Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 2
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter is all about Claire and Jamie simply going through the morning. Claire is worried that Archie wants to speak to Jamie, but he’s not concerned about that.
It turns out the soldiers are leaving the colonies soon. With the French now gone and the Native Americans without French influence to rise up against the British, it’s time for the Army to leave the colonies. It turns out Hayes’s regiment is the last to leave, and they’ll be heading for Portsmouth after the Gathering.
We get to meet Abel MacLennan, who tells the story of his wife’s death. This is an important chapter to understand why the Regulators rose up. Taxes had to be paid in coin, but there aren’t many people in the colonies with access to coin. MacLennan had plenty of corn and other items set aside for his taxes, but he didn’t get the coin in time because of the crops needing cutting down.
While he got the coin, his home was seized and his wife was kicked out in the cold. By the time he found her, she was already feverish and she died in the cemetery with her children. Abel buried her and then found out that others had also been kicked out of their homes.
A small group headed to Hillsborough. They’re against the taxes, especially with the way they’re treated if they don’t happen to have the coin available. It’s no wonder the settlers were disenfranchised.
During the chapter, there are also mentions of people who will head to Fraser’s Ridge soon. This is a follow-on from mentions during the first chapter. Jamie put out a call to those at Ardsmuir, offering them land, and there are people willing to take him up on that offer.
We also spend time with Claire going through her medical kit and thinking about a young doctor who likes to do bloodletting and blistering. I love the mention of how Claire’s ways are the old, uneducated ways. After all, herbs were used before bloodletting, yet those ways are actually closer to modern-day medicine than bloodletting!
As Claire proves her abilities and ends up with more patients, she knows that the young doctor wants her secrets.