Sometimes, it can be a bit of a struggle to remember where in the Outlander and Lord John Grey timeline we’re in. That’s certainly the case at times in A Fugitive Green chapter 2.
The chapter takes place in England in 1744, and we get a lot of focus on Hal Grey, the Duke of Pardloe. However, this is before he really accepts the title of the Duke of Pardloe, and he prefers to focus on his other title, Lord Melton.
After all, this takes place before Hal learns that his father wasn’t a traitor after all. There’s an acceptance of the past, and he’s able to move forward once he learns that, but this story is very much before it all.
Breaking down A Fugitive Green chapter 2
The chapter opens with Hal thinking about his late wife, Esme. He thinks about a story from the Bible that she read to the children that involved the promise of sacrifice. It turns out that the daughter was the one to be sacrificed, and Esme thinks about how the daughter in the Bible accepted her fate, but she wouldn’t have done that.
Hal is angry, as he has just lost Esme and their unborn child. She died in childbirth shortly before A Fugitive Green, but Hal isn’t just grieving. He is also angry with the realization that his wife may have had an affair.
In fact, that comes up in the chapter, as Harry Quarry — does he show up everywhere? — inquires about where Hal is. Hal was supposed to meet with a solicitor by the name of Washburn, but he had forgotten all about it. Of course, Harry worries about him, especially with the situation at hand.
You see, Hal was under the investigation of murder, since he shot and killed Reginald Twelvetrees’s brother in a duel. This man he killed was the man Esme was thought to have had an affair with, so there were certainly some personal feelings in the matter.
Fortunately for Hal, he won’t be tried in open court, as his peers wouldn’t imprison him or sentence him ot death. However, Reginald has sent a petition to the Secretary of War to make sure Hal is court martialed for the offence. This would remove him as colonel of the Forty-sixth, and it could lead to other penalties for the family and for Hal personally.
Hal needs to figure out what to do, and usually, he would consider turning to his mother for help. However, she is currently in France mourning the loss of her husband, the Duke of Pardloe, who currently has a stigma attached as a traitor. Hal doesn’t need to do it alone, though, as Harry offers some support. Is there proof that Esme and Nathaniel Twelvetrees were having an affair?
There were letters that Hal found, but just as he starts to think of all this, he sees black spots and faints. It’s a lot of stress.
Could this chapter be used in a TV adaptation?
If A Fugitive Green was ever adapted, we would definitely need this section. It sets up a lot of Hal’s personal storyline for the story, but it also gives us the backstory needed on the Greys.
I would think we’d need to see some flashbacks of Esme or of the duel, though. There is a lot of focus on what’s happened in the past, and it can easily be explained in the book. It’s harder to do the exposition and explanation in a TV series, which is why flashbacks are useful.
Let us know what you spotted in this chapter via Facebook and Twitter.