Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 13 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Claire and Jamieealing with one of the problems that people came to Jamie about in the previous chapter. There’s a man being threatened by a woman with an ax. It turns out that the guy isn’t happy with the way a pig is being cooked, although it’s clear that it’s just th way different people have been raised and are set in their ways.
Claire notes that the way the pig is cooked is a little sweeter than the way the Scots are used to. It’s actually the use of tomatoes that is a concern, a fruit that some people believe are poisonous.
The actual situation isn’t that important for the overall story. It’s just great to see how Jamie and Claire can work together to diffuse a situation. Plus, they gain the respect of Mrs. Lindsay, who is doing the cooking by acknowledging her work and pretty much taking her side.
When Claire and Jamie get back to their camp, they have to deal with the priest. Jamie wants Roger to see Jocasta thinking the priest will have been taken to Farquard Campbell. Jamie wants Jocasta to help get the priest free. Roger shares what he’d said to Jocasta.
Roger goes off with the task to see Farquard Campbell instead, and this is when we find out what Jocasta really did. Jamie and Claire know that this was to stop the gossip that Roger was a gold digger. It also makes it clear that Roger has claimed Jemmy in public in a time of anger. He didn’t even think. Part of him does believe that Jemmy is his.
With that out of the way, it’s time to deal with getting the priest. Jamie’s focus is on getting the priest in his care for the night, which would allow the weddings to take place. When it’s clear that isn’t going to happen because the practising of anything but the Protestant religion is outlawed in North Carolina, Jamie makes sure that the priest won’t come to any harm. He’ll just be taken to Virginia and allowed to leave.
Jamie needs to get his grandchildren baptized, so he asks for the priest to hear his confession. He’d already got Marsali and Brianna to bring the babies to the tent in secret. Claire can now bring them in.
It’s a hilarious confession that doesn’t allow for anyone who would do business with Jamie to lose trust in him. It’s all about lust, and he goes into a lot of detail. Some of it involves Claire, and she’s mortified about that.
However, the focus has to be on the baptisms. Germain, Jemmy, and Joanie are all baptized, which is when Claire finds out Joanie’s full name: Joan Laoghaire Claire Fraser.
At the end, there are concerns that the weddings aren’t going to happen. However, there is one wedding that can go ahead in a slightly different way than planned. Roger and Brianna have come across a Presbyterian minister who will be able to perform the wedding, and it’s just right for the two of them.