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They married in secret, directly following the war.
They’d met in a field hospital after Jaime’s regiment was caught in crossfire. Brienne had joined the Crimean war effort in an attempt to get as far away from the Isle of Wight as it was possible to be. After her third and final engagement was broken she told her father in no uncertain terms that she was either going to London to become a governess or to Crimea to become a nurse. In the end she’d done both, serving for a short time with the Stark family in their London home before going to Crimea when the call for nurses grew more insistent.
So now they were headed to Jaime’s ancestral home in Cornwall, a nurse following a soldier home to ensure his comfort on the train ride and perhaps gain some employment at the local hospital. At least that was the cover.
It had been her idea to keep the marriage a secret. She loved Jaime. She had hated him and his casual indifference to the war, to the carnage, to the nurses trying to mend his wounds as soon as she’d met him. But as he’d gotten better she’d fallen, hard. And so had he.
However, the idea of explaining to his family, his very old, very well-connected family, that she, a girl not even from the mainland of England, a girl with three broken engagements, a girl who was taller than Jaime and uglier by far, was married to the heir to the Lannister wealth, well… She couldn’t begin to think what they might say.
Jaime had accepted her plan, with one stipulation. After a year in Cornwall they would tell his family. One year of him getting them used to this nurse who had brought him back to them. He was sure that his younger brother, at least, would welcome her with open arms. Tyrion was used to being an outsider and had a soft spot for others who didn’t fit into society.
Jaime’s twin sister and his father, on the other hand. He’d told her stories of his upbringing after his mother’s death. How his sister had used him to get close to their father. How she had cruelly pushed him away after he wouldn’t stay by her side no matter what. How his father had been nothing but disappointed with his eldest son, his heir, who had no interest in inheriting the family business. He had done his best to do his duty, of course, but when the Crimean war broke out he was one of the first to sign up.
So no, she was not interested in providing more fodder for their dislike of Jaime. She would protect him from his love of her, and her love of him, in the only way she knew how: keeping it a secret.
They arrived in Cornwall at dusk and were greeted at the station by Bronn, one of Tyrion's close friends.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, when Tyrion told me you were bringing a friend with you who needed a job at the hospital, this is not the lass I expected.” Bronn’s accent placed him as being from somewhere in the seedier parts of London but Jaime grinned at his pronouncement and punched him in the arm.
“This, my friend, is Brienne Tarth, well, Brienne Lannister now. She’s from the Isle of Wight, and she’s my wife.” He said the last bit while looking directly at her. He’d warned her that he was going to have a hard time keeping this secret; apparently that meant telling everyone that wasn’t a part of his family.
“His wife who is not going to be introduced as such to his family. Jaime, you can’t tell everyone that we’re married, it’s going to get back to your family rather quickly that way. I also cannot go around telling everyone that my name is Brienne Lannister. Tarth will have to do, for now.” She reached out and squeezed his arm as she said that, hoping to take some of the sting out of her words.
“I know, love. Bronn can keep a secret, though. He’s been keeping Tyrion’s for years.”
“For a price, I don’t do this out of the goodness of my heart.”
Jaime rolled his eyes. “Yes sorry, did I say Bronn was Tyrion’s friend? I meant his mercenary. But he’s loyal and he won’t tell our secret before we do. Now, wife, I intend to spend our last night together as man and wife, so we’d best be off.”
The first month in Cornwall was rather uneventful, Jaime had introduced her to his family as his nurse and they’d taken that at face value. Someone of little import, easy to let their eyes pass by because how could a nurse hold their attention when they had actual pressing matters to attend to.
Jaime and Brienne were able to meet several times, in various inns in the countryside surrounding the larger town. Few around there knew what the Lannister heir looked like and fewer cared.
It was two months into the stay that things started to go downhill. She spent a few mornings unable to get out of bed for a case of nausea that would not leave her be. She worried that the hospital would let her go but Jaime assured her that there was little they would do to upset him.
It all came to a head, however, when Jaime’s wound, caused by a piece of shrapnel that had embedded itself in his right arm and the right side of his torso, started to flare up. His side had healed well during his convalescence in the field hospital but his arm had caught infection after infection. It had been all they could do to keep it from being amputated by using various poultices and local remedies from the area. Now that they were back in England it had turned again.
She’d woken in the middle of the night to a pounding on her door and had been surprised to see Bronn standing there.
“Alright nurse Brienne, your husband has taken a turn for the worse and I’ve been tasked with bringing someone to stop his moaning.”
Brienne had grabbed her bag, mostly filled with tinctures and the like, though she still had a few herbs left, carefully preserved, from her time at the front.
Being led into the Lannister Manor in the dead of night by their hired man was like something out of a novel, but seeing Jaime lying in his bed with his face feverish and sweat-soaked drove all thoughts of reading from her head.
“Oh Jaime, why didn’t you say that your arm was getting worse.” She knelt by his side and wiped his brow with the damp cloth in the basin by his bed.
“Brienne? You’re not s’posed to be here.” His words were slurred and seemed to take most of his strength to say.
“Of course I’m here you blunderbuss, where else could I be when you’re here like this?” She mopped his brow once more before turning to his injury.
He’d kept it dressed for the most part since they’d been in Cornwall and it was undressed now. And she could see that the parts that had started to heal were now angry and red and the parts that were still open were oozing. She dug in her bag for some of the herbs she’d kept and started putting together a salve, sending Bronn off to bring her a mortar and pestle and some clean water. Soon she had a paste that she could spread on the wound, Jaime had been restless throughout the process, shifting and grunting softly; but once she put the salve on he settled, falling into a deep sleep.
