I woke up before Margery, slipped silently out of her arms and legs, went to the table, and poured so wine. Ser Josib had tasted it yesterday—I rembered that very clearly. And if sothing had happened to the cupbearer, the castle would not be so quiet and peaceful. Moreover, the royal taster's condition is monitored by the guards.
Sipping wine, I sat down on a chair and stared at my wife's naked body for a long ti. Now her face was calm and peaceful, and her perfect features resembled the paintings of Renaissance masters.
A ray of sunlight, as if alive, slowly crept across the floor.
Various thoughts swirled in my mind. I had survived the first day, and that was great. But everything had gone differently than I had expected — I even felt a slight sense of disappointnt that no one had tried to kill — although, on reflection, that must sound like complete nonsense.
Still, I had expected that the poisoning would take place and that soone would suffer. This, in turn, would allow to obtain at least so minimal information — who was poisoned, with what poison, and at what mont. All of this would allow to begin an investigation, take action, and create a kind of smokescreen behind which I could partially hide how much King Joffrey had changed.
Now it was necessary to be cautious and wait for the enemies to finally reveal themselves.
The second day of the wedding, as ser Ashley had previously inford , included a breakfast, at which the guests would give Margery and joint gifts as husband and wife. Also, after lunch, there was to be a large jousting tournant and archery competition.
The maids entered the chambers and took Margaery first to the bath, and then, behind very beautiful carved screens, which had not been there yesterday, they began to dress her.
Interestingly, our bloodstained sheet was hung outside the window. Such is the custom—in Westeros, a girl's innocence and purity were actually highly valued. This was a way of showing that the bride was pure and that the groom had perford his duties neatly and with skill.
I was surprised that the mont the sheet was hung out, I heard nurous claps from below. It seed that quite a few people had gathered there and were waiting for just that.
Taking advantage of the fact that I had ti, I summoned Jacob Liddon — the guy was older than Robert and a little smarter — and gave him the task of finding out everything possible about the knight Herald Orm.
The guy nodded, and I crossed my fingers for luck — I really need loyal people. The main thing is that Orm turns out to be a normal person and soone who suits .
Holding hands, Margery and I went to breakfast. Truth was already in the hall, she went to her grandmother and talked to her for a while. She was probably telling her how everything had gone.
After a while, I caught the old woman's slightly surprised gaze as she focused her attention on .
The second day was fun and more natural, I guess. Margery and I had gotten to know each other quite well over the past night, and now we clearly felt like close friends and family. At least, that's how I perceived this wonderful girl.
I even ntally thanked the Mother — after all, she was the one who had told about the gifts I might encounter on my journey.
For a mont, I was even confident that everything would continue to go well. The main thing was not to relax. And not to let the Kingsguards who were protecting and ser Josib relax. However, the fat man had already sobered up and was at his post — that is, at the table.
Looking at my cupbearer, I thought to myself... The thing is, such a person was quite good at protecting from poisons that took effect almost imdiately after ingestion. But what about those that take three or four hours to manifest? Yes, I urgently need soone who can teach about various poisons, how to detect them, and how to counteract them. And, rembering the canon, I even realized who I should turn to.
"Maybe we should go back to the bedroom?" I leaned over to my wife.
Margery looked at in surprise for a second, then snorted into her fist.
People, as on the first day, ca up and gave gifts. There was everything imaginable—paintings, jewelry, clothing, hunting falcons, horse tack, a plant pot of so rare and fragrant tree from the Sumr Islands, a lute, an ivory harp for Margery, and many other expensive and even amazing things.
In general, I already wanted to take a break from the feast and do sothing useful and necessary. But I restrained myself—it would be ridiculous for a young man on such a day, next to his beautiful wife, to do sothing else. So I had to continue playing this role.
At noon, the tournant began. As I understood from the conversations of my stewards, it was generally reminiscent of the tournant of the Hand, held in honor of Ned Stark's appointnt.
The current tournant has already been dubbed the tournant of Joffrey and Margaery.
However, unlike the tournant of the Hand, which took place in peaceti, we are now at war. Therefore, we did not see many famous knights. But I gained a lot of new and useful impressions.
A huge crowd gathered around the tournant field. Carpenters had built several grandstands. The central one, for the king and the most influential lords, was richly draped with fabric, carpets, garlands, and various pennants. They even brought in furniture for comfort.
Looking around the entire tournant ground, the stands, and the sand-covered field, I couldn't help but think that the whole complex looked rather primitive. And considering that everything has to be renewed for each new tournant, such extravagance seems downright ridiculous.
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