ABOSAA: Discuss Part Nine here

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

Lots of things happening in this part. 

Part Nine - The Bones of Time
Chapters 68 - 75

1.  Why would Jamie think Claire would go back to the future if he was killed? 



2.  Do you think Fergus will be able to stay out of political trouble as a printer?  Do you think he can make a success of the business?



3.  Why do you think Ian chose to talk to Briana about Emily and not Jamie or Claire?



4.  Who do you think the woman is that Ian sees in the fire?



5.  Why do you think Ian no longer thinks in Mohawk?



6.  Do you think Sun Elk sent the Abenaki after his wife and child to get them out of the way?



7.  What do you think of Ian’s story? 



8.  Do you think Ian should go back to the Mohawk to fight for Emily?



9.  Do you think he was comforted by Bree asking her father’s spirit to look for Iseabail’s spirit?



10.  Do you think Ian will ever become completely Scot again?





11.  What did you think of the sausage making? 



12.  Why do you think Phaedre asked Claire to come to River Run?



13.  Were you surprised that Phaedre was Hector Cameron’s daughter? 



14.  Hector betrayed Jocasta in every way possible.  He killed one daughter by accident (possibly), left her two other daughters to die, and flaunted his illegitimate daughter by a slave in front of her.  Knowing Jocasta as we do, and knowing she is a MacKenzie, why do you think she didn’t take her revenge against Cameron a long time ago? 



15.  Do you think Jocasta knows about Duncan and Phaedre?  What do you think happened to Phaedre?



16.  Lizzie and the Beardsleys.  Did you see that coming?  How has Lizzie changed since Bree acquired her bond?  What are your feelings about the whole situation?



17.  Funny scene in the kitchen with the molasses cookies.  Which brings us to the lice, which brings us to Jem’s birthmark.  Are you relieved that it’s finally been proved that Roger is Jemmy’s father, or did you believe it to be so all along?



18.  What did you think of Fergus’ newspaper?

[millie34]

1.  Why would Jamie think Claire would go back to the future if he was killed?
         Having dreamed of her there, he probably got into his head that she would go back when he died.   



2.  Do you think Fergus will be able to stay out of political trouble as a printer?  Do you think he can make a success of the business?
         I think he’ll always align himself with Jamie, whether he’d voice his opinion in print is another matter.  He did have some experience in the print shop in Edinburgh.



3.  Why do you think Ian chose to talk to Briana about Emily and not Jamie or Claire?
             He may have felt more at ease with Bree since she was closer to him in age.


4.  Who do you think the woman is that Ian sees in the fire?
      Maybe Emily



5.  Why do you think Ian no longer thinks in Mohawk?
   I don’t think he ever did.



6.  Do you think Sun Elk sent the Abenaki after his wife and child to get them out of the way?
   It never occurred to me, but that would work into his plan very nicely.  Would they have been taken to another tribe or killed?



7.  What do you think of Ian’s story?
              It was really heart wrenching.  I had thought that Emily was dead.



8.  Do you think Ian should go back to the Mohawk to fight for Emily?
   If he does, he should bring her back to the Ridge to live.  But I agree with Bree, if she decided she didn’t want to be with him anymore, he wouldn’t be able to persuade her to go with him.



9.  Do you think he was comforted by Bree asking her father’s spirit to look for Iseabail’s spirit?
   He seemed to be quite relieved.  It was a very emotional scene.  Apparently he was really tormented that his daughter was never baptized.



10.  Do you think Ian will ever become completely Scot again?
   He’s a Scot at heart, but he’ll always have a bit of Mohawk in him too.





11.  What did you think of the sausage making?
   Absolutely gross!  It never ceases to amaze me that Claire adapted so well to 18th century living. 



12.  Why do you think Phaedre asked Claire to come to River Run?
   I thought that someone was sick or there was some problem between Duncan and Jocasta.



13.  Were you surprised that Phaedre was Hector Cameron’s daughter?
   I was really surprised, although impregnating a slave was fairly common in those days.  I was surprised that Jocasta knew and still kept Phaedre as a personal slave. 



