Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 24 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter takes place in two different locations. We start with John, who gets information from a woman called Nessie about Percy Beauchamp. However, this woman knows too much about Hal for John’s liking. Has he visited brothels? It turns out it’s Hal’s footman who goes to the brothel and likes to talk.
One thing John does find out is some connections Beauchamp has made. After telling Hal that he’s going to France and about Dorothea (I love that Hal is accepting of William being Dottie’s love interest. That shows us how much he respects John’s parenting.), John heads to France to get more information.
While in France, John learns that Beauchamp and Denys Randall-Isaacs have been spotted together. This doesn’t sit well with him at all. It’s clear that Denys is up to something by getting William to join him on a mission.
The next part of the chapter is letters from William. He writes from Quebec, and shares that he’s visited a Convent. He and Denys went there to see Sir Guy to find out more about the American rebels. However, Guy has gone off to deal with an insurrection, and William wants to help him. Denys dissuades William of that.
William learns a little but about Lord John in this. The Mother Superior of the Convent shares that Lord John has met with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope. William is surprised that John, a Protestant, has met the Pope, but that’s his social standing. He will still work with those of different religious circles.
William shares that he can hear a peculiar sound. I have to question about his ability to travel. Did Geneva have that? After all, it is the winter solstice and that would mean portals are open. There could be one in Quebec. What else could the sound be?
We also get a sense of how far north William is. He can see the Northern Lights.
By the end of the letter, we learn that Denys has told William to wait while he goes off on some sort of mission. It’s clear that Denys is up to something, and we didn’t need John’s part of the chapter to know this. Just what is this?