read by Jeff Woodman
This is a novella from the Seven Stones to Stand collection—these
are stories set in the Outlander universe, about characters other than Jamie,
Claire, and their immediate family. It recounts the story of how Minnie met
Lord John Grey’s brother Hal during a distinctly low period in his life, and
it’s charming as all hell.
Minnie is a 17-year-old whose father runs a rare book
business—and also trades in gossip, secrets, and documents whose originators
and/or proper owners would prefer remain private. Minnie, like most people in
that day and age, has been brought up in the family business. And she may have
just a little too much knack for the illicit information trade for her own
good.
As the story begins, Minnie’s father is sending her off to
London, putatively to both deliver and receive some books and at the same time
to be introduced to polite society with the idea of catching a wealthy English
husband. In reality, he has a handful of less legal commissions for her—and she
has some personal business of her own.
Accompanied at various times by two stalwart Irish
bodyguards and by the redoubtable matchmaker, Lady Buford, Minnie sets out to
accomplish her father’s errands, evade her new suitors, and find and meet her
biological mother. Along the way she meets Hal.
Hal’s wife has just died a month ago, giving birth to a
probable bastard. In addition to dealing with that, he’s trying to restart the
regiment that was disbanded when his father became a convicted traitor, and to
do that, he’s got to secure royal patronage. In order to secure royal
patronage, he’s got to get rid of the stain on his reputation that was caused
when he dueled with and killed his dead wife’s poet lover. And he’s got plenty
of evidence—a cache of letters between his late wife and her paramour. But he
refuses to let the deeply painful letters be made public, or seen by anyone at
all.
Into this muddle sails Minnie, at a critical point. She has
the tools to cut this Gordian knot—but will she find a way to do it without
unacceptable consequences? How will this mess get set to rights, and who will
pay for it?
Ms. Gabaldon’s crystal-clear pose and deft, balanced hand
with character, setting, *and* plot will hook you and keep you hooked. (Not to
mention a cameo from a certain Jamie Fraser, whose masculine charms get him out
of hot water without him even knowing about it.) A must-read for fans of the
Outlander books.
