Foreshadowing within the Outlander chapter
There is a little foreshadowing throughout the chapter. The first is when Colum is involved. He knows that Claire isn’t telling the truth, and he wants to figure out what she’s hiding. It’s best to keep her in the castle.
Within the conversation, there’s that element of foreshadowing that Claire won’t be able to freely leave the castle to get back home. She’ll have to plan an escape.
Before that, we have more foreshadowing of Laoghaire’s storyline. Jamie is clearly trying to make Claire jealous. That’s the hint as he smiles when he sees Claire watching, but it’s clear that Laoghaire is infatuated with Jamie. She’s 100% smitten and wants to marry him.
We get this foreshadowing of Laoghaire’s feeling of being in love with Jamie; like he is hers. It’s no wonder that she turns against Claire when she realizes that Claire is interested in Jamie. You can tell from this point that she’s been in love with Jamie from a young age.
And she’s always going to act like a child when it comes to love. Alec makes that extremely clear when he tells Claire to stop teasing Jamie. This isn’t the time for teasing as he may end up with Laoghaire for a wife.
In a way, this scene also continues to foreshadow Claire’s inability to really fit in with the people of the time. She’s always going to do or say things that make it clear she’s not one of the Highlander women and not just because she’s English.