Is Lady Dustin barking up the wrong tree?

[rs1n]

I cannot seem to resolve the issue of why Lady Dustin has such a beef with Ned Stark. Shouldn't her anger be directed at Ned's father for having robbed her of two husbands would-be husbands? Did Ned have any direct link to Lady Dustin's husband's death?

[Wavey Sauce]

Her life ended up being terrible after all what happened with the Starks etc. And never felt she was compensated or treated fairly or what she should have been.

 

She hates the Boltons more though and is plotting against them, also strikes me as someone who knows what she is doing

[John Doe]

She hates the Boltons more though and is plotting against them, also strikes me as someone who knows what she is doing

How do you figure?

[purple-eyes]

She hated that Ned did not bring her husband's bones to her. Considering he sent bones of lady to bury in winterfell and brought lyanna's bones all the way back to north,  I would say this is reasonable. 

And by the way, her newly wedded husband died to try to get lyanna back, so you can likely understand why she was bitter. 

 

[Wavey Sauce]

How do you figure?

the north remembers.

 

but it is clear she is not for the boltons and is plotting something imo

[DigUpHerBones]

Brandon Stark was kind of a POS.

as an heir to a high house he deflowered 2 girls that we know of thus far, from high houses as well, and did not have any intentions on marrying either.

add that to the thousand year animosity between the Barrows/Ryswell and Stark and i think it is the perfect tree to be barking at, a weirwood that is...

i find the dynamic between Barbrey and Roose to be much, much more interesting.

she does not call him "Lord", once, she demeans the shit out of him actually and he NEVER says a word.

[RedShirt47]

I think the snowman of Lady Dustin on the castle wall (along with the fat Manderley snowman) hints that she is working with Manderley to remove the Boltons. I like the idea that the snowmen on the walls of Winterfell are Snow men (Jon's supporters).
Her supposed anger was about leaving her husband's body south whilst he brought Lyanna's home (along with Lord Dustin's horse). But this conversation was with Reek, she knew it was very likely what ever she said would end up in Ramsey and / or Roose's ears. So she is playing up her hatred of Starks and down playing her hatred of Boltons.

[DigUpHerBones]

Her supposed anger was about leaving her husband's body south whilst he brought Lyanna's home (along with Lord Dustin's horse)

what i love is that i could totally see Willam Dustin telling Ned to return his horse, not his bones...

he loved that horse. 

[Wavey Sauce]

I think the snowman of Lady Dustin on the castle wall (along with the fat Manderley snowman) hints that she is working with Manderley to remove the Boltons. I like the idea that the snowmen on the walls of Winterfell are Snow men (Jon's supporters).
Her supposed anger was about leaving her husband's body south whilst he brought Lyanna's home (along with Lord Dustin's horse). But this conversation was with Reek, she knew it was very likely what ever she said would end up in Ramsey and / or Roose's ears. So she is playing up her hatred of Starks and down playing her hatred of Boltons.

this.

 

There is numerous clues about her moving against the boltons 

[CJ McLannister]

he loved that horse. 

More than he loved his wife, presumably.  They were together for half a year before he went off to die.  I'm not saying that they were strangers, but it's not like she was robbed of her lifemate and constant companion.  

She was still young enough to marry again, and had no children.  She chose to remain as the widow of Barrowtown, and seems to hold unchallenged power there.  It's not a bad position to be in, all things considered.  The bones thing seems like a thin pretext.

[rs1n]

I think the snowman of Lady Dustin on the castle wall (along with the fat Manderley snowman) hints that she is working with Manderley to remove the Boltons. I like the idea that the snowmen on the walls of Winterfell are Snow men (Jon's supporters).
Her supposed anger was about leaving her husband's body south whilst he brought Lyanna's home (along with Lord Dustin's horse). But this conversation was with Reek, she knew it was very likely what ever she said would end up in Ramsey and / or Roose's ears. So she is playing up her hatred of Starks and down playing her hatred of Boltons.

I didn't think of this -- but I always thought of Lady Dustin as being an extremely intelligent woman. And this (what's highlighted in bold) is definitely in line with her character (IMO). 

She hated that Ned did not bring her husband's bones to her. Considering he sent bones of lady to bury in winterfell and brought lyanna's bones all the way back to north,  I would say this is reasonable. 

And by the way, her newly wedded husband died to try to get lyanna back, so you can likely understand why she was bitter. 

 

This makes sense... though if despite all that, her hatred toward the Starks is partly a ruse... I have even more respect for her.

[Lord Varys]

I'm very reluctant to believe that Barbrey Dustin is part of a Stark restoration conspiracy. She Roose's most important ally in the entire North, effectively controlling both the Barrowlands and the Rills. Why the hell would Lady Barbrey have to pretend to back Roose if she was his secret enemy? Why not just refuse to back Roose at all? Why not arrange another Red Wedding in the North, this time with Roose, Ramsay, and the Freys being the victims?

Whatever that conspiracy is about it has to be way to convoluted if the actual goal is to get rid of Roose. A simple murder could ensure as much.

[LiveFirstDieLater]

I have to agree, the seemingly irrational hatred over her husbands bones is likely a fabrication or at least exaggeration. If you re-read the scene in the tombs with Reek, she doesn't seem like she's trying to take vengeance on the Starks, kinda just making idal threats... 

 

of course there are those of us that think the reason Lord Dustin's bones didn't make it home might have significantly more plot relevance...

