Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Claire in her own room. She’s ecstatic that Jamie is back, but she didn’t want to show that around William. She wants to give him space.
Instead, William wants to talk to her. He wants to know if he should still call her “Mother Claire,” and she would like that. It gives him some consistency, and that’s what he needs right now. He also wants to know if she knew the truth.
Claire doesn’t lie to William. She struggles with what to tell him about the night he was conceived, but she makes it clear that she and John both know the truth about Jamie being William’s father. William does want to know if Geneva and Jamie were having an affair, and Claire wants to make it clear that wasn’t the case. She also doesn’t want to blacken Geneva’s name by telling William about the blackmail.
I know a lot of people don’t have much heart for Geneva and wouldn’t mind Claire telling the truth, but I can see where Geneva and Claire are coming from. I’m happy that Claire didn’t want to blacken Geneva’s name. This wasn’t about the woman but about William’s opinion of her. Geneva is still his mother.
At the end, Claire explains that they all kept the secret to protect William. Up to this point, he’s been very calm, something that both John and Jamie can do. However, it’s the ending that sets him off and he hits a wall and then flies out of the house.
It’s not all over. Jenny Murray is at the door.