Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 10 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter picks up with William thinking about how embarrassed and annoyed he is that the Americans escaped. He’s all the more annoyed that nobody wants to go out and capture them. Maybe those higher up should have taken the Americans as the threat they were!
However, the chapter moves on. William receives some letters. One of those is from his cousin Dottie, who he hasn’t spent a lot of time with. Whatever she’s written to him about leads to him quickly pocketing the letter.
The other letters are from John Grey and his Uncle Hal. William doesn’t tell General Fortnum that these lords are his family. It’s clear that William doesn’t really want to use his name to get him anywhere, and that’s probably a good idea. A letter from John warns him to keep a low profile. John just wants to protect his stepson.
Something that I also love is that William has picked up tips from John over the years. He’s seen how John could break seals without actually breaking them. It’s easy, and William does that with these letters. He’s observant, just like Jamie.
The letter from Hal includes some items, including sherry and olives. There is also a book of naked women, which William’s cousin, Adam, who is there, made sure was included. After some drinks, William reads some of the passages aloud in a dramatic fashion much to the enjoyment of his colleagues.
However, we also see a disappointing side to William. When a young girl is sexually assaulted by some of the officers, William initially goes to help her. He’s pulled back with the comment that there are too many for him to stop. So that means nobody else is going to help, and William just stands there. I get why. It would have been worse for William to go in alone, but it’s still disappointing that he doesn’t try anything to stop the officers.
That is until William snaps. We see the Jamie in him come out. He grabs one of the men and cracks the man’s head on the doorpost. It’s too late for the girl, though. She’s been murdered by these men. William witnesses a needless death, an innocent life taken. This is going to change him.