The time has come for a garden party, and Minnie is there to meet someone under orders by her father in A Fugitive Green chapter 11. It leads to a chance encounter.
This is a rather long chapter, especially compared to previous ones, but it is important. There is a lot to take in, as we get to see the connection Minnie tends to make with people, but she doesn’t necessarily understand those connections.
That happens in this chapter when she meets a man she learns is a duke. However, he hasn’t taken his father’s title, telling us everything we need to know about his identity.
Breaking down A Fugitive Green chapter 11
The chapter opens with Minnie receiving a letter from her father. She is to meet with a man called Mr. Bloomer, an English collector, at a garden party. This is at the same party that we know Hal will be attending, and we just know it means the two will meet.
While it’s unusual for an unmarried woman to go to these types of events alone, Mr. Bloomer has not extended the invitation to a plus one, and that means Rafe O’Higgins needs to wait outside for her. He makes it clear that he will come in after her if she doesn’t come out by a particular time. That’s his job as a bodyguard.
Minnie is able to avoid greeting Princess Augusta, and she heads to the glass houses where she is to meet Mr. Bloomer in. While on her way, she notices a soldier in full dress uniform and another man with him, but she is interrupted from her thoughts by Mr. Bloomer. The two initially talk about plants until they get to a quiet glass house, where they can discuss business.
Mr. Bloomer is looking for information about Jacobites. He also has information for her, including financial matters and the movement of money between persons and country, all of which Minnie has to memorize. As for Mr. Bloomer, he doesn’t have to memorize anything, as Minnie has already written down a list of names of Jacobites, but she has left Jamie Fraser’s name of. She feels protective of him, even though it’s not clear why.
As their business concludes, the soldier that Minnie saw earlier walks into the glass house. Mr. Bloomer gets Minnie to distract him so he can get out of the way, calling him “His Grace.” Oh yes, this is Hal who Minnie gets to meet, and they end up having a conversation together. However, Hal suddenly becomes pale and gasps as he sinks to his knees.
Minnie, who had learned that the man accompanying the duke was the Prince of Wales, has already noticed that Hal looks tired and frail. Now she isn’t happy that he would come to the garden party while ill. However, Hal notes that he isn’t ill, but that his father’s suicide took place in his family’s conservatory three years ago to the day. Remembering this took him back to that time.
With this information and the fact that his father was believed to be a traitor, Minnie realizes that she is talking with the Duke of Pardloe, and she needs to get close. However, Hal doesn’t want her to get involved with him if she is trying to work her way into English society. With that, Hal warns her off Mr. Bloomer and then leaves. When she calls out “Your Grace,” Hal asks her not to call him that as he has not taken his father’s title.
With that, Minnie flees the garden party.
Could this chapter be used in a TV adaptation?
There would be no way to get around not using this chapter if A Fugitive Green was adapted. The whole chapter is packed with information to push the story forward, both in terms of Minnie’s tasks for her father and her own arc with Hal.
We need to see how the two end up meeting. Neither realize who each other is at first, and Minnie only learns because Hal has opened up to her. Why would Hal open up to her in this way? It’s a big question I have right now, but it suggests that the type of love we know in Outlander is happening between these two.
Let us know what you spotted in this chapter via Facebook and Twitter.