Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 55 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

Claire is trying to sleep off the potential infection in her arm. During the chapter, she even thinks about using her penicillin, but she’s hoping her own body can fight off the infection from the injury she sustained.

While she’s trying to sleep, there’s a loud bang in the cabin. Jamie is trying to get something from her medicine kit and accidentally bangs his head. This gets Claire up, and she ends up seeing to the patient he’s getting the medicine box from.

It’s a prisoner from the Bruja. However, this man isn’t a pirate. Instead, he looks like a slave, and Claire thinks he’s one that has been brought from Africa and not a Black man born into slavery. The man has some scrapes, so it’s nothing serious that Jamie couldn’t have taken care of himself.

However, Claire’s presence seems to get the man to talk a little. Before she turned up, he refused to talk to anyone, likely to prevent himself being taken back to his master.

He says that he is called Ishmael and he isn’t a pirate. He’s a cook, and he was picked up by the Bruja when he was fishing. He came to the Artemis in the hope of getting away. Because he was on the Bruja, Jamie wants to know if he has seen Young Ian. Jamie doesn’t give a description, making sure Ishmael has seen Young Ian after all and isn’t just telling a story to become a free man, which Jamie has promised.

While Ishmael talks, Claire thinks about how his voice sounds a lot like Joe Abernathy’s. She starts to wonder if Ishmael is Joe’s ancestor, which would make sense considering Lenny wanted to use the name Ishmael. It was an ancestor’s name.

Claire is sure Ishmael isn’t the slave’s real name. “They call me Ishmael,” he tells her. She doesn’t get his real name.

Claire turns her attention to Ishamel’s brand has been cut out, but there are still some signs there. The aim is for him not to go back to his master, but Claire notices that there are parts that look like Temeraire’s brand. The brand isn’t a fleur de lys but that of the Jacobite rose. That means this Mrs. Abernathy is someone who wanted a Stuart king on the throne. Who would show that support now through the branding?

The chapter ends with Jamie sharing a little good news. It sounds like one of the boys on the Bruja was Young Ian. They have a chance of finding him.