Chapter 5: The Widow at the Birthday Banquet

Lady Barbrey caused public outrage and was surrounded and accused by the mountain clan leaders, Lady Maege, Greatjon, and others; her Ryswell uncle from the Rills, Roose Bolton, and a group of her brothers busily spoke well of her, which finally calmed the crowd's anger.

Eddard noticed Barbrey's squire, Domeric Bolton, softly comforting Lady Barbrey.

Domeric's mother, Lady Bethany, was Barbrey's sister and died of a fever many years ago. Since her husband's death, Lady Barbrey Dustin had taken over the Dustin House, controlling a large amount of fiefs in the Barrowlands; the Dustin House was one of the most powerful noble families in the North, and her father was the Ryswell lord of the Rills, a land that produced fine steeds and possessed powerful cavalry forces.

Lady Barbrey's brother-in-law was the Lord of Dreadfort, Roose Bolton; the Dreadfort under the Lonely Mountain had always been a powerful force in the North.

Thousands of years ago, when the Stark House of Winterfell was still only the King of Winter, they engaged in fierce clashes with the First King of the Barrowlands; after hundreds of years of war, the King of Winter defeated the First King, and the First King was forced to submit to Winterfell.

The Dustin House, which now rules Barrowton, claims to be descendants of the First King, and their family crest—a rusted crown on crossed battle-axes—confirms this.

After defeating the First King, the Stark House still could not be crowned King in the North, because in the long history that followed, Winterfell still had to face more challengers, the most powerful of whom was the Bolton House, which ruled a region of the North at that time—the Red King.

At that time, the Red King's territory stretched from the Last River in the north to Sheephead Hill in the south, bordered the Narrow Sea in the east, and penetrated to the White Knife basin in the west; the Bolton House of the Red King and the Stark House of the King of Winter staged a "Song of Ice and Fire" that lasted for hundreds of years, during which the Stark House was once at a disadvantage, and many of the Red King's cloaks were woven from the flayed skin of the Starks.

The power of the King of Winter and the Red King ebbed and flowed until the invasion of the Andals changed the situation. Andal pirates crossed the Narrow Sea in droves to harass the Red King's coastal regions, and Winterfell took the opportunity to constantly nibble away at the Red King's territory on the northern mainland; in the end, the Red King had no choice but to kneel and surrender, abandon his crown, and become a vassal of the King of Winter. Only then did the Stark House ascend from King of Winter to King in the North.

Eddard looked at Lady Barbrey before him, his eyes filled with the smoke and clouds of past history.

The enemy of Winterfell in those years, the First King, had a territory that was roughly the Barrowlands, the fief of Lady Barbrey, and the Rills, her maiden home.

The current Bolton House has a fief much smaller than it was during the Red King's era, yet it still controls the land around the Lonely Mountain and the Weeping Water basin, and its strength cannot be underestimated; this has always been an ambitious family.

The power formed by the marriage alliances between the Bolton House, the Ryswell House, and the Dustin House made Eddard wary.

In those years, Eddard and Jon Arryn married Catelyn Tully and Lysa Tully respectively, which established the alliance of the North, the Riverlands, the Vale, and the Stormlands; four of the Seven Kingdoms rebelled at once, overthrowing the Targaryen Dynasty in one stroke and helping Robert Baratheon ascend the Iron Throne.

Eddard looked at the Ryswell lord before him; he was an old man with a kind appearance and a ruddy complexion, looking like a rough old soldier, but he was undoubtedly a lord with political acumen.

It was he who married his eldest daughter Bethany to Roose Bolton and his second daughter Barbrey to Lord William Dustin, forging the alliance of the Dreadfort, the Rills, and Barrowton. Now that his eldest daughter Bethany has passed away, she left behind a grandson for the Ryswell lord, Domeric Bolton, the future heir to the Dreadfort, and the three-family alliance remains stable.

Noble marriages are common enough, but this is just too—could this be the source of Lady Barbrey's confidence in using greens and turnips as a congratulatory gift?

Powerful vassals are always the greatest worry for a liege lord; the Riverlands have the Frey House, the Vale of Arryn has the Royce House, and the Reach is surrounded by the Hightower House of Oldtown, the Redwyne House of the Arbor, and the Florent House of Brightwater Keep around the Rose of Highgarden.

A liege lord must be strong to suppress his vassals, which further strengthened Eddard's determination to bolster Winterfell and develop its economy.

Benjen Stark arrived at almost the last moment, and with him came ten rangers in black armor, as well as the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, "Old Bear" Jeor Mormont.

The Old Bear was as sturdy as a great bear; ever since his son, Ser Jorah Mormont, engaged in slave trading and chose to flee after being captured by Eddard, Jeor Mormont believed his son had brought shame to the family and had not come to Winterfell for many years.

