Commodore Bill Tailor was Cordelia Naismith's commanding officer in the Betan Expeditionary Force. He initially believed the tale of Cordelia having been programmed to become a mole for the Barrayaran service, but came to realize that she and Aral Vorkosigan were actually in love; thus, when Cordelia slipped out of her apartment as the first stage of her flight from Beta Colony, Tailor ostentatiously - and literally - turned a blind eye.