Does Littlefinger want people to know about Sansa?

[Newstar]

There's also the issue of the narrative. For the sake of the story, Sansa pretty much has to be near the Great One. Can't just have her sitting in a safe house chapter after chapter.

That's not the greatest argument, as it's been pointed out on this thread that Littlefinger's stupid, reckless plans should realistically have failed in a dozen different ways due to their many flaws, and have therefore only succeeded because the narrative requires it. Neither is an endorsement of Littlefinger's supposed genius, or a counterargument to his stupidity.

It amuses me how some are so eager to spin Littlefinger's idiotic mistakes into evidence of his brilliance and savvy. Honestly, I think Littlefinger could accidentally trip over his own feet, fall, hit his head, and die, and some fans would be arguing how it was proof of his genius and cunning. It's kind of hilarious, actually.

Also, could you maybe stop referring to a pedophilic sociopath as the Great One? Wayne Gretzky deserves better. :D

Which I utterly disagree with.

Well, then, that settles it! It couldn't possibly be true, because you disagree with it. Case closed! :D

The Great One is in command of enough information to know what he's doing.

Except he has no idea what's happened to Tyrion, whose death is apparently a crucial step in his plans (saying his plan needs to wait until Sansa's "safely widowed"). Whoops!

Er, Sansa owes the Great One her life. If anything the Lysa business strengthened the Great One's position with her.

Not nearly as strong as it would have been had he not put her in that position in the first place. She would have owed him her life had he "rescued" her from his stooge as he would have in my scenario, as well, only while keeping his hands clean (which is supposedly his rule, even though he breaks it with Sansa). Also, Lysa's murder still seems to haunt Sansa, even in her last chapter in AFFC, and that could come back and bite Littlefinger in the ass in any number of ways.

Just more generally, by training Sansa in the game of thrones, and by confiding in her his schemes, he is essentially arming Sansa with the weapons to destroy him. His smug little comments about the hidden dagger being more dangerous and even the humblest of pieces refusing to make the moves one plans for them will bite him in the ass, mark my words.

Because that's not his plan?

That's not really an answer to the point that he could have played it smarter. He has a plan, granted, but it's not an effective counterargument to pointing out that his plan is stupid and he could have done much better to say "Well, he didn't do [smart thing] because his plan is [dumb thing]." Sure, it's his plan to parade Sansa around the Vale, molest Sansa and do his kinky Daddy roleplay, but that doesn't make it any less stupid, unless you believe--as you seem to--that because it's part of Littlefinger's plan to come up with a plausible reason to keep Sansa close to him and feel her up at every available opportunity, that it must be evidence of his brilliance. LOL, not so much.

[juanml82]

LF didn't need Jeyne to do anything in Winterfell except pretend to be Arya - and that's something Roose could have gotten by himself.

While his desire for Sansa is a big factor in his decision to bring her to the Eyre, he also needs her as an ally/piece. He simply can't do everything himself.

Someone needs to receive the Vale Lords for him, for instance during the Lord Declarants situation, and Sansa will do it better than Lothor Brune. Someone needs to run the place when he's gone. Again, Sansa is educated for that. Harry the Heir needs to be seduced to agree to the marriage (at least, apparently), and that's something Littlefinger obviously can't do by himself. If he told her the truth about his plans for HtH, he again needs Sansa as a puppet.

In other words, he needs an obedient but friendly Sansa to help him with his plans. And he's definitely not getting any cooperation from her for that kind of tasks if he keeps her imprisoned at the Fingers.

[The Broke Howard Hughes]

He's so convinced of his own genious that I don't think he cares, which should be the thing that costs him his life but ultimately won't. It'll be his obsession with Cat/Sansa.

[MrsManderly]

But isn't the fly in all this ointment that Sansa is still married to Tyrion? While that is the case (and assuming no annulments etc - discussed at lenght on other threads), LF can't marry Sansa to either HTH or to himself and Sansa's cred as the heir to the North is eroded by virtue of her being Lady Lannister.