[Taenqyrhae]

I have a crackpot theory that some of the inhabitants of the Barrowlands (which have ruins from before the pact between the First Men and the CotF) still know how to commune with the dead through their bones, knowledge that was largely lost when the First Men began using the Weirwood network.  I believe that the weirwoods absorb the spirits of the dead that are placed in earth that weirwood root tendrils permeate. This is part of why the First Men attacked the weirwood trees and the CotF, they were used to having access to the wisdom of their dead and lost this when they started burying them in Westerosi soil, and why the old tombs of First Men kings are all high in mountains, above where weirwoods can grow.

Ned or Howland or both knew this, which is why they couldn't bring back the bones of those who died at the Tower of Joy and keep their secret.  Barbrey did hate Eddard for this, until she captured his bones on their way back to Winterfell.  She talked to Ned's spirit and found out why he kept her husband's bones from her, and she has forgiven him.  She is now working with Ned against Roose.  Ned told her that the last thing he saw before he died was that Arya was able to escape Kings Landing…so Barbrey tells Roose that Ned saw Arya killed in the chaos surrounding his arrest and execution, and Roose thinks his plan involving fArya is foolproof, as he thinks he knows that the real Arya will never show up.  Ned may have also told her other secrets that will come into play and Dustin may be how Jon finds out that Howland Reed and Lyanna Stark are his parents.

[Protagoras]

In addition to broken expectations of becoming a Stark herself (twice - both with Ned and Brandon aka The guy she really wanted), she sees/hears of Neds return with Lyannas bones but leave the bones of her husband to rot in Dorne, a husband she seemed to have liked as well. You should look at the total picture here - the small insults just keep stacking.

She resents the Starks clearly and her sending few soldiers to Robbs war is a testament to that. The only reason why she is not a more hardcore Roose Bolton fan is because of Ramsay and his actions. I think personally that she is very much on the fence who she should support (because let´s be honest here - if you were a lord in the North you wouldn´t want Ramsay as your overlord regardless of your hatred for the Starks).

It doesn´t matter if others don´t agree with her - she is the one with support to offer at this very moment and it will be hard for the Stark loyalist houses to expect support from her, while at the same time forcing her to treat Neds remains with more respect. You cannot demand from a position of need. If I was her I would certainly require some kind of bribe - like a big land tract - in order to actively side against the Boltons or removing my support.

 

[rs1n]

I'm very reluctant to believe that Barbrey Dustin is part of a Stark restoration conspiracy. She Roose's most important ally in the entire North, effectively controlling both the Barrowlands and the Rills. Why the hell would Lady Barbrey have to pretend to back Roose if she was his secret enemy? Why not just refuse to back Roose at all? Why not arrange another Red Wedding in the North, this time with Roose, Ramsay, and the Freys being the victims?

Whatever that conspiracy is about it has to be way to convoluted if the actual goal is to get rid of Roose. A simple murder could ensure as much.

During Theon's conversation with L. Dustin, he points out that she was really the only last thing in Roose's way to becoming king himself. She only hints that Roose has some means of keeping her sweet. In the same way, almost all of the north want to rid themselves of the Boltons and Freys, but something is holding them back from immediately killing Roose/Ramsay outright. Some of it is due to hostages, others due to uncertainty (e.g. fArya's true identity, the location of the missing Stark boys), and likely still other reasons not clear at the moment.

[purple-eyes]

what i love is that i could totally see Willam Dustin telling Ned to return his horse, not his bones...

he loved that horse. 

did he have chance to talk with Ned how to deal with his horse?

He was killed in the battle, and I am not sure he lingered for that much of time to wait Ned talked with Lyanna, promised Lyanna, cried for Lyanna and then worked with Howland, etc. 

 

 

[Anath]

More than he loved his wife, presumably.  They were together for half a year before he went off to die.  I'm not saying that they were strangers, but it's not like she was robbed of her lifemate and constant companion.  

She was still young enough to marry again, and had no children.  She chose to remain as the widow of Barrowtown, and seems to hold unchallenged power there.  It's not a bad position to be in, all things considered.  The bones thing seems like a thin pretext.

Or perhaps she was robbed of her new chance to start again? The bones thing seem to be important in the North. Why should she be any different? Ned managed to bring Lyanna's bones home but those who died to presumably save her - oh, they weren't this important. They could stay where they were.

In a fandom where love is gushing all over for Rhaegar and Lyanna being those star-crossed lovers, destined for each other, true love, despite having seen each other perhaps a dozen of times if we really stretch it, and that would be all in the duration of a single tourney, half a year is eternity.

And while her position is not a bad one to be in, and of her own choosing, it was not what she signed for when she married her husband. Bitterness can grow. And hers isn't even entirely unfounded.

 

[purple-eyes]

More than he loved his wife, presumably.  They were together for half a year before he went off to die.  I'm not saying that they were strangers, but it's not like she was robbed of her lifemate and constant companion.  

She was still young enough to marry again, and had no children.  She chose to remain as the widow of Barrowtown, and seems to hold unchallenged power there.  It's not a bad position to be in, all things considered.  The bones thing seems like a thin pretext.

How do you know they only knew each other for half a year?

They should have been betrothed earlier and they were likely not strangers. 

And it is quite cold-blooded to say she should be ok for his death because she only wedded her husband for half a year. 

She gave him the best horse she had and he promised he would be back to her with this horse. (if I remember correctly)

In that time, marriage bonding is quite strong, of course she was very sad. 

Compared her husband and Lady, she can reasonably believe that her husband is even less important than a pet for Ned Stark. 

 

 

[Taenqyrhae]

There is also the hypothesis in H+L=J that Lyanna died on the Quiet Isle, which would make bringing her bones back to Winterfell far easier than bringing bones back all the way from Dorne.