14.  Hector betrayed Jocasta in every way possible.  He killed one daughter by accident (possibly), left her two other daughters to die, and flaunted his illegitimate daughter by a slave in front of her.  Knowing Jocasta as we do, and knowing she is a MacKenzie, why do you think she didn’t take her revenge against Cameron a long time ago?
   She was probably financially dependant on him.  If she was going to try and murder him, she would have to make sure she wasn’t caught.  Maybe she did murder him.



15.  Do you think Jocasta knows about Duncan and Phaedre?  What do you think happened to Phaedre?
   She must know, or why would Phaedre run.  Then again she may have killed her.



16.  Lizzie and the Beardsleys.  Did you see that coming?  How has Lizzie changed since Bree acquired her bond?  What are your feelings about the whole situation?
   I thought they were protective of her like a sister.  She was no longer meek and afraid.  None of them was experienced, the boys less than her.  I could understand how they became aroused while they were rubbing the medication into her skin. 



17.  Funny scene in the kitchen with the molasses cookies.  Which brings us to the lice, which brings us to Jem’s birthmark.  Are you relieved that it’s finally been proved that Roger is Jemmy’s father, or did you believe it to be so all along?
   What a scene!  Sometimes out of something bad comes something good.  Actually I did feel that Roger was Jem’s father all along, but there was no DNA then.  I guess a mole will do just as well.



18.  What did you think of Fergus’ newspaper?
   Good job.  It was nice to know that he was doing well.

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

6.  Do you think Sun Elk sent the Abenaki after his wife and child to get them out of the way?
   It never occurred to me, but that would work into his plan very nicely.  Would they have been taken to another tribe or killed?

I think they would be adopted into another tribe, not killed.

15.  Do you think Jocasta knows about Duncan and Phaedre?  What do you think happened to Phaedre?
   She must know, or why would Phaedre run.  Then again she may have killed her.

I think if Ulysses knew what was going on, and I'm sure he knows everything that goes on at River Run, he might have killed her to spare Jocasta further pain.

16.  Lizzie and the Beardsleys.  Did you see that coming?  How has Lizzie changed since Bree acquired her bond?  What are your feelings about the whole situation?
   I thought they were protective of her like a sister.  She was no longer meek and afraid.  None of them was experienced, the boys less than her.  I could understand how they became aroused while they were rubbing the medication into her skin.

 

Funny, but creepy.

[NessaBug]

1.  Why would Jamie think Claire would go back to the future if he was killed?
        Well he dreamed of her there, but I think that he saw her when the ghost was seen in the beginning of "Outlander." He probably thought she'd go back to be safer and able to practice medicine. And maybe he thought they would take Roger, Jemmy and Bree with her.

2.  Do you think Fergus will be able to stay out of political trouble as a printer?  Do you think he can make a success of the business?
         Sure. He knows how to play the game. I think he will flourish because he has something to do that he can feel worthy about.

3.  Why do you think Ian chose to talk to Briana about Emily and not Jamie or Claire?
            I don't know. They are contemporaries and it may have seemed easier to talk to her about that than Claire.

4.  Who do you think the woman is that Ian sees in the fire?
      I don't know. Sure seems like people are seeing a lot of stuff that's not actually there in this book.

5.  Why do you think Ian no longer thinks in Mohawk?
   It reminds him of Emily and that life.

6.  Do you think Sun Elk sent the Abenaki after his wife and child to get them out of the way?
   *shrugs* It didn't occur to me. But with all the disappearances of late, maybe or it could just be good coincidence.

7.  What do you think of Ian’s story?
        I wondered if he left her. He didn't seem as distraught as if she had died. But it was still painful to hear.

8.  Do you think Ian should go back to the Mohawk to fight for Emily?
   No, she may want the other one as well. Also, Bree is probably right. And it would make the pain much worse if he were to be rejected again.

