He had been trying to watch four different directions at once and he realized that the constant swiveling of his neck was causing his stiff blouse collar to slowly cut his throat. And he saw that it was--for the moment, anyway--peaceful and quiet where they sat. The sun was warm and golden before them, bright flowers sweetly scented the air, and giant rainbow moths were fluttering over them, their tiny voices like the piping of a thousand fairy flutes. "I wish I had been born a country girl," Lyla said. "I'd like to have a life like this, and not--what mine will be." He asked the question to which he had to have the answer: "Once you were going to marry Val and live on Jardeen, weren't you?" "I ... so my foolishness is no longer a secret?" "Foolishness?" he asked. "We met two years ago when I was attending the Fine Arts university on Jardeen. I was younger and a lot more naive then than I am now. I thought we were desperately in love and would get married as soon as I finished school and would live happily ever after, and all that." "And it didn't turn out that way?" "I had to make that promise to Daddy and when I wrote to Val about it, he seemed to approve. He didn't suggest I renounce the proxy marriage when the time was up, or anything. He just wrote that I knew what I wanted to do. He seemed relieved to be free to go ahead with his political career." "I see," he said, and then, "you don't feel bad about it, do you, Lyla?" "Feel bad? I wouldn't marry Val Boran if he was the last man on Vesta! Even Lord Narf isn't as self-centered as _he_ is!" "You don't have to marry Narf either," he said. "You know that." She looked down at the ground and said in a dead voice, "I made a promise." "Rockford told me that your father never really knew Narf--that on the few times they met, Narf put on the act of being a refined gentleman, very respectful toward the king's daughter." She did not answer and he said, "Is that the way it was?" "Yes. That's the way it was. But how could I tell Daddy, as he lay dying?" "You couldn't, Lyla. But if your father could be here today and know what you know about Narf, do you think he would want you to marry him?" "No ... I guess not. But Lord Narf loves me in his own way, I think--and that's more than anyone else does." Then her tone changed and she said, "I'm so glad that you're here today, Dale--I'm glad that there is someone who cares at least a little about what happens to me." On her face was a poignant longing for someone to love and comfort her. It seemed to him, now beyond any doubt, that there could never be anything for him in his career but loneliness. How different the warm love of Lyla would be from the cold austerity of the military and its endless succession of weapons and killing-- * * * * * He moved, to sit beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Lyla," he said, "I want to tell you--"