Verin is obviously very intelligent. I think she manipulated her whole conversation with Mat so that he wouldn't open her letter.

I think the whole point of her letter to Mat was to make Mat stay in Caemlyn for 30 days. Verin knows how much Mat distrusts Aes Sedai. She also added extra distrust to Mat's mind by saying that darfriends mistook her for a servant of the Shadow. Mat must have been very creeped out by that comment.

I think Verin may have wanted Mat to stay in hiding for 30 days in Caemlyn. Once the 30 days are up, Verin knows that Mat will open the letter anyway now that he is no longer bound to follow the letter's contents.

I wouldn't be too surprised if there are no orders for Mat to follow in the letter. The letter may just contain important information for Mat. Verin merely said that the letter contained orders as pretext to get Mat to stay in Caemlyn for 30 days.

And then there is this quote: "I received this paper, Matrim, from a Darkfriend who told me--- thinking me a servant of the Shadow-- that one of the Forsaken had commanded that the men in these pictures be killed. You and Perrin are in grave danger... The level of danger you are in... I ... Well, let us simply agree that you are in great, great danger. I suggest that you be very careful during the next few weeks... Go into hiding. Don't take chances."

I believe that Verin is a aware of a huge Forsaken plot underway to kill Mat. Verin appears to almost give Mat a clue about this plot, but she cannot because she is still bound to her oaths to the Dark One. Verin wants Mat to stay in Caemlyn, I believe, because he will have more protection there. Verin also knows of a massive attack on Mat that will begin in the next 30 days.


I wouldn't be too surprised if a massive band of Trollocs leads an attack on Caemlyn soon. Trollocs recently appeared outside of Ebou Dar, so it is not outside of reason that they won't appear too far outside of Caemlyn either-- it all depends on how much progress Elder Haman has been able to make with the other steddings in closing the Ways.

The Shadow's true goal is very clear-- to destroy the pattern. Mat and Perrin are two the Pattern's strongest self-correcting devices right now. Therefore, I think the Shadow will throw some very heavy resistance against them very soon. Whatever attack the Shadow decides to levy against Mat, Verin obviously thought that Mat would be better protected in Caemlyn.

Anyway-- what happens next is very doubtful. However, I believe Verin manipulated Mat in a masterful way. She wanted Mat to stay in Caemlyn, and the best way to do that was to make Mat think he was staying in Caemlyn to avoid having to follow an Aes Sedai's instructions. This is all a theory, of course, and I could be very wrong.