Outlander Book Club: Book 1, Chapter 26 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
We start with the journey to Lallybroch. Claire explains how the two are living in the wild, and how they’re eating better than they did in the castle. It’s somewhat surprising that living off the land would be better than in the castle, where food would have been much easier available for many.
However, I wonder if some of it was also portion sizes as well as the nutrients within the food. There was a moment in one of the previous chapters when Claire mentions that she’s reaching for the third piece of pheasant.
Something that is important is Claire learning about the Duke of Sandringham. Jamie didn’t tell the Duke everything, but he holds out a bit of hope that he’ll get his pardon. He just can’t be sure, yet.
The drama of the chapter is definitely at Lallybroch. Jamie immediately puts his foot in it by accusing Jenny of having Randall’s child and being pregnant with another one. He refuses to listen to reason, which is certainly a flaw in his personality.
He’s not the only one with that flaw. We quickly realize that this stubbornness runs in the Fraser bloodline. Jenny is just as bad for it, although I did have to chuckle at him grabbing Jamie’s private parts instead of just mentioning it.
Claire decides to leave the siblings to fight, which is when she meets Ian Murray. She soon learns that Lallybroch had already received news that Jamie had married.
This is where the timing is thrown a little. Ian says they’ve been married little more than a month. By my timing, they’ve been married for four months. I’m sure they married in June as Claire mentioned at that point she’d been in the past for six weeks. It’s not October. Jamie makes a point that it’s Claire’s birthday that day.
But that’s just a small point to focus on. While news would spread, it’s not exactly going to be fully reliable. The focus is on how Ian is immediately welcoming to Claire. Someone has to be!
The two spouses are the ones to help calm their significant others. It gives Jamie and Jenny a chance to talk, and for Jamie to find out that Ian is the father of the two children. Ian didn’t marry Jenny out of mercy for her “soiled” state either. Jenny never slept with Black Jack Randall for Jamie.
Toward the end of the chapter, Jenny also looks at Jamie’s back. It’s time to see the scars that were left. Claire notes that Jenny has the same ability as Jamie to not show strong emotion. She also isn’t afraid to touch Jamie’s back, and they hold each other at the end.
With the tension gone, the two siblings are able to hug. It’s time to move forward in a more positive light.