"Whatever are you talking about?" He lifts his eyebrows at her and gives a little squeeze to her shoulder. "I just thought I looked terribly fine in those Cetagandan-style clothes. I wanted photographic evidence. Oh, I suppose it might have cheered you up, mightn't it?"

He smiles. Then he lets out a little sigh, a bit of his merriment - such as it is - falling away. "Anger is an easier thing than sadness, I think. So I wanted you to be angry. But - yes. Pain was inevitable. But - " He tips his head back. "As you said. Anything for Barrayar. Now and always." He smiles grimly up at where he assumes a camera is hidden. No. He won't falter in this. Never.

"If only we had a drink, to toast to being Vor."