Who was Francisco d'Anconia thinking about when he asked John Galt to send word about Dagny?

Question

After Dagny Taggart crash-landed in the Valley, most people thought she was dead. Hank Rearden, Francisco d'Anconia, and others spent a lot of time frantically looking for the wreckage of her plane.

Francisco stopped in the Valley briefly to tell John Galt what had happened and what he was doing (at which point John showed him Dagny).

After realizing that she was alive, he asked John if they could send word that she was alive "in case anyone felt like I did" about Dagny's death (I don't have the exact quote in front of me).

I always assumed that he was referring to Hank Rearden, who he presumably knew by then loved Dagny. Was he also referring to Eddie Willars? Did he know that Eddie had feelings for Dagny too, or just that they had been friends for a long time? Who was Francisco referring to here?

Answer 1

He was likely referring primarily to Hank Rearden (and likely secondarily to Eddie Willers as well).

Francisco was already well aware that Dagny was having an affair with Hank Rearden due to his earlier confrontation with Hank in Dagny's apartment. (It's also possible that he would've heard about it from John Galt, who also knew about the affair, but this seems less likely). Given the fact that both him and Hank Rearden were heavily involved in the search (and the fact that Hank Rearden had publicly offered $100,000 - the equivalent of almost $900,000 in 2018 dollars - for anyone who could help locate the site of the wreckage of her plane), he was presumably well aware of how much Dagny meant to Hank and would've known that Hank felt like he did.

On the other hand, Eddie Willers had recently revealed that he had feelings for Dagny too, and he was a longtime friend to both Dagny and Francisco, so it seems likely that he was referring to both. Presumably, Hank would've been at the forefront of his mind, though, given his involvement in the search.