"I'll play according to the rules as soon as I learn them."
She looked at him. "You know them," she said quietly. "All men and
women learn them at home, in school, in church. They're sensible
rules and they keep people out of trouble, mostly. If you adhere to
the rules, people will have nothing to which their attention can be
directed. That's what Father was trying to say when he suggested that
you provide a visible means of support for yourself. Play by these
rules and we'll get along. It's especially important when we must not
have people looking in our direction, Charles."
She sighed and leaned against him softly. "You asked me a question,
Charles. The answer is three. One of them preferred a blonde and they
are living quietly and happily on Callisto. The second couldn't have
jelled because he was the kind of man who would work eighteen hours a
day. Some men are that way and some women like it that way, but not
me. The third, Charles, was Michael. Mike didn't last long. Only long
enough to prove to me that he was a woman-chaser. The fourth could be
you, and maybe there mightn't be a fifth."
"Three men in your life," he said.
She smiled up into his eyes. "Three men in my life," she said with a
happy little nod of her head, "but, Charles, it isn't three men in my
bedroom." Carolyn cocked an eyebrow. "The only way the fourth will get
in is to make sure there won't be a fifth. So now you know. You can
play it from there."
His arms did not slip around the slender waist, but the hands pulled
her close to him. He kissed her gently, and for a moment she clung to
him with her body. Her response was affectionate, only bordering on
passion. Then she leaned back and smiled into his face. "You need a
shave," she told him. "So let go of me until you can kiss me without
scratching my skin off." Then to prove that she didn't really mean it,
Carolyn kissed him again briefly, and ended it by rubbing her forehead
against his chin.
Farradyne went to his stateroom and showered. He shaved, and dressed
carefully in white slacks and shirt, and the last remaining holdover
from a Victorian period, a dark necktie. He returned to the salon to
find Carolyn waiting for him calmly and patiently. She looked him over
and nodded approvingly, then got up and rubbed her cheek against his,
cooing pleasantly, but moved away again when he tried to kiss her.