"No, just an opportunistic malcontent," says Linya, blinking. "But if there's some kind of security measure that would make you sleep better at night I'm not necessarily opposed."

"In your judgment, is it possible that you are and don't know you are?"

"I have no marks that would be associated with someone physically introducing anything dangerous or spylike to my person, my personal electronics are all custom-programmed to paranoid security standards and therefore highly unlikely to harbor malicious software placed there without my knowledge, I am not missing any time - and I would notice a gap in my journal notes - to account for what would be unusually difficult attempts to psychologically or psychiatrically manipulate me, the strategem would be completely unprecedented on several levels, and I have no particular objection to ImpSec reading my every offplanet communiqué, double-checking any designs for products I intend to distribute, or, in the one case, sleeping in my bed - so no, I really don't think so."

Miles, having now finished his last bite (what impeccable timing, Gregor), cracks up.

Even Gregor chuckes, somewhat to his own surprise.

"But, again, if my word on the matter doesn't suffice, I did not exactly land on Barrayar expecting minimal suspicion or the ability to coast without any attempts to assuage it, so you will not ruin my weekend plans if I need to have another chat with Captain Illyan or something."

"Noted. But I don't think ImpSec is going to need to watch you much more closely than they'd watch any Lady Vorkosigan. As explanations for your presence go, 'Miles did it' is an extremely compelling alternative to 'the Cetagandan Empire decided to package some subtle disaster in the form of a haut-wife awarded to a low-level intelligence agent with good political connections'."

I'll low-level intelligence agent you, Gregor, you ass—no, no he won't, not with his decidedly un-cleared wife at the table. Miles subsides from his nascent tirade.

"I have gathered that I am not the first stunt he's pulled, although I seem to be the only one that has added to the family tree."

"You are my favourite stunt," Miles assures her.

"Awww," says Linya. "Anyway - are a lot of people convinced that I'm some sort of menace? Are there people I should not accept beverages from?"

"Almost certainly, but they're not the ones I worry about," he says. "Would-be assassins are a problem for security people. My problems are a little less direct. I can foresee three obvious categories of trouble, once your presence is widely known: quibbles about your immigration status, quibbles about the validity of your marriage, and spite-motivated voting shifts in the Council of Counts. The last problem is not really something you can affect, but the first two... well. You do exist in something of an ambiguous state, at the moment. Taking an oath of fealty as Lady Vorkosigan would go a long way toward shutting up the dissenters. It isn't strictly a prerequisite to remaining on the planet and married to Miles, but it would clarify some of those ambiguities, and it would be something to point to when people complain about your planet of origin."

"Sparing you a few hundred years of complicated legal history, the most appropriate for your situation would be one that has you swear no prior claim binds your loyalty - meaning, any other citizenship you may hold does not conflict with this oath - and then take oath as my vassal, which is another few hundred years of complicated legal history all by itself, but in summary it means that you agree I am not just the Emperor of Barrayar but your Emperor in particular, and will obey my laws and my orders. And in accepting your oath, I promise you the protection of a liege lord and Emperor, which means that if anyone threatens your safety or well-being it is my job to make them stop. Again, summarizing over the intricate details."

"The only ongoing interest Cetaganda has in me is that my constellation geneticists would probably like to continue to receive copies of my medical records, in case I turn up with an obscure allergy or something that they can rescue the next generation from. But I think I would want to better know both you and the intricate details in question before making an oath - if I am being asked to consider it any more personally involved than 'these are the magic words that make irritating political opponents less irritating and oppositional'. Not that I plan to make mischief or be particularly uncooperative, but in a context where oaths are taken with such deadly seriousness I'd like to be especially mindful."

"Take your time, certainly," he says. "Do all the legal and historical research you feel you need. I'm never going to object to someone taking their oaths seriously."

"Thank you. And I assume complainants about the marriage would need brightly colored groats thrown at them by a similar token?"

"Yes."

"That one's already under consideration. I admit it seems paradoxical to me that anyone inclined to complain about my having married Miles would be placated by having me do it twice."

"There is," says Gregor, "a world of difference between 'placated' and 'shut up', but when you can't get the former, the latter is a good substitute."

"Aha. Well, Cordelia found me an interesting book on the subject that answered most of my background questions about Barrayaran weddings, so remaining figuring on that subject should be relatively straightforward."

What a perfect cue for Miles to gaze adoringly at her some more!

Linya giggles when she catches him at it, and leans over and kisses him on the forehead.

Eeeeee.