A Holiday by Decree

~~ Day 4 ~~

At a loss, Sansa still continued to the sitting room.

The evening had cooled down substantially. Thankfully, the staff had prepared ahead at Sansa's direction, and upon entering, she found a charming, ornamental brazier had been set up in one corner.

Beautiful, bronze candelabras had also been lit all around. A warm glow filled the room, enhanced by the lemony yellow wash of the walls. At first sight, the paint had reminded Sansa of the lemon cakes she had once loved as a girl.

With the warmth and candlelight, it should have felt cozy, but for Sansa, now it was not.

She had weakly busied herself by studying drops of condensation rolling down the side of her teaglass, when a knock sounded at the door.

Her heart leapt. Had Tyrion changed his mind?

However, Sansa's hopes were dashed at the sight of her maid coming to tend her.

Sansa planned to ask her to remove Tyrion's unused tea glass - no longer sure she could stand the sight of it - when the girl approached with a small tray.

"My lady, I apologize for not bringing this message before now. We do not know what time it came in. You see, the young page who brings the messages from the port was apparently absent from work today," the girl apologized nervously, as Sansa took the small, rolled piece of parchment. The wax closure had been stamped with Jon's ring.

Despite her confusion, Sansa deftly replied,"Thank you, the delay is excused, but I have to ask - did any other messages arrive?"

"No, my lady," the maid replied. "I don't know of any others received today. Another man only brought this message from port this evening. Were you expecting anything else, my lady? I can surely ask them to look again."

"No, thank you," Sansa answered simply, but once the maid was excused, she quickly turned her attention to Jon's message, thinking. I don't understand. Tyrion said that he received his message saying for him to return to the capital earlier today, but how is that possible?

She unrolled the strip of parchment, wondering if it would make the mystery any clearer:

Dear Sansa,

Dany told me that a certain mutual acquaintance turns out to be at the manor there with you. Apparently, a surprise all around. How are you enjoying your holiday?

Please let me know. Yours, Jon

Carefully, Sansa rolled up the missive. Though it was short and vague, Sansa saw it referred to Tyrion. Wisely, Jon had probably assumed his message could be passed through Tyrion himself before it reached her.

Still Jon's concern was clearly conveyed in his closing request for her reply. It was now apparent that Jon had not known previously that Tyrion would be there with her.

However, what the little message in Sansa's hand did not confirm was what had just come to the top of her mind:

Did Tyrion lie about being called back to the capital, and if he did, then why?