Jamie and Ian go in search for Arch Bug in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 2
We get a chapter of An Echo in the Bone that takes place in two timelines. For Bree and Roger, they read letters from the past. Meanwhile, Jamie and Ian find out what the Bugs are up to in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 2.
The chapter starts in 1980. We find out that Bree and Roger are at Lallybroch, picking up off the back of the first epilogue in A Breath of Snow and Ashes. If you missed the epilogue, there’s enough explained in the chapter to figure out what happened.
Meanwhile, in the past, we pick up off the back of the fire. Everyone is now in the cabin, which now sees Amy and Bobby living together after Bobby married Amy. I do get a sense that we skip over something big for Bobby and Amy, but they’re not the most important people in the story.
The most important part of this story is Jamie and Ian trying to figure out who attacked the White Sow. She may be a nuisance, but finding out who attacked her could mean life or death for the Frasers.
There is certainly some foreshadowing and plot development in this part of the story. I also suspect that at least some of this chapter is going to be used in Outlander Season 7.
Let’s dive into An Echo in the Bone Chapter 2.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Bree and Roger reading a letter from Claire and Jamie. Bree learns that her parents survived the fire, which is all that is important to her now. There are other letters in the chest that was sent, but Bree isn’t opening them just yet.
After that, we head to the past. The White Sow has been attacked, and it’s clear that it was with a dagger or knife. That rules out the neighboring Cherokee and animals. Jamie and Ian need to find out what’s going on. Who would dare to attack the White Sow?
Well, it turns out that the White Sow has stayed under the ruins of the Big House. She’s not the only thing that’s there—and we’re not talking about her babies. Jamie and Ian think they see Arch Bug.
It makes sense. Arch and Murdina must have hidden the gold under the house where the White Sow lived. Who would even think about going up against the pig? Arch would have taken bits of the gold when the pig wasn’t there, but he obviously went over at the wrong time. He wouldn’t have got any of the gold for some time after the fire. It would have been too obvious, but now there’s soot everywhere as people have been clearing away the debris, making it easier for Arch to cover his tracks.
However, it turns out that it wasn’t Arch at the house that night. As Jamie is shot at, Ian fires an arrow at who he assumes is Arch. It turns out that it was Murdina, and Ian has killed her.
Back at the house, Grannie McLeod has died. She was brought to Claire by her grandsons, but there’s nothing Claire can do to help her. Claire believes that it is cancer, and Grannie McLeod dies while Claire is distracted by Rollo howling at something.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
There is certainly some foreshadowing in this chapter. There is also a lot of plot development.
The foreshadowing here is that the situation with the gold isn’t over yet. Arch is still somewhere out there. Ian is the one who will get the blame for Murdina’s death, but at what point is he going to come back for revenge? This gives us the plot development as well as the foreshadowing.
We also have the letters, which means Claire and Jamie aren’t done with passing messages to their children. What is the last letter? Bree hasn’t read it yet, but is it a letter to say Claire or Jamie died, or is it foreshadowing that eventually Bree and Roger will get back to the past?
Adapting An Echo in the Bone chapter
I do hope that we get to see some of this chapter. I’d love to see the letters in the 1980s. This will certainly help to bridge that gap between two time periods. However, I understand if there isn’t enough time.
What I do expect to see included is Jamie and Ian heading out in search for Arch. Maybe it’s not because the White Sow has been attacked since the show hasn’t focused on the audacity of the pig. There are other reasons for the two men to head out. The most important part of it is Ian killing Murdina Bug.
Murdina’s death kicks off more about Arch. However, I do wonder if Murdina’s death will be lumped in with the fire to help condense everything. With the mention of the gold in Outlander Season 6, I’m certainly expecting the Bugs to be used more in Season 7.
What did you spot while reading An Echo in the Bone Chapter 2? Let us know in the comments below.
Like Claire and Jamie on Facebook for the latest from the Outlander Book Club and much more.