Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 9 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

We start the chapter with Lord John Grey learning that a man is rambling about something important. The man speaks in Gaelic, French, and a little English, but there are some words that stand out for John. It’s all about the Frenchman’s gold.

This is the moment we learn more about John, and we see that he does have a selfish streak within him. He already hates Ardsmuir Prison and he wants to find a way back into everyone’s good graces. Finding the Frenchman’s gold, which was money Louis sent to Charles for the Rising, would do just that.

He can’t have any of his soldiers talk to the man, although it’s not much use them doing anything since they don’t speak enough Gaelic. He also can’t have a villager, even if someone could speak all three languages. He needs a prisoner; someone who won’t be able to go after the gold themselves.

There’s only one prisoner who can help with this. Jamie Fraser is the only man who speaks Gaelic, French, and English.

However, Jamie doesn’t want to help. He is not an interpreter, and so he heads back to the cells. Lord John Grey offers a bargain. If Jamie interprets, John will remove the irons.

And so, Jamie agrees. There isn’t much to share afterward, though. The benefit of this chapter is we see John’s opinion of Jamie start to change. He sees the type of man Jamie is, kind and caring. Jamie sits with the rambling man as he dies, making sure this man has someone other than a priest there. We know Jamie as this heartfelt and kind man, but it’s the first John has seen of him other than the nights before Prestonpans and the broadsheets.

When Jamie shares everything he learned, there’s little that’s useful to find the gold. John believes Jamie is telling him everything, knowing the French that was spoken has been translated fully. Plus, John asks Jamie to tell him twice and notes that apart from a couple of words (which I’m guessing could be interchanged in translation) the translation is the same.

Jamie is sent back to Ardsmuir without his irons. This gives Jamie the chance to escape. It turns out escaping is easy, but prisoners have nowhere to go so most don’t escape. Why would Jamie attempt to escape now?

Lord John Grey and his men go in search of Jamie. While doing this, he learns about seals/silkies and the superstitions of the Highlanders. He also thinks about how much trouble he’s in for allowing the notorious Red Jamie to escape.

However, Jamie hasn’t escaped. Instead, he holds a sword to Lord John’s neck. It looks like Jamie has him at a disadvantage, except that the other men have rifles trained on him. It’s a stalemate.