His mother was sitting on a chair by the table in the small garden the Manor had. The garden was maintained by a steward who maintained the Manor for Torrhen; she usually grew plants that were good to look at.
Before Torrhen could take a step forward in the garden, Winter and Lady dashed towards her when they caught her scent. She was surprised when they came up on her. His mother at first feared having the Direwolves among her sons but Torrhen showed her that they were practicality harmless to their partners. She was hesitant to reciprocate the love Winter had shown her first but after some time she succumbed to the cuteness of the cute little pup that Winter was.
His mother used to say that Winter was starkly similar to Torrhen when he was a child. Always sickly and needed to be cared for when he was a baby. Winter was not like the others when he was growing up, Ghost Jon's Direwolf was silent but he was healthy. But for some reason Winter was the weakest of the bunch when he was a pup, he would not
Although now, Winter's cuteness had gone away to being a clingy bastard who never wants to leave Torrhen's side even when he wants some time alone in the Privy. So much that he had to find a way to trick Winter into distracting so that he doesn't become aware of his absence of presence.
Catelyn Stark petted the Direwolves laughing, scratching their heads, chests and back as they responded with glee licking at her hands and trying to stand on their hind legs to lick at her face.
"Mother," Torrhen said with a shaky voice as he approached her where she sat and crowded between the Direwolves as he went on his knees and took her hand. He looked at the wounds on her hands and tried very hard to keep his composure as deep emotions blasted his mind. "I was scared out of my wits when I heard that you had gotten hurt. I… I… am sorry that I was not there for you mother."
"My sweet boy," his mother said, as tears filled her eyes. "The wounds are nothing, they are just a grazing wound. See I can still use them." She tried hard to fist her hand and release it, trying to keep a straight face. But it was hurting her he could see it, so he stopped her. "I wanted to see you so much. I thought that I would not be able to see you or the girls. Petyr said that it was too dangerous for me to be seen here but he would try to bring your Father to me."
"Yes," Torrhen said, his protectiveness overpowering his emotions. "You should not have come mother. I had left Bennard with you for that exact reason. I trust any member of the Pack with my life, I have told you, you should have sent him if it was too dangerous to send it by Raven."
"I know," She said. "Robb and the others have been telling the exact same thing when I was at Winterfell. But I wanted to look at your faces too much and I couldn't trust your … Friend too much to carry a matter of such Import as this. After what has happened to Bran in our own home, I couldn't bring myself to trust anyone." She cupped his face with her hand. "Oh look at you, it has been a few months and you seem to have aged years. With a beard growing on your face. Come rise and sit beside me." She pulled him up and made him sit beside her.
"What about Bran, is he well now?" Torrhen said as he sat on the chair beside her. The Direwolves sat themselves on the ground.
"He was still sleeping when I left," she said with a sad voice. "Sometimes I wonder that I should have never left his side, for if he were to wake or die with his last moments calling for me and I would not be there…"
"Bran will survive I know it," Torrhen said. "Nothing will happen to him. Tell me what has happened at Winterfell after we had left. I only know bits and pieces."
"A catspaw was hired to kill your brother Bran," his mother said. "I was there at the time, he tried to set fire to the old library to distract the men but your Friend the septon raised the alarm before it could engulf it whole. While the men were distracted, he came into Bran's chambers to slit his throat, but I tried to stop him, that is how I got my wounds."
"What happened to Summer?" Torrhen said, as he tried to keep his blood in control. "I had left instructions to let Summer stay beside Bran."
His mother looked a bit ashamed. "I sent him away, he would howl at night and I couldn't bear it any longer."
Torrhen sighed. "Is there anything more that I should know about?"
"The catspaw used a Valyrian steel dagger," She said.
Torrhen couldn't believe it. How did a catspaw come to have a Valyrian dagger. "Do you have it with you?"
She showed the dagger to him. "It had belonged to Petyr but he lost it in a tourney bet to the Cripple Tyrion."
"Why would Tyrion want to hurt Bran?"
"Petyr says that he did it on behalf of his family, the Lannisters."
Torrhen was skeptical of a man like Tyrion ordering the death of a child. Though he knew him closely only for a short amount of time, he didn't seem like a person who would do such a thing. What does Petyr gain by claiming that Tyrion was the one who had sent the Catspaw. It reeked of intrigue, but Torrhen had neither the proof or fact that it was anything other than that. Besides Tyrion could have done it to save his brother trying to cover up whatever Bran had seen.
The door opened and his Father came through the door with Jax by his side. She rose up to greet him. As they were talking Owen, Rodrick and Bennard came with a man by his side, Petyr. They spoke with each other and Torrhen only listened. In the end his father sent Petyr away after speaking with him.
And when it came to say goodbye to his mother, Torrhen sent Jax to follow along with a distance with his mother, Bennard and Rodrick as they rode North to Winterfell.