"The haut gene bank was kept in a single central location and accessed with a single cryptographic Key. This Key was stolen, a decoy was made and fell into Miles's hands - I'm glossing over the whys and hows because the question you asked was about how we came to be married - and Lisbet sent me to draw him aside at one of the events surrounding the previous Celestial Lady's funeral and ask for it back in case what he had was the real one. He didn't have the decoy on his person that time; the second time he had, and I found it defective, and after that I conducted him to meet Lisbet directly, as she acknowledged his interest in the matter.
"There was a modest amount of social conversation between us around these interactions, and at one point Miles asked me why I didn't want to marry a ghem-lord, and I told him that it would be a step down in terms of ability to do practically useful things - discouraged more or less for aesthetic reasons while I was within the constellation, impractical for resource and time commitment reasons if married to a ghem-lord. And he produced a very appealing little speech about what he would do with a haut-wife if he had one, and I told him to warn me if he did anything very impressive in the environs of Cetaganda.
"And then when Lisbet sent him away on that occasion she asked me 'do you want to marry the little Barrayaran?' and I said that I did and she said she'd put a word in with Emperor Fletchir.
"Miles did something impressive within the environs of Cetaganda. I helped; I masqueraded as the haut Vio who was in on the key theft plot and smuggled Miles up to the culprit's shuttle in her rejiggered force-screen. The key was retrieved, the guilty were captured, and our helpful offworlder got - presents."
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2014-07-27 03:23 am (UTC)"The haut gene bank was kept in a single central location and accessed with a single cryptographic Key. This Key was stolen, a decoy was made and fell into Miles's hands - I'm glossing over the whys and hows because the question you asked was about how we came to be married - and Lisbet sent me to draw him aside at one of the events surrounding the previous Celestial Lady's funeral and ask for it back in case what he had was the real one. He didn't have the decoy on his person that time; the second time he had, and I found it defective, and after that I conducted him to meet Lisbet directly, as she acknowledged his interest in the matter.
"There was a modest amount of social conversation between us around these interactions, and at one point Miles asked me why I didn't want to marry a ghem-lord, and I told him that it would be a step down in terms of ability to do practically useful things - discouraged more or less for aesthetic reasons while I was within the constellation, impractical for resource and time commitment reasons if married to a ghem-lord. And he produced a very appealing little speech about what he would do with a haut-wife if he had one, and I told him to warn me if he did anything very impressive in the environs of Cetaganda.
"And then when Lisbet sent him away on that occasion she asked me 'do you want to marry the little Barrayaran?' and I said that I did and she said she'd put a word in with Emperor Fletchir.
"Miles did something impressive within the environs of Cetaganda. I helped; I masqueraded as the haut Vio who was in on the key theft plot and smuggled Miles up to the culprit's shuttle in her rejiggered force-screen. The key was retrieved, the guilty were captured, and our helpful offworlder got - presents."