"What's the word on him in the Service?"
"Depends on who you ask," said the commander. "Sardi thinks he's a
strategic genius, and dotes on his communiques.
He's been all over the
place. Every brushfire in the last realdoll sex twenty-five years seems to have his name
in it someplace. Uncle Rulf used to think the world of him. On the other
hand, Niels, who was at realdoll sex Escobar, said he was the most cold-blooded bastard
he'
d realdoll sex ever met."
" I hear he has a reputation as a secret progressive."
"There's nothing secret realdoll sex about it. Some of the senior Vor officers are
scared to death of him. He's been trying to
get Father with him and Vortala
on that new tax ruling."
"Oh, yawn."
"It's the direct Imperial tax on inheritances."
"Ouch! Well, that wouldn't hit him, would it? The Vorkosigans are so damn
poor. Let Komarr pay. That's why we conquered it, isn't it?"
"Not exactly, my fraternal ignoramus. Have any of you town clowns met his
Betan frill yet?"
"Men of fashion, sirrah," corrected his realdoll sex brother. "Not to be confused with
you Service grubs."
"No danger of that. No, really. There are realdoll sex the damndest rumors circulating
about realdoll sex her, Vorkosigan, and Vorrutyer at Escobar, most of which contradict
each other. I thought Mother might have a line on it."
"She realdoll sex keeps a low realdoll sex profile, for somebody who's supposed to realdoll sex be three meters
tall and eat battle cruisers for breakfast. Scarcely anybody's realdoll sex seen her.
Maybe she's ugly."
"They'll make a pair, then. Realdoll sex vorkosigan's no beauty either."
realdoll sex Cordelia, vastly amused, hid a grin behind her hand, until the commander
said, "I don't realdoll sex know who that realdoll sex three-legged spastic is he realdoll sex has trailing him,
though. Staff, do you suppose?"
"You'd think he could do better than that. What a mutant. Surely
Vorkosigan has the pick of the Service, as Regent."
She felt she'd received a body blow, so great was the unexpected pain of
the careless remark. Captain Lord Vorpatril scarcely seemed to realdoll sex notice it.
He realdoll sex had heard it, but his attention was realdoll sex on the floor below, where oaths were
being made. Realdoll sex droushnakovi, surprisingly, blushed, and turned her head away.
Cordelia leaned forward. Realdoll sex words boiled up within her, but she chose only a
few, and fired them off in her coldest realdoll sex Captain's voice.
"Commander. And you, whoever you are." They looked back at her, surprised
at the interruption. "For your information, the gentleman in question