We pick up with Lord John Grey taking on Malcolm Stubbs’s job in Besieged Section 9. It’s time to break down this section of the novella.
The last we saw of Malcolm Stubbs, he sent word to Lord John Grey that he had been captured. That leaves John to do his task while also figuring out a way to get Stubbs out of the current prison situation that he’s in. Tom, meanwhile, needs to find a doctor.
Breaking down Besieged Section 9
The part starts with John running through the troublesome problem. He will need to go see the slave leaders for the rebellion with only Rodrigo, Azeel, and Inocencia. I love how he puts the focus on Rodrigo being an ex-zombie and Azeel having homicidal tendencies. The little that we know of the two of them suggests that the last few months or so haven’t changed them, and even John knows it.
Tom can’t come with them. As much as John would prefer to have Tom by his side, Tom needs to find a doctor for Benedicta, Olivia, and the children. John makes it clear that Tom cannot go inside the house with Yellow Jack. This is a dangerous disease.
I do love that we get to see the fondness between John and Tom. There is a platonic love between them, and they find comfort in each other. Later on, John thinks of how it feels to have Tom dress him in his ceremonial dress uniform. He could really do with Tom in this moment.
But John has to see the slave leaders on his own. Inocencia will be able to introduce him, while Rodrigo and Azeel can do all the translations. What could possibly go wrong?
Could this section be used in a TV adaptation?
It’s hard to say whether much of this chapter would be used if Besieged was adapted into a TV series. There isn’t too much that is important to the story. We already know a lot of it. Just in the previous section, John had tasked Tom with finding a doctor. That was never going to change.
If this is used, it’s likely only the part with John getting ready to go meet the slave leaders. We could get a quick line to say that Rodrigo, Azeel, and Inocencia will be able to help him manage the current situation, but that’s it. I think most of us can guess why they are all going with him.
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