I suppose LF could be counting on Tyrion meeting a premature end at the hands of a bounty hunter or otherwise, but surely that is too flimsy for someone like LF to rely on, knowing full well how resourceful Tyrion can be?

[gougef]

I think that LF is counting on a change in kings to help with annulment/amnesty. Ageon?

[jon stark I]

Actually, Littlefinger keeping Sansa close by, parading her around under the Vale Lords' noses, and entrusting her secret to a mentally unstable woman of all people is probably the dumbest thing he could have done. If he was really playing it smart, he would have dyed Sansa's hair and contrived some way of stashing Sansa in hiding with a trusted third party in a suitably anonymous location--as opposed to the Eyrie and the Gates of the Moon, swarming with highborns with a hate-on for Littlefinger--and maintained plausible deniability, only miraculously discovering her location (and disposing of the person who had hid her) when it was safe to out her. Bonus points if the third party played the part of Sansa's captor so that Littlefinger could swoop in and "rescue" her from his own stooge. He could have also maintained his marriage to Lysa for as long as he needed to and disposed of her quietly, as opposed to waving Sansa before her like a red flag to a bull. He did much the same thing with Jeyne Poole (keeping her stashed out of sight until he needed her). But nooooooo, he had to have his kinky Daddy roleplay cake and eat it too. He wants to delight in his own cleverness--knowing he's hidden Sansa in plain sight, and pulling off a great con--and he wants to be close to Sansa. Two big mistakes, as it's entirely possible Sansa's blown her own cover already or has already been recognized.

Actually LF plays a very good game.As far sa we saw nearly all armies of Westeros are damaged but Vale remains untouched.Also keeping Sansa close is another good thing.Right now Sansa has the potential of being heir to three great house.North will support Sansa in a heart beat, Riverrum may have been fallen but noone likes Freys and besides Edmure Sansa is the only one left related to Tullys, Vale already wanted to join Robb.After seeing how Lannisters are low on power(Tywins death, Jaimes lost hand, Cerseis trial, Kevins death and also Lannister forces are really diminished after their battles in Wot5k) I think Vale will support Sansa immedeatly.Now you might say why would Vale declare for Sansa while North is under Bolton rule.I think that will be resolved in the next books.So how does this effect LF?It is simple once LF reveals Sansa and some Vale Lords recognizes Sansa then LF will be seen as a hero, a hero who saved Neds girl(maybe they won't care about Ned but again a hero who saved last Stark heir and by their unease during Stark rebellion I think they care about that).Sansa is basicly LFs shiled for when things get hard.

[Annara Snow]

Just more generally, by training Sansa in the game of thrones, and by confiding in her his schemes, he is essentially arming Sansa with the weapons to destroy him. His smug little comments about the hidden dagger being more dangerous and even the humblest of pieces refusing to make the moves one plans for them will bite him in the ass, mark my words.

Yep. Add to that his comment that you just need to know what a man wants in order to control him. Well, he's been really open about his desires to Sansa. On the other hand, I don't think he really understands her or knows what she wants and who she is now. When he was telling her about his "present" - to marriage to Harry the Heir - it seemed like it was something he believed would be enticing to her, as if she was still the 11-year old girl who dreamed of marrying beautiful golden-haired prince Joffrey and having his babies, and he didn't even seem to notice how indifferent and unimpressed she was.

I think that LF's "genius" is very overrated. He boasts about being a "self-made man", but (apart from the fact that he's not exactly a commoner in the first place, and he was raised with and got a chance to befriend highborn people), as we know now, his rise to power was due less to his brilliance and intelligence and more to Lysa's obsessive love for him. I find his comments about Cersei ironic - he says she just uses her beauty, name and riches, but LF has used sex to get power just the same as Cersei - the difference is just that Cersei is a big hit with lots of people, while LF was a big hit just with Lysa.

