Littlefinger was no threat to anyone. A clever, smiling, genial man, everyone’s friend, always able to find whatever gold the king or his Hand required, and yet of such undistinguished birth, one step up from a hedge knight, he was not a man to fear. He had no banners to call, no army of retainers, no great stronghold, no holdings to speak of, no prospects of a great marriage.

NED: Perhaps you chose the wrong man to duel with.
LITTLEFINGER: Well, it wasn’t the man that I chose, my lord. It was Catelyn Tully. A woman worth fighting for, I’m sure you’d agree.

Ned followed [Baelish] warily, wondering if this day would ever end. He had no taste for these intrigues, but he was beginning to realize that they were meat and mead to a man like Littlefinger.