Donner returns and brings trouble in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 123
We thought the Frasers had avoided the Big Fire, but that wasn’t the case after all. It all happens during Outlander Book 6, Chapter 123.
The chapter starts with Claire going about her usual day while missing Roger and Brianna. However, it takes a turn of events when she gets back home. There is someone in the house who shouldn’t be there.
We finally see Donner again. He wants gems so he can travel, and he’s sure that Claire and Jamie have some. He won’t take no for an answer, and he is more than willing to put up a fight for what he wants. He’s not the only one, though.
It’s finally time to see how the fire at the Big House happens. We also get a few details about the French gold during the chapter. There is a lot going on for the penultimate chapter of the story.
There is some foreshadowing in this post. It’s all about the Bugs, and I’ll get to that in the foreshadowing section.
Will we get to see it play out in the series? I’ll get to my thoughts on that in the adaptation section. I’m not sure the series is done with Donner just yet.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 123.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Claire at Grannie Abernathy’s home. I do wonder each time I read this whether Grannie Abernathy is linked to Geillis Duncan in any way. We know Geillis married an Abernathy, and Grannie shares that she married into the family. She was a Fraser first. This doesn’t come up in Claire’s thoughts, though.
Instead, Claire thinks about how Grannie Abernathy, who is somewhere between 92 and 102 years old, and her family are struggling. We get that reminder that multiple generations of a family would live together in one home, something we don’t see in the west all that much now. Claire notes that the crops are struggling with Roger and Brianna not there to help, and it leads to her missing the two of them and her grandchildren.
I do want to note that I love the trade of goods and services. Grannie Abernathy gives Claire turnips as her payment for Claire’s services. We know a lot of trade and bartering happened back then. Maybe we should go back to doing that as inflation continues to cause problems for people.
When Claire gets back home, Donner is there. He wants to go back to his own time, but he knows he needs gem for that. He thinks Claire has gems, and he isn’t leaving until he gets them. Jamie turns up just in time and a fight starts. It’s stopped suddenly when a gold ingot falls out of Mrs. Bug’s knitting bag.
The gold shocks everyone. It gives Donner time to fight back, but it all goes terribly. Some ether is knocked over and Young Ian lights a match not realizing just how flammable ether is. The Big House goes up in flames, but fortunately, all but Donner and his men survive.
Claire notes that the fire is 11 months after the date given in the newspapers. Do they not get anything right? Why is the fire so much later? There are certainly a lot of questions, but the biggest are all about the French gold. Why did Mrs. Bug have some of it?
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
We certainly get some foreshadowing in this post. It’s all about the French gold. We knew someone else was involved, and it was someone who Jocasta would have recognized. Is it possible that Mr. Bug had something to do with it?
It’s time to get answers to a lot of the questions about the gold. How did the Bugs end up with their hands on some of it? How are they involved in all of that mess?
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
I do hope to see the chapter used in the TV series. There has been a mention of gold, which suggests that this is going to come up. I want to see just how much the Bugs have planned and manipulated up to this point.
I also need to see Donner’s story to come to an end. We know he was arrested in Outlander Season 6. He was whistling at the end of one of the episodes, and it’s clear that his story isn’t over yet. After all, we need this fire to happen, and why change that when the writers can combine Donner and the French gold stories?
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 123? Let us know in the comments below.
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