[Jon of the Dead]

Well, he only needs to keep her hidden just a little while longer, until the Lannister-Tyrell alliance is effectively destroyed and the Iron Throne is no longer a threat (assuming that LF is oblivious to Aegon's coming invasion).

Sadly for him, by the time that happens the damage would be too much. Now there's the Mad Mouse to contend with, Lothor Brune knows she's Sansa, and if Myranda Royce finds out, LF's scheme will suffer a serious setback

[Bright Blue Eyes]

But isn't the fly in all this ointment that Sansa is still married to Tyrion? While that is the case (and assuming no annulments etc - discussed at lenght on other threads), LF can't marry Sansa to either HTH or to himself and Sansa's cred as the heir to the North is eroded by virtue of her being Lady Lannister.

I suppose LF could be counting on Tyrion meeting a premature end at the hands of a bounty hunter or otherwise, but surely that is too flimsy for someone like LF to rely on, knowing full well how resourceful Tyrion can be?

There are still possible angles for LF to work at that, despite Tyrion being alive. The biggest is his pre-existing marriage to Tysha, a woman not confirmed dead. LF is one of the very few people who knows about this marriage, and definitely has the means to prove it to the HS though a catspaw.

So, the annulment can't be discarded. LF doesn't need Tyrion to do anything, nor does he need to show his hand or trot Sansa to KL, he can have the third party involved show up, or maybe just proof that the third party was not confirmed dead when Tyrion tried to marry a second time.

[Wouter]

I think that LF is counting on a change in kings to help with annulment/amnesty. Ageon?

Aegon seems unlikely - he is a Varys pet project, I would hardly expect LF to be fine with having to count on his rival succeeding and then tolerating him (?). Connington doesn't like Starks and Varys realised LF is dangerous, so team Aegon is unlikely to be favourable to Sansa.

LF is counting on the Lannister/Tyrell alliance falling apart though and he is probably aware of Dany. One way could be to go "queen in the north/riverlands/Vale" route eventually, but Rickon's emergence would torpedo that and due to winter and presence of Bolton and Stannis it couldn't be put in motion for a long time. So maybe he's counting on Dany coming to westeros and re-shaking the cards.

[GinesthoiOfIce]

I'm actually quite surprised that Sansa hasn't been known to be in the Vale beforehand. I mean it's only after Lysa was told by Petyr that Alayne was Sansa that the whole chestnut hairdye came, so after the wedding and Lysa's retinue (Just reread the passage : " [...] a very modest escort, for the lady of the Eyrie.Three maids rode with her, and a dozen household knights [...] a septon as well, and a handsome singer" ASOS, p.937) seeing "Alayne" with auburn hair as Petyr did not care to present Alayne in private. Wouldn't a hair colour change be conspicuous and arise suspicion already among Lysa's household that was present for the wedding and went back up the Eyrie ?

At the very least Marillion and Lothor Brune saw the hair colour change and are likely to have spoken about it.

Notwithstanding the fact that Sansa look "too much" like her mother according to Lysa and that Catelyn has been in the Eyrie not long before..

It actually quite surprises me that Petyr wouldn't have thought of hiding more Sansa's features, is it a lack of thought on his part or him trying to keep Sansa looking as much as her mother as possible to keep his fantasies ?

[Colonel Green]

I'm actually quite surprised that Sansa hasn't been known to be in the Vale beforehand. I mean it's only after Lysa was told by Petyr that Alayne was Sansa that the whole chestnut hairdye came, so after the wedding and Lysa's retinue (Just reread the passage : " [...] a very modest escort, for the lady of the Eyrie.Three maids rode with her, and a dozen household knights [...] a septon as well, and a handsome singer" ASOS, p.937) seeing "Alayne" with auburn hair as Petyr did not care to present Alayne in private. Wouldn't a hair colour change be conspicuous and arise suspicion already among Lysa's household that was present for the wedding and went back up the Eyrie ?

I've never understood that either. But that feels more like an authorial oversight to me.

