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“Tywin Lannister is a man who still lives under his father’s shadow.” Stannis had once overheard his mother describing Lord Tywin to his father in this way. Lord Tywin’s father must have been better than him at everything. Sword-fighting, hawking, inspiring love and loyalty, his boyhood self had thought. But as Stannis grew older, and heard more and more stories about Tywin Lannister and his father Tytos Lannister, he began to wonder about the accuracy of his mother’s assessment. How could you live under the shadow of a man who is less than yourself? But by that time, Lady Cassana was no longer around to answer her son’s questions.
The shadow was a strange thing, Stannis understood later. A man contemptuous of his father’s weakness, a man who was determined to be a stronger, more capable and more ruthless lord than his father, could also live his life under a perpetual shadow, not just a boy who was bested by his older brother in most things.
And the truth of the matter was, he finally had the courage to admit to himself, in a moment of ruthless self-examination, it was not the fault of the father or the older brother that the son and the younger brother continued to live under their shadows. We are what we make of ourselves, the good and the bad.
Mother, always the most perceptive and observant one in the room. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he thought of her, but the almost-smile quickly faded as his thoughts turned into what she would have observed about her own sons.
Perhaps it is better that she is not alive to see us now. That her last thoughts were of us as happy, carefree boys.
But that last part was a lie too, he knew. A false comfort, an untruth given the veneer of truth to make himself feel better. “Never deceive yourself. You can deceive the world and everyone else in it, but always, always have the courage to admit the truth to yourself, no matter how bitter the truth is, and no matter how terrible a light it casts on you.“ His mother had told him this as well.
She was too good of a mother not to have known her children’s sorrows and unhappiness. She would have spent her last moments on earth raging and cursing at the gods for cruelly snatching her and her husband away from them.
Stop wandering, Stannis admonished his wandering thoughts. Tywin Lannister should be the only thing in his mind at the moment.
And Petyr Baelish, he added. He had expected the room to be empty, but Petyr Baelish was already there.
“Lord Stannis! I am so glad I will have your support. Two against one. Lord Tywin stands little chance against us.”
Petyr Baelish was smiling profusely, but Stannis noticed that the smile did not reach his eyes. You are not glad. You are offended that my brother wants the master of ships sitting in during a negotiation that should have been your sole province as the master of coin.
“Lord Petyr.” Stannis nodded, curtly, before taking a seat.
“I may know a way for us to gain an advantage in this negotiation. And perhaps even lessen the crown’s indebtedness to the Lannisters.” Littlefinger’s voice was as silky smooth and ingratiating as ever. Stannis distrusted him with every bone in his body.
“And what is that, Lord Petyr?”
“I have been trading letters with a representative from the Iron Bank of Braavos. The Iron Bank has agreed to lend the crown a certain amount of gold, with terms that are comparable to the ones offered by the Lannisters.”
Stannis pondered this for a moment. To reduce the crown’s dependency on the Lannisters is no bad thing, certainly. But surely the more pressing issue was to reduce its dependency on borrowing.
“Comparable to the Lannisters’ terms as they currently stand, or comparable to the new terms Lord Tywin is demanding?”
“Comparable to the current terms, Lord Stannis.”
“But why should Lord Tywin care if the crown wishes to go deep in debt to someone else? He only wants his gold to be repaid,” Stannis pointed out.
Petyr Baelish was smiling again. But it was a different smile this time, a knowing, almost smirking one.
“Now, now, Lord Stannis, there is no need to play the fool. You are a man with an astute judgment and a great power of observation. You know why Lord Tywin would care.”
Do not try to flatter me, Littlefinger!
“I would have thought a better strategy is to reduce the amount of gold that the crown needs to borrow in the first place. As the master of coin, is it not your duty to think of ways to increase the crown’s revenue, Lord Petyr? I was told that this was a task you were most proficient at when you were serving Lord Arryn as the custom master at Gulltown. Have you lost your touch for generating revenue since then?”
“You flatter me, Lord Stannis. Alas, His Grace your dear brother does not allow me as free a hand in this matter as Lord Arryn did. Perhaps,” Littlefinger’s voice suddenly turned whispery and conspiratorial, as if the two of them were sharing a secret, “the king is more influenced by certain members of the small council who are adamant that we should not increase the tax on grains.”
“There is a drought, in case you have not noticed, Lord Petyr. This is hardly the time to increase the grain tax. My brother does not wish for his people to starve. There are plenty of other ways to increase the crown’s revenue. Taxing certain establishments that currently pay no tax at all, for example,” Stannis countered.
Their eyes were locked together, blue against green. Littlefinger’s eyes were greyish green in color, not pure green, as Stannis had thought before. Ask the question, Littlefinger. Let’s see how far you wish to take this.
