The herbal tea from his wife had relaxed his thumping headache, and in a refreshed mood, he arrived in his solar. His advisors, Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik Cassel, were already waiting for him.
"Lord Stark," both of them said, bowing their heads in greeting. Ned nodded in response and took his large wooden chair.
Luwin and Rodrik took their seats opposite him across the table. There was still an hour left before the designated time for his meeting with Lucas Lannister, and Ned wanted to hold a last minute briefing with his most trusted advisors.
"So, gentlemen," Ned said, breaking the silence. "I want to hear your opinions on this upcoming meeting. I want you to be honest, brutal even. There are no restrictions whatsoever on what you wish to speak."
Both men nodded. If there was one High Lord with whom they could be brutally honest without fear of offense, it was Eddard Stark. He was not the one to take offense if you spoke your mind to Lord Stark.
"Lord Stark," Maester Luwin took the initiative. "There are certain obvious things we must first establish and acknowledge."
Ned nodded for Luwin to continue.
"Lord Lucas Lannister belongs to House Lannister, and I do not need to remind you that House Lannister and House Stark do not enjoy the very best of relationships," Luwin continued. "Though both the houses are not in open confrontation, they clearly lack any warmth between them."
"But from a neutral perspective, House Lannister has a certain reputation. Though the maneuver Lord Tywin performed during the Rebellion put him at odds with certain Houses, in the past few years, they have been slowly gaining their respect back. Obviously, Lucas had a large part to play in this as far as that a lot of houses are now seeking favour from House Lannister."
"And very soon," he added, "a man with Lannister blood will be sitting on the Iron Throne."
"Lord Stark," Rodrik interjected, and Ned's gaze shifted to him. "I agree with the assessment made by Maester Luwin."
"But then a question comes to my mind. Can we really judge Lucas Lannister simply as a member of House Lannister? The very same man who is going to sit on the Iron Throne with Lannister blood in his veins, a few months before, had a sword placed at his neck by Lucas Lannister."
"And yet," Luwin chimed in, "it is almost certain that Lucas Lannister will be the next Lord of Casterly Rock."
"My Lord," he continued. "I am not saying we should judge Lucas solely through the lens of his name."
"I admit that Lucas is quite different from the Lannisters. At least from those we know. But we also cannot ignore his ties to his kin. It was Tywin Lannister who supported, protected, and shielded Lucas when he was building what he has today. His family still lives at Casterly Rock, and his father is very loyal to his brother, Tywin."
"But above all that," Luwin added, "Lucas Lannister is a businessman through and through. The politics and favors of High Lords do not affect him as much as profit and coin. When dealing with him, we must keep all these thoughts in mind."
Ned looked toward Rodrik for his opinion.
"I agree with Maester Luwin," he said. "This is a fair assessment of Lucas Lannister."
"Very well," Ned said. "I have similar thoughts in mind. And though we will learn the truth in an hour, what do you think he is going to propose to me?"
"Well, what he can offer is what I know for sure," Rodrik said with a chuckle. "His metal. Tools. Farming equipment. Weapons. And probably some of that wine."
"The question is what he is going to ask in return," he continued. "As genius and shrewd as he is, he would know that no House in the North would be willing to spend their coin on his metals when winter could be upon us at any time. For now, buying and stocking up on grain is the number one priority of every house in the North."
Ned looked toward Luwin, who merely shrugged.
"I am also unsure what Lucas Lannister might ask as a price," the Maester said. "I am unable to point to anything we have that might be of interest to him, unless he is doing this simply to improve the relations between our two houses."
"And why would he do that?" Rodrik asked with a scoff. "House Lannister has been at its pinnacle these last few years. They have no reason to mend relations with us."
This was a question no one had an answer to.
"If we shared a border with the Westerlands," Luwin said with a dry laugh, "I would have said that he might ask for territory. Land, that is the one thing we have plenty to offer."
Although Luwin had meant it as a joke, the three of them knew it was the harsh reality of the largest region in Westeros. Despite their combined wisdom, they could not think of a single other thing the North possessed that would be of value to a man who already had all the gold in the world. Land. Rugged and harsh land. This was all that they had.
Ned spent the next hour in silence in his solar. Although he tried to keep his mind away from the endless possibilities of what he would be discussing with Lucas, he was unsuccessful. His mind was constantly searching for scenarios of what might unfold.
There was one possibility in particular that made his heart uneasy. What if Lord Lucas asked for Sansa's hand in betrothal? The ultra-expensive gift for Sansa and Lucas's claim that whatever they discussed today would make that necklace appear worthless, everything pointed in that direction.
Ned did not know what he would do. Rationally, Lucas was the best match he could imagine for his daughter. Perhaps only the Crown Prince held a higher status. But the thought of it made his stomach churn, the idea of sending his daughter so far away, into the heart of the South.
He was still lost in thought when there was a knock on the door and a servant entered.
"My Lord," the man bowed. "Lord Lucas Lannister is on his way to your solar. He will be here in a few moments."
Ned nodded and schooled his expression, masking his apprehension as he waited for Lucas to finally arrive.
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