“I’m sorry, Aunt Adelina, but you heard what Uncle said. How can I accept his decision with absolutely no explanation?” Frisha inquired earnestly.

“That is true, Marcum. You have not given any reason for the denial of Rezkin’s request,” Lady Adelina remarked.

General Marcum scowled heatedly at Rezkin. He could not give a decent explanation without exposing Rezkin’s secrets, and he was bound by Rezkin’s authority not to divulge them.

Rezkin recognized the general’s dilemma. While the argument did work in his favor, he felt it was a dishonorable way to win Frisha’s hand. He took Frisha’s hand as he had seen men do to the women they were courting and looked into her eyes. “Frisha, the general is honoring my request by not divulging his reasons for denying our courtship. There are things you do not know about me that, until speaking with the general, I had not realized were considered to be undesirable by outworlders. I have ever endeavored to live my life by the Rules, and in doing so, felt that I have lived as a worthy and honorable man. I am learning, now, that the Rules seem to be different for most outworlders.

“I cannot say that I understand it, but the general does not approve of who I am, and I believe he has your best interest at heart. I disagree with him because I believe I can provide you with a far more satisfying life than will one of the nobles who will not appreciate you. However, I have many secrets, and these are what concern your uncle. Your uncle has based his decision on what he knows of those secrets. It would be unfair to allow you to make this decision without knowing those secrets, as well. And, I am afraid I cannot, will not, divulge those secrets to you at this time and perhaps never will.”

Frisha’s face fell and tears came to her eyes. “So, that’s it? You’re just going to forget about me?”

Rezkin ran a hand through his hair, pulling a few strands from his queue, in an uncharacteristic expression of frustration. Keeping his friends close to him was more difficult that he thought it should be. He thought he had come up with the perfect solution for keeping his current Girl Friend with him, and it had failed miserably. Rule 1 was by far the hardest rule he had encountered except for perhaps Rule 2, which he still could not even understand.

“Frisha, I have no intention of replacing you—at least, not unless you choose to marry another. But, I cannot marry you without your uncle’s consent. It would dishonor you,” Rezkin explained.