Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 25 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Jamie writing to Brianna and Roger. Even if they don’t end up getting the letters, I love that this is Jamie’s connection to them. He wants to write to them as if they are in France, which is where everyone else believes they have gone.
Something I picked out here is that even Fergus believes they have gone to France. I know Diana Gabaldon has said that Fergus knows the truth about time travel, but it seems that hasn’t happened yet. It’s supposedly happened at some point off-book, but I really want to see that conversation play out.
Back to the story, Claire isn’t happy that Jamie is writing so much. He just wants to take his mind off things, but he is struggling with seasickness. He’s relying heavily on Claire right now. She’s using acupuncture to help, but he still doesn’t feel as strong as he should, and Claire has to be the strong one right now. I do like seeing this turn of events as Jamie is usually the stronger one of the two, at least, physically.
We also learn that something happened to Fergus. While waiting for the ship, which is captained by a pirate and Jamie doesn’t like that, Jamie learns that Fergus was attacked in New Bern. We don’t know who attacked him, but whoever it was ended up injured by Fergus’s hook.
There are a few people who could have attacked Fergus. He’s tried to remain neutral with his paper, but he has to eventually pick a side. The Sons of Liberty or the Loyalists could have decided to attack because of that.
Jamie actually thinks that it’s Percy Beauchamp. That does seem the most likely considering the storylines happening with William and Lord John Grey right now.
At the end of the chapter, Claire writes to Brianna and shares that she saw the luggage with the name Arnold, and we know what that likely means. It must feel strange to be in a time when you know the events that will happen. Claire wonders again if she can and should change history. In this case, America needs to become America.