The truth about Ashara Dayne's suicide

[Lost Melnibonean]

22 minutes ago, SFDanny said:

All in jest about the Eagles. The Dude in the Big Lebowski is one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite comedy movies of all time. I couldn't resist the reference. I do admit it took some time before I truly appreciated how good the Eagles really were, but that may be from my Norcal bias of all things Socal. Now, I admit to loving their music. Even if reluctantly admitting it. Don't know if I'll ever get over my preference for all things from my City, including the great bands from here. I grew up on the Dead, the Airplane, Santana, Credence, Big Brother, and the like. I was spoiled. But age hopefully takes the blinders off some of us.

Don't know about the chapter sequence. I'm really just hoping to get Winds by a year from October. I would love to have Fire and Blood at the same time. I will use the Sons of the Dragon to get me through the addiction withdrawals.

I better not tell you where I grew up then. 

[TMIFairy]

8 hours ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

1 - I followed your link and YouTube told me it was blocked in my country. I guess the Mexicans finally agreed to pay for that f#@%!*# wall. 

2 - I know Martin famously read an early Tyrion chapter in which the narrative suggested that chests, which turned out not to have gold for the Golden Company, contained a certain sword. That, of course was omitted. Check here...

3 - BTW, Warsaw is nice too. 

1 - a pity

It is one of those metal covers which make a song better than the original. YMMV here, naturally 

2 - Thanks! So we know that (major) re-writes are possible

3 - Thank you. I quite like my home town. Although I'm at the "it's not the city it used to be" lifestage already

 

[SFDanny]

2 hours ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

I better not tell you where I grew up then. 

LOL, but that only confirms what I thought you said not long ago. Not stalking you, LM, but I do read many of your posts. That's your fault. They're too good. Back them up with evidence and put thought into them and everything. Be careful you might start a trend.

[Ygrain]

23 hours ago, SFDanny said:

Here we have to disagree. I think Martin's track record is to reveal a mystery gradually through the series. Here the mystery is who is Septa Lemore and what is her role in the Aegon conspiracy? We have only just met Lemore in the last book, and the one character who is trying to figure out who she is can't do it yet. Why would Martin give a clue that has the reader jumping to a conclusion well before he is ready to reveal it in the series? Right now, he has just let us know that Lemore is hiding who she really is, and the Septa has a past that includes giving birth. If she is Ashara, I think we can include Ser Barristan's dropping the story that she had a stillborn daughter as another clue to the reader. But part of the problem is we have too much time between publications for our own good. It seems like we are waiting forever to find out the answers to this mystery and many others, and we therefore can't understand why George doesn't give us all the clues to figure them out up front, In terms of the time in the story itself, it really isn't that long, and we should expect more gradual reveals of this part of the story - including Lemore's eye color if it turns out to be important.

....

Martin changes Tyrion's behavior over the course of the voyage, but he never gives us another description of the Septa like does the first time. It is Martin's way, I think, of allowing his character to ponder the question and come to the conclusion, or in this case no conclusion, without giving the reader a huge clue as who Lemore is before he wants to do so.

I had the same disagreement with corbon - while I agree that stating Lemore's eyes as purple - if they are purple - would be a dead giveaway, I disagree that not mentioning such an obvious fact is valid writing, and if GRRM does that, I will feel cheated. I'll give you the same parallel I gave corbon way back: if we were reading a murder mystery, yet were not told that a certain guy was red-handed because it would give him away, wouldn't you feel cheated?

What I perceive as "GRRM style" is not withholding the existence of visible details but referring to them in a way that does not reveal what exactly they are. For example, before we sifted through Dany chapters and found out that the blue flower in the wall is indeed a blue rose, many people claimed that "blue flower" might be a rose but we couldn't be sure and it could signify something else. If Lemore's eyes were indeed purple and it was meant as an identity indicator, I would expect Tyrion to have some obscure thought about her notable eyes, or pondering the option of Aegon as a pretender due to a certain similarity between him and Lemore, without telling the reader what it is that makes them notable or what the similarity is. Of course, we could deduce that it's colour purple but couldn't be sure; it could still be something else, and I would be perfectly content with a later reveal of the colour.

