An Echo in the Bone

In London, 1776, John meets with Nessie, a brothel Madame and informant, and asks her to learn what she can about Richardson. Nessie reveals that Denys Randall-Isaacs is an acquaintance of Percy Beauchamp’s.

John visits his brother Hal, who is recovering from an episode of poor health and has just learned that his son Henry was badly wounded fighting for the British in America. John plans to go to France to visit the Baron Amandine and offers to retrieve Henry from America afterwards. John tells Hal about William and Dottie’s desire to marry, and Hal has no objections. John, however, stays skeptical about the relationship.

In a lengthy letter, William reveals that he is spending Christmas alone at a convent in Quebec. Denys abandoned him with only orders to wait for further instructions. William notes that this is “the first Christmas I have spent with no Sight of Home or Family” (357).

Jamie writes a letter to Bree and Roger from on board the Tranquil Teal, the smuggler’s ship taking him, Claire, and Ian to Scotland. He writes that Fergus was attacked and nearly abducted, possibly for political reasons as Fergus prints a newspaper featuring both Loyalist and Revolutionary sentiments. Jamie wonders if Percy attempted to kidnap Fergus. Claire takes over writing for Jamie and adds that the cargo on the ship belongs to Benedict Arnold, the American military officer who will become a famous traitor. She considers warning Arnold’s wife when the ship stops in New Haven, but decides, “Everyone’s actions have some effect upon the future” (365).

In 1980, it is morning at Lallybroch. Roger drinks the remnants of Bree’s champagne and absentmindedly gives the empty bottle to Mandy, who throws it through the window at the Nuckelavee.

Rogers examines two books among Claire and Jamie’s letters: a book of medical advice, authored by Claire under a male disguise, and a book of children’s stories authored by Jamie and dedicated to his grandchildren. Roger is moved by Claire and Jamie’s faith that their letters would survive to reach Bree and Roger in the 20th century.

Roger sees Jem outside, who should be at school. Roger follows Jem into the hills surrounding the house. Roger passes the rock where Fergus lost his hand as punishment for bringing food to Jamie, who was hiding in a cave as a fugitive after surviving the battle of Culloden. Roger also passes a red deer stag that almost charges him. Worried, Roger catches up to Jem as quickly as possible. Jem reveals that he is teased at school for being Catholic, and that his teacher Miss Glendenning scolded him for speaking Gaelic. Miss Glendenning twisted his ear, and Jem insulted her, again in Gaelic. Miss Glendenning could not understand, but the Headmaster, Mr. Menzies, did and spanked Jem. Worried he would get in more trouble at home, Jem planned to hide out in the hills for a couple of days. Roger assures Jem that he is not in trouble and that there is nothing wrong with speaking Gaelic.

On her first day at the hydroelectric plant, Bree oversees an all-male crew of “Tunnel Tigers” who work in the underground system at Loch Errochty. The crew, led by Rob Cameron, steals Bree’s keys and locks her in an unlit tunnel. Bree masters her fear and finds an electric train in the tunnel, knowing she can drive it to the same destination the rest of the crew will travel to over land. As she drives the train, she passes through what feels like a time travel portal but stays in 1980. She arrives at the other end and emerges from the tunnel, impressing the men who offer to buy her a drink after work.

Bree comes home, and she and Roger have sex before giving each other reports of their day. Roger insists on speaking to Mr. Menzies, knowing Bree may lose her temper. Mandy has another bad dream. The next day, Roger explores the tower, chapel ruins, and cave at Lallybroch, but finds nothing but an eroding statue.

Roger goes to speak with Mr. Menzies, and the two men quickly establish a friendly rapport. Mr. Menzies, knowing only that Bree and Roger “spent a number of years in America” (399), explains that there is now a classist prejudice against speaking Gaelic in Scotland. Mr. Menzies agrees to confront Jem’s teacher for her unfair punishment and insists that he punish Jem only for disrespecting his teacher, which Roger understands. They part on good terms, and Menzies assures Roger that Jem is now a “Robin Hood” figure to the rest of his class, and unlikely to have any more trouble making friends.

In May 1777, Claire and Jamie watch a hammerhead shark from on board the Teal, discussing the moral culpability of kings. A British ship arrives, called the Pitt and under the command of Captain Stebbings. The Pitt is short on crew, and Stebbings tries to press Ian, Jamie, and the Teal’s crew into service with the British Navy. Terrified of being separated from Jamie and knowing the Pitt is undermanned, Claire jumps from the Teal to the Pitt. The newly conscripted men seize the opportunity and a fight for control begins as Stebbings, infuriated, is left aboard the Teal. Claire stabs a sailor before she is strangled into unconsciousness. When she comes to, a British sailor helms the Pitt under Ian’s watch, though no one knows where they are sailing. Ian is devastated that Rollo is still aboard the Teal and worries that the sailors will kill the dog for being part wolf.

Jamie finds Claire crying for the man she stabbed and assures her that he killed him, not her. A third ship approaches, called the Asp and captained by a man named Asa Hickman. Asa Hickman is an inexperienced sailor seeking revenge for the death of his brother Theo at Stebbings’s hand. The pirates, or “privateers,” pull alongside the Pitt, and demand Captain Stebbings. Jamie agrees to come aboard with Claire and Ian. Meanwhile, the Teal approaches, now under Captain Stebbings’s command. Hickman wants to sink Stebbings, and Ian wants Rollo back, so they agree to engage the Teal rather than flee. Jamie tells Asa that there are six cases of rifles on the Teal—Benedict Arnold’s cargo—that Hickman could take to the Continental army.

During the sea battle, both the Asp and the Teal run aground on rocks. Claire tends to the wounded, and the Pitt arrives to ferry them to shore. Captain Stebbings has a sucking chest wound and Claire stabilizes him. Jamie, Ian, and Rollo arrive with a furious Hickman, whom Jamie stops from killing Stebbings in cold blood. Jamie sports a near-fatal stab wound and reveals that he and Stebbings are the source of each other’s injuries. Jamie and the ship captains decide to sail for Ticonderoga, where the British will become prisoners of war and the smugglers will avoid prosecution by serving a limited contract with the Continental army under Jamie’s command. Claire falls asleep, exhausted from her work, and wakes to Jamie and Stebbings commiserating over the feeling that death is preferable to grievous injury.