[The Meeraculous Third Reed]

I think that LF's "genius" is very overrated. He boasts about being a "self-made man", but (apart from the fact that he's not exactly a commoner in the first place, and he was raised with and got a chance to befriend highborn people), as we know now, his rise to power was due less to his brilliance and intelligence and more to Lysa's obsessive love for him. I find his comments about Cersei ironic - he says she just uses her beauty, name and riches, but LF has used sex to get power just the same as Cersei - the difference is just that Cersei is a big hit with lots of people, while LF was a big hit just with Lysa.

Not really.

That's not the greatest argument,

You're right, it's not. It's still a reason though. For all we debate the actions of any character, there is always an element of storytelling to factor in.

It amuses me how some are so eager to spin Littlefinger's idiotic mistakes into evidence of his brilliance and savvy. Honestly, I think Littlefinger could accidentally trip over his own feet, fall, hit his head, and die, and some fans would be arguing how it was proof of his genius and cunning. It's kind of hilarious, actually.

It amuses me how some are so eager to spin the Great One's ascent as something based entirely upon luck and his ability to be amazing in bed. Honestly, I think the Great One could be the realm's most prominent social climber, reform the bureaucracy of KL, be skilled enough to be the only (pretty much) individual with the skill to act outside of Varys' influence and liberate Sansa from KL, yet some fans would still be arguing how his only talent was to be raped by Lysa.

Also, could you maybe stop referring to a pedophilic sociopath as the Great One? Wayne Gretzky deserves better. :D

The Great One moniker is perhaps my greatest gift to this forum, if not the internet.

On a separate note, do you also consider Sandor a paedophile? I don't ask to accuse, just so I know.

Well, then, that settles it! It couldn't possibly be true, because you disagree with it. Case closed! :D

I answered it at the time I remember. Can't be bothered to dredge it up. I vaguely remember this theory completely ignoring the notion that the Great One wouldn't be prepared for such circumstances.

Except he has no idea what's happened to Tyrion, whose death is apparently a crucial step in his plans (saying his plan needs to wait until Sansa's "safely widowed"). Whoops!

I said he is in command of enough information to know what he is doing. I didn't say he was in command of "all" the information. Nobody is in command of all the information. Not Varys, not the Great One, not Doran, not even Bran and Bloodraven.

However, I do wonder whether the legitimacy of the marriage is tied into the legitimacy of the regime. Joffrey gave Sansa away (if I remember correctly, he was able to do so through being the King, something like that). Should the regime fall/become illegitimate (and the Great One has information, should he need it, that this is the case), I imagine it would be quite easy to get the marriage annulled. Either way, it's not overly vexing the Great One currently.

Not nearly as strong as it would have been had he not put her in that position in the first place. She would have owed him her life had he "rescued" her from his stooge as he would have in my scenario, as well, only while keeping his hands clean (which is supposedly his rule, even though he breaks it with Sansa). Also, Lysa's murder still seems to haunt Sansa, even in her last chapter in AFFC, and that could come back and bite Littlefinger in the ass in any number of ways.

Pretty subjective. The Great One had to remove Lysa, in doing so he managed to get Sansa further onside.

I'd say they're borderline thick as thieves with that now. Sansa won't appear blameless should shit hit the fan.

Just more generally, by training Sansa in the game of thrones, and by confiding in her his schemes, he is essentially arming Sansa with the weapons to destroy him. His smug little comments about the hidden dagger being more dangerous and even the humblest of pieces refusing to make the moves one plans for them will bite him in the ass, mark my words.

Possibly. I'd like to hope such hack storytelling will be avoided, but meh. It's entirely possible.

Let's hope it doesn't happen that way.

However, my point remains valid. Better a competent ally than an ignorant one. The Game is not without its risks.