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A wet-nurse and her babe go in and a wet nurse and "her babe" go out. Ashara may or may not be part of this part of the escape.

Yeah, that part with wetnurse and her babe could work. IMHO, Ashara herself would be difficult to overlook, and given her brother's connection with Rhaegar, she had better stay away from KL so as not to draw attention. She might be part of the plot but perhaps not the one carrying it out herself. - Which then leads back to the initial problem: since she wasn't the one taking the baby out, she cannot really vouch for his identity... IMHO, JonCon as Rhaegar's friend is set up for the role of one confirming YG's identity. Which reminds me, did he ever see baby Aegon before he had to flee Westeros?

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It is an interesting question about Ashara though. Would she be kept out of the Red Keep? Out of King's Landing? Possible, but not necessarily so. But here, the critical factor is that Rhaegar was not kept in the Red Keep as hostage. He is about the business of rebuilding his army and training it to fight the rebels. That can't be done within the confines of King's Landing, Which would permit a meeting of Rhaegar and Ashara without sneaking through guards and gates.

That is a valid argument, too.

[Sasha]

19 hours ago, TMIFairy said:

And you base your certainty on what?

I checked every testimony made by all the characters who knew him (not only Connington). Even Jaime had hope he would return. 

No exemple of bad deeds. Not one. So perfect he was depressed. 

[SFDanny]

13 hours ago, Ygrain said:

I had the same disagreement with corbon - while I agree that stating Lemore's eyes as purple - if they are purple - would be a dead giveaway, I disagree that not mentioning such an obvious fact is valid writing, and if GRRM does that, I will feel cheated. I'll give you the same parallel I gave corbon way back: if we were reading a murder mystery, yet were not told that a certain guy was red-handed because it would give him away, wouldn't you feel cheated?

What I perceive as "GRRM style" is not withholding the existence of visible details but referring to them in a way that does not reveal what exactly they are. For example, before we sifted through Dany chapters and found out that the blue flower in the wall is indeed a blue rose, many people claimed that "blue flower" might be a rose but we couldn't be sure and it could signify something else. If Lemore's eyes were indeed purple and it was meant as an identity indicator, I would expect Tyrion to have some obscure thought about her notable eyes, or pondering the option of Aegon as a pretender due to a certain similarity between him and Lemore, without telling the reader what it is that makes them notable or what the similarity is. Of course, we could deduce that it's colour purple but couldn't be sure; it could still be something else, and I would be perfectly content with a later reveal of the colour.

If in the next book we have a scene in which the POV character notes Lemore's beautiful eyes, not mentioning their color, would that be a continuation of bad writing? Or are we getting a slow build up to the reveal of Lemore's real identity? My point is only that I don't think we are there yet to describe how Martin handles this mystery as either good or bad writing. Just my opinion, but I have confidence he will handle it well.

I do think we know Tyrion has doubts about Young Griff's claim to be Aegon. What is it he thinks when "Aegon" tosses the cyvasse game over and commands him to pick it up? 

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He may well be a Targaryen after all. (ADwD 282) bold emphasis added.

That sounds very much like Tyrion has had his doubts about Aegon's claim.

What I think would be horrible writing on Martin's part is to ignore the hole in Aegon's tale around who can believably vouch for his identity to Prince Doran. I'm confident he won't do so.

13 hours ago, Ygrain said:

Yeah, that part with wetnurse and her babe could work. IMHO, Ashara herself would be difficult to overlook, and given her brother's connection with Rhaegar, she had better stay away from KL so as not to draw attention. She might be part of the plot but perhaps not the one carrying it out herself. - Which then leads back to the initial problem: since she wasn't the one taking the baby out, she cannot really vouch for his identity... IMHO, JonCon as Rhaegar's friend is set up for the role of one confirming YG's identity. Which reminds me, did he ever see baby Aegon before he had to flee Westeros?

