"Well," he says, "that would explain why I haven't heard of it. That's... troublesome. If it were only a matter of getting you back to the right planet, it would hardly be any trouble at all. I'm not sure where to start when it's a matter of getting you back to the right - universe? Do I have that right?"

"If she was here, what would she do?"

"She put a Mommy, probably my one maybe a different one, at Janepoint, and Mommy teleport to me and bring home."

"Am angel. Most Samarians not though. Daddy mortal."

"And angels have wings? Do they work for flying with?"

"'Course," says Pen scornfully. "Are for flying."

"Well," says Miles. "There's not much opportunity for a little girl with wings to fly around here - crowded city, controlled airspace - but my family happens to have a house by a very nice lake that I think is pretty good for flying. Want to go there and see what you think of it?"

"Oh thank God," Ivan mutters.

"Okay," shrugs Pen.

"C'mon, then, I have a car waiting outside."

"Do I have to be in a coat again?"

"I had her bundled up in my jacket," Ivan explains.

"That... might be a good idea," says Miles. "But if you're very unhappy about the coat, we can skip it."

"Why a coat?"

"There are a lot of people on Barrayar who get very upset about people who are strange-looking," says Miles. "I'm short and a little bit weird, and if I go walking in the wrong places, people will try to bother me like they were bothering you before Ivan showed up. Having wings is a lot stranger than being short, so more people get upset about it. If you hide the wings, people won't notice them to get upset about."

"...This a no magic place?" wonders Pen.

"Yes," says Miles.

"Angels not magic," Pen explains, "but, angels look magic. So coat? Because no wishes, can't invisible."

"Yeah."

"Okay fine."

"Ivan, can we borrow your jacket again?"

"Yeah 'course."

Miles picks it up from the arm of the couch and gives it to Pen.