Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with a group of women and children coming to the house. They want to see if Jamie will reconsider the eviction. The women point out that they all have sons, brothers, and uncles who swear their loyalty to Jamie. It was only the husbands, and they don’t want everyone else punished for what their husbands did.
They promise that their husbands will not step out of line again. It’s not like the men know how to cook. They will be starved if the women find out what they did.
Jamie thinks about it. He doesn’t really want to show weakness, but he does decide that he will allow this group to stay. However, the tenancies will be transferred to the women. They will become the ones responsible for the rent and the land. This is a good enough compromise for the women.
Jamie also wants the men to come and swear their fealty to him. They say that the men will do that and off they go. However, Jamie is sure this could come back to bite him.
Next is Elspeth Cunningham. She comes to share that she is taking her son back to England. She will also take some of the lieutenants, so there will still be some cabins remaining empty. Elspeth would like to take Agnes as she is pregnant with one of the lieutenants’ baby, and they can then decide who she will marry.
Claire and Jamie don’t really want this to happen at first. However, Claire realizes that this is a win-win situation. There could be talk that Jamie is the father of Agnes’s baby, and Claire won’t want that. Plus, Elspeth has someone who can help with Cunningham.
Jamie and Claire are concerned with Elspeth’s age. What if she dies on the way to England. She makes it clear that that won’t happen. Her son needs her too much. So, Claire makes it clear that Agnes is to still have a basic education. Elspeth can agree to that, and so Agnes is able to leave the Ridge if she would like.