However, his previous remarks had already opened a crack in Catelyn's heart. Even though Catelyn deeply trusted her husband, she still felt that Eddard might compromise as Littlefinger suggested.
Thinking of this, Catelyn felt an urge to rush out, find those Lannister, tear them apart, and immediately complete her revenge against the Lannister.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and then one of Petyr's men rushed in, whispering something in Petyr's ear. Catelyn vaguely heard words like Lannister and coming over.
"Catelyn, you can't stay here any longer; you need to leave immediately," Littlefinger said with a serious expression. "I just received news that Jaime Lannister is leading the Gold Cloaks this way. Your whereabouts must have been exposed, and he wants to capture you to make Duke Eddard hesitate."
With that, without waiting for Catelyn to understand what was happening, he immediately pulled Catelyn out of the room and into the backyard. They exited through the small door of the backyard kitchen, walked along the narrow alley outside, passed through several houses one by one, and finally arrived at a small house facing the street.
As they entered the small house, they heard hurried footsteps from outside, sounding like many people in armor were running.
The two immediately stood against the wall. Catelyn also peered out through the window, only to see several knights wearing the distinctive armor of the Lannister leading a squad of Gold Cloaks rushing down the street in front of the house, as if chasing someone.
Catelyn's face turned ashen at this moment, while Littlefinger, hidden in the shadows, revealed a faint smile. Then he composed himself, putting on a very serious expression, and said, "It's safe here. No one knows this house is mine. You stay here for now. I'll arrange a boat, and you'll leave tonight."
"Petyr, thank you…" Catelyn looked at Littlefinger gratefully.
Littlefinger looked at Catelyn with affection and said, "No need to thank me. We are family, haven't you forgotten? You said it, we are family."
Feeling Littlefinger's enthusiasm, Catelyn couldn't help but turn her head slightly, and she didn't notice that as she turned her head, the expression in Petyr's eyes shifted from disappointment to determination.
Catelyn then remembered Ser Rodrik, the master-at-arms, and said, "My man is still at the inn. Please help me find him."
Littlefinger thought for a moment and said, "Give me a token. I'll try to bring him over. He's definitely being watched, so it's uncertain if I can bring him."
Catelyn took out a token that Ser Rodrik would recognize and handed it to Littlefinger.
Before leaving, Littlefinger reminded Catelyn to wait patiently and not leave the house.
Meanwhile, Lynd had also packed his bags and was about to head to the camp outside the city to rendezvous with his men, when he heard his subordinate report that Eddard Stark had suddenly come to see him.
"Duke Eddard, is there something you need?" Lynd asked, looking at the Duke of Winterfell in front of him, who was covered in sweat, with some confusion.
"Prince Linde, I have a request that I hope you can grant." Eddard hesitated slightly before speaking.
Lynd was a little puzzled and said, "Tell me."
Eddard said sincerely, "I hope those bastards can be sent to the North, and I will take care of them and raise them."
"Give me a reason?" Lynd retorted.
Eddard said in a deep voice, "Robert and I are like brothers. I have an obligation…"
Lynd shook his head, interrupting Eddard, and said, "I think Prime Minister Jon Arryn must have considered this point as well, but he ultimately chose not to let you take care of those people, but instead entrusted them to me. I think Duke Arryn must have felt that there was something inappropriate about you taking care of them."
"But…" Eddard hesitated, still wanting to try and argue.
"Say no more, Duke Eddard!" Lynd interrupted him, and showed no intention of continuing the conversation, saying, "Do you have anything else? If not, then I am preparing to leave King's Landing."
Eddard shook his head and turned to leave, but after taking two steps, he stopped again, turned around, and said in a very formal tone, "Lord Linde, if one day the kingdom experiences turmoil, you…"
Lynd said very directly, "As long as it doesn't affect the future war with the Others, I will not intervene in any power struggles within the Seven Kingdoms."
Although this answer was not the one Eddard most desired, he was still satisfied and said nothing more, leaving Lynd's residence in a hurry.
Almost immediately after Eddard left, Varys arrived at Lynd's residence and met with Lynd.
Lynd looked at Varys and asked, "Has something happened? Duke Eddard suddenly came out of nowhere asking me to hand over Robert's bastards to him, and then said some inexplicable things."
Varys truthfully recounted Catelyn's arrival in King's Landing and her accusation that the Little Devil hired someone to assassinate Bran.
Lynd was stunned after hearing this, but quickly recovered, and then said meaningfully, "It seems Eddard Stark has fallen into your trap."
"Not ours, Littlefinger's." Varys shook his head, correcting Lynd.
Lynd didn't argue with him and said, "I can already imagine what will happen to Duke Eddard, but I'm curious how you plan to deal with Duke Eddard?"
"I hope he lives, after all, good people like him are few and far between now." Varys said solemnly, "But some people don't want him to live. What about you? Do you want him to live, or…"
"Me, I don't care." Lynd said calmly, "Whether Eddard Stark lives or dies, it doesn't matter to me. Their lives or deaths will not change my plans, and the Targaryen you support are the same."
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"