Chapter 77: Gossip

"You know Petyr always had a thing for you." Edmure said as the door shut.

Catelyn frowned at her brother. Was this really the time for this discussion? Only a few hours before they'd lit their father's funeral bier and sent him on his way to the next life. The three of them had all watched as the bier had travelled its course. She had cried as had Edmure. But Lysa had simply stood there, expressionless. Their sister was asleep now.

"Did father suffer toward the end?" Catelyn asked instead. Not wanting to speak about Petyr. Lysa's words about him still echoed in her head.

"Not really. He talked a lot. I think he felt guilty for what he did to Lysa, cause he was always asking for her toward the end." Edmure said.

"Did you know about that?" Catelyn asked. Lysa had told her the whole sad story. Of her going to comfort Petyr after his fight with Brandon, of how he'd called her by Catelyn's name, and how a few weeks later, Lysa had realised she was with child. Father had already sent Baelish back to the Vale, and he'd refused to ever consider marrying Lysa to Baelish. Instead, he'd had her take moon tea, in such a large quantity that she had nearly died.

She had been horrified that their father, who she had always thought was kind and considerate could have been so callous.

"Yes." Edmure replied simply.

"How?" Catelyn asked. Edmure would have been a child, only slightly older than Rickon when this had happened.

"Because father would constantly use Lysa as an example of what not to do." Edmure replied grimacing.

"He did?" Catelyn asked shocked, that did not sound like the father she knew. But then the father she knew would never have forced so much moon tea on Lysa.

"Yes. Constantly. He always said that Lysa's fate was what happened when you mingled with unacceptable people. He told me that if I ever got someone of Petyr's social standing with child, he'd disinherit me and name one of your children as his heir." Edmure said.

"Why?" Catelyn asked. "He saw Petyr as a son when we were children. Why did he change?"

"Because Petyr and Lysa nearly damaged the reputation of House Tully. That was all Father truly cared about. More so than Tywin Lannister supposedly did. He had married you off to Stark, when the war happened, he saw it as an opportunity to make Lysa lady of the Vale. Despite the fact that Uncle Brynden argued with Father, saying that such a marriage was bound for disaster. Father got his way. Lysa was miserable, but the marriage happened. In a way, Lysa was right. Her marriage to Jon Arryn was father punishing her for daring to have feelings for Petyr." Edmure answered.

Catelyn stared at her brother. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Father being that petty seemed unbelievable but apparently, he had been. As for Jon Arryn. "He was Lord of the Eyrie and Lord Paramount of the Vale; it was a very good marriage. And Ned always had the best to say of Jon." Indeed, Ned had often credited Jon with making him the man he had become. The man she had fallen in love with.

"Your husband never saw what Arryn was like with Lysa." Edmure said, anger creeping into his voice then.

Catelyn raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh, he was never physically abusive, but verbally. Until Sweetrobin he was very cold. He would always criticise her and compare her to you and the children you and Ned had. That he was an old fuck who liked to frequent fewer savoury establishments never entered his head." Edmure said, Catelyn nearly coughed, Jon Arryn visited brothels?

"That's why Lysa turned back to Petyr. She wanted comfort and Petyr offered it to her. Of course he was using her for what she could give him. Mainly access to the most powerful man in the Kingdoms." Edmure said. "I met him a few times over the years, and one time he got horrendously drunk with me, and he confessed that he had never stopped loving you. He was convinced that if he got enough power, he'd be able to have your marriage to Stark annulled. He also confessed that he was using Lysa for what she represented."

Catelyn felt physically sick at that thought. Her sister had been used as a proxy for her. That was horrific.

"I punched him in the face and told Lysa, she didn't believe me. But after that I never went back to King's Landing." Edmure said.

"Why did no one tell me this?" Catelyn asked. She would have tried to do something had she known. She would have told Ned not to trust Petyr.

"It wasn't my place to tell, and Lysa was never going to tell you anything." Edmure said simply.

Before Catelyn could respond, Edmure continued. "I will do as the King commands and look after Lysa. I will ensure that she is happy here. You need not worry. I am the Lord of Riverrun now and I intend to be different to how father was." Catelyn nodded but felt a pit forming in her stomach.

I will protect my children in the way I couldn't protect my siblings.

"I must say, Your Grace, that the way the court has been arranged is much more interesting than how it was under my brother." Robb glanced at Lord Renly and gestured for him to continue.

"Under my brother, the court was sort of stuck in the way it had been under King Aerys. People attended court, they gossiped, they made wagers on whether the King would show up for court and if he did, would he be sober or not. More often than not he was drunk. When he didn't show up, they wagered on whether he was with a whore or not."

