I am a member of a royal court and have seen many such matches personally, and no cousin is married lesser than two lines apart, if you take my meaning. Apart from that, quite often, neither woman nor man has very much in the way of a choice of in the matter. What matters is the fate of their countries.

[ And all the while, some broken voice babbled that even when there was, it didn't matter even if there was a choice. A husband and wife could hate each other within a year even if they did begin with all the world.

But marriage never made her stable in the way of conversation. It made her rash and cruel and so liable to lash out. ]