That is a valid argument, too.

My problem is I don't think Jon Connington can convince anyone of Aegon's true identity. He is well known to have served in the Golden Company for five years following his exile after the Battle of the Bells. He wasn't near King's Landing during the time period before its sack, and he couldn't raise a child for five years in the Golden Company without someone wondering whose child this was and why he is the only babe traveling in a company trained for war? We know he believes Aegon to be real, but that is because someone else knows the history of the child and can convince Connington he really is Aegon. That person has to have been with Aegon when he was smuggled out and have raised him for those missing five years before Connington and the boy were united on the riverboat. That leaves only one person we know of - Septa Lemore. So, one has to ask not only how was Connington convinced the boy is real, but also how is this plot to work out without convincing the Prince of Dorne he is also real. Connington may be more gullible than he sounds, but Doran is not. Neither has any reason to trust Varys or Illyrio. Especially to the extent of sending Dornish troops into a battle for the Iron Throne.

To your question of Connington seeing Aegon before his exile, we just don't know. If Aerys calls Jon back to King's Landing to hear his judgement sending him into exile, then it is possible that Elia and her children have already been brought back from Dragonstone to King's Landing. But even if he had the opportunity to see the infant, he didn't smuggle him out of King's Landing for the reasons above. 

Also, as I said before, I don't know if Ashara would be banned from seeing Elia, or from King's Landing altogether. It could be she has returned to the city and is free to visit her old friend, or it could be as you speculate she is barred from doing so. If she can't get into the city, then you are right, she can't truthfully say she herself did the switch and brought Aegon out. Whoever did the deed is going to have to convince Doran Aegon is real. I just don't believe that is Varys, or that Varys hasn't thought of the need to convince Doran of the this "truth" - real or not.

[TMIFairy]

29 minutes ago, SFDanny said:

My problem is I don't think Jon Connington can convince anyone of Aegon's true identity. He is well known to have served in the Golden Company for five years following his exile after the Battle of the Bells. He wasn't near King's Landing during the time period before its sack, and he couldn't raise a child for five years in the Golden Company without someone wondering whose child this was and why he is the only babe traveling in a company trained for war?

This is not a problem. A military force always has female camp followers/sutlers/vivandieres so there will be children in the baggage train. Hence fAegon running around in the Golden Company's train would be just one brat out of many. And his Valyrian looks should not be anything exceptional either.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tross

[The Sleeper]

3 minutes ago, TMIFairy said:

This is not a problem. A military force always has female camp followers and there will be children in the baggage train. So, fAegon running around in the Golden Company's train would be just one brat out of many. And his Valyrian looks should not be anything exceptional either.

The problem lies with said kid having a personal master at arms, a septa and a half maester following him around. Also woth being told that he is the heir to Westeros and being trusted not to repeat it, to anyone who might hear. Also it is a large sellsword company. His safety could not be guaranteed and from som point on he would have been expected to be in actual battles, if he was presented as someone's squire. There is also the possibility that someone from the company would spill the beans.

[TMIFairy]

Sleeper - I was referring to the first five years when fAegon did not need much beyond milk, gruel and a clean diaper

He was taken out of the GC when he grew into "needing" the things you mentioned.

You are absolutely correct as to keeping fAegon with GC not being possible once the boy was informed of his "true origins" and/or began to be groomed for kingship.

[The Sleeper]

1 hour ago, TMIFairy said:

Sleeper - I was referring to the first five years when fAegon did not need much beyond milk, gruel and a clean diaper

He was taken out of the GC when he grew into "needing" the things you mentioned.

You are absolutely correct as to keeping fAegon with GC not being possible once the boy was informed of his "true origins" and/or began to be groomed for kingship.

It is heavily hinted that he grew up with Illyrio.

