"He chopped off your fingers with his own hand?" Lord Umber sounded doubtful. "A southron lord, swinging the sword himself?"
"It was a cleaver, my lord," Davos replied.
Lord Umber stared at Davos, his expression disbelieving. "Huh. Who would have thought? He is not such a soft southerner after all."
Lord Manderly made disapproving noises. "Tsk. Tsk. Now, now, Lord Umber. We know his brother's courage and prowess in battle. Lord Stannis could not be far behind."
"Battle courage is one thing, but I have seen many a lord who could not swing the sword himself to punish a wrongdoer. Headman! We have no use for headmen in the north," Lord Umber declared, banging his hand on the table loudly.
The old ways, Davos thought. The man who passes the punishment should swing the sword. "I am certain Lord Stannis would have no trouble swinging the sword himself, my lords," Davos said, with conviction. Having been on the receiving end of Stannis swinging a weapon in punishment, Davos could attest to that, could attest to the fact that Stannis' resolve never wavered and his hand did not shake. And Stannis had done the deed with one swing of the cleaver. Just one. Davos was grateful for that.
Lord Umber did not seem convinced. "A finger is one thing, a head is another. Easy enough to chop a finger."
"He chopped four, my lord, not just the one finger," Davos said.
"May I see it?" Wyman Manderly asked, almost apologetically. "Your hand, Ser Davos. Forgive an indolent man his curiosity," he said, chuckling.
Davos removed the glove covering his maimed hand. Lord Manderly and Lord Umber leaned forward to inspect the shortened fingers. Lord Umber made appreciative noises, as if he was looking at a piece of skilled workmanship. "This was done in one swing, I can tell. With no hesitation on the swing, I'd wager."
"You're right, Lord Umber," Davos said.
Lord Manderly was smiling. "You must think us such blood-thirsty savages, Ser Davos."
"Not at all, Lord Manderly." Still, Davos wondered what had been the purpose of inspecting his hand.
"Ser Davos here is not some highborn lord swaddled in soft feathers. He's seen life, he knows what's what," Lord Umber declared.
It had been a surprise finding Lord Umber at White Harbor. Davos had been sent to deliver the invitation for Lord Manderly to attend Robb Stark's first nameday celebration. Not just to deliver the invitation, of course, but to gauge Lord Manderly's sentiments towards Lord Stannis. Ser Rodrik was making his way to Last Hearth to deliver the invitation to Lord Umber. He would find the lord gone. What was the purpose for Lord Umber's visit to White Harbor, Davos wondered?
"Lord Stannis has endeared himself to us with his choice of man," Lord Manderly said.
"Oh aye, aye," Lord Umber concurred, almost reluctantly. "We thought he was going to bring a legion of southron lords and knights with him, to replace the Stark's men in various positions in Winterfell with his own men. Instead he brought only you, the newly-minted onion knight."
Lord Manderly gave Lord Umber a sharp glance. The latter looked uncomprehending at first, raising his shoulders as if asking – What? For a moment, impatience and frustration could be glimpsed on Wyman Manderly's face, but it was gone before Davos could truly be certain that it had been there.
Lord Umber laughed, a booming laugh that filled the hall. "Wyman here wants me to be more mindful of my tongue. Sod that, I say. I am a simple man with simple words, not for me false compliments or insults hidden behind sweet words. It's true, Lord Stannis' coming to Winterfell has not been as disastrous as we feared it might be."
Davos cleared his throat. "Lord Stannis is aware that his appointment, and his marriage to Lord Stark's widow, might not be to the liking of many in the north."
"Well, if the king is not going to make an Umber the Lord Protector and wed him to Ned Stark's widow, I'd rather it be an outsider and not a Bolton or a Karstark. Or even a Manderly," Lord Umber said. "No offense to you, Wyman, but I'd rather not be lorded over by one of you lot."
As opposed to being lorded over by an outsider? They think an outsider will be easier to control, Davos suddenly realized. Easier to put in his place, easier to dislodge when the time came for Robb Stark to take up the rein.
