User blog comment:Zathronas/Analysis by an author: Volume 2 episode 7: Dance Dance Infiltration/@comment-25091485-20140912023722/@comment-10390252-20140912133234

Because relationships like that are necessarily covert. She certainly couldn't risk being seen on peaceful terms with Ironwood, so she needed to know to set up a plausible way to escape him without actually harming him.

I think that's why she hesitated before confronting Ruby - She had to quickly rethink her tactics because she'd been expecting the General, not some random Novice... Wait a minute, isn't that the girl who was working with Glynda during that botched dust job all those months ago?