Outlander Book Club: An Echo in the Bone Chapter 90 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The last we left Bree and Roger, they found out that Rob had taken Jem. Roger is sure that Rob is taking Jem through the stones, but he can’t just jump through them. He needs to be prepared, and that’s what the first part of this chapter is about.

Bree cuts a brooch in half so that Roger and Buck have their own stones to travel with. She worries that the stones won’t be big enough, but I think this is more about Bree being worried in general. They still don’t know all the details of time travel, and they have to hope that Roger can find their son.

Bree also gives Roger a Swiss Army Knife for the steel. What’s so important about steel? I think this is more about it being a metal that doesn’t rust and is easy to sterilize should it be needed. That was my first thought, anyway.

Buck wants to know why Rob would take Jem. The MacKenzies need to trust him with this information, even though he’s proven himself to look out for only himself in the past. They tell him that Jem knows where the hidden gold is, and that Rob has taken the letter that says everything about it. They should have stopped here, but they explain that Hector Cameron took the gold across to the Colonies.

There are thoughts about how Rob could be connected to the Camerons. He is a Cameron after all. Is it possible that he’s a descendant of Hector Cameron in some way? Jocasta doesn’t have any living children, but is it possible that one did survive without anyone knowing? Is it possible Hector had family and Rob believes that as the descendant of Hector and not Jocasta that he deserves it?

Bree drives Roger and Buck to the bottom of Craigh na Dun. There is a heartfelt and emotional goodbye. This could be the last time Roger and Bree see each other. With that, Roger and Buck go through the stones and Bree carefully drives back home, realizing she is all that Mandy has left right now.