Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 23 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with letters. William writes to Dorothea and Lord John Grey. It’s then that we can get into the story, which is where he meets Captain Denys Randall-Isaacs. Jamie probably never imagined that his own son would end up being somewhat friendly to the “son” of his nemesis. The only thing that offers a bit of hope here is that Denys’s father isn’t actually Black Jack Randall. Alex was a much kinder man.

Denys does resemble the Randalls, and we know Alex and Jack resembled each other closely. Considering the way William resembles his own father, I adore this.

It’s soon clear that William wasn’t actually needed for the mission. Denys doesn’t need someone to translate for him. Denys seems to be up to something. He never speaks about himself, but has a strange obsession with Lord John Grey. He also makes sure people know that William is the son of Lord John at every opportunity. Why would Denys want to know so much about Lord John? We know we can’t really trust Captain Richardson, so what is that man up to?

Denys also spends a lot of time listening and not talking. There are certainly elements of Alex Randall in him. After all, Alex wasn’t the biggest talker from what I could gather in Dragonfly in Amber, but he was aware of everything going on.

At the end of the chapter, Denys leaves William to run some errands. What exactly are those errands? Is Denys spying for someone? I love how William is immediately suspicious. He really has gained some great traits from both Jamie and Lord John—and he doesn’t even realize that the traits come from the former.