# II: Summary of Events (Continued) explained — The Master of Ballantrae > Chapter companion for The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson. ## What happens Mackellar arrives at Durrisdeer in December 1748 and is warmly received by Mr. Henry and Lord Durrisdeer, though Mrs. Henry treats him with condescension. He quickly becomes devoted to the family, especially Mr. Henry, whom he finds kind but deeply unhappy. The household is haunted by the memory of the Master, and tensions arise over a stained-glass window pane that Mrs. Henry and Lord Durrisdeer treat as a relic. Mackellar is sent to deliver a pension to Jessie Broun, who reviles Mr. Henry as a 'Judas' and speaks of the 'bonny lad' (the Master) as dead. This is Mackellar's first indirect encounter with the Master's shadow over the family. ## Themes in this chapter ### Loyalty and Betrayal Mackellar's growing loyalty to Mr. Henry contrasts with Jessie Broun's accusation of betrayal, and the family's divided loyalties between the living brother and the dead Master. ### Memory and Narrative The Master's memory dominates the household, shaping every interaction; the stained-glass pane and Jessie's lamentations keep his story alive. ### Identity and Inheritance Mr. Henry's position as heir is shadowed by the Master's legacy; the family's identity is tied to the past and the absent brother. ## Character check-ins ### Mr. Mackellar Arrives at Durrisdeer as steward; becomes a loyal servant to Mr. Henry; carries out the delicate errand to Jessie Broun. ### Mr. Henry Welcomes Mackellar warmly; is kind but unhappy; bears the burden of the Master's memory and Mrs. Henry's coldness; sends Mackellar to pay Jessie Broun. ### Mrs. Henry Treats Mackellar with condescension; is deeply attached to the Master's memory; weeps at the chimney-side with Lord Durrisdeer; opposes replacing the stained-glass pane. ### Lord Durrisdeer Sits reading Livy; smooth-talking and pleasant; shares in the mourning for the Master; consoles Mrs. Henry. ### Jessie Broun Receives a pension from Mr. Henry; speaks bitterly of him as 'Judas'; mourns the 'bonny lad' (the Master); lives in a disreputable part of St. Bride's. ### John Paul Announces the stranger's arrival to Mackellar with ill humor; is sick, prompting Mr. Henry to ask Mackellar to deliver the pension. ## Key lines > I made the last of my journey in the cold end of December, in a mighty dry day of frost, and who should be my guide but Patey Macmorland, brother of Tam! Mackellar completes his journey to Durrisdeer on a frosty December day, guided by young Patey Macmorland. _Introduces Mackellar's arrival and the local guide who fills his head with tales._ > Mr. Henry came himself to the door to welcome me: a tall dark young gentleman (the Duries are all black men) of a plain and not cheerful face, very strong in body, but not so strong in health; taking me by the hand without any pride, and putting me at home with plain kind speeches. Mr. Henry personally greets Mackellar at the door, a tall, dark-haired man of plain appearance and kind demeanor. _First impression of Mr. Henry, highlighting his modesty and warmth._ > It was still daylight; and the first thing I observed was a lozenge of clear glass in the midst of the shield in the painted window, which I remember thinking a blemish on a room otherwise so handsome. Mackellar notices a clear glass pane in the middle of the family coat of arms in the hall window, which he considers a flaw. _The missing stained glass becomes a symbol of the Master's absence and the family's unresolved grief._ > I found in the entrance-hall a big man, very plainly habited, and wrapped in a sea-cloak, like one new landed, as indeed he was. Mackellar finds a large man in simple clothes and a sea-cloak in the hall, clearly just arrived from a voyage. _The stranger's arrival hints at the Master's eventual return._ > It's blood-money! ... blood-money for the betrayed! See what I'm brought down to! Ah, if the bonny lad were back again, it would be changed days. But he's deid—he's lyin' deid amang the Hieland hills—the bonny lad, the bonny lad! Jessie Broun calls the pension 'blood-money' and laments the death of the 'bonny lad' (the Master) in the Highlands. _Jessie's words reveal her bitterness and the Master's lingering influence._ > She is no friend to me; but indeed, Mackellar, I have few friends to boast of, and Jessie has some cause to be unjust. I need not dissemble what all the country knows: she was not very well used by one of our family. Mr. Henry admits Jessie has reason to resent the Duries, implying the Master mistreated her. _Mr. Henry's first indirect reference to the Master, showing his burden of guilt and shame._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/chapters/ii-summary-of-events-continued - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/chapters