Chapter 9: Tyrion's Library and an Honest Hour

The note arrived with breakfast, which was itself a statement of intent.

It was written on paper of noticeably better quality than anything the Red Keep's administrative correspondence ran to, in a hand that managed to be both precise and faintly self-mocking — the handwriting of a man who had been taught proper penmanship and had developed, over years, a slight deliberate slant to the right as if the letters were leaning away from their own formality. The seal was Lannister. The message read:

*Lady Elspeth — I find myself in possession of more books than evenings, which is the one form of wealth I have never known how to spend wisely. My library contains a recent maester's history of the border conflicts of the Stormlands, which I am given to understand touches on the northern marches and may be of interest to a lady of your particular antecedents. I would be pleased to lend it, if you would care to collect it this evening at your convenience. Rooms in the Tower of the Hand, eastern corridor, third door. — T.L.*