His eyes barely blinking, Petyr Baelish finally asked the question. “And which establishments do you have in mind, Lord Stannis?”
Still maintaining the eye contact, Stannis promptly replied, “Brothels and whorehouses. Proliferating all over King’s Landing. Worse than it ever was, even during the days of the Mad King. But perhaps,” he slowly raised his eyebrows, “perhaps you have your own … reasons … for not wanting these establishments to be taxed?”
Petyr Baelish finally broke their eye contact, after what seemed like an eternity. He looked down, seemingly uncomfortable, and sighed. A very loud and theatrical sigh. “It is a very delicate and difficult matter, as you may well know yourself, Lord Stannis. I do not wish to incur His Grace’s wrath. We are all still in shock over the shouting and yelling he did when you proposed outlawing these particular establishments. I’m sure the king has his own … reasons ... for not wishing these establishments to be disturbed in any way.”
The gall of this response was unbelievable to Stannis. You know damn well that’s not what I had in mind! I was talking about your ownership of these brothels and whorehouses, not about Robert’s fondness for visiting brothels and whorehouses.
“Never betray your anger, if you wish to gain the upper hand,” Steffon Baratheon had often reminded his sons.
Easier said than done, Father, thought Stannis, his teeth clenched so hard they almost snapped.
He waited until he had calmed down sufficiently before saying, “I’m sure my brother has his reasons, as you have yours as well. I suppose being the owner of some of these brothels and whorehouses, it’s not surprising that you might not be supportive of any plan to tax these establishments. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’re fully aware that your duty as master of coin must supersede your duty as a man in trade.”
Littlefinger looked slightly disappointed, as if he had been expecting Stannis to explode with unsuppressed fury. He wanted to provoke me into anger. But why? Perhaps to distract me from the battle of wills with Tywin Lannister. You’re out of luck, Littlefinger. Only my brothers could provoke me into a full display of my fury so easily.
Tywin Lannister strode into the room with the self-possession and self-confidence of a man who believed he owned the castle, the room and every piece of furniture in it.
The way we are deeply in hock to the Lannisters, he probably will own the castle one day, thought Stannis, bitterly. And of course , Lord Tywin’s grandson will be king after Robert.
In his presence, everything and everyone seemed to shrink in comparison. It was not merely the imposing physical presence – Tywin Lannister was a tall, broad-shouldered man – but mainly the expression and gaze that spelled out his will and determination to control, to dominate, to subjugate.
A hard man, they call me, thought Stannis, but in truth, they know not what hard truly means until they have met Tywin Lannister.
“Lord Stannis. Lord Petyr.” Tywin nodded at Stannis, but barely glanced at Petyr Baelish.
“How was your journey, Lord Tywin? I hope –“
Tywin Lannister interrupted before Petyr Baelish could finish his greeting. “We should begin,” he said. There is no need to waste any time on mere pleasantries, he clearly implied.
“I have examined your request for the new terms, Lord Tywin. They are not acceptable to –“
“Those are not requests, Lord Stannis. Those are the new terms for the payment of the loans House Lannister has provided to the Iron Throne over many years.”
Green eyes, like Littlefinger’s, but flecked with gold this time. Staring at Stannis. Daring him to turn his eyes away.
Understanding came suddenly and unexpectedly, from the deep recesses of his mind. Littlefinger tried to distract and weaken me by provoking me to anger. Tywin Lannister is trying to distract and weaken me by playing on my pride. To have me spend all my energy locked in an outward show of strength with him, of who could hold the other’s gaze longer, while he runs circles around me in the only battle that matters. The battle of the mind.
He promptly dropped his eyes, and shuffled the papers he had in front of him. Tywin Lannister’s very slight and brief look of surprise did not escape him, however. There it was, confirmation of his suspicion.
“The terms were agreed upon four years ago, and they still have one more year to run, Lord Tywin. Perhaps we should meet again in a year to discuss your request for the new terms?”
“You know very well Lord Stannis that I have allowed the crown to make smaller payments than dictated by the terms of the loan, because of the drought currently afflicting the realm. Do you expect me to incur a loss without getting something in return? And I thought you were a man famed for his obsession with justice.”
“I have calculated the numbers. Whatever losses you might have incurred due to the smaller payments in recent months do not rise to the amount of additional interest you wish to charge, Lord Tywin. I don’t see any justice in that, only usury and greed.” He was still looking at the papers on the table. The lack of eye contact seemed to annoy Tywin Lannister, who bristled at the sound of Stannis shuffling the papers.
“Lending money is a trade, like any other. A certain amount of profit is allowable.”
