Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 25 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
We start the chapter with Claire and Jamie heading to The World’s End to meet Mr. Willoughby. They have to rush through the rain, and when they get to the pub, they realize that Mr. Willoughby has caused a problem while being there. Jamie blames himself for being late.
Mr. Willoughby is hiding from Jamie because he knows he’s done wrong. There are a lot of times in this chapter that I feel the Chinese man is being treated like a child. The language barrier would be a problem, sure, but something has always felt off in the writing for Yi Tien Cho.
This chapter really starts the problems. Mr. Willoughby has a fetish for feet. That’s fine, but the problem is that he just can’t control himself. I get the feeling that he’s meant to be better when sober, but then I have to wonder why Jamie would get him to meet at The World’s End and not the print shop.
Anyway, a fight almost breaks out at the tavern because of Mr. Willoughby. Jamie pays a couple of people off, but there are some he can’t pay off. Instead, Jamie, Claire, and Mr. Willoughby have to run away. They manage to lose their followers, and then they head to a property with a doorway that’s not easy to come across. It’s the doorway to the brothel.
Madame Jeanne is not happy to see that Jamie has brought Claire. Not only is it a woman, but it’s Jamie’s wife. This is quite unheard of in a brothel, so it’s understandable why Madame Jeanne is so put out. I don’t blame her for being unhappy about the entire thing.
And Claire has to question why Jamie would even bring her here. More importantly, why would he have a room in a brothel? Is he that good a customer?
Nope, it’s business. Jeanne is a customer of Jamie’s. He later shares that he is a smuggler and Jeanne buys some of the alcohol at a discounted price in return for the room. He has a warm bed and good food when he’s back late.
When Claire learns that, everything starts to fall into place. Jamie came across Mr. Willoughby at the docks (who is called Yi Tien Cho but the name sounds like a rude word in Gaelic if said wrong so Jamie changed it), he needs a room at a brothel but isn’t a customer, and he could be arrested and executed for his actions.
The two re-consummate their relationship during the chapter. It’s an excellent moment that brings back a lot of memories from the chapters involving the wedding night. The two are nervous at first, but they soon get back into the rhythm of things. It’s like riding a bicycle.
Finally, Jamie wants Claire to draw Brianna for him. Not physically draw a picture, but to describe his daughter. He wants to know as much as possible in detail so he can picture it all. And Claire does that, including sharing how she’s almost six-feet tall.
One thing Claire mentions is that Brianna’s ears are pierced. She wonders if Jamie will be unhappy about that because Frank didn’t like it. However, Claire notes that her own ears are pierced, so she didn’t have the right to say no to Brianna.
It’s important to think about the time period here. It would have mostly only been pirates with their ears pierced around this time. A high born lady certainly wouldn’t have, wearing clip-ons instead. Even in the middle of the 20th century it wasn’t that common for women to pierce their ears. Fashion has changed as we’ve had more cultures meld together.
It did feel odd to me for Claire to bring this up though. I know it was to make a note of how Frank and Jamie are different in their views, but Claire never thought Jamie and Bree would meet. Why would Jamie have needed to know that sort of thing?