Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 15 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

We start with Jamie reading an adult book. It’s something he’s heard about but never had the chance to read before because Jenny would order the books. It seems he can’t put it down until he has to, and that’s when he’s called to set up the horses.

Lord and Isobel Dunsany need to head out to the Ellesmere estate. Lady Dunsany is already there. It turns out Geneva is pregnant, and Jamie has done the math to figure out that it could be his child. However, Geneva married just days after their night together in the previous chapter, so there’s no way Jamie can be sure…yet.

When they get to the house, Jamie learns that Geneva died shortly after childbirth. The cook says that she lost a lot of blood and the doctor couldn’t stop it. The cook also reveals that Lord Ellesmere says the child isn’t his. There’s speculation about whether Ellesmere could father a child or not, but it’s more about the bedsheets. They remained clean, suggesting Geneva wasn’t a virgin.

That’s something Ellesmere isn’t happy about. He paid for a virgin. It’s that stark reminder that women weren’t people back then. They were property to buy and sell between potential husbands and fathers.

There’s a commotion during the night, and Jamie sees that Ellesmere has the baby. While he doesn’t believe the baby is his, Ellesmere wants to keep the child. This is his heir, after all. However, the Dunsanys want to take the child with them to Helwater.

Ellesmere threatens to throw the child out the window. If he can’t have the baby, nobody can. Jamie is the one able to think on his feet. He shoots Ellesmere, killing him, and grabs the baby.

There is a bit of lying when it comes to the coroner’s report and the witness statements. Jamie isn’t mentioned in them as the Dunsanys say that he wasn’t there. This is a hint that they know it will just get him into more trouble and put him directly under suspicion as he is a Jacobite prisoner and still on parole. They also owe him for saving baby Willie.

Lady Dunsany goes to see Jamie after the coroner labels the death as “misadventure.” This is when Lady Dunsany makes it clear that she knows Jamie is a Jacobite prisoner. She doesn’t know his real name, but that doesn’t matter. Her husband had told her the truth about him, and she doesn’t take offense at Jamie lying to her.

What she can offer is a chance to go home to Scotland. She and her husband don’t have a lot of influence, but Lord John Grey’s stepfather does. There’s a chance Jamie could be released from his parole.

For now, Jamie is staying. He won’t tell anyone, but he can’t leave his son just yet. And now he does believe this boy is his son. The boy is called Willie, after Lord Dunsany.