Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 42 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

We start with Brianna feeding Jemmy in Jocasta’s room. Jocasta and Phaedre are there, making sure Jocasta is ready for her wedding. Phaedre wants to do more to Jocasta’s hair, but the older woman isn’t having any of it.

When Phaedre leaves, Bree and Jocasta talk a little. Jocasta is worried that Jemmy, now sleeping in a makeshift crib, is too close to the fire. Bree knows that her son is fine, but she humors Jocasta anyway.

That’s when Jocasta gets Phaedre to bring a small box. It’s full of charms, including one to keep Jemmy safe from the fairies. Brianna doesn’t believe in this stuff, but she’s respectful of Jocasta’s beliefs and the superstitions of the time. There’s something sweet about all this, and I just adore that we see how kind Jocasta can be.

Jocasta is often viewed as manipulative, but she certainly has a heart. We don’t see it too much around Jamie and Claire, but we see it a lot when she’s around Brianna.

After feeding Jemmy and speaking with Jocasta, Brianna heads back to the wedding party. She comes across her father, who has come across a passed-out slave. Brianna recognizes her as Betty and wonders what happened.

At first, it looks like Betty got drunk off some rum punch. At least, that’s what Bree is sure was in the cup based on the residue. Jamie notes that laudanum was in cup. They have to decide whether Betty drugged herself or was drugged by someone else.

Whatever the situation, they need to get Betty out of the barn she’s in and into the house without running into anyone. There’s a risk at one point of Wylie and a couple of people, but they do manage to do it. The focus will soon be on Betty for other reasons.