Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Jenny excited as she orders from a vendor in France. She’s speaking French, and she loves the independence that she’s gained. Jamie is a little disappointed that she’s gaining this independence. We’ve seen before that Jamie wants to feel needed, and he’s seeing that his sister doesn’t need him as much as he thought she would.
Jenny is excited about getting on another ship. I think it’s the excitement of a new life and to get to the Colonies. She’s traveled a little but nothing like her brother. This is a woman who has grown up in a small town and has been the landlady of sorts. She’s looked after others, and now she gets a chance to explore and be free.
I think this was the feeling for a lot of people when they embarked on these journeys. I remember getting ready for an intentional move and I was excited about the fresh start.
Jamie didn’t suffer from seasickness on the way to France, it seems. He was so worried about Jenny’s silence, which he put down to mourning. It turns out that Jenny is a little worried about what she’ll meet with Claire in America. This is understandable. Jenny is hard-headed, but it’s clear that she was grieving when she blamed Claire for Ian’s death.
That’s not the main worry, though. It’s the Laoghaire situation. Jenny is sure that Claire blames her for this. She also notes that she never apologized for the way she acted when Jamie and Claire arrived at Lallybroch. Jamie makes it clear that there isn’t anything to apologize for. He should have told Claire about Laoghaire before getting there but was too much of a coward to do it.
Jenny and Jamie are now square in their apologies. There’s just Claire when they finally get to her. They’re delayed, though. They missed the ship to New York. Now they need to wait for the next one, which goes to Charleston. That means longer away from Claire, and Jamie isn’t happy about that.