Yet the very reason he had not reported Ramsay to Robb or Lord Bolton was that Ramsay was a bastard.
As a bastard himself, he knew all too well what it felt like to be pushed to the margins of a family, hated by its lady, and subjected to strange looks from everyone else.
At Winterfell, he too had felt that cold, helpless loneliness countless times in the dead of night, that despair of never fitting into the family no matter how hard he tried.
So even though Ramsay's words and deeds were steeped in malice, even though he was someone Jon despised.
He could not easily push another bastard toward possible destruction. He did not want to be the last straw that broke someone like himself.
Besides, he did not believe Ramsay truly had the power to threaten Robb or any other noble. He thought Ramsay, like himself, still depended on his family to survive, and that was why he had chosen to keep quiet time and again. Ramsay posed no threat.
"Ramsay," he said to the approaching man, his tone flat but tinged with wariness.
Ramsay stopped in front of Jon and studied him with his head tilted, an unreadable smile on his lips. "Were you just with Earl Mormont? Delivering Robb's orders to withdraw? That old Mormont woman didn't give you any trouble, did she?"
"No." Jon shook his head and said coolly, "Earl Maege was very cooperative about the withdrawal."
"Of course she was. I didn't need to go and see her to know that."
Ramsay gave a short laugh laced with undisguised mockery. "Her daughter is still serving as Robb's guard, after all. How could she refuse to cooperate? The King in the North has bent the knee to House Targaryen. Those of us who