7 AGOT Catelyn II: Might Be Queen

Catelyn feels she must convince Ned to accept the king's offer. When Lysa's letter arrives, with its suspection Jon Arryn was murdered by the Lannisters, Catelyn leverages the power of her fear and succeeds. But Ned would leave her behind to rule in his stead until Robb comes of age.

Eventually, we will learn that the letter Catelyn receives from Lysa was dictated by Littlefinger in the same breath as he bid her poison Jon Arryn, who the letter claims was poisoned by the Lannisters. It is false evidence that Catelyn takes to heart. Interestingly enough, it was not the Lysafinger letter that prompted Catelyn to convince Ned to accept Robert's offer. She had already made up her mind.

Catelyn's Primary Motive for Pressing Ned to Accept Robert's Offer

Her fear that kings take refusals as signs of disloyalty, stoked by her misunderstanding of the omen of the antler in the throat of the direwolf.

"He is a king now and kings are not like other men. If you refuse to serve him, he will wonder why, and sooner or later he will begin to suspect that you oppose him...

"You knew the man. The king is a stranger to you. Cately remembered the direwolf dead in the snow, the broken antler lodged deep in her throat. She had to make him see."

Is Catelyn really convinced that Robert would be mortally offended if Ned doesn't accept the Handship and engagement? I think it's really Catelyn's fear of the omen that convinces her she must make Ned see things her way. In the first Catelyn chapter, she'd noted that she wants to ask Ned about it but he puts no stock in omens.

"Robert is coming here?" When she nodded, a smile broke across his face.

Catelyn wished she could share his joy. But she had heard the talk in the yards; a direwolf dead in the snow, a broken antler in its throat. Dread coiled within her like a snake, but she forced herself to smile at this man she loved, this man who put no faith in signs.

Catelyn fears and misunderstands the omen, pressing her to press Ned to do the wrong thing.

Split Up

The chapter is structured to suggest Catelyn assumed she'd be accompanying Ned to King's Landing. The moment she realizes she'll be separated from Ned Catelyn despairs. It's as if she had not thought at all about the concrete realities she worked to make happen.

"Catelyn, you shall stay here in Winterfell."

His words were like an icy draft through her heart."

"No," she said, suddenly afraid. Was this to be her punishment? Never to see his face again, nor to feel his arms around her?

"Catelyn thought of the three children she must lose."

The Mystery of Jon's Mother

Is it Ashara Dayne?