"That is true," I agreed with a nod.
We lapsed into silence as we watched Yan work. It was the hottest part of the year in the North. In the sunlight, I guessed it was somewhere around 80 or 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Still much cooler than the summers I was used to in my old life, but plenty warm for the North; Yan was practically dripping in sweat.
'Ok, dummy, you chickened out again last time,' I told myself. 'Ned is standing right there! So go on; ask him to have a private dinner with you! It's not that hard!'
"Ned?" I softly called.
"Hmm?" he distractedly hummed back.
I opened my mouth, but I couldn't say the words. I tried again and again for nearly a full minute, but I just… I just couldn't do it.
"Never mind," I mumbled in defeat.
'Ok, enough stalling!' I castigated myself. I'd failed to kickstart my relationship with my husband long enough. This time, I would definitely do it! And, I even had a plan! 'If we start by talking about business, we can shift to more casual subjects later.'
With that in mind, I tracked Ned down some time before dinner. It had been a full moon since he'd come back from the war, and aside from the relative distance between us, things were going quite well. Benjen was spending more time out hunting or training in the yard, Ned was reacquainting himself with the running of Winterfell, and I was keeping my business running smoothly.
"Ned?" I asked, knocking on the door frame at the entrance to his solar. When he wasn't occupied with anything serious or private, Ned preferred to keep the door open, so that anyone needing his attention could stop in. A literal open door policy, as it were. I approved.
"Catelyn," he greeted me with a nod. "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to have dinner with you tonight," I stated. "We have some things to discuss, and I'd like to do it in private over a meal, not in the Great Hall."
He regarded me, his face carefully blank, for a long minute before nodding. "Very well."
"Great!" I exclaimed with a relieved smile. "I'll go get everything ready, then. A serving girl will show you where you need to go."
Ned relaxed and let a slight smile tug at the corner of his lips. "I look forward to it."
I'd had some guards help me put a small table and some chairs in a room in the family wing of the Great Keep. In the future, I hoped to have somewhat regular 'family dinners', with just Ned, our children, and I. And Jon; I mustn't leave him out, given that I'd promised Ned I'd treat him kindly.
When a serving girl finally brought Ned to the room, I'd already laid out fresh bread, butter, and a thin soup as a sort of appetizer. The main dish, a roast duck complimented by sauteed vegetables, would come later.
"Welcome to House Stark's private dining room," I halfway joked with him as he took in the room.
"It is… certainly private," he noncommittally replied.
"I hope that we could have a private dinner once per week or so," I continued. "Perhaps we could occasionally invite a visiting Lord or Lady, so that we could dine and speak with them in less formal settings."
"I think we could work something out," he agreed as he sat across from me. He selected a fresh roll and began spreading some butter on it. "So, what did you want to speak about?"
"I realized that I was… a bit harsh with you some time ago, when we were talking about how the coin I'm generating could help the North," I answered. "Since we are married, we will need to work together, but I ended up completely ignoring your input on the matter."
"Perhaps," he neutrally replied. "But it is your coin, and… well, I must admit that you have a point; starting new ventures would generate more coin in the long run, and would ease larger projects at a later time."
"Still, I shouldn't have ignored your opinion," I replied. "In light of that, I have some ideas that more closely align with what you were intending, but will also help with my future ventures. Considering it deals with both House Stark's lands and your role as Lord Paramount of the North, I would need your approval before anything could be done about it, and I would like your opinion on it."
Ned paused, his lips pressed together, and reluctantly nodded. "Very well. What did you have in mind?"
"In regards to my idea about bringing displaced smallfolk North, I think it provides you with an opportunity to reward your vassals and secure stronger ties to other Lords in the North," I explained. "Well, at least for the houses sworn directly to you."
Ned raised both eyebrows. "What opportunity do you see here?"
"The Cassels are a Masterly house, but they hold no lands, correct?" I asked, and Ned nodded in confirmation. "Well, if you begin bringing smallfolk North, I think it would be prudent to establish a new holdfast for them to settle around. And, given that Ser Rodrik is a knight, the southern smallfolk would be more comfortable serving under him."
"Hmm," Ned hummed. "And it would allow me to reward the Cassels for their service."
"Precisely," I agreed with a smile. "Other members of your household could be rewarded, too; the Pooles for instance. As much as I'd hate to lose Vayon's expertise, his family has faithfully served yours for several generations, correct?"
"Aye, they have."
"Plus, second and third sons of your direct vassals could be given small holdfasts," I continued. "Lord Wyman has a second son, Wendel. Lord Glover is unmarried and has no children of his own, but his brother Robett could be given a newl holdfast near the Glover's lands. And I'm sure House Mormont would appreciate a few small holdfasts on the mainland, and Maege has several daughters who could rule them in the future."
"Rewarding my vassals would be worthwhile, but again, the problem is coin," he replied, sounding a bit frustrated. "There are several small mottes, towers, and holdfasts in Stark lands that could be repaired, if only the money was available.
"Which is why I'm bringing it up," I replied. "I need somewhere to put these new smallfolk, and you need coin to fix up these lands. So, let's work together on this."
Ned looked at me with a blank face. Eventually, after a long silence, he said, "Aye, I think we can come to an agreement. How much are you willing to contribute to this?"
"Right now, I can give you 200 gold dragons per moon, or about half my current profits," I replied. "While you use that money to begin repairs on old holdfasts or the construction of new ones, I will spend what coin is necessary to get some smallfolk into the North, and begin ordering the necessary tools they'll need to start their farms."
"I think I can work with that," he replied. "Perhaps it might be wise to notify the future lords sooner rather than later. Then, they can take care of most of the organization."
"Oh, yes, that will certainly make things easier," I said, nodding in agreement. "Though if that's the case, it might be better to simply promise them a set amount of coin, which I will pay in installments. That way, neither of us will have to do more than check their work every so often."
"And it gives the newly landed lords the ability to set up their lands to their own preferences," Ned added.
"Yes. Yes, I think this is a good idea," I smiled, running over numbers in my head. Depending on how run down the abandoned holdfast in question was, it wouldn't take more than a thousand dragons to get it up and running. Even if my future profits don't increase the way I expected them to, we could set up two holdfasts per year, and bring in one or two thousand smallfolk for each one. Maybe more, depending on how much arable land is available. And that number might increase as word spreads and the holdfasts become more established.
"Yes, I think this will do great things for the North," I finished with a satisfied nod.
"It will do great things for House Stark and the lords sworn to us," he replied. "What about the other houses? The Ryswells, the Umbers, the Karstarks, or the Boltons? If they see the prosperity you are bringing, but their own conditions don't improve, they may grow resentful."
"... That is true," I answered. I pondered the idea for a time. After a moment, I snapped my fingers. "The Harvest Feast is coming up in a few moons, isn't it?"
"Aye," Ned confirmed, a questioning look on his face.
"Well, why don't you invite all of the lords of the North?" I asked. "I'd be willing to demonstrate my farming and textile machines to them. If they're interested, we could gift them with drawings, so that craftsmen in their own lands can recreate them. That way, if they decide there is merit, they can establish their own workshops and improve their own farms."
"They could see the weaving machines at work, but the harvest feast is usually held after the harvest."
"Well, perhaps invite them a bit early," I proposed. "Perhaps a moon before the festival? The second crop at Yan's farm would be ready around then…"
"That could work," he answered, but I could hear a hint of doubt in his voice. "But hosting all the lords of the North for that long will be expensive."