[Ygrain]

2 hours ago, SFDanny said:

If in the next book we have a scene in which the POV character notes Lemore's beautiful eyes, not mentioning their color, would that be a continuation of bad writing? Or are we getting a slow build up to the reveal of Lemore's real identity? My point is only that I don't think we are there yet to describe how Martin handles this mystery as either good or bad writing. Just my opinion, but I have confidence he will handle it well.

That would be one book too late... If it was some information that Lemore would confide, then yes, but not such a visually obvious fact. Agree to disagree then.

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I do think we know Tyrion has doubts about Young Griff's claim to be Aegon. What is it he thinks when "Aegon" tosses the cyvasse game over and commands him to pick it up? 

That sounds very much like Tyrion has had his doubts about Aegon's claim.

Agreed, he is not fully convinced that Aegon is the real deal.

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What I think would be horrible writing on Martin's part is to ignore the hole in Aegon's tale around who can believably vouch for his identity to Prince Doran. I'm confident he won't do so.

I wonder if this part is even covered - that depends on when exactly Varys started to plan the Aegon scheme. If he planned it well before the Sack, it would certainly be in his best interest to procure someone who could vouch for Aegon. If only after Aegon's murder, then he doesn't have such a person, and JonCon as Rhaegar's close friend is the next best thing, as a sort of "psychological" vouch - if the boy is good enough to convince his father's friend, he is probably the real deal, or something like that.

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My problem is I don't think Jon Connington can convince anyone of Aegon's true identity. He is well known to have served in the Golden Company for five years following his exile after the Battle of the Bells. He wasn't near King's Landing during the time period before its sack, and he couldn't raise a child for five years in the Golden Company without someone wondering whose child this was and why he is the only babe traveling in a company trained for war? We know he believes Aegon to be real, but that is because someone else knows the history of the child and can convince Connington he really is Aegon. That person has to have been with Aegon when he was smuggled out and have raised him for those missing five years before Connington and the boy were united on the riverboat. That leaves only one person we know of - Septa Lemore. So, one has to ask not only how was Connington convinced the boy is real, but also how is this plot to work out without convincing the Prince of Dorne he is also real. Connington may be more gullible than he sounds, but Doran is not. Neither has any reason to trust Varys or Illyrio. Especially to the extent of sending Dornish troops into a battle for the Iron Throne.

But do we have any indication that Lemore has been with Aegon since very young age? Wouldn't there be hints of, I don't know, a more motherly relationship?

Plus, I seem to vaguely recall something about instructing Aegon when he was old enough - that, of course, doesn't mean she hadn't been with him prior, but if I can find that bit, the more exact phrasing might reveal more. Also, is there some indication when it was that JonCon met Lemore?

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Also, as I said before, I don't know if Ashara would be banned from seeing Elia, or from King's Landing altogether. It could be she has returned to the city and is free to visit her old friend, or it could be as you speculate she is barred from doing so. If she can't get into the city, then you are right, she can't truthfully say she herself did the switch and brought Aegon out. Whoever did the deed is going to have to convince Doran Aegon is real. I just don't believe that is Varys, or that Varys hasn't thought of the need to convince Doran of the this "truth" - real or not.

Oh, I didn't mean that she was banned from seeing Elia, only that with Aerys' paranoia, it might have been unwise to bring to KL someone who might have been suspected of "scheming" with her.

ETA: Also, one thing: if Varys does have someone who could vouch for Aegon, then why doesn't he send the person to Doran right away, why does Doran need to send Arianne to see for herself? Wouldn't it be better to secure Doran's support ASAP? And not even Doran's, for that matter? I mean, legendary Arthur Dayne's sister turns up and vouches for the boy, wouldn't it rally all the old Targaryen loyalists throughout Westeros? Yet this never happens, why?

