Author's Note: And if you look on your left, you will see the latest update from this author. We would take you closer, but after the last person was bitten, we've decided that it is safer to chuck reviews and love at her from a distance.

*sigh* Writing angst makes me both happy and maniacal. I wrote the confrontation chapter yesterday, and while that is a few away for my readers…damn.

Chapter 4: In which Tywin battens down the hatches.

He had returned to King's Landing after two more weeks in the Free Cities, and only after he was certain that Casterly had been prepared for whatever onslaught Targaryen was planning. Surprisingly, Varys had found very little information regarding Sansa's virtual disappearance from the city. Tywin was sure that she had, for whatever reason, gone to ground in the Stark ancestral home. So, he would let her stay there, secure in the belief that he was unaware of her movements. She would keep, and when he was ready, he would confront her with the full force of his power and influence.

He turned his attention back to the quarterly review on his desk. All sectors were up from the last quarter, if only by a fraction in some cases, and shares were projected to go up by at least a full five percent before the end of the third quarter. Casterly was as solid as a rock, so why did he feel a sliver of apprehension lurking in the corner of his mind?

Sansa leaving had changed nothing. She had had no visible effect on his company or his life…but his bed was cold at night for the first time in almost two years. He hated to think that he was missing the traitorous bitch, but it was a damn sight better than admitting to himself that he did more than that. It was one thing to admit to the weakness of loving her, but it was quite another to admit that he was affected by his feelings after taking great pains to correct their existence.

On his first night back in the city, Tywin had tried to bed a whore, but the avaricious glint in her eye and the falsity of her words and caresses had repulsed him. He hadn't tried again since, and he hated Sansa for that, for making him feel unmanned by her desertion. When she was finally in his grasp again, he would make it plain to her that he was the one who did the leaving. After that, he would be free of her, free of the specter of her smile and the soft touch of her hand on his face, free of the warmth she offered so willingly.

He would exorcise her from his mind and his flesh, and Sansa would regret her very existence in the world. The ringing of the phone interrupted his thoughts, pulling him back to the reality of the present.

"What?" he answered brusquely.

"I've just got back from taking tea with the neighbors, and I have a tidbit that I think will interest you."

"And that would be?"

"The Stark girl never went to Targaryen, didn't want the job, apparently."

Tywin could feel his apprehension increasing with every word Genna spoke, "I am sensing that that was not all the news you pried from the old corpse's lips."

"Hmm, quite right, brother mine. Olenna says that the girl is in High Garden. She also hinted at a future Stark-Tyrell alliance that would be cemented by a marriage."

Even though the rage he felt building within him threatened to spill over, Tywin kept his voice smooth and relaxed as he replied to his sister, "An interesting development to be sure. Keep your eyes and ears open for more information. I have a feeling that Olenna is not done boasting yet."

"Of course."

She rang off, leaving him alone with his anger and, if he were being honest with himself, his pain. So, she thought she could escape him by surrounding herself with roses, did she? Perhaps it was time to send a spider into the garden.

The line rang once before Varys answered, "Yes, Mr. Lannister?"

"She's in High Garden. Find out why."

"Right away, Mr. Lannister."

"And Varys…"

"Yes?"

"Your birds had better sing a prettier song this time, or you'll find yourself in a very unpleasant situation. Do I make myself clear?"

"As Valyrian steel, Mr. Lannister."

The line went dead, and Tywin pushed away from his desk, striding over to the window that overlooked the sprawling metropolis below him. He had the power to reach Sansa in High Garden. She and the Tyrells would learn that very soon.