A Rest of Swords

Part twelve

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Do you love her?"

Lord Selwyn Tarth's eyes pierced through Jaime from the high seat in the Throne room. It hadn't been easy to find a time to speak to her father without Brienne noticing, but he wanted to keep her unaware of what he was up to until he had been allowed what he desired. It hadn't been easy to tell her father what he had come for, and he was certain that it wouldn't be easy to get it either. This first question was easy though.

"I do." The Lord's face stayed expressionless, not one twitch of a muscle.

"And does she love you?"

Brienne had said so. At first, Selwyn hat been sure that she didn't mean what she said, couldn't know what she was talking about. What did his little girl know about love?
Perhaps more than I thought possible, an unwelcome thought flashed through his mind. Nonsense. The thought alone that this man in front of him - he of all people - should be the one to make his daughter happy? Her, a soul purer than any he had ever seen? Utterly ridiculous.
But then, he couldn't deny what he had witnessed. He had seen it with his own eyes, heard it with his own ears how they talked to each other, smiled, laughed. Never before had he seen Brienne like this, behaving like this around someone else. And even more, there had never been a man that treated her like this Lannister did. No man that had looked at her that way. Could all this be a game, a fallacy?
Selwyn scrutinized the lion before him, attempting and failing to understand it. Could it be true? Did he really love her as he said? That's all I ever wanted for her.
Or was he just another of those that were only trying to take advantage of Brienne for her lands and title? Was he actually different or just like all the others, simply a better actor with a more charming smile?

Jaime had lowered his eyes to the ground at the question, his mouth curling. He had expected to be asked these things, and he knew that confirmation was probably not at all what the other would want to hear.

"That's not in my place to claim", he said therefore rather diplomatically. "She told me so, but if she hasn't done so already, I believe it should also be her to tell you. I can do nothing but hope that she will and", he added, rather enjoying the disapproving look on her father's face -clearly disapproval of an answer given beyond the desired means-, "if I should be so fortunate, spend the rest of my days trying to prove worthy of her and her love."
Jaime waited, watched Lord Selwyn as he watched him with a wrinkled brow, and a moment of silence passed as he considered how to go on. This young man was throwing him a bit off course with this unexpectedly skilful replies, he had to acknowledge, but he was determined to keep the upper hand. This was about his Brienne after all. His steps would need to be thought through.

"My daughter is the heiress of Evenfall Hall", he finally detected, as if that were news. Jaime bowed his head in confirmation.

"I'm aware of that, Mylord." Of course, you are. All of them were.

"Yes, but have you both considered what that means?", he said slowly, accentuating his words by seriously raised eyebrows. "She won't be able to spend the rest of her life the way she has done until now. She has a birthright, a place to take, a duty to fulfil", he said gravely. "I'm not a young man anymore, Ser Jaime, I won't live forever and neither do I plan to rule until my last breath. It won't be long until Brienne will have to sit on this chair. The isle..." He gestured through the room, figuratively containing what would be the whole of Brienne's kingdom, "it will be hers, her land, her people - and they will need her here."

"She knows that, Lord Selwyn", Jaime said calmly, "I can assure you. And so do I." He saw a spark of emotion flickering over the other man's face, suspicion, then uncertainty.
He doesn't know how to estimate me, Jaime knew. The corner of his mouth twitched.