Arn Abbas' massive face darkened a little at that cool declaration. But Orth Bodmer, the thin-faced chief Councilor, spoke quickly and soothingly to the cold-eyed Baron.

“All men know the proud independence of the great Barons, Zu Rizal. And all know you'd never acquiesce in an evil tyranny's victory.”

Arn Abbas, a few moments later, leaned to speak frowningly to Gordon.

“Shorr Kan has been tampering with the Barons. I'm going to find out tonight from Zu Rizal just where they stand.”

Finally Arn Abbas arose, and the feasters all rose with him. The whole company began to stream out of the Hall of Stars into the adjoining halls.

Courtiers and nobles made way for Gordon and Lianna, as they went through the throng. The woman smiled and spoke to many, her perfect composure bespeaking a long training in the regal manner.

Gordon nodded carelessly in answer to the congratulations and greetings.

He knew he was probably making many blunders, but he didn't care by now. For the first time since leaving Earth, he felt perfectly carefree as that warm glow inside him deepened.

That saqua was a cursed good drink! Too bad he couldn't take some of it back with him to his own time. But nothing material could go across time. That was a shameHe found himself with Lianna on the threshold of a great hall whose fairylike green illumination came from the flaming comets that crept across its ceiling “sky.” Hundreds were dancing here to dreamy, waltz-like music from an unseen source.

Gordon was astounded by the dreamlike, floating movements of the immeasurably graceful dance. The dancers seemed to hover half-suspended in the air each step. Then he realized that the room was conditioned somehow by anti-gravity apparatus to reduce their weight.

Lianna looked up at him doubtfully, as he himself realized crestfallenly that he couldn't perform a step of these floating dances.

“Let's not dance,” Lianna said, to his relief. “You're such a poor dancer as I remember it, that I'd rather go out in the gardens.”

Of course-the retiring, studious real Zarth Arn would be that. Well, so much the better.

“I greatly prefer the gardens,” Gordon laughed. “For believe it or not, I'm an even poorer dancer than I was before.”

Lianna looked up at him perplexedly as they strolled down a lofty silver corridor. “You drank a great deal at the Feast. I never saw you touch saqua before.”

Gordon shrugged. “The fact is that I never drank it before tonight.”

He uttered a low exclamation when they emerged into the gardens. He had not expected such a scene of unreal beauty as this.

These were gardens of glowing light, of luminous color. Trees and shrubs bore masses of blossoms that glowed burning red, cool green, turquoise blue, and every shade between. The soft breeze that brought heavy perfume from them shook them gaily like a forest of shining flame-flowers, transcendently lovely.

Later, Gordon was to learn that these luminous flowers were cultivated on several highly radioactive worlds of the star Achernar, and were brought here and planted in beds of similarly radioactive soil. But now, suddenly coming on them, they were stunning.

Behind him, the massive terraces of the gigantic oblong palace shouldered the stars. Glowing lights flung boldly in step on climbing step against the sky. And the three clustered moons above poured down their mingled radiance to add a final unreal touch.

“Beautiful, beyond words,” Gordon murmured, enthralled by the scene.

Lianna nodded. “Of all your world of Throon, I love these gardens the best. But there are wild, unpeopled worlds far in our Fomalhaut Kingdom that are even more lovely.”

Her eyes kindled and for the first time he saw emotion conquer the regal composure of her lovely little face.

“Lonely, unpeopled worlds that are like planets of living color, drenched by the wonderful auroras of strange suns. I shall take you to see them when we visit Fomalhaut, Zarth.”

She was looking up at him, her ash gold hair shining like a crown in the soft light.

She expected him to make love to her, Gordon thought. He was-or at least, she thought he was-her fianc? the man she had chosen to marry. He'd have to keep up his imposture, even now.

Gordon put his arm around her and bent to her lips. Lianna's slim body was pliant and warm inside the shimmering white gown, and her half-parted lips were dizzyingly sweet.

“I'm a cursed liar!” Gordon thought, dismayed. “I'm kissing her because I want to, not to keep up my role.”

He abruptly stepped back. Lianna looked up at him with sheer amazement on her face.

“Zarth, what made you do that?”

Gordon tried to laugh, though that thrillingly sweet contact still seemed trembling through his nerves.

“Is it so remarkable for me to kiss you?” he countered.

“Of course it is-you never did before!” Lianna said. “You know as well as I that our marriage is purely a political pretense.”

Truth crashed into Gordon's mind like a blast of icy cold, sweeping the fumes of saqua from his brain.

He had made an abysmal slip in his imposture! He should have guessed that Lianna didn't want to marry Zarth Arn any more than he wanted to marry her-that it was purely a political marriage and they but two pawns in the great game of galactic diplomacy.

He had to cover up this blunder as best he could, and quickly. The woman was looking up at him with that expression of utter mystification still on her face.

“I can't understand you doing this when you and I made agreement to be mere friends.”

Gordon desperately voiced the only explanation possible, one perilously close to the truth.

“Lianna, you're so beautiful. I couldn't help it. Is it so strange I should fall in love with you, despite our agreement?”

Lianna's face hardened and her voice had scorn in it. “You in love with me? You forget that I know all about Murn.”

“Murn?” The name rang vaguely familiar in Gordon's ears. Jhal Arn had mentioned “Murn.”

Once more, Gordon felt himself baffled by his ignorance of vital facts. He was cold sober now, and badly worried.

“I-I guess maybe I just had too much saqua at the Feast, after all,” he muttered.

Lianna's amazement and anger had faded, and she seemed to be studying him with a curiously intent interest.

He felt relief when they were interrupted by a gay throng streaming out into the gardens. In the hours that followed, the presence of others made Gordon's role a little easier to play.

He was conscious of Lianna's gray eyes often resting on him, with that wondering look. When the gathering broke up and he accompanied her to the door of her apartments, Gordon was uneasily aware of her curious, speculative gaze as he bade her goodnight.

He mopped his brow as he went on the gliding motowalk to his own chambers. What a night! He had had about as much as one man could bear.

Gordon found his rooms softly lit, but the blue servant was not in evidence. He tiredly opened the door of his bedroom. There was a quick rush of little bare feet. He froze at sight of the woman running toward him, one he had never seen before.

She seemed of almost childish youthfulness, with her dark hair falling to her bare shoulders and her soft, beautiful little face and dark-blue eyes shining with gladness. A child? It was no child's rounded figure that gleamed whitely through the filmy robe she wore.

Gordon stood, stupefied by this final staggering surprise in an evening of surprises, as the woman ran and threw soft bare arms around his neck.

“Zarth Arn!” she said. “At last you've come. I've been waiting so long.