However, the letter no longer supported her going to King's Landing. Instead, it ordered her to return to her family at once and comply with their arrangements for a marriage alliance with another house in the North.
In truth, if her intended husband had been a normal man, Jeyne might never have found the courage to come to Winterfell and seek out Viserys. That simply was not in her nature, and now Viserys was all she had.
"Your Grace."
Robb raised his cup at the table, though his wound made the movement look rather stiff. "I drink to you. On this visit to the North, you not only dealt with the Free Folk and the Ironborn outside the Shadow Tower for us, but also discovered the danger beneath Winterfell. The North owes you a debt."
Viserys raised his own cup and said to Robb, "The Wall is Westeros's first line of defense. I did not act solely for the North's sake."
He took a sip of wine before setting down his cup and continuing, "But since you brought it up, let me remind you once more: do not wait until my call to arms reaches every corner of the Seven Kingdoms before you act. House Stark is the North's standard-bearer. You must make your position clear. When the time comes, you will have to fight with real steel."
Robb set down his cup and answered Viserys solemnly, "I will be ready."
Lady Catelyn glanced at Viserys in puzzlement, then at Robb. She had not asked what exactly had happened in the Crypt, but she knew Robb's wound must have had something to do with it.
She took a sip of the warm wine in her cup, her expression still calm and restrained.
Yet as the feast drew to a close,