The look of shock on the boy's face was priceless. Poor lad looked half ready to run from the room. Amazing how perfectly brave young knights could face death, but give them a room full of beaureaucrats and they wanted to hide in the hills. Not that Polonius blamed them- the most frightening things he had seen in all his years scarcely ever had a thing to do with a battlefield.
"Mallister..." Polonius thoughts spun through the lists of the noble houses and their history. Tully bannermen, but that was about the sum of what he could remember. Some scandal years back, probably the boy's father- something about the Hightowers and a marriage. He noted the boy, Tristran, did not look as if he were related to the Hightowers. All in all, rather minor, never marked for great treachery or cunning. Not so different from his own house. "Of course, Lord Derron's son. You have just arrived then. Seems the road from the Riverlands to the Kings Landing has rather delayed several of the lords."
He smiled. "Forgive an old man, my mind slips at times. You were saying this was your first time at court. Too bad you've missed half the fun- the feasts are done for the moment. Of course, there's always another one. That's the secret of life at court; it's all just a lot of going in circles."