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"Besieged" is a novella in the Lord John series by Diana Gabaldon. It follows Lord John Grey's involvement in the siege of Havana in 1762.

Plot[]

Lord John Grey, anticipating a voyage home to England after his brief stint as military Governor of Jamaica, instead finds himself on his way to Cuba, where the British navy is preparing to lay siege to Havana—and where the Dowager Duchess of Pardloe is a guest (and potential hostage) of Governor Juan de Prado.

Summary[]

In early May 1762, Lord John is living at the Governor's palace in Jamaica. He has spent the last year serving as the governor of Jamaica and is preparing to depart in favor of a new governor.

His stepfather,Sir George Stanley unexpectedly arrives at the house, looking severely unwell. He tells Lord John that his mother Benedicta Grey is in Havana with his cousin Olivia Stubbs and Olivia's children. Olivia's husband Malcolm Stubbs is stationed in Havana as a minor diplomat, and Benedicta accompanied Olivia and her children on the journey from London to Havana to meet him.

However, Sir George has learned via a connection with the Duke of Albemarle that the British Navy is about to lay siege to Havana, putting English subjects like Benedicta and Olivia at risk of becoming Spanish hostages as Spain desperately attempts to maintain control of Cuba. Stanley has discreetly stolen a small cutter to reach John in Jamaica. As Sir George himself is severely ill and unable to travel, he presses John to take the cutter to Havana as quickly as possible and rescue the women.

John consults with Azeel Sanchez and her husband Rodrigo Sanchez. John shares a deep connection with both of them due to the events of Lord John and the Plague of Zombies, in which Rodrigo and Azeel were embroiled in a conflict with the previous governor and involved in his murder, and Rodrigo was made into a temporary "zombie" using poison and witchcraft. Azeel has spent the last year working as John's housekeeper while nursing Rodrigo slowly back to health, and the two are now married. John has also manumitted Azeel, and hopes to keep both of them with him as servants as he travels to his new posting. John explains to them the plan and invites them to come to Cuba only if they would like, given the danger. They accept, and John is pleased to have their assistance, especially as they both speak Spanish.

Lieutenant Rimes sails them into Havana Harbor, attempting to pass John and the others off as official visitors bringing a message to the English consul. Though the Spanish are suspicious of any English arrivals, Rodrigo and Azeel convince the Spanish guards at the harbor that John is here to visit his sick mother, and the party is allowed to enter Spanish-controlled Cuba.

John, Tom, Azeel and Rodrigo find Benedicta living in apparent happiness in a home called Casa Hechevarria with numerous other woman, children, and servants, most of them Spanish. Benedicta tells John that Olivia and her children are staying at a house further from the coast belonging to Senora Valdez. Benedicta is shocked by the news of the impending invasion, but tells John that, to make matters worse, she's heard from Olivia's husband Malcolm Stubbs there will soon be a slave revolt as well.

John rushes back to Havana to speak to Malcolm. Malcolm and John exchange slightly terse remarks, as John does not like Malcolm's infidelity. John asks after Malcolm's son from an previous affair, John Cinnamon, and Malcolm lies, telling him the son had died shortly after birth, though in fact John has secretly been providing for his welfare for several years. During their meeting, a servant, Inocencia brings the pair food, and it's obvious she and Malcolm are now having an affair.

Malcolm heartily agrees that the women and children should rapidly evacuate, but tells John that he is at the heart of the planned rebellion. Inocencia had told him that the enslaved people on the Mendez and Saavedrasa plantations planned to stage a rebellion. Malcolm had met with the leaders and urged them to wait, promising that if they quietly help sabotage Spanish equipment and armaments, they can be freed on the grounds of service to the English army once the siege officially begins.

John returns to Casa Hechevarria, but finds that Benedicta has already departed for Senora Valdez's home, as she's heard Olivia has taken ill with yellow fever. John also learns that Benedicta is writing a book about her life. John receives a letter from Benedicta instructing him not to come to the house so that he doesn't catch yellow fever as well, ominously saying that they'll know either way in a week.

In more bad news, a coded letter arrives from Malcolm telling John he's been arrested, pressuring John to carry out his plan.

John travels to one of the plantations, bring Azeel and Rodrigo as interpreters. Under the cover of darkness, in a tobacco shed far from the main house, he meets with Cano and Hamid, the leaders of the rebellion at their respective plantations, and the rest of the enslaved men. He tells them he's there on behalf of English crown and on behalf of Malcolm, and would like their help executing the original plan in exchange for their freedom. The men are reluctant to trust him, but Rodrigo steps in and tells the men about his time as a zombie and how Lord John rescued him. Unnerved by Rodrigo, the men send him away from the tobacco shed, but they agree to help John sabotage the Spanish cannons in preparation for the English siege, in exchange for their freedom. One of John's conditions is that the men do not kill the Mendez or Saavedrasa plantation owners. Cano promises that they will not murder them. John prepares multiple written documents with names and his own signature.

John reunites with his mother but learns that Olivia and her middle child, Charlotte have died, while Benedicta and Olivia's other two children, Cromwell and the newborn Seraphina have survived.

John and the enslaved men return to Havana late at night and sneak into the fort, armed with guns and machetes. Inocencia accompanies the group to help distract the guards. The attack seems to be proceeding as intended, with the men "spiking" the cannons, rendering them unusual without significant repairs by the Spanish. John attempts to take Inocencia to safety, as her part of the plan is complete, but is attacked by Cano with a machete. Cano turns on Inocencia, badly wounding her. John kills Cano and helps Inocencia up, but she insists on rescuing Malcolm, who is being held prisoner in the same fortress. They break Malcolm out of jail and escape. As instructed, the men have fled the fort directly for a small fishing village where they'll be met by English boats and can obtain their freedom and passage off the island.

Malcolm, John, and Inocencia return to Benedicta's home. Hours later, Rodrigo and Tom arrive. They are grateful to see him alive, but Rodrigo tells John that on the night they had visited the men on the planation and he had been sent out of the shed, he noticed a smell of death coming from the house. Though Cano had promised John not to kill the owners, in fact by John's arrival, the men had already done so. John realized Cano had attempted to kill him out of fear that, if John learned the owners were already dead, he might revoke their promised freedom. John, who knows the rest of the escaped men are already making their way to freedom using the papers John gave them, elects not to intervene.

John sits with Benedicta and they mourn Olivia and Charlotte. Benedicta tells John she intends for her book to be read by him and other younger members of the family, telling him that it is the duty of a survivor to "tell the stories of those who shared your journey...for as long as they could.”

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