Sonia breathes out an awkward laugh. "Ah -- no," she says, looking suddenly self-conscious. "He turned me down."

She coughs, groping for a way to answer Miles's question, because those had been the most private things of all. And Byerly's secret other Vorbarr Sultana... "I suppose it's hard to describe," she says carefully, chewing on her lower lip. "He...sees things like I see them. Or maybe the other way around. But I suppose there was really more we didn't have in common."

She shrugs, fumbling to articulate herself. "He was very...honest. Have you ever seen him really try? It was... Well." She smiles slightly, tentatively. "He said a lot of things that you said, too, actually."