This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set. Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published. You've been warned.
The focus of this post is what we know and don't know about Eleanor Olivia Wright.
When Keefe asks Eleanor if she's Eleanor, she doesn't answer. From the rest of the conversation with Keefe, we have to assume that this girl is Eleanor, but it strikes me as odd that she doesn't answer the question.
Eleanor's eye color is mentioned twice as green, probably to make sure that we know she's human. But she could be someone in disguise.
Eleanor apparently knows what a pathfinder does.
After reading through the encounter with Eleanor several times and looking back through previous books, I realized that Keefe went to Ethan's home more than once. On page 230, we learn that Alvar was supposed to deliver the letter and that Keefe was a last-minute substitution. That could be, but Keefe definitely completed more than one delivery.
- Book 7, Page 423 Keefe remembers seeing a pair of green eyes that must have been human eyes. This means he saw Eleanor.
- Book 8, Page 78 Keefe remembers seeing Ethan holding a letter that he had given him. There is no mention of Eleanor.
- Book 9, Page 349 Eleanor saw Keefe drop a letter into the letter box. Keefe didn't see Eleanor, but she saw him.
We can conclude that Keefe delivered a letter to Ethan at least twice and probably three different times. Eleanor tells Keefe, "[Y]ou were the one making the deliveries." That implies that she saw Keefe at her home more than once. It also implies that Alvar never made any deliveries.
Page 350 "You're sure it was sealed?" "Why?" "I just really need to know, okay?" She hesitated for a beat before she told him, "Yes, it was definitely sealed."
Why does Eleanor hesitate? Is she lying? Most likely, she knows that Keefe opened at least one letter. She might be telling the truth about the instance he remembers, but she may know that he opened another letter, which caused her hesitation.
Page 351 "So... someone erased some of my memories." "Who?" "Huh, I would've thought you'd start with 'How?' "
Why does Eleanor accept it as totally normal that someone erased Keefe's memories?
Eleanor admits that she saw Lady Gisela but refuses to give details. She does say that Lady Gisela thinks she's dead and "it needs to stay that way." Eleanor must know something about Lady Gisela.
Eleanor says that Ethan shut himself "in his office for days at a time." This means that Ethan could have been an elf with multiple identities who was away doing other things. He may not have been in his office the whole time he was locked in there.
And it's important that Ethan's obituaries don't mention his title. It sounds like Ethan's death was very hastily staged via the obituaries.
Page 360 His emotions kept clouding out hers, but he could still feel traces of fear.
Keefe can't detect most of Eleanor's emotions, but he does sense fear. She's genuinely afraid.
A reader who posted in the Keeper wiki discussion forum suggested that Lady Gisela may have been tracking Keefe during the Eleventh hour and now knows that Eleanor is alive.
1st comment:
I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that Gisela knows about Eleanor. I predict that she used the shadow ripple tracker to find Keefe before Tam removed it, the day he went to visit the graves.
2nd comment:
Twice a day she has the opportunity to track him, 11am and 11 pm, so if she checked on him at 11am that day, she could have found him and followed him on his way back to the hotel, which is where Eleanor confronted him.
I feel certain that this person is correct. I checked Stellarlune. After the Spyball locates Keefe, Dex fiddles with the Spyball for an unknown amount of time. The kids decide to go to London. Even though it seems to happen fast, the kids probably don't leave until at least 15 minutes after they locate Keefe. It could even be longer. The kids then have to run all the way to the hotel. We don't know what the distance is, but the kids probably need 30 minutes or longer to make it to the hotel. I figure it takes them at least an hour to get to Keefe's hotel room door from the time they locate Keefe with the Spyball.
Meanwhile, Keefe leaves Eleanor and walks to his hotel. We don't know this distance or how long it takes. Let's say 15 minutes. Keefe speaks to Alvar and then takes a shower. Let's say another 15 minutes. He then spends 30 minutes fixing his journal, and that amount of time is stated in the book. Within another 10 minutes, Sophie is pounding on his door. Keefe's time is at 1 hour, 10 minutes.
The times are close enough that I bet Keefe was with Eleanor during the Eleventh hour. As fate would have it, Gisela probably checked on him and got very lucky. It's likely that Eleanor is now in Gisela's clutches.
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Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories