Page 59 (2/2)

"He shall be our honored guest," said Robb Ser Perwyn, the youngest of the four Freys in the party, dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to a brother "I require my lady mother’s return by evenfall, Ser Stevron," Robb went on "It is not "

Ser Stevron Frey gave a polite nod "As you say, my lord" Catelyn spurred her horse forward and did not look back Lord Walder’s sons and envoys fell in around her

Her father had once said of Walder Frey that he was the only lord in the Seven Kingdoms who could field an ar welcoreat hall of the east castle, surrounded by twenty living sons (minus Ser Perould have randsons, and nurandbastards, she understood just what he had meant

Lord Walder was ninety, a wizened pink weasel with a bald spotted head, too gouty to stand unassisted His neife, a pale frail girl of sixteen years, walked beside his litter when they carried hireat pleasure to see you again after so many years, my lord," Catelyn said

The old man squinted at her suspiciously "Is it? I doubt that Spare me your sords, Lady Catelyn, I am too old Why are you here? Is your boy too proud to come before me himself? What airl the last time she had visited the Twins, but even then Lord Walder had been irascible, sharp of tongue, and blunt of e had made him worse than ever, it would seem She would need to choose her words with care, and do her best to take no offense from his

"Father," Ser Stevron said reproachfully, "you forget yourself Lady Stark is here at your invitation"

"Did I ask you? You are not Lord Frey yet, not until I die Do I look dead? I’ll hear no instructions from you"

"This is no way to speak in front of our noble guest, Father," one of his younger sons said

"Now my bastards presume to teach me courtesy," Lord Walder complained "I’ll speak any way I like, dauest in my life, and queens as well, do you think I require lessons frooats the first tiave her my seed" He disestured to two of his other sons "Danwell, Whalen, help me to my chair"

They shifted Lord Walder froh seat of the Freys, a tall chair of black oak whose back was carved in the shape of ters linked by a bridge His young wife crept up tis with a blanket When he was settled, the old man beckoned Catelyn forward and planted a papery dry kiss on her hand "There," he announced "Now that I have observed the courtesies,their mouths Why are you here?"

"To ask you to open your gates, my lord," Catelyn replied politely "My son and his lords bannermen are most anxious to cross the river and be on their way"

"To Riverrun?" He sniggered "Oh, no need to tell me, no need I’m not blind yet The old man can still read a map"

"To Riverrun," Catelyn confirht have expected to find you, my lord You are still my father’s bannerman, are you not?"

"Heh," said Lord Walder, a noise halfway between a laugh and a grunt "I called my swords, yes I did, here they are, you saw them on the walls It was th was asse myself, Lady Catelyn" He looked around for likely confirmation and pointed to a tall, stooped man of fifty years "Tell her, Jared Tell her that was my intent"

"It was, my lady," said Ser Jared Frey, one of his sons by his second wife "On my honor"

"Is it my fault that your fool brother lost his battle before we could ainst his cushions and scowled at her, as if challenging her to dispute his version of events "I ah ripe cheese Why should o south are running north again"

Catelyn would gladly have spitted the querulous old man and roasted him over a fire, but she had only till evenfall to open the bridge Calmly, she said, "All the more reason that we o to talk,now," Lord Frey complained The spotted pink head snapped around "What are you all looking at?" he shouted at his kin "Get out of here Lady Stark wants to speak to ns onuseful to do Yes, you too, wohters and bastards and nieces and nephews streamed from the hall, he leaned close to Catelyn and confessed, "They’re all waiting forfor forty years, but I keep disappointing him Heh Why should I die just so he can be a lord? I ask you I won’t do it"

"I have every hope that you will live to be a hundred"

"That would boil them, to be sure Oh, to be sure Nohat do you want to say?"

"We want to cross," Catelyn told him

"Oh, do you? That’s blunt Why should I let you?"

For a h to climb your own battlements, Lord Frey, you would see that my son has twenty thousand men outside your walls"

"They’ll be twenty thousand fresh corpses when Lord Tywin gets here," the old hten me, my lady Your husband’s in some traitor’s cell under the Red Keep, your father’s sick, ot your brother in chains What do you have that I should fear? That son of yours? I’ll hteen when yours are all dead"

"You swore an oath to my father," Catelyn reminded hi "Oh, yes, I said some words, but I swore oaths to the crown too, it see now, and that makes you and your boy and all those fools out there no better than rebels If I had the sense the gods gave a fish, I’d help the Lannisters boil you all"

"Why don’t you?" she challenged him

Lord Walder snorted with disdain "Lord Tywin the proud and splendid, Warden of the West, Hand of the King, oh, what a great old that and lions here and lions there I’ll wager you, he eats too many beans, he breaks wind just like me, but you’ll never hear hiot to be so puffed up about anyway? Only two sons, and one of them’s a twisted little monster I’ll match him son for son, and I’ll still have nineteen and a half left when all of his are dead!" He cackled "If Lord Tyants my help, he can bloody well ask for it"

That was all Catelyn needed to hear "I a for your help, my lord," she said humbly "And my father andwith er at her face "Save your sords, et from my wife Did you see her? Sixteen she is, a little flower, and her honey’s only for ives me a son by this time next year Perhaps I’ll make him heir, wouldn’t that boil the rest of theive you many sons"

