A Game of Thrones 4-Book Bundle

Very deftly done, I would
say . . . but for one small flaw.”
    The dwarf laughed. “Named Cersei?”
    â€œWhat avails statecraft against the love of a mother for the sweet fruit of
her womb? Perhaps, for the glory of her House and the safety of the realm, the
queen might be persuaded to send away Tommen or Myrcella. But both of them?
Surely not.”
    â€œWhat Cersei does not know will never hurt me.”
    â€œAnd if Her Grace were to discover your intentions before your plans are
ripe?”
    â€œWhy,” he said, “then I would know the man who told her to be my certain
enemy.” And when Varys giggled, he thought,
Three.

SANSA
    C
ome to the godswood tonight, if you want to go home.
    The words were the same on the hundredth reading as they’d
been on the first,
when Sansa had discovered the folded sheet of parchment beneath her pillow. She
did not know how it had gotten there or who had sent it. The note was unsigned,
unsealed, and the hand unfamiliar. She crushed the parchment to her chest and
whispered the words to herself. “Come to the godswood tonight, if you want to
go home,” she breathed, ever so faintly.
    What could it mean? Should she take it to the queen to prove that she was
being good? Nervously, she rubbed her stomach. The angry purple bruise Ser
Meryn had given her had faded to an ugly yellow, but still hurt. His fist had
been mailed when he hit her. It was her own fault. She must learn to hide her
feelings better, so as not to anger Joffrey. When she heard that the Imp had
sent Lord Slynt to the Wall, she had forgotten herself and said, “I hope the
Others get him.” The king had not been pleased.
    Come to the godswood tonight, if you want to go home.
    Sansa had prayed so hard. Could this be her answer at last, a true knight sent
to save her? Perhaps it was one of the Redwyne twins, or bold Ser Balon
Swann . . . or even Beric Dondarrion, the young lord her friend
Jeyne Poole had loved, with his red-gold hair and the spray of stars on his
black cloak.
    Come to the godswood tonight, if you want to go home.
    What if it was some cruel jape of Joffrey’s, like the day he had taken her up
to the battlements to show her Father’s head? Or perhaps it was some subtle
snare to prove she was not loyal. If she went to the godswood, would she find
Ser Ilyn Payne waiting for her, sitting silent under the heart tree with Ice in
his hand, his pale eyes watching to see if she’d come?
    Come to the godswood tonight, if you want to go home.
    When the door opened, she hurriedly stuffed the note under her sheet and sat on
it. It was her bedmaid, the mousy one with the limp brown hair. “What do you
want?” Sansa demanded.
    â€œWill milady be wanting a bath tonight?”
    â€œA fire, I think . . . I feel a chill.” She
was
shivering, though the day had been hot.
    â€œAs you wish.”
    Sansa watched the girl suspiciously. Had she seen the note? Had she put it
under the pillow? It did not seem likely; she seemed a stupid girl, not one
you’d want delivering secret notes, but Sansa did not know her. The queen had
her servants changed every fortnight, to make certain none of them befriended
her.
    When a fire was blazing in the hearth, Sansa thanked the maid curtly and
ordered her out. The girl was quick to obey, as ever, but Sansa decided there
was something sly about her eyes. Doubtless, she was scurrying off to report to
the queen, or maybe Varys. All her maids spied on her, she was
certain.
    Once alone, she thrust the note in the flames, watching the

parchment curl and blacken.
Come to the godswood tonight, if you want to
go home.
She drifted to her window. Below, she could see a short knight in
moon-pale armor and a heavy white cloak pacing the drawbridge. From his height,
it could only be Ser Preston Greenfield. The queen had given her freedom of the
castle, but even so, he would want to know where she was going if she tried to
leave Maegor’s Holdfast at this time of night. What was she to tell him?
Suddenly she was glad she had burned the note.
    She unlaced her gown and crawled into her bed, but she did not sleep.
Was
he still there?
she wondered.
How long will he wait?
It was so
cruel, to send her a note and tell her nothing. The thoughts went round and
round in her head.
    If only she had someone to tell her what to do. She missed Septa Mordane, and
even more