Aksel laughed lightly at the younger man's comment. So Lord Hightower was irked by the Citadel's closeness to Selester, eh? An excellent tidbit. Young Lord Daven was careful, but Aksel could feel him thawing a little, all the same.
"The singers, pleased? I found it all a sad pity, but I suppose so. I always forget how highly you men of the Reach prize them--singers, and romance," grinned Aksel. "Ah, so the dashing young lord has a lady in mind," he teased, inclining his head conspiratorially, with a mischievous light in his eye quite unexpected from one so aged. Who, then? Daven received his honor from Princess Aenyris with a dewy enough eye--but she is far above his station, and with Elia gone... No, he sounds rather sure of himself, though his words speak to the contrary. More like that he is thinking of some lady of the Reach. Who did Jorelle mention--the Hightower girl, with an unhappy engagement and fabulous wealth? This would bear looking into.
The merriment slipped from Aksel's face at Daven's next words. "The gods give and the gods take, and men wait meek and suppliant," he said with a sad smile. Twenty years, and I am still spouting Regaena's lines. "Sons and daughters are good insurance, my young friend, but the death of a wife still leaves the castle cold and the bed lonely." Privately Aksel doubted that the young Lord Redwyne had felt half of what he himself had suffered upon the loss of Regaena. Still, the display seemed appropriate. The best lies were rooted in truth, or true emotion, and here in the South they seemed uncommonly pleased by Northrons who were not made of ice.
For a moment there Aksel had wondered about a match for his Jorelle. If there was a wedge to be driven between Redwyne and Tyrell, a woman would be a good way to do it. But then, Jorelle was no Kyra, and Aksel was not about to offer the kind of gold Daven would require to spare his plain-faced daughter a glance. That was all right. He was in no hurry to get rid of her--in fact, a woman was a useful hunter, and a plain one especially so. No regrets. Kyra may be wasted on Baelor, but not on House Tyrell. Her husband will be an easy puppet when the time comes for her to take control.