Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 63 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with William, who made his first kill. It was a rebel, and William doesn’t feel good about it. We get this side of him that is very much like Jamie. After all, just because Jamie kills, doesn’t mean he likes it. It was only a few chapters ago when he admitted to Claire that he now thinks about the lives that he is taking from people. William has got to that stage of life much sooner.
This would sound weak to a lot of men at the time. And maybe it was in a time of war. However, this is such a grown-up element of William’s character. Yes, he has his moments where he argues back, but this moment here proves he’s not the brat that people keep saying he is.
This part of the chapter also gives us a look at the differences between the British and the Americans. The American supplies are running low, but they are happy. The British soldiers are starting to desert.
We then move onto Ian, who is so busy thinking about Rachel while in fog that he’s not looking at where he’s going. He ends up falling in a ditch and hurting his head. When he gets to the medical tent, there is a man who looks a lot like Jamie flirting with Rachel. The man says that he is Hamish MacKenzie, and the two realize that they are cousins.
Ian takes Hamish to see Jamie, who discusses with Claire what to do with his amputated finger. I love that he grieves this loss, and talking about burying it is a part of that grieving process. When Jamie sees Hamish, there is a wonderful reunion. We learn that Hamish was forced to take an oath and forced to move to Nova Scotia after there were major issues after Culloden. He hates the British and plans to fight with the Americans.
Jamie discusses how a forced oath isn’t binding. Jamie has no regrets going against the oath, and we see that Colum did arguably raise his son like Jamie was raised. It’s no wonder that Colum wanted Jamie to protect Hamish.
We end with Jamie and Hamish reconnecting, and I love that they get this chance.