Chapter 101

He escorted Lady Catelyn and Lady Sansa in a luxurious horse carriage till they reached the White Knife where the Concrete roads ended as his workers were still building a large concrete bridge.

"The carriage will not be feasible anymore." He told Sansa as he handed both her and her mother a horse of their own. In fact, he was sure that his carriages were strong enough that they would not break down in a dirt path which these people call roads. But there was no reason to take the risk as both Lady Catelyn and Lady Sansa knew how to ride a horse.

The Coachman took the Carriage back to Dreadfort while the of the procession continued on it's way to Winterfell.

3 days later, they finally reached Winterfell where Lord Stark and the rest of the family was already waiting for them, courtesy to a rider he sent ahead to inform Lord Stark about their arrival.

"Lord Bolton. You're here early." Lord Stark said with a cold expression hiding the worry he was feeling.

"So I am. Let's go to your solar and have a talk Lord Stark."

Ned Stark nodded and hugged his wife and daughter while he met Robb and Jon before they went to the Lord's Solar in Winterfell.

"So… Wanna explain why you came back with my wife and daughter home before the 4 month time line?" Lord Stark asked as he sat behind the table with his wife and daughter standing to his left and right while he sat on the other side of the table.

"Escort. More like threw us out of his castle." Lady Stark said venomously. It seemed like she did not like the actions he took in regards to her and her daughter.

Lord Stark looked at him with a cold expression and asked "Is that true?"

"If I had thrown her out of my castle, then I would go to the great length of escorting her back to Winterfell myself." He replied calmly "With that said, I am now exiling her from my lands. She will not step back into my lands. Not now not ever."

Lord Stark looked a little lost at what was going on even though he hid it well behind his cold expression while Lady Stark seethed in anger behind him.

"How dare you…" Lady Stark said but was halted as Lord Stark raised his hand to shut her up.

"May I ask why that is?" Lord Stark asked.

"There is a long story behind what led to the situation. And a lot it is my fault as well for not curbing the situation in the bud when it first started. But if you want me to get to the point, then I exiled Lady Stark from my lands because she mocked Lady Barbrey for being a widow in my own table in front of my family."

At his words, Lord Stark's face snapped to his wife whose face had gone a little pale at the reminder of what had happened all those days ago.

Nothing needed

"Is that true?" Lord Stark asked but his cold and serious voice made it clear that he already knew that it was.

Lady Stark stammered in response before she visibly composed herself and pointed at him "Only because his aunt would not leave my dear Sansa all alone."

Now it was his turn to be pinned by the oh so infamous Lord Stark's 'Cold Gaze'.

"Is that true?" Lord Stark asked and he nodded.

"Lady Barbrey has no love for the Tullys. Especially Lady Catelyn. When Lady Catelyn first arrived in Dreadfort, the two of them would throw barbs at each other whenever they were around each other. In hindsight, I should have told her to stop antagonizing Lady Stark when this behaviour first started. I'm to take blame for that mishap. But as I did not, the enmity between Lady Stark and Lady Barbrey grew. And since Sansa was often in the presence of Lady Stark, the hatred that my aunt felt for Lady Stark was also transferred to her daughter." He explained calmly "In hindsight, I supposed that well all acted with immaturity unbecoming of us and set bad example for Lady Sansa. The situation erupted some days ago when my aunt said some words to Lady Sansa which led to Lady Catelyn crossing the line and calling out my aunt on her status as a widow. Something I could not have let go with any response."

Lord Stark listened to his words with a stern face and remained silent for a long while afterwords before he finally nodded.

"If you would Lord Bolton, I need to have some words with my wife and daughter." Lord Stark, sounding more tired than he ever did before.

He simply nodded, got up from his chair and left the room.

The sound of Lord and Lady Stark quarreling with each other was the last thing he heard before the door was closed.

That evening, he had another meeting with Lord Stark. In the meeting, they confirmed that despite all the unpleasantness, the betrothal will continue. Lady Sansa will continue the education he had set up for her and come to spent 4 months in Dreadfort the next year as well. Lady Catelyn will not be accompanying her in the visit.

Lord Stark was satisfied with him exiling Lady Barbrey to Bolton Port for the next 4 months and didn't ask for any further ramifications for his part in the whole situation.

In the end, he spent two more days in Winterfell, spending most of his time either talking with Robb and Jon, Lord Stark or Lady Sansa before he left to go back to Dreadfort.