“Come and eat, precious,” Paulina insisted after Pearl had left and closed the door. “You must keep up your strength, and you can tell me all about what ails you. There will be no secrets between us.”

“Does that mean you’ll tell me all about the real adventures of your life?” Amala asked as she stood up and put on the robe Amala handed her.

“One of these days,” Paulina said with a wink.

They sat down across from each other at the little table, where Paulina spoke a brief prayer over their meal before she began loading Amala’s plate with scones and sausages and fresh fruit from the serving dishes.

“Put lots of marmalade on those scones,” Paulina ordered. “You need some sweetening up; and those sausages will put some substance into you.” She also put a boiled egg still in its shell in front of Amala and poured her a cup of tea, putting exactly the right amount of cream and sugar in it, as if she’d served Amala tea according to her personal preference just yesterday.

“Now, talk to me while you eat,” Paulina insisted, loading up her own plate. “Talk with your mouth full; I don’t care. It’s just the two of us here; no need to be ladylike or eat like birds.”

Amala suddenly felt hungrier than she had in days; perhaps the fact that she’d barely been eating had finally registered, and her body had given her the message that it would no longer tolerate being starved. Perhaps Paulina’s presence—and her assertiveness—had given her the nudge she needed to get some sustenance into her. With the distraction of eating and the comfort and trust she shared with Paulina, it was easy to start telling her aunt the story of how Henry Beckenridge had shown up in her life and turned it upside down. She told Paulina everything, even her own doubts and fears about how poorly she’d handled the situation and how much she might have hurt Henry. She wasn’t worried about Paulina trying to talk her into changing her mind; she simply emphasized the same thing she always had, reassuring Amala that it was following her own heart that mattered and emphasizing if she couldn’t put her whole heart into committing to a life with Henry, then it was best for everyone if she didn’t. “You must do what you feel is best,” Paulina said, and it was far from the first time Amala had heard her say it, but never had it meant more. For the first time since she’d left Henry alone at the church and run away from him, she actually felt some real confidence in believing she’d done the right thing.