"

Not that I haven't leaped up into the blinding light of competence now and then. It's sustaining the altitude that defeats me.

"

The strangeness of the Barrayaran government system with all its unwritten customs, pressed on Cordelia not so much as first glance but gradually. And...more

"

That civet-jasmine blend you're wearing tonight absolutely clashes with the third-level formal style of your dress, you know.

"

Anyway, if the Cetagandans really wanted to assassinate you, they'd hardly do it here. They'd slip something subtle under your skin that wouldn't go o...more

"

It was suicide, wasn't it?""In an involuntary sort of way," said Vorob'yev. "These Cetagandan political suicides can get awfully messy, when the princ...more