[ He can only watch that for a moment. Then he has to look away. God, all he wants to do is go and hold her. Offer her a handkerchief. Tell her jokes and feed her ridiculous lines until she starts laughing through those tears. Flirt and tease. That's all he wants. But that's not possible here. That's not possible for him. All that he can do is - is stare off to the side and say, roughly - ]

Stop that. That's not going to get you anywhere. [ A beat. This is bad. This is wrong. This is stupid. This is stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, the only thing that's worth anything is maintaining his cover. But his eyes slide over to hers, and he holds her gaze as he tells this lie: ] I'm not like General Vorkosigan. You can't just throw a temper tantrum and have me give in like he does.