see? You can't stop for a moment. Very well, it's not a feeling. He actually said he didn't trust the Commissioner. And you know,' she added, half to herself, 'he may have reason-'
She turned to Marlene and said suddenly, 'Let me repeat, Marlene. You are perfectly free to watch the Commander and find out all you can, but don't say anything to him about it. Tell me! Do you understand?'
'Do you think there's danger, Mother?'
'I don't know.'
'I do,' said Marlene matter-of-factly. 'I've known there was danger as soon as Commissioner Pitt said we could go to Erythro. I just don't know what the danger is.'
28
Seeing Marlene for the first time was a shock to Siever Genarr, one that was made worse by the fact that the girl looked at him with a sullen expression that made it seem that she knew perfectly well that he had received a shock, and just why.
The fact was that there was not a thing about her that seemed to indicate she was Eugenia's daughter, none of the beauty, none of the grace, none of the charm. Only those large bright eyes that were now boring into him, and they weren't Eugenia's either. They were the one respect in which she exceeded her mother, rather than fell short.
Little by little, though, he revised his first impression. He joined them for tea and dessert, and Marlene behaved herself with perfect propriety. Quite the lady, and obviously intelligent. What was it that Eugenia had said? All the unlovable virtues? Not quite that bad. It seemed to him that she ached for love, as plain people sometimes do. As he himself did. A sudden flood of fellow feeling swept over him.
And after a while, he said, 'Eugenia, I wonder if I might have a chance to speak to Marlene alone.'
Insigna said with an attempt at lightness, 'Any particular reason, Siever?'
Genarr said, 'Well, it was Marlene who spoke to Commissioner Pitt and it was she who persuaded the Commissioner to allow the two of you to come to the Dome. As Commander of the Dome, I'm pretty much dependent on what Commissioner Pitt says and does, and I would value what Marlene can tell me of the meeting. I think she would speak more freely if it were just the two of us.'
Genarr watched Insigna leave and then turned to Marlene, who was now sitting in a large chair in a corner of the room, almost lost in its soft capaciousness. Her hands were clasped loosely in her lap and her beautiful dark eyes regarded the Commander gravely.
Genarr said with a hint of humor in his voice, 'Your mother seemed a little nervous about leaving you here with me. Are you nervous, too?'
'Not at all,' said Marlene. 'And if my mother was nervous, it was on your behalf, not on mine.'
'On my behalf. Why?'
'She thinks I might say something that would offend you.'
'Would you, Marlene?'
'Not deliberately, Commander. I'll try not to.'
'And I'm sure you'll succeed. Do you know why I want to see you alone?'
'You told my mother you want to find out about my interview with Commissioner Pitt. That's true, but you also want to see what I'm like.'
Genarr's eyebrows drew together just a trifle. 'Naturally, I would want to get to know you better.'
'It's not that,' said Marlene quickly.
'What is it, then?'
Marlene looked away. 'I'm sorry, Commander.'
'Sorry about what?'
Marlene's face twitched unhappily and she was silent.
Genarr said softly, 'Now, Marlene, what is wrong? You must tell me. It is important to me that we talk frankly. If your mother told you to watch what you say, please forget that. If she implied that I was sensitive and easily offended, please forget that, too. In fact, I command you to speak to me freely and not to worry a bit about offending me, and you must obey my command because I'm the Commander of the Erythro Dome.'
Marlene laughed suddenly. 'You're really anxious to find out about me, aren't you?'
'Of course.'
'Because you're wondering how I can look the way I do, when I'm my mother's daughter.'
Genarr's eyes opened wide. 'I never said anything of the sort.'
'You didn't have to. You're an old friend of my mother's. She told me that much. But you were in love with her, and you haven't quite gotten over it, and you were expecting me to look the way she did when she was young, so when you saw me, you winced and drew back.'