"Mary Ann, I love you very much," Pembroke murmured, gambling everything on this one throw. "When you go to Earth I'll miss you terribly."
"Oh, but you'll be dead by then," she pouted. "So I mustn't fall in love with you. I don't want to be miserable."
"If I pretended I was one of you, if I left on the boat with you, they'd let me go to Earth with you. Wouldn't they?"
"Oh, yes, I'm sure they would."
"Mary Ann, you have two other flaws I feel I should mention."
"Yes? Please tell me."
"In the first place," said Pembroke, "you should be willing to fall in love with me even if it will eventually make you unhappy. How can you be the paramour type if you refuse to fall in love foolishly? And when you have fallen in love, you should be very loyal."
"I'll try," she said unsurely. "What else?"
"The other thing is that, as my mistress, you must never mention me to anyone. It would place me in great danger."
"I'll never tell anyone anything about you," she promised.