In order to avenge, in The Hellfire Club, a seductive diplomat murdered in the street, the young man infiltrates a secret society where respectable gentlemen engage in disturbing debauchery. In The Succubus, seconded to a regiment in Germany, Grey finds himself trapped between two threats: the advance of Franco-Austrian troops and a mysterious creature of the night that sows terror and death among the soldiers. Back in London in The Haunted Soldier, Lord John is summoned before a royal commission to investigate the explosion of a cannon on a battlefield. If he wants to whitewash his reputation, he will have to face his own demons...
A captivating scent of the supernatural surrounds these three wonderful short stories by Diana Gabaldon, who, with her known talent, brings eighteenth-century England back to life.
The Hellfire Club
• Major Grey brings Jamie to Helwater while the other prisoners are "sold" to planters in the American colonies.
• Major Grey will visit him once a quarter
• Jamie adjusts to his new life.
• Christmas: Major Grey's 1st visit to Helwater.
(T J) Lord John at a discussion with Harry Quarry at the Beefsteak Club
(L J) Lord John witnesses the murder of a man, before dying, the man whispers the name of his killer but Lord John does not hear him, and promises to avenge him.
(L J) Lord John is invited to a party at Harry Quarry's sister's house. He meets some men who are part of a club(L J) Lord John is invited to this club
and undergoes an initiation and discovers the murderer Robert Gerald
• Spring 1757: Lady Geneva has a blatant crush on groom Alex MacKenzie alias Jamie• Lady Geneva makes indecent proposals to Jamie by threatening to reveal a letter from Jenny
• Jamie
agrees to spend the night with Lady Geneva in exchange for the letter from Jenny
The Succubus
Chapter 1: Death Rides a Pale
Horse Gundwitz Commune, Kingdom of Prussia – September 26, 1757
Von Namtzen came to ask John Grey for permission to borrow his white stallion so that Herr Blomberg could "hunt" the succubus Lord John, Tom Byrd, von Namtzen and Herr Blomberg hunt the succubus in the cemetery Private Bodger is found dead, sitting on a grave in the cemetery
Lord John's white stallion stopped to graze on funeral wreaths at the foot of an imposing funerary monument that dominates a family burial group. On one of the steles, which bore fresh flowers, the name engraved was: BLOMBERG
Chapter 2: "But what does a succubus do, exactly?"
Schloss Lowenstein – September 1757
The men have a discussion about "The Succubus"
On the way to his room, LJ meets the young son of the princess, who claims to have seen a
witch in his room.
Chapter 3: A Cure for Insomnia
Bonz ̶ September 1757
LJ goes to the headquarters of the 52nd Regiment in Bonz, to bring back the body of Private Bodger LJ leaves the body of Private Bodger
to the doctor's assistant: Keegan who examines it. LJ notices the grime on the doctor's
hands Seeing the dead man's erection, Keegan gives the soldiers the way to avoid the Succubus to LJ
Chapter 4: The Bonz Gunners
, Riverside – September 1757
LJ has lunch with the artillery men stationed on the banks of the river
Chapter 5: The Sleepwalkers
Chloss Lowenstein ̶ September 1757
Namtzen tells the legend of the bridge to LJ.
LJ on his way to his room, is cornered in the corridor by the princess. She gives him a present and kisses him, They are surprised by Namtzen
Tom talks with LJ about what he learned from a kitchen girl, Isle
alone in her room, LJ thinks and tries to put the puzzle in place
Chapter 6: The Gundwitz Runes
– September 1757
LJ investigates the earlier death of Koenig, a Namtzen soldier.
LJ has a discussion with the dowager
Chapter 7: Gundwitz Ambush
– September 1757
Wanting to find the gypsies, LJ finds Franz, an artillery soldier, who has fallen down a badger hole.
Franz tells LJ about the battle between the English and the Austrians
Chapter 8: The Witch
Schloss Lowenstein – September 1757
LJ questions the gypsy, brought by Blomberg to pull the dunes and prove that Mother Blomberg is not the succubus.
