Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 38 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The start of the chapter is tense. Laoghaire’s brother is arriving, and Jenny is worried that Laoghaire’s brother will hurt Jamie. With his injured arm, it’s not like Jamie is going to be able to put up too much of a fight.
However, Jamie isn’t scared. He doesn’t view Hobart MacKenzie as one to fight. So, he’s not going to run.
That’s just as well. Jenny had told Young Ian to get Donas (Donas’s grandson) ready for Jamie to ride off, but Young Ian hadn’t bothered. You see, Young Ian knew that Jamie wouldn’t leave.
This gives Claire and Jenny a chance to talk. Jenny doesn’t really want to at first, but they need to clear the air. Why did Jenny make the match between Jamie and Laoghaire? Jenny admits she shouldn’t ahve done it but Jamie was lonely, and Jenny couldn’t bare to see Jamie so hurt.
I don’t blame Jenny for this. She thought she was doing good, sure that Claire was dead with the way Jamie talked. Claire hadn’t even got in touch with anyone, so it’s easy to understand why everyone thought Jamie was free to remarry.
However, Jenny admits that she saw Claire during the wedding. Jenny had to leave the ceremony because of it, because of how much it scared her. We get this hint that while Jamie and Jenny can’t travel, they do have some sort of supernatural abilities. It’s not the first time they’ve mentioned visions and ghosts.
The two do clear the air, but I don’t feel like they’ve cleared it fully. Jenny doesn’t feel like she can trust Claire anymore, sensing that there’s something Claire is holding back. There’s a gap that probably can’t be closed.
After this, Claire finds Fergus, who is deep in his thoughts. Fergus had looked forward to buying into Jamie’s printing business. It would legitimize him, making him someone worthy for a girl to marry. And there is a girl he’s interested in. Claire thinks to herself that Fergus isn’t the best choice for a husband, linking back to Jamie once being a bad choice for a husband.
Finally, it’s time to get to why Hobart is coming to Lallybroch. It’s not to fight at all. It’s to deal with the legal business. You see, Laoghaire wants to take Jamie to court for his bigamy, which shouldn’t be all that surprising.
Ned Gowan is the lawyer, and Jamie agrees to a few terms for an initial payment, sending money yearly, and providing for Marsali and Joanie. After all, this isn’t like Laoghaire being widowed again. She had to rely on Jamie’s money to support herself and her daughters. Think about the time period.
Jamie agrees to it but only until Laoghaire marries again. When she has a new husband to support her, his obligations end. And after the contracts are signed, Jamie and Jenny discuss the need to get Laoghaire to marry someone else quickly.
Until then, Jamie needs to find the money. It means getting the gold that he found during his time at Ardsmuir, which means finding someone to swim out to it. Young Ian is the one who is volunteered for this job, and he’ll go to France to live with Jamie there for now. Jamie needs to stay away from Laoghaire for now and he can’t go back to Edinburgh yet, so France it is.