9.  Do you think he was comforted by Bree asking her father’s spirit to look for Iseabail’s spirit?
     Yes. He's a doer and it always helps to take some action no matter how small.

10.  Do you think Ian will ever become completely Scot again?
        Do we really want him to? He's a very interesting combo right now.

11.  What did you think of the sausage making?
      Ew! I am a vegetarian, so some of these scenes really gross me out.

12.  Why do you think Phaedre asked Claire to come to River Run?
      Trouble is a-brewing.

13.  Were you surprised that Phaedre was Hector Cameron’s daughter?
      No, though I was surprised about Jocasta's reaction. But I don't think she had a hand in the disappearance.

I will finish up later.

[NessaBug]

14.  Hector betrayed Jocasta in every way possible.  He killed one daughter by accident (possibly), left her two other daughters to die, and flaunted his illegitimate daughter by a slave in front of her.  Knowing Jocasta as we do, and knowing she is a MacKenzie, why do you think she didn’t take her revenge against Cameron a long time ago? 
Maybe she did and we don't know about it, aye? What an awful man though! Poor Jocasta, saddled with him. Even being her, she was still a woman in a man's world.

15.  Do you think Jocasta knows about Duncan and Phaedre?  What do you think happened to Phaedre?
No. I think Phaedre left or was picked up somewhere along the way of an errand.


16.  Lizzie and the Beardsleys.  Did you see that coming?  How has Lizzie changed since Bree acquired her bond?  What are your feelings about the whole situation?
SHOCKER! I knew they had a thing for her, but wow. My mouth fell open. Just open. Obviously she's not a weakling anymore. It's crazy. They should all be whipped for continuing on like that. I guess there were different family types even then.


17.  Funny scene in the kitchen with the molasses cookies.  Which brings us to the lice, which brings us to Jem’s birthmark.  Are you relieved that it’s finally been proved that Roger is Jemmy’s father, or did you believe it to be so all along?
Yea! It's official! I heart Roger nearly as much as I heart Jamie. I did think he was the father. But I was so happy it was proven.


18.  What did you think of Fergus’ newspaper?
Great. It's the perfect thing for Fergus. I could see him trolling around my newsroom, chasing a story, stirring the pot.

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

10.  Do you think Ian will ever become completely Scot again?
        Do we really want him to? He's a very interesting combo right now.

Good question.  Yes, he is very interesting.  He's kind of at loose ends right now, but I'm hoping he does find himself.  Sort of like The Three Faces of Eve.  She ended up being an amalgam of her various personalities.  Ian probably will find a way to integrate his two personalities.  I'm hoping the woman he saw in the fire is his future wife. 

16.  Lizzie and the Beardsleys.  Did you see that coming?  How has Lizzie changed since Bree acquired her bond?  What are your feelings about the whole situation?
SHOCKER! I knew they had a thing for her, but wow. My mouth fell open. Just open. Obviously she's not a weakling anymore. It's crazy. They should all be whipped for continuing on like that. I guess there were different family types even then.

Yes, the first time I read it, I didn't know what to think.  I kind of laughed, not at the situation, but at everyone's reaction to it.  They didn't know what to think, either.  Then I thought it was pretty creepy. 

This time when I read it, I had a different reaction.  Jo and Kezzie are definitely uncivilized.  They grew up pretty much like animals.  They have little or no notion of traditional right and wrong.  What is right to them is what ensures their survival.  What is wrong to them is what threatens that survival.  They have brought Lizzie into their protective circle, but I don't think their initial purpose was to seduce her. 

I also think part of their attraction for Lizzie is that very protection.  She became a bondmaid at age 14, taken from her home by a stranger.  Then she is infected with malaria and suffers uncontrollable attacks.  She is attracted to Ian, but he leaves.  She is engaged to Manfred, and the reason for his loss is devastating.  Worse than that, she's lost Ute, someone she considered a mother, as well as the whole family.  With Jo and Kezzie, she's found family, protection, safety and a place for herself. 

I'm not excusing her actions, just trying to understand her.