But this is the problem; she was already treating him like "one of them" even if in her mind she tried very hard to see him as the same old Rand. Part of that dichotomy is, I think, due to her faulty attitude of condescension back when the series began. She does see him as the same old Rand, and that is someone she is in the habit of assuming her superiority over, and better awareness of the situation (a habit no doubt learned in the Two Rivers, where she had an inside scoop on the doings of the Womens' Circle as they direct that portion of village affairs that women view as the most important, while he was both merely male and practically a hermit in exile). Rather than deal fairly and straightforward with him, she always tries to talk around things and get him in a position where she can get what she wants without having to come right out and ask. Rand has always been forthright with her, and perfectly willing to help when she asked (as long as it wasn't something impossible, like intercession with the Wise Ones), but she could never bring herself to come right out and TELL him that the split was a rebellion, rather than another factional manuever. The idea that Alviarin could be part of the Salidar revolt IS patently ridiculous, but when asked, Egwene hedges with an "I don't know." Either from a reluctance to admit the true state of the Tower to an outsider, no matter what his stature and need to know, or else a fear that Rand would turn his back on her rebel friends for Alviarin's flattery. She later describes his reaction as "gloating", supporting the idea that she perceived a much more positive response to Alviarin's letter than we saw he actually had.

The size and nature of the split.