Outlander Book Club: Book 2, Chapter 39 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
During this chapter, Claire starts with her visit to Alexander Randall. She listens to his chest for his heart and the sound of his lungs. The prognosis isn’t good, but she can’t tell him around Black Jack Randall.
After getting Randall out of the room, she tells Alex that he doesn’t have much longer left to live. He has consumption and heart failure. There’s nothing she can do to prevent the illness getting worse, but she can offer him something to ease the pain he is in. He’s resigned to death, but he would like the coughing to stop.
Alex does point out that Jonathan likely knows the truth. Of course, Claire still can’t tell him that. She can’t risk Black Jack Randall doing anything to her or Jamie, and this is a man who might. At least, that’s what I take from this part of the chapter.
Back with Jamie, she shares some of the “rumors” she’s heard. She mixes in the information from Black Jack Randall with the rumors she really does hear. That way, not everything is treated as fact but someone will listen to the rumor mill somewhere along the way. Jamie would never accept information from Black Jack Randall.
Claire mentions how she’s lying to Jamie. I’m not sure it’s a lie. It’s a secret, and the two have always agreed to having secrets and not lies. In a way, telling him that it’s a rumor is a lie, but at the same time, can Claire really trust everything Black Jack Randall shares? Probably not, so she’s best treating it as a rumor. Therefore, it’s not a lie.
At the end, Charles needs a favor from Jamie. While there have been many successes, it’s getting to the time to prepare the soil for the next spring. The Jacobite men are farmers first, and they want to get back to their farms to make sure their families won’t suffer. That means some are leaving, and there’s still no guarantee of the money from France or Spain.
Yet, Charles wants to head south. He wants to take London. So, to do that, he needs Lord Lovat to join him. Jamie is the one to head there to request Lord Lovat’s presence.