@EnchantedOne
I’d really like if Mr. Gold knows about Belle and is working to get her back. But there are a couple of things from previous episodes that would not fit. First, I don’t think Mr. Gold would have been so loco when beating up Mo French. He kept saying “She’s gone, she’s never coming back”. 🙁
It’s possible Mr. Gold found out about Belle after that. I’m just not sure Regina would have offered that information up so easily. And if his deal would really get Belle back, Mr. Gold would probably damn well be sure MM would not have come back.
What I did think was interesting about the Mad Hatter episode is when EQ was getting ready to leave Wonderland with her Dad. She tells Jefferson that the Queen of Hearts took her father (the thing she loves most) to have leverage against her. This would be parallel to EQ/Regina taking Belle away from Rumple to gain leverage against him.