A Civil Campaign

Kareen waved away the self-deprecation. 'No, listen, this is important. Do you think you could make a pretty butter bug? Or rather, make butter bugs pretty?'

'I'm no geneticist—'

'I don't mean that part. I mean, could youdesign alterations to the bugs so's they don't make people want to lose their lunch when they see one. For Enrique to apply.'

Ekaterin sat back. Her brows sank down again, and an absorbed look grew in her eyes. 'Well . . . it's obviously possible to change the bugs' colors and add surface designs. That has to be fairly trivial, judging from the speed with which Enrique produced the . . . um . . . Vorkosigan bugs. You'd have to stay away from fundamental structural modifications in the gut and mandibles and so on, but the wings and wing carapaces are already nonfunctional. Presumably they could be altered at will.'

'Yes? Go on.'

'Colors—you'd want to look for colors found in nature, for biological appeal. Birds, beasts, flowers . . . fire . . .'

'Can you think of something?'

'I can think of a dozen ideas, offhand.' Her mouth curved up. 'It seems too easy. Almost any change would be an improvement.'

'Not just any change. Something glorious .'

'A glorious butter bug.' Her lips parted in faint delight, and her eyes glinted with genuine cheer for the first time this visit. 'Now, that's a challenge.'

'Oh, would you, could you? Will you? Please? I'm a shareholder, I have as much authority to hire you as Mark or Enrique. Qualitatively, anyway.'

'Heavens, Kareen, you don't have to pay me—'

'Never ,' said Kareen with passion, 'ever suggest they don't have to pay you. What they pay for, they'll value. What they get for free, they'll take for granted, and then demand as a right. Hold them up for all the market will bear.' She hesitated, then added anxiously, 'You will take shares, though, won't you? Ma Kosti did, for the product development consultation she did for us.'

'I must say, Ma Kosti made the bug butter ice cream work,' Martya admitted. 'And that bread spread wasn't bad either. It was all the garlic, I think. As long as you didn't think about where the stuff came from.'

'So what, have you ever thought about where regular butter and ice cream come from? And meat, and liver sausage, and—'

'I can about guarantee you the beef filet the other night came from a nice, clean vat. Tante Cordelia wouldn't have it any other way at Vorkosigan House.'

Kareen gestured this aside, irritably. 'How long do you think it would take you, Ekaterin?' she asked.

'I don't know—a day or two, I suppose, for preliminary designs. But surely we'd have to meet with Enrique and Mark.'

'I can't go to Vorkosigan House.' Kareen slumped. She straightened again. 'Could we meet here ?'

Ekaterin glanced at Martya, and back to Kareen. 'I can't be a party to undercutting your parents, or going behind their backs. But this is certainly legitimate business. We could all meet here if you'll get their permission.'

'Maybe,' said Kareen. 'Maybe. If they have another day or so to calm down . . . As a last resort, you could meet with Mark and Enrique alone. But I want to be here, if I can. I know I can sell the idea to them, if only I have a chance.' She stuck out her hand to Ekaterin. 'Deal?'

Ekaterin, looking amused, rubbed the soil from her hand against the side of her skirt, leaned across the table, and shook on the compact. 'Very well.'

Martya objected, 'You know Da and Mama will stick me with having to tag along, if they think Mark will be here.'

'So, you can persuade them you're not needed. You're kind of an insult anyway, you know.'

Martya stuck out a sisterly tongue at this, but shrugged a certain grudging agreement.

The sound of voices and footsteps wafted from the open kitchen window; Kareen looked up, wondering if Ekaterin's aunt and uncle had returned. And if maybe one of them had heard anything from Miles or Tante Cordelia or . . . But to her surprise, ducking out the door after Nikki came Armsman Pym, in full Vorkosigan House uniform, as neat and glittery as though ready for the Count's inspection. Pym was saying, '—I don't know about that, Nikki. But you know you're welcome to come play with my son Arthur at our flat, any time. He was asking after you just last night, in fact.'

'Mama, Mama!' Nikki bounced to the garden table. 'Look, Pym's here!'

Ekaterin's expression closed as though shutters had fallen across her face. She regarded Pym with extreme wariness. 'Hello, Armsman,' she said, in a tone of utter neutrality. She glanced across at her son. 'Thank you, Nikki. Please go in now.'

Nikki departed, with reluctant backward glances. Ekaterin waited.

Pym cleared his throat, smiled diffidently at her, and gave her a sort of half-salute. 'Good evening, Madame Vorsoisson. I trust I find you well.' His gaze went on to take in the Koudelka sisters; he favored them with a courteous, if curious, nod. 'Hello, Miss Martya, Miss Kareen. I . . . this is unexpected.' He looked as though he was riffling through revisions to some rehearsed speech.

Kareen wondered frantically if she could pretend that her prohibition from speaking with anyone from the Vorkosigan household was meant to apply only to the immediate family, and not the Armsmen as well. She smiled back with longing at Pym. Maybe he could talk to her . Her parents hadn't—couldn't—enforce their paranoid rule on anyone else, anyhow. But after his pause Pym only shook his head, and turned his attention back to Ekaterin.

Pym drew a heavy envelope from his tunic. Its thick cream paper was sealed with a stamp bearing the Vorkosigan arms—just like on the back of a butter bug—and addressed in ink in clear, square writing with only the words: Madame Vorsoisson . 'Ma'am. Lord Vorkosigan directs me to deliver this into your hand. He says to say, he's sorry it took so long. It's on account of the drains, you see. Well, m'lord didn't say that, but the accident did delay things all round.' He studied her face anxiously for her response to this.

Ekaterin accepted the envelope and stared at it as if it might contain explosives.

Pym stepped back, and gave her a very formal nod. When, after a moment, no one said anything, he gave her another half-salute, and said, 'Didn't mean to intrude, ma'am. My apologies. I'll just be on my way now. Thank you.' He turned on his heel.

'Pym!' His name, breaking from Kareen's lips, was almost a shriek; Pym jerked, and swung back. 'Don't you dare just go off like that! What's happening over there?'

'Isn't that breaking your word?' asked Martya, with clinical detachment.

'Fine! Fine! You ask him, then!'

'Oh, very well.' With a beleaguered sigh, Martya turned to Pym. 'So tell me, Pym, what did happen to the drains?'

'I don't care about the drains!' Kareen cried. 'I care about Mark! And my shares.'