Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 6 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with a quick explanation of where they are and where they want to travel to. It’s time to get to River Run, where Jamie wants to see Hector and Jocasta Cameron. He’s sent a letter to them but that was a month ago, and he isn’t sure if they’ll even get it yet.
But they need to get to some sort of friendly face. Getting to a family member is the easiest option.
They need someone to help get them there. It just so happens that the man who is trying to show off his ailment to Claire when he finds out she’s a wisewoman is the same man that Jamie needs to see. John Quincy Myers, at your service.
We get this excellent introduction into JQM’s personality. He doesn’t care that he’s not in a private place. He needs to get the lump behind his testicles looked at, and now is a perfect time. Claire doesn’t need to see it, though. She knows what it is, and she makes it clear that it will need surgery to fix.
Jamie also wants to see if JQM will be able to help them get to the Camerons. That’s when Jamie learns that his uncle died of the morbid sore throat recently. Jamie hadn’t heard about it, which isn’t surprising the way news would have traveled then. That doesn’t stop him from needing to get to River Run.
First, he and Claire will need to go to a dinner. Jamie ran into a family member of Ian Murray’s, and it turns out that family through marriage is still considered family to the Highlanders. With the way connections are made, that’s not all too surprising. Jamie manages to get an invitation to a dinner that includes Governor Tryon, but there’s someone else there who Jamie wants to sell one of the gemstones to.
They don’t have the money for new clothes though. While they’re not paupers, their money is tide up in gemstones. Jamie managed to get a small advance on the gemstone so he and Claire can have clothes made for the dinner.
Claire gets a dress made of silk from South Carolina. It’s not as soft as Chinese silk, but it still looks good and it’s a lot cheaper. However, she refuses to wear a hat or anything on her head. That’s okay; she has a ribbon that she can use.
Jamie also has a necklace made with the ruby placed in it. It’s time for Claire to be the one to show off the ruby.