[SFDanny]

2 hours ago, TMIFairy said:

This is not a problem. A military force always has female camp followers/sutlers/vivandieres so there will be children in the baggage train. Hence fAegon running around in the Golden Company's train would be just one brat out of many. And his Valyrian looks should not be anything exceptional either.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tross

Except Jon Connington is in exile something like six months before the sack of King's Landing right after Prince Aegon is supposed to be smuggled out, according to the Pisswater Prince tale. Doran knows when Connington's exile starts. He can easily know how long Lord Jon served in the company and that he did not have a babe in arms in his company during that time. Varys approached and convinced Connington to leave the Golden Company in disgrace because he obviously has found a way to make Jon believe the now five year old child is Aegon. Culminating with faking Lord Jon's death from drunken disgrace. Connington does not know of Aegon or have anything to do with raising him before that time. All of this concerning Connington should be known to Doran excepting, of course, the presence of the child in Varys and Illyrio's control.

No, trying to make up tales of a child in camp that wasn't there doesn't work. Too many men in the Golden Company to tell the truth. Doran needs someone he can trust to tell him of those early days before Lord Jon joins "Aegon."

[Ygrain]

Found the Lemore quote, but it is inconclusive:

He had grown fond of Lemore, but that did not mean he required her approval. Her task had been to instruct the prince in the doctrines of the Faith, and she had done that.

I would say that this implies that Lemore's task didn't go beyond teaching Aegon the doctrines of the Faith, which would rule her out both as a caretaker and a witness of his true origin, but that may be only due to JonCon's limited knowledge of Varys' scheme. However, it ties in with another problem: five years is not so long as to change Ashara's looks completely, shouldn't JonCon recognize her? Or shouldn't he at least recognize her for a noblewoman?

I think we are missing an important piece of information: how JonCon himself was convinced, by anything else but his own wishful thinking.

 

 

[TMIFairy]

1 hour ago, SFDanny said:

No, trying to make up tales of a child in camp that wasn't there doesn't work.

I am not pushing a "JonCon with toddler fAegon in GC" theory.

What I am pushing is that in a mercenary company rug-rats and ankle-biters are plentiful. Hence "JonCon with toddler fAegon in GC" theories should not be dismissed on the grounds of "no children in a merc coy".

The illustrious poster Ygrain points to timing and other issues making a "JonCon with toddler fAegon in GC" theory not very probable.

 

[Lord Varys]

Jon Connington thinks of Lemore as 'Lady Lemore', indicating that he knows who she is and that she is also actually named 'Lemore', and not Ashara. Jon Connington knows Ashara Dayne reasonably well, making it increasingly unlikely that he would think of her as 'Lady Lemore' if she was actually 'Lady Ashara'. Connington also doesn't think of himself as 'Griff' or of Aegon as 'Young Griff'. George uses their fake names to refer to them while they are playing their roles but when they think and talk they use their proper names.

Lemore also seems to be personally more invested in Aegon than Jon Connington thinks she should be. He thinks that Lemore only was there to do a job but she indicates that she is very much interested in protecting Aegon and keeping his true identity a secret. She also makes it clear that she knows Illyrio and a lot about his plans.

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She shrugged. “My lord, wouldn’t it be safer to leave the boy here aboard the boat?”
“Safer, yes. Wiser, no. He is a man grown now, and this is the road that he was born to walk.” Griff had no patience for this quibbling. He was sick of hiding, sick of waiting, sick of caution. I do not have time enough for caution.
“We have gone to great lengths to keep Prince Aegon hidden all these years,” Lemore reminded him. “The time will come for him to wash his hair and declare himself, I know, but that time is not now. Not to a camp of sellswords.”
“If Harry Strickland means him ill, hiding him on the Shy Maid will not protect him. Strickland has ten thousand swords at his command. We have Duck. Aegon is all that could be wanted in a prince. They need to see that, Strickland and the rest. These are his own men.”
“His because they’re bought and paid for. Ten thousand armed strangers, plus hangers-on and camp followers. All it takes is one to bring us all to ruin. If Hugor’s head was worth a lord’s honors, how much will Cersei Lannister pay for the rightful heir to the Iron Throne? You do not know these men, my lord. It has been a dozen years since you last rode with the Golden Company, and your old friend is dead.”
Blackheart. Myles Toyne had been so full of life the last time Griff had left him, it was hard to accept that he was gone. A golden skull atop a pole, and Homeless Harry Strickland in his place. Lemore was not wrong, he knew. Whatever their sires or their grandsires might have been back in Westeros before their exile, the men of the Golden Company were sell-swords now, and no sellsword could be trusted. Even so …

[...]