With the gypsy's story, LG puts all the pieces of the puzzle in place.
Epilogue: To the Sound of the Trumpet
Schloss Lowenstein ̶ September 1757
Von Namtzen announces upcoming marriage to Princess Louisa at LJ
The Haunted Soldier
Chapter 1: The Woolwich Inquiry
, Tower Palace (Royal Arsenal) – November 1758
• Lord John is summoned to a commission of inquiry concerning a gun that exploded under his command during the Battle of Krefeld in Germany, June 23, 1758
• LJ, after leaving before the end of the interrogation, finds himself observing the carcasses of various guns, including those of Tom Pilchard, the gun in question, in the company of Gromley and Captain Reginald Jones• Captain Jones
questions LJ about the explosion
• LJ sees a man in uniform (ghost of the artillery) as well as the soldier in charge of Tom Pilchard's refouloir also summoned.
• Back in London, LJ goes to the Beefsteak and meets Harry Quarry, They talk about the commission
• LJ decides to go see his half-brother in Sussex (manufacturer of gunpowder), but his departure is delayed. Mr. Lister, the father of the soldier who died in the explosion wants to meet
him• Mr. Lister has a request for LJ. He wants LJ to find the young woman with whom his son Philip Lister, intended to marry.
Chapter 2: Family
Affairs Blackthorn Hall, Sussex – November 1758
• Introducing LJ's half-brother, Edgar DeVane and his wife Maude
• After visiting the powder factory, Edgar explains how he makes powder to LJ and introduces Hoskins• Hoskins
explains to LJ that 3 powder companies, including his half-brother's, have teamed up to get the contract with the government, but that they are not always as conscientious as DeVane
• LJ meets Reverend Thackeray, father of Anne Thackeray, the young woman Philip planned to marry. Tom Byrd on the other hand, collects local
gossip• LJ sees Capitian Magnus Fanshawe disfigured by the explosion of a building in his mill and Barbara, Anne's sister who directs him to Simon Coles, a notary and family
friend• Tom tells the gossip that collected to LJ. LJ meets Edgar's associates in the powder
factory• LJ writes his thoughts in a letter addressed to Jmaes Fraser with no intention of sending him. He burns it after writing it.
• While trying to leave Blackthorn Hill quietly, Edgar's wife Maude makes revelations to LJ about a certain Oswald
Chapter 3: The Return of the Hero
London – November 1758
• LJ meets Colonel Quarry at the Beefsteak Club and realizes that his prowess at the Battle of Krefeld has been amplified by the press
• LJ, Tom and Jack discover the pawnshop where Anne left her jewels. The jewels are bought by Captain Fanshawe
• Captain Jones tells LJ that Gromley has disappeared as well as the remains of some cannons• Captain Jones is actually a spy to the government services who report his discoveries to Mr. Bowles (A private matter)
• LJ, Tom and Captain Jones, go in the morning to search for Gromley on the docks
• With the help of the captain of the Sunrise, Mr. Hanson, they set out in pursuit of a canoe with Mr. Stoughton, the blacksmith master, and Mr. Stapleton on board• On board
the Ronson, everyone discovers the truth, that Stoughton
steals the copper and sells it to the army but
that it is protected by the Navy
• LJ asks Jones to send a copy of the report which will send to Mr. Bowles, to the Commission of Inquiry.
• LJ tells the story to Quarry, the one at the head of the company can only be Oswald
• LJ goes to a costume ball to meet Captain Fanshawe. A man approaches him and
talks to him about Oswald. LJ makes a deal with him
• The cannon shard still present in LJ's body exits itself
• LJ finally meets Fanshawe who explains Anne Tackeray's last moments. He leaves LJ leaving his haven containing Anne and Philip's
baby• LJ lays his thoughts on paper, as if he were writing to Jamie and burning the letter.