That's not really an answer to the point that he could have played it smarter. He has a plan, granted, but it's not an effective counterargument to pointing out that his plan is stupid and he could have done much better to say "Well, he didn't do [smart thing] because his plan is [dumb thing]." Sure, it's his plan to parade Sansa around the Vale, molest Sansa and do his kinky Daddy roleplay, but that doesn't make it any less stupid, unless you believe--as you seem to--that because it's part of Littlefinger's plan to come up with a plausible reason to keep Sansa close to him and feel her up at every available opportunity, that it must be evidence of his brilliance. LOL, not so much.

Well, you know, bring me valid and logical reasons for him to keep her shut up somewhere (or some viable locations) and I'll consider your point more seriously.

[complexphoenix]

LF is careful to stay one step ahead of the cloud of chaos he creates, to ensure it doesn't consume him. Whenever someone is beginning to see him for what he really is, or is in danger of seeing it in the near future, he removes them from the game. See how he disposed of Ned before his lie about the dagger could come full circle, how he disposed of Tyrion once it was clear that Tyrion knew about the dagger lie and was starting to see him clearly, the way he has done everything he can to prevent Stannis taking the throne. That's why none of his dangerous gambles have consumed him yet. But Sansa... he has a true weak spot for her, and once she fully sees him for what he truly is and summons the Stark in her, he's done for.

[shiola]

It has bothered me as well. No one has ever heard mention of Baelish having a daughter. Suddenly, right around when Sansa goes missing, his bastard daughter shows up at the Vale? And even if people don't connect those two events, it still has to be fishy to them. Why would LF choose to bring hsi daughter with him, when he's ignored her for 14 years? She never lived with him before and now suddenly he wants to have her around? I don't get it, and I'm surprised it seems to be accepted so readily by people at the Vale. Maybe major people just haven't found out yet, but will during TWoW.

[MrPants]

I think that Sansa is starting to catch on to the crazy that is LF and as she is maturing she will play along all the while starting to make her own little game to trap LF and will indeed be his downfall. She has finally started to learn how the game is played and step out of her little girl fantasy world.

[Newstar]

LF has used sex to get power just the same as Cersei - the difference is just that Cersei is a big hit with lots of people, while LF was a big hit just with Lysa

Yup. It grinds my gears that when Cersei uses sex to achieve her ends, she's pilloried for being a Slutty McSlut, but when Littlefinger does it, he's hailed for being a Machiavellian genius. Ugh.

Someone needs to receive the Vale Lords for him, for instance during the Lord Declarants situation, and Sansa will do it better than Lothor Brune. Someone needs to run the place when he's gone. Again, Sansa is educated for that.

Lysa could have done this for as long as he needed her to (had he not painted himself into a corner with her), and while Sansa is a quick study, she's hardly the only person who could accomplish these tasks. Convenient for Littlefinger, yes (if you overlook all the risks, which he has). Necessary, no.

Harry the Heir needs to be seduced to agree to the marriage (at least, apparently)

If Littlefinger had kept Sansa in hiding away from the Eyrie locked up somewhere until the heat was off, he never would have needed the Alayne charade, and Harry the Heir would never have needed to be seduced into condescending to marry a bastard. Sansa Stark is a much more tempting marriage prospect than Alayne Stone. Sansa's beautiful enough that her looks would pose no impediment, and her pedigree and prospects--as opposed to Alayne's sketchier background--would eliminate all doubt.

If he told her the truth about his plans for HtH, he again needs Sansa as a puppet.

But he was drunk when he told her. That suggests a loss of control, just as he demanded a kiss with tongue (something that he had never asked for before). It's a mistake to assume that he told Sansa because he needs to, since he has no problem concealing lots of information from Sansa (and Sansa implies that she's used to Littlefinger withholding information from her); it seems more that he told her because he wanted to (to impress her and to extort another kiss or two, preferably with tongue I assume).

And he's definitely not getting any cooperation from her for that kind of tasks if he keeps her imprisoned at the Fingers.

