Chapter III
Tywin's POV
It was not in my taste to grovel before Arryn, but what is not done for the good of the family?
- Jon.
- Tywin! - until I turned away at the sight of his full satisfaction smile, but for years I was used to controll my pride when necessary. - What had to happen that ... how did you write it? "You dare to detach me from my duties..." - he pretended to read my letter. - Your secretary has good manners, I have to admit.
- Look, we both care too much about the good of the kingdom to have such talks.
- As for you, at the moment you care for the kingdom or your family? – he gestured to indicate the seat and personally reached for the goblets. - Wine? - I nodded, though I would prefer a strong booze.
- Let's make it both, but get to the point. I am asking you for help in an extremely delicate matter, and in return I offer information that was initially confirmed by Spider and Littlefinger.
- Oh. And what do you want to ask me to?
- My son dumped white.
- I've already know that. Who is going to be a happy bride?
- He insisted on Sansa Stark.
The sight of fossil from surprise and perhaps outraged Jon Arryn was very satisfying after his malice. When he regained his breath, he took it seriously:
- Tywin. You will not tell me…
- I agreed.
- Are you going to poison Rob Stark or something like that?
- An tasteless joke. And I hope it stays between us.
- A tasteless idea! Your son and a Stark girl?! Ned will never agree.
- I would prefer this little Tyrell, but the reluctance to spend holydays with Lady Ollena prevailed. AND one gadabout in the Lannister family is enough.
- Gadabout, you say? And do you know what our friend Varys's little birds are chirping about?
- I would have to be a blind fool not to know what you're making the allusion to and I don't need Varys for anything, when it comes to my family's affairs. Matters like that happen ... between high born ones, but things have gone too far. You have to admit that it is often difficult to calm down the northern lords, and that a rich and military talented ally and son-in-law will be useful to Young Wolf and the good, old Ned. Would you help me convince them?
- And you could use the grandchildren with the right to inherit Winterfell. I do not know if I like this idea.
I shrugged.
- Stark has three sons.
- And you do not avoid radical solutions.
- We know each other long enough to know that I will do what I will have to do, or what I would like to, if the opportunity arose to assure supremacy to my family, but deliberately endure the lives of little boys? ... No. In the end, the blame would have fallen on me right away. You do not appreciate my intelligence, I would think of something better. In this game only Rob and Sansa will count anyway. There will be no warrior of Bran, more a maester or an engineer, and Rickon is too small to put too much hope in him. Not that I would not appreciate them, but for now I have other worries. Besides, you've probably heard of Bolton? And what if this dog's brood wants to apply for a hand of a noble girl?
- What?!- he even leaned back disgusted.
- Do you prefer my son or Ramsay Snow, to be the fourth in line for Lord Winterfell's title?
- Now it's Bolton. - he corrected me in a voice without expression, looking at the desk. After a moment he livened up and spoke calmly, we were both used to keep emotions on reins. – I've tried to influence Robert not to legitimize him, but Cersei was in a bad mood and in this case she decided on sculling. But Sansa and ... Ramsey?! Varys told you that?!
I shook my head.
- This particular - Littlefinger. I just asked who is going to send matches to Ned, and he, with mock worry and badly covered jealousy, had mentioned a few – with Boltons and Freys at the helm. Ramsay's ambition and old Frey's ambition do not know the limits and I do not know if the Young Wolf will be able to deal with them when Ned runs out. We would have to take a look at Littlefinger's attempts at young Sansa , she is so similar to Cat...
- By the Seven, Tywin, with you a man loses interest in a good wine! What are you talking about?! Ramsey, Frays and even Littlefinger?! He could be her father!
- But he is not and this is one of his life's problems. At least I do not prejudge anything, we just have to keep an eye on him. Back to the Frey and Bolton...
- Exactly. Why don't you ally yourself with the Freys and support their candidacy, and than marry Jamie with Margeary?
- Don't tell this Ned and Cat, but he told me that he did not want a wife who would superior him with intelligence.
Jon Arryn laughed so loudly and heartily that I wondered what rumors about our meeting would be spreading tomorrow in the capital. Admittedly, he was kind enough to be able to send back the service, but the walls not only have ears but also eyes and tongues. Finally, he became serious, but I was glad that he forgot about speculation, what I am going to do in connection with the marriage of Jamie and Sansa Stark. Of course, it would be good for me if Young Wolf encountered some nasty accident, but to face the North with the right to inherit only on the woman's side? No. On the other hand - I think I'm getting too old and too sentimental, because for now I was interested only in silencing gossips related to Cersei and grandchildren. Maybe it will be a boy and he will take everything after me? Someone has to seriously deal with the Lannister heritage finally.
