Bernadette

"You'll say nothing to anyone. Do you understand?"

- Shae threatens the handmaid

A handmaiden is an unnamed minor character in the second and third season. She is played by guest star Sara Dylan and she first appears in "A Man Without Honor."

Season 2
She is a handmaiden to Sansa Stark. She finds Sansa and Shae trying to turn over her mattress to conceal Sansa's first flowering. She attempts to inform Queen Cersei but Shae threatens her with a knife to keep quiet. Nevertheless, the Queen is informed by Sandor Clegane.

Season 3
The handmaiden continues to be assigned to Sansa. She announces Tyrion Lannister when he calls on Sansa to "propose" to her.

Season 4
The handmaiden continues to spy on Tyrion for Cersei, and discovers that his real secret lover is actually Shae. She then enters Cersei's chambers, while Jaime is present, to inform her of something "important".

In the books
Both Sansa and Tyrion are aware that all of Sansa's maids are spies of Cersei. Thus Sansa is careful not to reveal her true feelings to any of them, and Tyrion takes precautions when he meets Shae.

When Tyrion hears servants joke about him that he still has not had sex with Sansa, he figures that Sansa's maids are the ones who spread the gossip.

Tyrion complains to his father "Why is it that all of Sansa's maids are women in Cersei's service? I am sick of being spied upon in my own chambers." Tywin answers nonchalantly that if Tyrion doesn't like his wife's servants, he can dismiss them and hire new ones.