Maybe I'm just misunderstanding, but I have a couple of questions Elegast
- It doesn't make sense for Mab to work so hard to get an extra candidate for Winter Lady if she already has Sarissa and doesn't know about Maeve being taken.
- Who exactly is the Eldest Fetch working for?
About the Eldest Fetch: he made Harry attack the well. So his loyalty depends on Mab's intention: did she wanted Harry to pour summer fire in the Winter well? If yes, then Eldest was a loyal minion. If no, then he was an infected traitor working for Nemesis.
Concerning Molly: That part is not certain. Maeve was about to reveal herself in PG: she was telling everyone Mab was mad. The moment Mab heard of those rumors, she knows Maeve is infected. However, did Mab knew of Maeve's infection before PG? I think not. I believe Mab sent her to Chigaco to free the Way for Molly in Pell's theater, so she was still trusting her daughter.
So, if she did not know about Maeve, why did she 'work so hard'? We have some answers from in CD: Molly could have several uses: as a Summer Lady, as Winter Lady, or for 'another purpose'. Anyway the "work so hard" is overrated, PG was meant to be a minor operation for Mab: a few fetches for a week and her Lady for a day were all what was necessary to execute the plan.
Then Nemesis decided to subvert it, and it went FUBAR.
Mab sends a message through the Gatekeeper to Harry to look out for dark magic (building foundations for Molly's apprenticeship)[/li][/list]
Possible but unnecessary: the Gatekeeper has some limited precog, that's the explanation given in the book by Bob, so I'll stay with the simplest explanation. And Harry would have tried to save Molly/stop murders of civilians anyway.
Black Council operatives including a Denarian attack Arctis Tor, insulting Mab's pride and clearing out extra guards, instead of pressing further in, the attackers retreat before Mab steps in personally.
Possible.
Mab originally was going to bring Molly back, but Harry and company are coming to rescue her anyway so Mab "leaves".
That's an interesting possibility. However, the fetches's victims show that bringing Harry was in the plan from the beginning: the attack on Pell, the first one, was not random: it was to free the the theater where there was a Way to Artis Tor.
The last set of fetches was sent by Mab according to WOJ:
Ask yourself why Mab had Molly brought in.
So Mab probably sent the first ones too. She wanted Molly to become Harry's apprentice and to protect her from the WC, so it was logical to bring him in.
Still, I may be wrong, and the first fetches may have been working for Maeve.
- In the fight, the Scarecrow reveals that Nemesis has infected him (by Maeve in Chicago), but Harry uses Summer fire to defeat him anyway. Mab is smug about her underdog winning the fight. To Mab, damaging the Wellspring is unfortunate, but she can immediately send her troops back.
- Passage of time is altered in Arctis Tor, leaving the Gates undefended for too long. Maeve is the only possible culprit, and Mab realizes that she has been infected, hurting her and causing her fury.
Strong possibility.