“The plan was to reveal Prince Aegon only when we reached Queen Daenerys,” Lemore was saying.
“That was when we believed the girl was coming west. Our dragon queen has burned that plan to ash, and thanks to that fat fool in Pentos, we have grasped the she-dragon by the tail and burned our fingers to the bone.”
“Illyrio could not have been expected to know that the girl would choose to remain at Slaver’s Bay.”
“No more than he knew that the Beggar King would die young, or that Khal Drogo would follow him into the grave. Very little of what the fat man has anticipated has come to pass.” Griff slapped the hilt of his long-sword with a gloved hand. “I have danced to the fat man’s pipes for years, Lemore. What has it availed us? The prince is a man grown. His time is—”

[...]

“Bring the boy,” Griff told Lemore. “See that he’s ready.”
“As you say,” she answered, unhappily.
So be it. He had grown fond of Lemore, but that did not mean he required her approval. Her task had been to instruct the prince in the doctrines of the Faith, and she had done that. No amount of prayer would put him on the Iron Throne, however. That was Griff’s task. He had failed Prince Rhaegar once. He would not fail his son, not whilst life remained in his body.

Lemore knows stuff, she knows Illyrio, and she knows things about the plan. She might even know more about the plan than Jon Connington. He is in charge of the scheme as per Illyrio's decision since they want Rhaegar's son to be cared for and presented to Daenerys and Westeros by Rhaegar's friend. But that doesn't mean Connington knows everything or is really in charge of the overall plan.

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Magister Illyrio twisted open a pot of garlic snails, sniffed at them, and smiled. “At Volantis, you will have fresh tidings of Daenerys, we must hope,” he said, as he sucked one from its shell. “Dragons and young girls are both capricious, and it may be that you will need to adjust your plans. Griff will know what to do. Will you have a snail? The garlic is from my own gardens.”
I could ride a snail and make a better pace than this litter of yours. Tyrion waved the dish away. “You place a deal of trust in this man Griff. Another friend of your childhood?”
“No. A sellsword, you would call him, but Westerosi born. Daenerys needs men worthy of her cause.” Illyrio raised a hand. “I know! ‘Sellswords put gold before honor,’ you are thinking. ‘This man Griff will sell me to my sister.’ Not so. I trust Griff as I would trust a brother.”
Another mortal error. “Then I shall do likewise.”

We do know that the chances are not that bad that Varys/Illyrio are using and manipulating Jon Connington. Whether Lemore knows more or less than Jon Connington is completely unclear.

But what we can say is that she is very likely not aware of Aegon's Blackfyre ancestry - if that's the case - since she would then not have been as skeptical of the allegiance of the Golden Company as she is in her conversation with Jon Connington. That also indicates that she doesn't have a Golden Company background (like Haldon and Rolly have) but rather a Westerosi background.

She may very well be just Lady Lemore X, a woman in service of Queen Rhaella or some other important person at court (Princess Elia, etc.). Her demeanor and education makes it very likely that she has a Westerosi noble background - and since she isn't Golden Company she must have some other connection to House Targaryen. Else she wouldn't be as invested in Aegon as she clearly is. She is not Yandry and Ysilla who are just doing a job and are getting paid for that.

A rather interesting notion I never heard up to this point is that she could be a female descendant - daughter or granddaughter - of Prince Duncan and Jenny of Oldstones. Chances are not that bad that such descendants do exist, and one would expect them to have had a place at the courts of Jaehaerys II and Aerys II even if they were deemed unworthy of marrying back into the main branch due to their baseborn/obscure maternal ancestry.

Such a person - believing that Aegon is Rhaegar's son - certainly could get convinced to sign on to the plan.

[Lost Melnibonean]

2 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

Jon Connington thinks of Lemore as 'Lady Lemore', indicating that he knows who she is and that she is also actually named 'Lemore', and not Ashara. Jon Connington knows Ashara Dayne reasonably well, making it increasingly unlikely that he would think of her as 'Lady Lemore' if she was actually 'Lady Ashara'. Connington also doesn't think of himself as 'Griff' or of Aegon as 'Young Griff'. George uses their fake names to refer to them while they are playing their roles but when they think and talk they use their proper names.

Lemore also seems to be personally more invested in Aegon than Jon Connington thinks she should be. He thinks that Lemore only was there to do a job but she indicates that she is very much interested in protecting Aegon and keeping his true identity a secret. She also makes it clear that she knows Illyrio and a lot about his plans.

Lemore knows stuff, she knows Illyrio, and she knows things about the plan. She might even know more about the plan than Jon Connington. He is in charge of the scheme as per Illyrio's decision since they want Rhaegar's son to be cared for and presented to Daenerys and Westeros by Rhaegar's friend. But that doesn't mean Connington knows everything or is really in charge of the overall plan.

We do know that the chances are not that bad that Varys/Illyrio are using and manipulating Jon Connington. Whether Lemore knows more or less than Jon Connington is completely unclear.

But what we can say is that she is very likely not aware of Aegon's Blackfyre ancestry - if that's the case - since she would then not have been as skeptical of the allegiance of the Golden Company as she is in her conversation with Jon Connington. That also indicates that she doesn't have a Golden Company background (like Haldon and Rolly have) but rather a Westerosi background.

She may very well be just Lady Lemore X, a woman in service of Queen Rhaella or some other important person at court (Princess Elia, etc.). Her demeanor and education makes it very likely that she has a Westerosi noble background - and since she isn't Golden Company she must have some other connection to House Targaryen. Else she wouldn't be as invested in Aegon as she clearly is. She is not Yandry and Ysilla who are just doing a job and are getting paid for that.

A rather interesting notion I never heard up to this point is that she could be a female descendant - daughter or granddaughter - of Prince Duncan and Jenny of Oldstones. Chances are not that bad that such descendants do exist, and one would expect them to have had a place at the courts of Jaehaerys II and Aerys II even if they were deemed unworthy of marrying back into the main branch due to their baseborn/obscure maternal ancestry.

Such a person - believing that Aegon is Rhaegar's son - certainly could get convinced to sign on to the plan.

Why does she need to conceal her identity? 

[Lord Varys]

1 hour ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

Why does she need to conceal her identity? 

Who says she does? Lemore Targaryen might be a well-known figure in certain circles if she is still allowed to bear the royal name. It is an interesting question to wonder what kind of name Duncan's children would carry.

But even if that idea is nonsense there is actually no hint that Lemore is not named Lemore. And the fact that they don't use her family name if she has one doesn't mean anything.

[Lost Melnibonean]

21 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

Who says she does? Lemore Targaryen might be a well-known figure in certain circles if she is still allowed to bear the royal name. It is an interesting question to wonder what kind of name Duncan's children would carry.

But even if that idea is nonsense there is actually no hint that Lemore is not named Lemore. And the fact that they don't use her family name if she has one doesn't mean anything.

She says it...

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You are not the only one who must needs hide.

Tyrion, Dance 22

[Frey family reunion]

Another possibility, is that Lemore is the Whent daughter who was the Queen of Love and Beauty at the onset of the Harrenhal tourney. This would put her in Rhaegar's inner circle, along with Connington.  It might also explain her expertise in the knowledge of the seven.  If Cat is any example of the devoutness of her maternal line, Cat's Whent mother may be the one who inspired Cat's own devoutness.

[Lord Varys]

1 hour ago, Lost Melnibonean said:

She says it...

Tyrion, Dance 22

Hide, but not necessarily hide her identity. Just because your name is Petyr you aren't Petyr Baelish, right? And Lemore might very well go by her own name, only refusing to mention her family name. But she could still be Lemore X.