A look of sadness passed over Renly's face then. "Many times I found my brother passed out, sick pooled at his feet."

Robb waited, he wanted to know what had turned the Demon of the Trident into a mess, but he also knew that as King he could not ask that question. It would not be proper form, so, instead he waited. And sure enough, Renly provided the answer.

"The one time I was brave enough to ask my brother why he was the way he was, he told me that the only thing he had had to live for was war. Not his beloved Lyanna, just war. And now that he didn't have any of that to do, he saw no point in pretending to be something that he was not."

"When I pointed out that the crown was being made a mockery of, he said he didn't care."

There was a pause, where Renly shifted slightly and then the man laughed. "And that's why I much prefer your court, Your Grace. People attend because they know that you will pass judgement that will make change, and that you are actually being considerate of the people. For instance your decision on the boundaries of the Royal Forest and the common was well considered and thoughtful. I don't think anyone has balanced noble interests and the interests of the common folk that well since King Maekar."

Robb took the praise and remained silent.

"And then of course there's how you've handled someone like me."

This should be interesting.

"Robert would've welcomed me back into the fold but kept me at an arms' distance. Stannis would've executed me. King Aerys would've burned me alive. And Lord Tywin would no doubt have sent me off to the Wall, only for me to experience a tragic accident before I got there. But you, Your Grace, you've got it right. You restored me to my position, you made me pay a fine, and you also ensured that I couldn't get up to mischief by keeping me close and by having Loras in the Kingsguard."

Robb couldn't help himself, he had to ask. "And has it worked?"

Renly laughed and nodded. "Oh very much so. I wouldn't be saying any of this if it hadn't worked. Unlike my goodfather, I am not someone who does flattery all that well. If I like you, I like you. And I like you, Your Grace."

Robb simply nodded, he didn't have to say anything more, he'd gotten what he needed from this interaction.

"So, Brynden came back from the King's hunt absolutely drunk last night." Barbara said.

Myrcella leaned in, intrigued. Robb had arranged a hunt for some of his companions and the lords of the court. Supposedly to bring them away from the mundanity of court life. He had told her beforehand that there would be a lot of drinking, as he intended to make the men work hard. Surprisingly, he hadn't come back drunk.

"And?" Myrcella asked. Brynden Blackwood and Barbara had been married a few days' ago, as part of a system that Robb was designing to ensure that local rivalries could not be exploited against the crown.

"Oh, he made some noise about the hunt, claimed the King had killed the best stag. Said that Harry was being an arse, and then he passed out." Barbara replied chuckling. The good thing about the Blackwood-Bracken marriage, was that Barbara and Brynden liked one another.

"That's a complete contrast to what Harry Hardying did." Cerenna Lannister said.

Myrcella raised an eyebrow at her cousin. She knew the girl had been flirting with Harry Hardying, with his blonde locks and muscular frame, he was an attractive man, even she could see that. But still, the words that her cousin had just uttered suggested that there was more than flirting going on.

"He sent a servant to find me last night. When I came to see him, he tried to kiss me." Cerenna said. "I raised my hand and he kissed it instead. He then deepened the kiss."

That got the girls giggling.

"How drunk was he?" Alys Karstark asked.

"Oh, very." Cerenna replied. "When I pulled my hand back, he fell over. I think he fell asleep shortly afterward."

That produced even more giggling.

"What did they do at that hunt that meant they were all drunk, Your Grace?" Margaery asked.

Myrcella looked at the woman who had once been her friend. She wasn't sure what to make of Margaery. The woman had been a close friend, and they'd shared many a tale together, but since her father's death and Renly's attempt at usurpation and Margaery marrying Renly to become a pretended Queen, things had not been the same. Even though Renly had been defeated and had bent the knee and remarried Margaery under Robb's auspices, things still weren't the same.

Still, there was no point being openly hostile to her. Especially as she was trying to make an effort.

"From what I know, the King intended to take the men hunting to take their minds off of court and give them some time to be themselves for a time. He did say there would be a lot of wine and beer as well." Myrcella answered, indeed, if she remembered correctly, Robb had almost cleared out the stocks of wine to ensure that there was enough.

"Was His Grace drunk as well?" Margaery asked.

Myrcella shook her head. "Not at all."

That produced a gasp, only for Alys Karstark to chime in. "They make them differently in the north, isn't that so, Your Grace."

All Myrcella did in response to that was smile, which produced a howl of laughter.

And it felt good. It felt good to laugh, to share in some joy with her ladies. After all the tiredness of the war, and the stress of setting up the new reign. To finally be able to relax, that was something she would never take for granted again. And she would ensure her, and Robb's children knew that as well.