“But not an excessive amount.”
“And who determines what is an excessive amount? The master of ships?”
“The king asked me to work out the details with you, Lord Tywin. I am merely doing my duty as his loyal subject.”
“Are you implying that I am not a loyal subject, Lord Stannis?”
“Your loyalty to my brother is not in question. You have proven it, especially during the Sack of King’s Landing,” Stannis said, pointedly.
Proven it with the bodies wrapped in Lannister colors that Tywin had presented to Robert.
Stannis finally shifted his eyes away from the papers, to meet Tywin Lannister’s gaze. The expression on Tywin’s face was calm, but Stannis could see that his eyes were brimming with anger.
“What do you think would have happened, Lord Stannis, if you had found Queen Rhaella and her children when you arrived in Dragonstone?” Tywin asked, just as pointedly.
“I would have had them arrested, and brought back to King’s Landing to be tried.”
“Was that what your brother would have wanted? Living Targaryen heirs? And for what crimes would those two children be tried for? I suppose someone could have cooked up something to charge Queen Rhaella. Accuse her of being her husband’s conspirator, perhaps. But Prince Viserys and the babe? What of them? Your brother would not have thanked you for bringing them back alive. And he certainly did not thank you for letting them escape.”
“My brother would have wanted justice to be done.”
“Let’s not play games, Lord Stannis. We both know your brother. Your brother was grateful that he was allowed to keep his hands clean. It was not King Robert who slew Rhaegar Targaryen’s wife and children. He got to keep his heroic, liberator status, while the threats to his hold on the Iron Throne were conveniently removed by the hands of others. Why do you think he agreed to make my daughter his queen?”
Oh, he is a clever, clever man, Tywin Lannister. I thought I was getting the upper hand, when in truth, he was drawing me deeper and deeper into his net. Stannis cursed his own stupidity, and his pride.
“Be that as it may, Lord Tywin, perhaps we should get back to the terms of the debt?”
“By all means, Lord Stannis, let us do that.”
“Your new terms are not acceptable. I have an alternative set of terms that is acceptable to the Iron Throne.”
“Then we have reached an impasse. For I will not accept any other terms except the ones I already put forward.”
“And what do you mean to do, Lord Tywin? If your terms are not accepted?”
Petyr Baelish, who had stayed silent the whole time, watching Stannis and Tywin with an amused expression on his face, suddenly interrupted, “I’m sure it is not yet time to resort to threats and ultimatums, Lord Stannis.”
Threat? That was not a threat. Not yet anyway. Whose side is he on? But Stannis was not really surprised. When he said two against one, he actually meant the two of them against me.
But perhaps not, Stannis thought, upon further reflection. Petyr Baelish was too sly and wily to fully commit himself to any side. He is on no one’s side except his own.
“I will call for the entire amount of the crown’s debt to House Lannister to be paid immediately. The full amount, all three million gold dragons. And of course, there will be no further loans, in future.”
“And how do you think my brother will react to that?”
“Not well, I’m sure. But his wise advisers would then counsel him that he would have to accept my new terms with the higher interest, because there are barely three thousand gold dragons in the crown’s coffer, let alone three million, to pay me back.”
Stannis considered his next move. I will not be saying anything that is not true. He remembered Robert’s words. “It’s just a threat. You only have to make it sound believable to him. You don’t have to believe in it yourself.”
Oh, but I have an advantage, brother. I do believe it. I do believe that you could be that reckless. I need not pretend to believe it, to sound convincing to Tywin Lannister.
“You spoke of knowing my brother earlier, Lord Tywin. Do you know how many bastards my brother has sired?”
There was a long, long silence, as he watched Tywin Lannister watching him. He’s wary, unsure of what I’m implying. Stannis went for the kill.
“He’s a reckless man, Robert. A very impulsive man. We both know that, Lord Tywin.”
“Well, that is why he has advisers, wise men such as yourself, to counsel him against doing anything … reckless.”
Stannis laughed, a long, bitter laugh. “And how successful do you think I have been in providing counsel, Lord Tywin? If he had heeded my counsel, the crown would not be three million gold dragons in debt to you.”
Another long look passed between them. He’s assessing, calculating all the angles, Stannis thought.
“My daughter is his queen. My grandson is his heir,” Tywin finally said.
“There could be another heir, a boy who is older than your grandson Prince Joffrey. One of Robert’s bastards could be legitimized – a course of action I would strenuously object to, to be sure. But how much do you think my brother would heed my counsel?”
Tywin stared at Stannis, unblinking.
How far are you willing to go for three million gold dragons, Tywin Lannister?
“Show me your alternative terms, Lord Stannis.”
Not that far after all. For now, at least.