- Considering it from a different side, they really match ... I was thinking about Sansa for Robin, but I'm not a fan of marriages between cousins. - he looked at me in the eye and, like a mature politician, he bit his tongue instead of saying something malicious, consequences of which he could not completely foresee, and which I could not forget. - Then it's his idea, here we are ... Well, but you could ally with the Freys.
- You're insisting on these Freys! Walder Frey and his henchmen should remain only a tool in the hands of the stronger, and besides, you know how they say - silks lie well on the third generation, and if someone would ask me, the Freys have not yet become the first generation. Besides, they intend to offer Roslin's hand for the Young Wolf. If Ned accepts them, I will have a hard nut to crack, I confess, which is why Jamie's concept does not seem so bad to me. And as for the Bolton... the bastard should know his place. Stark may have a soft heart, but he seems to understand it, he keeps his one short.
- You deviate from the subject. Even if…
I raised my hand.
- The moment we talk, my reconer is just counting the kegs full of green fire placed in the deepest and not used corridors at Casterly Rock. He counts them so that I can be sure that he has not kept any of them for himself and he contented himself with my gold. The casks were gathered in various places under the town by the Mad King. Before my son ... Jamie told me for the first time in his life, what were the last words of the madman: "Burn them all!" He yelled a few times.
As I spoke, Arryn blanched.
- I did not know that because my foolish sons did not find it appropriate to share this knowledge with me.- I pulled. - As soon as you find the right place, and my son puts a scarlet cloak over Sansa's shoulders, half will be yours or king, if you prefer. I keep half of them as a guarantee of silence and relative favor. Stark will be aware of everything. Littlefinger knows nothing about casks, I think he can only guess why Jamie and Tyrion are going north after my questions about Sansa's matchmaking, but it's probably a matter of time when one of my men is going to get a whore and he'll also find out. Varys knows, because someone had to help me find these hellish barrels. He knew about production, but when he heard that these were just standing somewhere, he had the same face as you. He thought they were hidden somewhere in the dragon's dungeons, and he was afraid to sniff. I think that he will stay away from it all, because he cannot handle such things, but Littlefinger is completely different matter.
- What guarantee do I have that ... you will give away half?
- Lannisters always pay their debts. Just make sure my sons are welcomed in Winterfell. They will manage the rest with the rest.
He was silent for a long time. I guessed what would prevail in Jamie's favor. Even me - completely stranger - I was disgusted by giving such a sweet girl as Sansa to Ramsay. Arryn drank the cup and poured himself another.
- But Ramsey? No, Tywin, you are ... what you are, but I will not sell a girl who is almost like a daughter to me. They say that when Targaryen is born, the gods throw the coin, but when Ramsey was born ... - he shook his head.- ... the gods must have fallen asleep, and the demons have been awakened. We'll do this…
Leaving Arrin late in the evening, I decided that the only good idea in Robert Baratheon's life was to make this man a Hand of the King, although I would be better in this role. Anyway, I managed to achieve so much that he sent a raven to Eddar Stark, and the message was edited personally and in my presence, but it cost me no more than to give away to a small amount of green fire to Stark - as proof of my words and warranties of good intentions. I tried to bargain, but he was adamant. He explained that it would be good if there was a little of such a weapon in the North because disturbing things were beginning to happen behind the Wall – Stark was forced to cut off the Black Guard deserter who confessed before his death something that made my hair stand on end, and it is difficult to scare me. Arryn +asked in his message that notwithstanding everything Jamie was to be treated in Winterfell not as the Kingslayer deserves, but as the honor demands that a man seeking consent be heard and that everything my sons want to say to was listened with patience. I would not write better myself. Say how much you need, but in order not to reveal anything specific in the event of reading.
All I had to do was pray that none of the hellish kegs would explode in a popular place, and the Queen of Thorns had not thwarted my plans. And I thought to myself that I could even stand Sansa Stark, if Jamie finally got married. Unlike my own daughter, she was well-mannered and probably will be easily controlled if necessary. If Joanna were alive ... if she has a daughter, we'll give her Joanna's name.