While Lord John Grey gets back to the house his mother is staying at in Besieged section 7, it’s clear there’s more drama to come. It’s time to break down this part of the story.
Tom Byrd is back in this chapter. I always love it when he’s around. He’s so good with Lord John Grey, and he helps to add some comedic relief in this chapter. I wish that he was still around in Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone and that the Outlander series could have introduced him.
Breaking down Besieged section 7
Lord John Grey is able to get back to the house Benedicta is staying at, but she is not there. Tom Byrd, who asks Lord John Grey about his foot—it’s not injured. It’s just his shoe after an incident with his horse in a ditch!—explains that Olivia has fallen ill. Benedicta has rushed to Olivia’s side, which makes John worried. What if Benedicta catches whatever Olivia has?
It’s clear that they’re not getting out of Havana any time soon. However, the town doesn’t seem to have heard that there is a declaration of war just yet. This could work to their advantage, but they need to get out of dodge first. How serious is Olivia’s illness?
It turns out that it’s pretty serious. Benedicta left her “story.” After initially saving a word, Huevón, and Tom explaining that it means “lazy” or “slow” for some comedic relief, John asks about the story that Tom found. It turns out that his mother has been writing some sort of memoir. He decides that he’s not going to read it, though. There is more to do to help get his family out of Havana.
However, he does quickly think about Malcolm before going to bed. Where will Malcolm sleep that night?
Could this chapter be used if there was a TV adaptation?
This section could be used, but I think we only need the bit about Benedicta leaving and the fact that she left her story behind. In fact, the story part isn’t even all that important. It’s the part of Benedicta leaving to treat Olivia that is important.
This has a much bigger part in the story later on. It adds grief but also lessens complications within the story, and it’s important enough in John’s personal life to keep it in.
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