Lord Manderly looked amused. "No offense taken, Lord Umber." He turned his attention to Davos, looking grave now. "It is a difficult matter to speak of, Ser Davos. But the competition for Lady Catelyn's hand was, shall we say, very fierce. I wonder if the king decided the way he did in order not to cause offense and hard feelings by choosing someone from one of the northern Houses. He chose his own brother instead, and who could blame him for that?"
"Of course," Lord Manderly continued, "not everyone has the wisdom and foresight of some in this matter. The Karstarks are still whining to anyone who would listen that Lady Catelyn should have been wed to one of them, since they are the closest thing to an actual Stark. And then there are others insisting that it should have been Benjen Stark married to Lady Catelyn, since he is the last of the Stark brothers."
"And we know whose hand is behind that," Lord Umber grumbled. "When you think that Roose Bolton was the one with the loudest voice insisting that Benjen Stark was too young to be left in charge of Winterfell while his brother went off to war, the temerity of it … it sickens me. Bolton wanted to be made Lord Protector for the duration of the war. Hoping that Ned would die, of course, and then he could wrest power from the Starks. But Ned was not foolish enough to fall for his scheming."
"Lord Stannis would not wish to stay after Robb Stark comes of age and could rule on his own," Davos said. "He would not try to wrest power from the Starks."
I want nothing more than to go home, Davos. As soon as I can.
Lord Manderly was gazing at Davos warily. "We heard that the king has given Storm's End to his youngest brother. That leaves Lord Stannis with nothing once he is no longer Lord Protector of the North, does it not?"
How could you go home when there was no home to go to?
"Lord Stannis cares only about doing his duty, not about land and title," Davos insisted.
"You may be right, Ser Davos. You know him better than I do after all. Yes, he may not care about land and title for himself, but once he has children … I am a father myself, and there is no end to the things that I would do for the sake of my children that I would never consider doing for my own sake," Lord Manderly countered.
"Lord Stannis knows his children would have no claim on Winterfell at all," Davos said.
"Well, let's hope he does not forget that, Ser Davos."
It was ridiculous, Lord Manderly's fear, Davos told himself. It was so counter to the Stannis that Davos knew.
You have done things for the sake of your sons that you would never consider doing otherwise. It was the thought of your sons that stayed your feet from running when Stannis declared your punishment.
The thought of the land and the knighthood heralding a new life for his sons, opening doors and opportunities that would have been closed for them otherwise. If he had been without a family, Davos would have chosen to keep his fingers, would have chosen the sea and not service to a lord on dry land.
Yes, but I am not Stannis!
He is a man like any other. He would be a father like any other.
It was foolish to worry about that now. There was no sign that Lady Catelyn was with child. In fact, the word around the castle was that Stannis and Lady Catelyn had not been sleeping in the same room after their first night in Winterfell. Davos did not know the truth of it, and would never ask, of course. But he suddenly wondered if the marriage had been consummated.
Surely it must have been, on their wedding night. And they spent some time in King's Landing after the wedding before going to Winterfell.
But had they spent those nights in the same bedchamber?
An unconsummated marriage could be easily set aside. If the rumors about Lord Stannis and Lady Catelyn sleeping in separate rooms went beyond Winterfell, there was no telling what unscrupulous men could do with that rumor, Lord Bolton and Lord Karstark in particular.
Should he bring up the subject with Stannis? Davos recoiled at the thought. But who else would? Davos did not think that even Maester Luwin could, or would. The maester was still uncertain of his standing with Lord Stannis. If Maester Cressen was here, perhaps he would, but Cressen was miles and miles away in Storm's End.
His duty was to protect and serve. Davos would not be doing his duty if he did not warn Lord Stannis about the danger.
But then again, if Lord Stannis and Lady Catelyn did have a child, that would also be troubling to some, as Lord Manderly had warned. Davos had never known a marital relation to be so fraught with external significance, so laden with meaning to other people besides the two in the marriage. But perhaps this was a normal occurrence for marriages among the highborns. They wed for alliances, for land and title, for peace, for war, for almost anything, it seemed, except two people choosing to be with each other.
The thought made Davos miss his beloved Marya all the more. He had chosen her and she had chosen him, and for no other reason than the love they shared.