His head bobbed up and down "Your lord father did not co He never ca either He calls me the Late Lord Frey, you know Does he think I’m dead? I’m not dead, and I promise you, I’ll outlive him as I outlived his father Your family has always pissed on me, don’t deny it, don’t lie, you know it’s true Years ago, I went to your father and suggested a hter in irl, only a few years older than Edmure, but if your brother didn’t war ones, old ones, virgins, hatever he wanted No, Lord Hoster would not hear of it Sords he gave hter

"And your sister, that one, she’s full as bad It was, oh, a year ago, no ’s Hand, and I went to the city to see my sons ride in the tourney Stevron and Jared are too old for the lists now, but Danwell and Hosteen rode, Perwyn as well, and a couple of my bastards tried the melee If I’d kno they’d shame me, I would never have troubled myself to make the journey Why did I need to ride all that way to see Hosteen knocked off his horse by that Tyrell whelp? I ask you The boy’s half his age, Ser Daisy they call hie knight! Some days I wonder if those two are truly mine My third as a Crakehall, all of the Crakehall women are sluts Well, never mind about that, she died before you were born, what do you care?

"I was speaking of your sister I proposed that Lord and Lady Arryn foster two of randsons at court, and offered to take their own son to ward here at the Twins Are ’s court? They are sweet boys, quiet and mannerly Walder is Merrett’s son, named after me, and the other oneheh, I don’t recallhethem Walder so I’ll favor them, but his fatherwhich one was his father now?" His face wrinkled up "Well, whoever he was, Lord Arryn wouldn’t have him, or the other one, and I blagested selling her boy to aa eunuch out of hionstone to foster with Stannis Baratheon, she storive ies? I ask you"

Catelyn frowned, disquieted "I had understood that Lysa’s boy was to be fostered with Lord Tywin at Casterly Rock"

"No, it was Lord Stannis," Walder Frey said irritably "Do you think I can’t tell Lord Stannis froholes who think they’re too noble to shit, but never mind about that, I know the difference Or do you think I’m so old I can’t remember? I’m ninety and I remember very well I reive hter, that can’t be helped Boy or girl, it will be red, wrinkled, and squalling, and like as not she’ll want to name it Walder or Walda"

Catelyn was not concerned hat Lady Freyto foster his son with Lord Stannis, you are quite certain of that?"

"Yes, yes, yes," the old man said "Only he died, so what does it matter? You say you want to cross the river?"

"We do"

"Well, you can’t!" Lord Walder announced crisply "Not unless I allow it, and why should I? The Tullys and the Starks have never been friends of mine" He pushed hi, waiting for her answer

The rest was only haggling

A swollen red sun hung low against the western hills when the gates of the castle opened The drawbridge creaked down, the portcullis winched up, and Lady Catelyn Stark rode forth to rejoin her son and his lords bannermen Behind her came Ser Jared Frey, Ser Hosteen Frey, Ser Danwell Frey, and Lord Walder’s bastard son Ronel Rivers, leading a long colu rey cloaks

Robb galloped out tobeside his stallion "It’s done," she told hi His swords are yours as well, less four hundred he est that you leave four hundred of your own, a mixed force of archers and swordsarrisonbut ive the com faith"

"As you say, Mother," Robb answered, gazing at the ranks of pikemen "PerhapsSer Helman Tallhart, do you think?"

"A fine choice"

"Whatwhat did he want of us?"

"If you can spare a few of your swords, I need sorandsons north to Winterfell," she told hi boys, aged eight years and seven It would seem they are both named Walder Your brother Bran elcoe, I should think"

"Is that all? Two fosterlings? That’s a sh price to--"

"Lord Frey’s son Olyvar will be co with us," she went on "He is to serve as your personal squire His father would like to see hied "Fine, that’s fine, if he’s--"

"Also, if your sister Arya is returned to us safely, it is agreed that she will est son, Ele"

Robb looked nonplussed "Arya won’t like that one bit"

"And you are to wed one of his daughters, once the fighting is done," she finished "His lordship has graciously consented to allow you to choose whichever girl you prefer He has a nuht be suitable"

To his credit, Robb did not flinch "I see"

"Do you consent?"

"Can I refuse?"

"Not if you wish to cross"

"I consent," Robb said solemnly He had never seeht play with swords, but it took a lord towhat it meant

They crossed at evenfall as a horned moon floated upon the river The double colureat steel snake, slithering across the courtyard, into the keep and over the bridge, to issue forth once more from the second castle on the west bank

Catelyn rode at the head of the serpent, with her son and her uncle Ser Brynden and Ser Stevron Frey Behind followed nine tenths of their horse; knights, lancers, freeriders, and mounted bowmen It took hours for them all to cross Afterward, Catelyn would ree, the sight of Lord Walder Frey in his litter watching theh the slats of the h the Water Tower

The larger part of the northern host, pikes and archers and great masses of men-at-arms on foot, remained upon the east bank under the command of Roose Bolton Robb had coe Lannister arood or ill, her son had thrown the dice