which was only laminated wood. She was a slender girl, gray eyed, pleasant to look at, but without the beauty and the music and the witchery of her counterpart.

She said quietly, "It is finished, Eric, and we are not the two who married. It is finished, and the dream is ended."

Eric said only, "Yes," watching her.

She said, "I release you from the marriage. It will be a memory for us both, a wonderful dream that ended before it was consummated, a dream cut short too soon."

Eric asked, "What will you do?" Her voice was hardly changed, and watching her he felt an odd pleasure. There was no wild racing of his blood, yet his interest was awakening.

She said, "Go away, I suppose, as far as I can from this place."

He liked the way she was taking this. No dramatics, no tears.

He said, "I could take you back to Earth as a passenger. You might like Earth." He felt oddly eager as she considered.

And then suddenly, he could not wait, and the words came tumbling out. "Nolette," he said, "you must come with me. I do not know how it will be with us yet. But somehow I feel that if we stay together things will be good."

He waited for her decision, half afraid, half eager, and then saw a slow smile break the seriousness of her eyes.

She said gently, "If that is what you wish." The smile widened. "A girl must follow her husband. Even I know that."

Eric reached out and took her hand. "The ship is waiting," he said. "Let's go home."

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