Only if she knew that he was responsible for her (hypothetical) imprisonment. Even if she became aware that he's responsible for it, that might not make much of a difference. She knows Littlefinger never lifted a finger at court to help her, and she got over it. She knows Littlefinger created a situation where she's wanted for murder, and she got over it. She knows Littlefinger created a situation where Lysa almost murdered her (by kissing her in open sight), and she got over it. If she knew Littlefinger kept her locked up in the Fingers until the heat was off, she might find a way of getting over it as well (it was only to protect me from Cersei, my family is dead, I have no friends but Littlefinger, etc. etc.).

Sadly for him, by the time that happens the damage would be too much. Now there's the Mad Mouse to contend with, Lothor Brune knows she's Sansa, and if Myranda Royce finds out, LF's scheme will suffer a serious setback.

Yup. Littlefinger's juggling a lot of dinner plates. One of them is guaranteed to crash to the ground in spectacular fashion; it's just a matter of which.

On a separate note, do you also consider Sandor a paedophile? I don't ask to accuse, just so I know.

What does it matter? Whether I do or do not, that doesn't make Littlefinger any less of a pedophile. And say what you will about Sandor, at least he wasn't stroking Sansa's hair when he met her and making a play to marry her when she was all of 11 years old.

[Pod The Impaler]

What i'm confused about is: does he not worry that people suddenly hear that he has bastard daughter? When he plans to smuggle sansa out of KL varys was still master of spy so he musts consider him as a rock on the way, doesn't he? Or he already know that varys'd be out of red keep?? Confusing

And how did he convince Tyrell to give sansa to him? Or maybe LF shit on PW deal. Doesn't he scare what Tyrell might do to him?

First point :

Littlefinger even explains this to Sansa - it is considered quite rude in polite highborn society to inquire about the origins of another person's "natural children" (bastards). This is why her being his bastard daughter works as a scheme.

Littlefinger is a genius at turning the "rules" of the highborn against themselves. In fact, his subtle contempt for the highborn really shows in moments like this.

The highborn do not care to know whether some child Lord Baelish fathered with a lowborn trollop is legitimately his; and even if they did find it interesting, they would not sully themselves by asking. As well, Littlefinger is considered by them to be almost-lowborn himself, degrading their interest further. To top it off Littlefinger's reputation is that he is always involved in vice, so they almost expect him to have products of his fornication here and there. It's not like the bastards of The King - Littlefinger's nothing, a man with title but no breeding. He's not important enough to worry about.

So all this conditioned arrogance blinds them, and they do not ask the very pertinent question about something right before their eyes - "how come Lord Baelish suddenly has a teenage daughter ?". Even the thinnest cover story is enough. They don't find out, because basically they don't want to know. As I said, the man is a genius at knowing "the system" thinks, and pitting it against itself.

Second point:

I'm not certain the Tyrells knew of Petyr's plan to take Sansa away himself. They may have believed that Tyrion would be blamed for Joffrey's death, or Oberyn Martell. At most, if Tyrion would be blamed, then so would his wife Sansa and both would be executed. They might think it very sad about Sansa, but it's not like they wouldn't sacrifice her to protect Margaery against Joffrey.

If they had knowledge of LF's extraction plan then this would lead to Dontos, and they could find out Dontos was the one who discovered / leaked the Tyrell's plans to take Sansa to Highgarden. Hence my suspicion that the Tyrells never knew that Sansa's involvement would result in her being hidden away by him in the Vale; they knew only what they needed to know, perhaps no more than that.

nooooooo, he had to have his kinky Daddy roleplay cake and eat it too. He wants to delight in his own cleverness--knowing he's hidden Sansa in plain sight, and pulling off a great con--and he wants to be close to Sansa. Two big mistakes, as it's entirely possible Sansa's blown her own cover already or has already been recognized.

He's so convinced of his own genious that I don't think he cares, which should be the thing that costs him his life but ultimately won't. It'll be his obsession with Cat/Sansa.

