Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 74 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
Jamie, Claire, and Ian are now in Edinburgh, Scotland. It’s time to find Jamie’s printing press, which has been stored by Andy Bell all this time. Well, it turns out that Richard Bell is at the shop, and he’s grateful for the letters. Jamie also sees that Andy has been using his printing press, and that’s not something Jamie likes.
Claire notices all the encyclopedias, and she also sees that Andy is a “graver.” While Jamie notes that means he engraves things, there seems to be another use for the name. In fact, at dinner with Andy, Claire asks how many specimens he used. It seems like a normal conversation, but I do feel sorry for the diners around them.
When Simon Fraser’s coffin starts leaking, Claire is able to turn to Andy to figure out what to do. Well, it turns out they managed to get the bullet that killed him, and Claire takes that to Jamie. By this point, Jamie and Ian have been to the brothel to see Madame Jeanine. Of course, she will know all the gossip, and it turns out that she also knows Percy Beauchamp. That is certainly interesting considering his connections in previous chapters.
Jamie and Ian want to go to France to investigate Percy. Meanwhile, Claire shares that Andy wants her to write a book about herbal medicine and first aid treatments. Jamie thinks it is a good idea, but he knows that Andy wants to get out of paying Jamie rent after using the printing press. Jamie makes it clear that printing the book is going to cost Andy a lot.
While Jamie and Ian are in France, Percy is in Edinburgh and talks to Claire. He shares that if Fergus is the son of the Comte, he stands to inherit a large fortune. That money could be used to help the American cause. Percy claims not to have a stake in politics, but is that really true? There is a link to a Spanish company that Fergus could hire, which would make Percy rich.
At the end, Claire asks Percy if he has children. He doesn’t think so. Why would she ask this? Is she trying to figure out if she’s a descendant of his line?