Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 61 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with life for Claire and Jamie right now. Jamie is now a colonel in the militia, which means they get to sleep on a cot and they have a bit more food. Jamie comes home with a gift, but it’s not the meat that Claire hoped for. Instead, it’s a book.
The book is still a good gift. Claire wanted to read it, but the print is too small for her.
Their conversation is interrupted by Daniel Morgan. Jamie makes a new friend, as Daniel explains that he hates the British. Daniel had been given 499 lashes—it was supposed to be 500, but the guy giving them missed. It’s interesting how the two have similar experiences, but Jamie doesn’t share about his experience.
Meanwhile, Claire spends time with the wives, and they want to know if she’s a conjure woman. Claire explains that she’s a White Witch, and the women are intrigued. They turn to her for help with medical issues and other needs. I love that Claire isn’t ostracized for her confession in this chapter.
Elsewhere, Ian is out in the woods, and he’s being followed by William. Ian doesn’t want his cousin to catch up to him, knowing that this is risky. If William sees Jamie, the whole truth it out. So, Ian leads William away.
Ian ends up at a Mohawk camp, which is where Sun Elk is. Ian ends up punching Sun Elk, thinking of advice from Jamie. This whole thing has distracted Ian from the fact that William was following him. Eventually, William catches up and tells Ian that he just wanted to thank Ian for the money and the horse.
It also turns out that William wants to find out how Rachel is. Why would William care so much about rebels? This is something Ian thinks about the whole time, but it’s clear that William is thinking with his heart and not his head. Ian has also found his thoughts filled with Rachel. The love triangle begins.
After Ian promises to pass on a message to Rachel from William, William makes it clear that now they are quits. William will turn Ian in if he sees him again. Do we really need to take that threat seriously? We’ve seen how William acted with Denny when he didn’t need to, although it’s clear that was about Rachel too.