Benjen's appearance made Eddard's children excited; Arya, Jon, Robb, and Sansa surrounded their uncle, Bran hugged Benjen's leg, and Benjen kissed Rickon.

Lord Eddard and Catelyn invited the northern nobles into the castle hall; after Eddard sat on the throne and accepted the oaths of his vassals, the vassals offered their blessings to little Rickon one after another, and the banquet officially began.

The tables were piled high with sumptuous food: Boar Meat, Lemon Cake, honey-roasted duck, and pigeon pie; the air was filled with fragrance.

Catelyn arranged all the nobles in high seats, placed Lady Barbrey in a corner, and instructed the steward Vayon Poole to send more "turnips" when serving that table.

"It would be best if this widow choked to death."

Domeric Bolton took a harp and sang a song titled "The First King's Lover" on the high platform of the hall, dedicating it to his aunt, Lady Barbrey. Eddard could not tell what Lady Barbrey thought of it, but Sansa, Jeyne Poole, and others were moved to tears, and even Septa Mordane praised the child's singing voice as heavenly.

Next, Domeric Bolton sang a song titled "Torrents and Steeds," dedicating it to his grandfather, Lord Roderick Ryswell, and his uncles; the lyrics mentioned the warriors of the Rills riding steeds to defend against the Ironborn. Eddard was surprised by the artistic conception and melodiousness of this original song and was curious why Roose Bolton could raise a son with musical talent.

Finally, Domeric Bolton sang a song titled "Conquering the North," which told the story of the Stark House, Kings of Winter, defeating the First King and the Red King and defending against the winter; the lyrics were impassioned.

Maester Luwin exclaimed, "This child has great artistic talent, and the lyrics clearly confirm history; this child is different from those singers who make things up."

The master-at-arms of Winterfell, Ser Rodrik Cassel, tugged at his white beard and said disdainfully, "What's the use of a boy singing? A boy should use a sword and a Lance to become a Warrior."

Lady Barbrey heard this and said, "Old man, don't you underestimate my nephew. Domeric not only plays the harp and sings well, but he is also well-versed in history, and his Lance and sword skills are also formidable. For the past three years, he has served as a squire for Lord Redfort in the Vale, and many Vale nobles believe this child has the potential to become a Tourney champion. If you don't believe it, you can have the children you train compete with my nephew."

Rodrik Cassel laughed, "My lady, we can spar when there is time. Robb, Jon, and Theon are all fine lads I have trained."

Domeric Bolton began to sing "Bear and the Maiden Fair," and the whole hall reached a climax; Lord Wyman, Lord Cerwyn, Robett Glover, and others began to go down to invite noblewomen, noble maidens, and handmaidens to dance. Greatjon leaned over to Barbrey and said something to her; Lady Barbrey splashed the wine in her cup into Greatjon's face, and Greatjon left laughing.

Lady Barbrey Dustin held her wine cup; she was a bit drunk and walked up to Catelyn and Eddard. Dressed in a long black gown, she looked pale, beautiful, and cold as frost; Eddard could tell she was forcing a smile.

"Lord Eddard, I'm so sorry, my congratulatory gift became a joke; Greatjon was just mocking me, saying my greens and turnips weren't worth the wine I drank. You and the Lady Duchess wouldn't mind, would you?"

Catelyn suppressed her anger and squeezed out a smile, "Lady Barbrey, I am already happy that you could come; you have always been a rare guest at Winterfell."

Barbrey smiled, "I can't help it; my Barrowton has tens of thousands of subjects to manage. I am a busy woman, unlike you, Duchess; your life is so comfortable, like a saint, constantly giving birth to children for the Duke. Even in Barrowton, I have heard of your children—the best child in Winterfell, which one is it? I remember now, Jon Snow."

Jon Snow had always been a taboo for Catelyn; Catelyn could no longer bear it and was about to lash out like a she-wolf, but Eddard stopped her.

"Lady Barbrey, you are drunk. You need to rest; I will have the steward take you to the guest room."

Barbrey smirked, "Lord Eddard, I'm not drunk. Did you see my nephew? Domeric is my pride; your old master-at-arms said he would arrange for your son Jon Snow to compete with Domeric in the yard; I am looking forward to it!"

Lady Barbrey curtsied to Catelyn and left. Catelyn said angrily, "That widow is clearly pretending to be drunk, deliberately looking for trouble to insult me."

Eddard said softly, "Catelyn, she is a pitiful woman. You have given birth to five children, but what about Barbrey? She has been a widow since her husband died; she is jealous of you. Forgive her for the madness born of jealousy."

Catelyn felt much better after hearing this, "I know Barbrey is a sorrowful widow, but if she keeps pushing like this, can we only retreat?"

Eddard looked at Barbrey in the crowd, "Who says we can only retreat? I will make Lady Barbrey understand that there is a price to pay for being frivolous."

(End of chapter)