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curious stillness seemed to have enveloped him. She knew that she had inadvertently stumbled into forbidden territory.
    “No Marriage of Convenience to test the waters first?” he asked.
    His tone of voice was a little too neutral. Rachel wondered at the undercurrents in the atmosphere, but it would be rude to inquire. She had discovered that when it came to the subject of Covenant Marriages versus Marriages of Convenience, people in the mainstream world often held strong opinions.
    Dissolving a Covenant Marriage was a legal nightmare, not to mention prohibitively expensive for all but the very rich. The laws had changed somewhat recently, but divorce was still a devastating scandal that destroyed careers and ruined social status. Those who went through a divorce were considered unmatchableby legitimate matchmaking agencies.
    Because it was so difficult to get out of a CM, many people favored a trial Marriage of Convenience. MCs had legal standing and some legal protections but they could be terminated by either party at any time—unless there were offspring. A baby automatically converted an MC into a full Covenant Marriage. Family was the most important social institution on Harmony and it was reinforced with all the power of law and custom.
    “No,” she said aloud. “No MC for Slade and Charlotte. They are very certain of their decision. They’re also in a hurry.”
    “Yeah, I got that impression yesterday when Slade told me that he and Charlotte are leaving Rainshadow tomorrow for a week. They’re going to Frequency City so that Slade can do the meet-the-relatives thing.”
    “I don’t think Slade is looking forward to a weeklong round of family events but he’ll do anything for Charlotte,” Rachel said.
    The oven pinged. She opened the door and reached inside with a pair of hot pads. She placed the pan on the counter and used a spatula to carve out a large square of the fragrant, steaming lasagna. She set the lasagna on a plate and carried it to the kitchen table.
    Darwina scuttled in from the living room, Amberella clutched in one paw, bounced up onto the wide window ledge next to the glass jar filled with rainstones, and chortled hopefully.
    Rachel gave her a stern look. “You already had dinner. If you don’t watch out, we’re going to have tobuy you a dust-bunny-sized treadmill.”
    Darwina eyed the lasagna pan with an assessing gaze.
    “Okay, okay,” Rachel said. “But don’t blame me if you don’t end up with a figure like Amberella.”
    She cut another smaller square of the lasagna, positioned it on a saucer, and placed the saucer on the window ledge. Darwina set Amberella aside and settled in to devour the lasagna.
    Harry pulled out a chair and sat down. “This looks great. Thanks. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until it dawned on me that I might not get dinner tonight. Funny how a little thing like that concentrates the attention.”
    Rachel took the chair across from Harry and watched him dig into the meal. It was surprisingly satisfying to see him enjoy something she had prepared with her own hands.
    “This is great,” he said around a mouthful.
    “I’m glad you like it.” She smiled. “I consider lasagna to be an excellent example of a harmonically balanced dish.”
    “Yeah?” Harry raised his brows. “What constitutes a harmonically balanced dish?”
    “Equal parts meditation and exercise.”
    “Meditation and exercise?” he repeated politely.
    She winced. “Sorry. It’s supposed to be a joke. I was taught that cooking is to be done in a spirit of active meditation. But after a high-calorie dish like lasagna it will be necessary to exercise. Hence the harmonic balance is maintained.”
    Harry forked upanother bite. “Got it. An example of Harmonic Enlightenment humor.”
    She propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm. “Not exactly sparkling wit, is it? But, then, we’re not really known for our sense of humor.”
    “Is that so?” Harry’s