Oh, certainly. Littlefinger's urge to impress Sansa with the cleverness of his plans has the makings of an Achilles' Heel.

She's already learned some major information that is detrimental to him; all she has to do is put the pieces together and kaboom.

[juanml82]

Yup. It grinds my gears that when Cersei uses sex to achieve her ends, she's pilloried for being a Slutty McSlut, but when Littlefinger does it, he's hailed for being a Machiavellian genius. Ugh.

Well, sleeping with people worked for Littlefinger, but didn't work for Cersei (except Robert, of course, but that's another matter).

Lysa could have done this for as long as he needed her to (had he not painted himself into a corner with her), and while Sansa is a quick study, she's hardly the only person who could accomplish these tasks. Convenient for Littlefinger, yes (if you overlook all the risks, which he has). Necessary, no.

Well, there wouldn't be a Lord Declarants declaration if Lysa still lived, of course. The thing is, Sansa can be his junior partner and be at his command. Lysa might or might not carry on that role. She has kept the Vale out of the war for him, and falsely warned Catelyn. But, for instance, she refused to marry at the Eyre. I don't think LF planned to get rid of Lysa so early, but the power relationship between those two is different than the power relation he has with Sansa so far. We can hope it will bite him in the ass, of course, but it hasn't happened yet.

If Littlefinger had kept Sansa in hiding away from the Eyrie locked up somewhere until the heat was off, he never would have needed the Alayne charade, and Harry the Heir would never have needed to be seduced into condescending to marry a bastard. Sansa Stark is a much more tempting marriage prospect than Alayne Stone. Sansa's beautiful enough that her looks would pose no impediment, and her pedigree and prospects--as opposed to Alayne's sketchier background--would eliminate all doubt.

But he can't betroth Sansa to Harry to Heir so early as Alayne to Harry.

But he was drunk when he told her. That suggests a loss of control, just as he demanded a kiss with tongue (something that he had never asked for before). It's a mistake to assume that he told Sansa because he needs to, since he has no problem concealing lots of information from Sansa (and Sansa implies that she's used to Littlefinger withholding information from her); it seems more that he told her because he wanted to (to impress her and to extort another kiss or two, preferably with tongue I assume).

Yes, he was drunk, but how is going to make Sansa seduce Harry and line up with his plans if he doesn't tell her? He just can't keep her completely in the dark, and he can't operate alone either.

Only if she knew that he was responsible for her (hypothetical) imprisonment. Even if she became aware that he's responsible for it, that might not make much of a difference. She knows Littlefinger never lifted a finger at court to help her, and she got over it. She knows Littlefinger created a situation where she's wanted for murder, and she got over it. She knows Littlefinger created a situation where Lysa almost murdered her (by kissing her in open sight), and she got over it. If she knew Littlefinger kept her locked up in the Fingers until the heat was off, she might find a way of getting over it as well (it was only to protect me from Cersei, my family is dead, I have no friends but Littlefinger, etc. etc.).

Perhaps. But he can't groom her by keeping her away.

In short, I think Littlefinger is thinking with, let's say, more than his brain, but his brain was part of the decision making process. He desires her, and that's part of his decision. But at the end of the day, he also needs her to play her part.

As for the risks, he probably enjoys them.

EDIT: As for Littlefinger's Batman Gambit, I think the series goes to show how such long term, carefully laid plans, simply don't work as circumstances change: Doran Martell and Varys' plot is an example of it. LF, however, seems to work in a different fashion: he lays down a few moves and makes things up as events progress. And, so far, he's been able to use the social conventions and expectations to his own ends. And probably enjoying every bit of it, since he's using the same things that make the nobles he despise to despise him, against them.

[The Meeraculous Third Reed]

What does it matter? Whether I do or do not, that doesn't make Littlefinger any less of a pedophile. And say what you will about Sandor, at least he wasn't stroking Sansa's hair when he met her and making a play to marry her when she was all of 11 years old.

It doesn't, I'm just curious. Feel free to answer at any time.