Outlander Book Club: Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone Chapter 53 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with Claire and Jamie celebrating the fact that they have a latchable front door. They wonder who will knock first, and are surprised to find out that it’s Hiram Crombie.

He wants to speak to Jamie alone, and Jamie even has a space for this. This gives Claire time to look through the Merck Manual, so she gets a chance to catch up on some of the medical advancements in the future. She knows that she doesn’t have the tools to help people with some of the medical problems, but it’s comforting for her to see how things have advanced.

Hiram turned up on behalf of his half-brother Cyrus. He is sweet on Fanny, and while the two are too young to marry right now, Hiram would like to set up some sort of familial link between him and the Frasers. He does have an ulterior motive for this.

Hiram shares that Cunningham is talking of a war coming and that the Loyalists need to build a militia. It makes Hiram uneasy, and it sounds like he’s on Jamie’s side in this. He wants to have the link with family as a reason for him to bring himself and his followers over to Jamie’s side when the time comes.

So, Jamie and Claire agree to Cyrus and Fanny talking to each other if Fanny would like. She would, and Claire and Jamie keep a close eye on them.

At the end of the chapter, Claire comments on the size of the new house. She notes that it will hold tenants who come for refuge as the war gets closer.