Lady Frey
Lady Frey was the eldest daughter of Lord Frey, ruler of the Twins, and came to her marriage shadowed by a domestic scandal that her family chose to settle by marrying her off elsewhere. As the wife of Lord Ambrose Butterwell she became Lady of White Walls, a title she gained through a match between two houses of unequal standing.
Her story survives mainly because witnesses left such a detailed account of that wedding: its rituals, the crude jokes at the feast, and the nervousness of a fifteen-year-old bride handed to a man three times her age.
Chapter 1
Disgraced in the kitchens of the Twins
196 ACBooks only
Lady Frey was born in 196 AC, the eldest daughter of Lord Frey, who ruled the Twins first under Daeron II and later under Aerys I Targaryen. While still young, her younger brother Walder found her in the castle kitchens with a servant, and from then on she was considered spoiled.
Ser Maynard Plumm would later claim the girl had long been meeting a kitchen boy in secret, which would explain what her brother stumbled upon. Despite the scandal, her father went ahead with plans to marry her off.
Chapter 2
The wedding at White Walls
Books only
She was betrothed and wed to Lord Ambrose Butterwell, lord of White Walls: she was fifteen, he fifty. Accounts disagree on the year, some giving 211 AC and others 212 AC. They do agree that the bride looked flushed and healthy, wrapped in a heavy, warm bridal cloak.
At the feast, the couple cut open a great wedding pie with a sword, releasing dozens of birds. Ser John the Fiddler put forward Ser Duncan the Tall to carry her, following bedding custom, from the hall to her new husband's chamber; the men undressing her made crude jokes about flouring and kneading her, and Duncan himself found himself drawn to her.
During the tournament held for the wedding, Lady Butterwell seemed uneasy and bored, her hair flattened with sweat. Greeting Duncan before his joust she thrust out her chest to catch his eye, but fainted when Ser Uthor Underleaf unhorsed Ser Addam Frey, and had to be helped back to her chambers.
Chapter 3
The price of someone else's rebellion
Books only
The failed Second Blackfyre Rebellion had consequences for the marriage: Lord Brynden Rivers, Hand of the King, stripped Ambrose Butterwell of White Walls for his part in the uprising. He was allowed, though, to keep his wife and only a tenth of his wealth.