Setting foot onto the dry land of the Fingers, I’m overjoyed to be home safely, with an Oakheart sloop not far behind. It is not long before we solidify our alliance with the Oakhearts, and therefore the Tyrells. As Lord Theodore doles out the news of the wedding in the coming days, I slap Jardon on the back and congratulate him on his upcoming nuptials. A look of shock overcomes him, and I assure him that it is a well suited marriage, and that he should be lucky to be paired with a lovely woman of an old, proud house. For the time being, I leave out her “condition”…

Maester Thad and I meet Lady Jeyne Oakheart and her escort, Ser Wilber Osgrey, at the shore. The knight bristles at us, but I make a connection with sweet Jeyne right away and try to make her feel at home. We show Ser Wilbur to the great hall for refreshment, and hurry to show Jeyne to her quarters and discuss wedding plans. She is seven months along, and there will be no hiding her belly on her wedding day. In an effort to carve the marriage and the alliance into stone swiftly, we plan to wed the courageous Captain Jardon and goodhearted Lady Jeyne on the morrow.

Leaving the bride’s quarter’s, I have the pleasure of bumping into Jardon, who I had planned on finding to speak to about his wife to be. Unfortunately, when he greets me he is irate and babbling paranoid ramblings, accusing Teddy and I of scheming for our own good, rather than the good of house Jasper. I try to assure him that our intentions are honest, that marriage is the surest way to a lasting alliance, and that it is for the best for all of the house including Jardon. He doesn’t give me the chance to discuss the bit of information I DO need to share with him before storming off. Knowing the wedding is scheduled for the very next day, I leave a note on his door, requesting his presence to break fast together the next morning.

Fortunately, Jardon shows up, perhaps a bit more sober, in the morning, and I assure him that the arrangement is in good faith, however, his bride, like him, brings some baggage to the altar. I share that Jeyne is pregnant, but hope that Jardon, of all people, will be able to truly empathize with her circumstances and with the child she brings to the marriage. He is quiet for a moment, and looks down at his boots for a long while before letting out a stern sigh. “Okay, I’ll do it.” I thank him earnestly for his service to House Jasper, and wish him many happy years ahead with his lovely young bride. He shakes his head somberly, and gets up to walk out, but turns back to me one more time to say, “I’m not doing it for House Jasper, I’m not doing it for me…I’m doing it for the kid,” before leaving. I am dumbstruck by the man’s sentiment, and left misty eyed by his soft spot for the child he and Jeyne will raise together. Despite his flaws, I am confident Jardon will care for his family with all the warmth and thoughtfulness he has within him. Now the success of the marriage rests upon the shoulders of Lady Jeyne, and I hope she has as much wisdom as Jardon does when it comes to evaluating her betrothed.

Just as I’m finally starting to relax after my tense and emotional conversation with the Captain, Maester Thad rushes in to despair that the septon we sent for refused our call, and we have no one to perform the ceremony this evening. This wedding was complicated enough, we didn’t need any additional surprises! After some discussion, the maester assures me that they are capable to disguising themselves as a septon and performing the ceremony without Jeyne ever knowing the difference. It is a risky plan, especially with all that is depending on a successful ceremony, but I trust that the maester knows their own abilities well enough to get the wedding done without a hitch.