The next few days were touch and go. She often found herself spending the nights sitting by Jaime’s side, ensuring that she could keep him cool when his fever got too out of control. Thankfully, Bronn was able to procure a local boy who knew his way around herbs and he brought her back the ones best used for healing.
A few times Jaime’s father, Tywin, had come to check on them, bringing the head physician from the hospital with him. Doctor Pycelle was known throughout the hospital as being someone who would never trust a woman to do what he considered a man’s job. Namely work anywhere outside the home. But he took one look at Jaime’s arm during his third trip and muttered that it was working as well as it could for being done by a woman.
Gradually the infection lessened and Jaime was able to be awake for more than twenty minutes at a time. They were able to steal a few moments together while he “wasted away in bed”. She mentioned a couple of times that they would perhaps need to move up their plan, such as it were, for telling his family, but she could never be sure he was fully aware in those moments.
After a few weeks she was able to go back to her room though she took to checking on Jaime on her way back from the hospital on the days she worked.
It was on one of the days, as she was headed down the long hallway that led to Jaime’s room, that she was suddenly pulled into a room that she hadn’t noticed.
“I don’t suggest going in there quite yet.” The words came from rather far below her and she was thus unsurprised to see Tyrion, Jaime’s much loved younger brother standing before her.
“My father is speaking with him, you’re best not interrupting. It’s a rather spirited discussion.” Tyrion gestured toward what looked like a vent, which prompted Brienne to look around the room she’d been pulled into. It looked like it had once been a well used family parlor but was now covered in dust. From the vent Tyrion had indicated she could hear raised voices and she raised an eyebrow.
“I can just go home, I’m sure Jaime would be okay if I visited him tomorrow instead.”
Tyrion grinned, “They’re talking about you, Brienne. You’ve made quite the impression on my father, though not, perhaps, the one you meant to.”
He walked over to the vent and sat next to it, gesturing toward a pillow he’d placed on the floor next to him. Brienne followed him but hesitated, glancing furtively at the grate. “If we get caught…”
Tyrion rolled his eyes before smirking when she gave in and sat on the pillow he’d provided.
She could just make out the words that were being said and leaned forward to listen more closely.
“I’ve let you have your fun, Jaime. This is getting ridiculous. It seems I have to take on the duty of ensuring the family line continues. And this girl seems to be as good as any. I looked into her family and her father is the owner of one of the largest fishing companies in the channel. The Lannister line will continue and I will ensure that it does by marrying this Tarth girl.”
Tywin’s voice was measured but Jaime’s was anything but in his response. “You will not be marrying her father, stay far away from her. She’s a nurse, not the heir to her father’s company.”
“Ah, but she had been engaged thrice before and, before you ask, know that I have my sources. Obviously her father has promised these men something though they could not look past her rather unfortunate visage to see the bounty she would bring them. She will give me a male heir to be proud of and through her family we will be able to expand our influence even further.”
Brienne turned to Tyrion at this latest proclamation and was gratified to see that his eyes were as wide as hers felt.
“Tyrion, I’m not marrying your father.” She twisted her fingers through her skirts, a bad habit even the most stern of nannies hadn’t been able to break.
”You might not have a choice in the matter. My father is rather adept at getting what he wants.” Tyrion stood up as if to rid himself of the blame in her finding out his father’s plan.
“No, Tyrion, you don’t understand. I can’t marry your father. I’m married to Jaime.”
Tyrion’s eyebrows jumped up at that which made her smile. Jaime always talked about how his brother knew everything. She wished Jaime could be here, he would have loved to get one over on Tyrion. She was actually rather surprised that Bronn had kept her secret. She would have to ask Jaime just how much he’d paid the mercenary.
“Then you must hurry over there and put Jaime out of his misery. It’s time to come clean.”
Brienne shook her head at the bossiness, which seemed to be a Lannister family trait, before making her way out into the hallway. This was quickly turning into a mess and the only way to clear it up was to come clean.
The room in front of her had gone quiet and she hesitated briefly, steeling herself and then pushing the door open.
“Ah, Miss Tarth, just who I was hoping to see.” Tywin was standing by the hearth looking for all the world like a king of old.
Brienne flinched before going to stand next to Jaime’s bed and taking his hand.
“I came to formally introduce myself, sir. Jaime and I haven’t been entirely truthful over the past months. I was worried that you might not accept my station as being enough for your son. However, I cannot live a lie any longer, Jaime and I are married. We married six months ago.” Jaime was looking up at her in surprise, but when she made her last declaration his face broke out into a grin.
She looked up at Tywin, expecting him to be surprised, or angry. Instead, he looked satisfied.
“Yes, Miss Tarth, I know. I have sources throughout the country. I was informed when my son, my heir, who has long shirked his duties of marriage, decided to finally marry. You are not my first choice, however your family does have money and that is something I can work with.” Tywin, who had been pacing, suddenly stopped and stared down at them over his nose. ”However you will be getting married again in the Lannister chapel, and until that happens we will pretend that this whole charade was a matter of courtship. I think we can pull a wedding befitting the Lannister heir together in the next six months.”
Brienne shot a look down at Jaime as she felt her face turn bright red. “I’m sorry sir, six months might not be possible.” She turned to glance at Jaime who was grinning up at her in delighted disbelief before turning back to Tywin. “You see, I’m pregnant.”