Two Weddings and a Reconciliation

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine returned to Hartshorn with a joyful heart, eager to see home again. However, apart from some diversionary hunting trips with her husband, and overseeing the installation of some tapestries and sculptures from Houses Tullison &
Coldbrook, she did not dally in getting to work on her House duties.

The watchtower that House Tullison had agreed to pay for was ordered built straight away, reasoning that, while it would take several years to complete, the sooner the better.
She saw Kevan off on his tour of the Vale, and hoped he would be able to recruit more men-at-arms for their campaign against the clans.
More quietly, she gave Nathan anything he required for investigating Mayor Seldon, and ensured that Ser Jon's men were well looked-after.
Scouting in the mountains would begin soon, and then the real planning for war would start.

Corrine kept her word to Lord Kriegar, and sent Ellie to stay with him and Gillian for three months. During the visit, she also brought an acquaintance of her own, Lady Clayre Redfort, whom she thought would be a good match for Lord Kellan. The meeting went even better than expected. Lady Clayre was delighted to meet such a strong, pious man as Lord Kriegar, and he too was attracted to her, and indeed surprised that a pretty and pious woman like her, of child-bearing age, was unmarried. Their subsequent union strengthened not only relations between Houses Kriegar and Redfort, but also led to Lord Kriegar finally warming to the new Lady Marsten. Where her mother had been cold and distant, Corrine was warm and compassionate, and it eventually softened the heart of Lord Kellan, a tentative amiability forming between the two Houses at last.

Bolstered by her initial success as a matchmaker, Corrine set out to find a good husband for another young lady of which she was fond;
Lady Aofie Royce. They had met a few times before, and got on well, though Corrine knew she had a troubled past. She wanted to see her find happiness, and who better for such a gentle soul than Lord Dunstan Tullison? Corrine arranged for them to be introduced, making use of the Royce's travelling to Hartshorn to see Willum Royce off to become Ben's squire. Happily, Aofie and Dunstan's kind hearts took a shine to one another, and Corrine felt she had made up for her botched matchmaking for Dunstan at the Riverrun tourney. House Royce saw in House Marsten a willingness to bond with other Houses unselfishly that did it credit, and they became more confident that their son was in good hands.