but given the nature of Oliver and Viola, they had also been good friends. Oliver felt certain that someone had specifically targeted Amala’s father with the accusation of a crime in order to divert the guilt from the person actually responsible. It had been a conspiracy of the worst kind, reeking of horror and injustice. But the political climate of the country had made it impossible to even hope that any justice would ever be served, and Oliver felt good about his decision to have left India when he did, and he spoke of Amala with great pride, genuinely considering his opportunity to care for her as a privilege. He also expressed some concern for Kat over the fact that she had never once spoken of the incident, and he believed it was the reason she felt such discomfort regarding any conversation about India. In contrast, Oliver told Henry that Amala had talked freely of what had happened and how it had affected her, and he felt that she had appropriately healed from the death of her parents—as much as it was possible to do so.

During one conversation, Oliver brought up his concern about Amala's believing she could never marry or have children because of the social taint and strain it would bring into the lives of everyone involved. As comfortable as he’d come to feel with Oliver, it took great willpower for Henry to not share his views on the matter. He believed that Oliver would be pleased to know that Henry wanted to marry Amala, and if anyone could make her happy and help her deal with the repercussions, it was him. But Henry kept his promise to Amala and didn’t say a word except, “I hope that perhaps one day she will find someone who will prove her wrong.”

“I hope the same, dear boy,” Oliver said and changed the subject.