Sonia looks like she has something heartfelt to say about that, opens her mouth, and then abruptly closes it with a purse of her lips. She wants -- badly -- to ask what happened, how exactly he's screwed up his life, but she fears that edges too far into the territory of the better-left-unknown. That, and this is Miles, so she can't entirely rule out the possibility that there's a little melodrama at play.

"Miles," she sighs, "aren't you the heir to House Vorkosigan?"