The SPOILER Thread can be found here.


Voyager ~ by Diana Gabaldon
Chapter 9: The Wanderer


John Grey finds himself at an impasse regarding Jamie two weeks into his new command at Ardsmuir – a gentleman of interest has been located wandering in the moor nearby and taken to the Lime Inn in the village to convalesce. He is incoherently muttering in a mixture of French, English, and Gaelic – the word “gold” catches the attention of those caring for him, which of course leads the villagers to assume that he may have some knowledge about the location of the missing Frenchman’s Gold rumored to be sent by King Louis to Prince Charlie during the Jacobite rising. The news proves to be valuable to one man who arrives at the garrison to inform Grey of the man’s mutterings – he is paid a shilling by Grey for the tip and sent on his way, while the only man at Ardsmuir with fluency in all three languages being spoken by the mysterious wanderer is summoned – Jamie.

Grey greets Jamie with a high level of anxiety. This will be the first time he will speak to Jamie, face-to-face, and he finds that the years since his first encounter with him in the early days of the Jacobite rising have changed him some, but not much. Jamie’s short beard and calm facial expression hold a pair of blue eyes that Grey remembers with clarity – but he can tell that Jamie has no idea that he has met Grey before. After explaining the situation, Jamie guesses that his ability to interpret is the reason for Grey’s summons, but he declines on the basis that he is a prisoner, not an interpreter. Grey reassures Jamie that there is no threat for not cooperating with his request and further strengthens his resolve learning what the mysterious man knows by giving Jamie the one thing he wants most – the removal of his irons from his wrists. Conditions for this agreement are set: “In return for having the irons removed, Grey had required three things: firstly, that Fraser would not attempt to escape during the journey to or from the village. Secondly, Fraser would undertake to give a full and true account of all that the vagrant should say. And thirdly, Fraser would give his word as a gentleman to speak to no one but Grey of what he learned.”
Gabaldon, Diana (2004). Voyager (p. 135). Dell. Kindle Edition.

The mystery man’s situation is dire by the time Jamie reaches his bedside at the Lime Inn. A priest has been summoned to give the man his last rites, and he spends the night restlessly speaking quietly in a mixture of languages that Jamie patiently listens to and pieces together the morning for Grey. The man died prior to daybreak, and the understandably disjointed interpretation Jamie repeats, twice, seems to have two unrelated terms put together, in different ways: “The white witch”, and seals. One thing is for sure, they are no closer to finding the Frenchman’s gold than they were before.

During the conversation and then as they make their way back to Ardsmuir, John Grey finds himself more and less comfortable with Jamie by turns. Grey is surprised to find Jamie searching for watercress to eat, and after telling Grey that it was his wife who taught him that eating greens prevented scurvy, Grey finds an opportunity to ask him where his wife is. Jamie’s reply indicating that she is gone both dismays and relieves him, and the cold blue stare that greeted him as Jamie replied is disconcerting. The two men spend the rest of the trip in silence.

Three days after their return, Jamie escaped from Ardsmuir. While this isn’t the first time a prisoner has escaped, it is certainly the most embarrassing situation for John Grey, who immediately mounts a search party. On the way back to the village and the Lime Tree Inn, Grey and his search party encounter a group of seals. This is the first time that Grey has seen them, it is also the first time he hears of the precarious section of the sea called the Devil’s Cauldron. One of the soldiers in the search party reassures Grey that if Jamie has fallen into it he will never be found because of the furious currents in it. Resigned to failure and the prospect of having to write to London of Jamie’s disappearance, the search party returns to Ardsmuir. Along the way, Grey stops to take care of a personal need and sees Jamie right in front of him – literally with his pants down in a scene that is one of the funniest parts of the book:

He was no more than six feet away. He stood still as one of the red deer, the moor wind brushing over him, with the rising sun tangled in his hair.
They stood frozen, staring at each other. The smell of the sea came faintly on the wind. There was no sound but the sea wind and the singing of meadowlarks for a moment. Then Grey drew himself up, swallowing to bring his heart down from his throat.
“I fear you take me at a disadvantage, Mr. Fraser,” he said coolly, fastening his breeches with as much self-possession as he could muster.
The Scot’s eyes were the only part of him to move, down over Grey and slowly back up. Looked over his shoulder, to where six armed soldiers stood, pointing their muskets. Dark blue eyes met his, straight on. At last, the edge of Fraser’s mouth twitched, and he said, “I think ye take me at the same, Major.”
Gabaldon, Diana (2004). Voyager (p. 142-143). Dell. Kindle Edition./trade ppbk.

*John Grey has a whole spectrum of reactions to Jamie ranging from fear to fascination that is interesting to read as their tenuous relationship as commanding camp officer and prisoner unfolds. Does the fact that Jamie didn’t recognize John Grey from their encounter on the battlefield make things that much easier on John Grey?

*Jamie’s gentle handling of the wanderer as he spent his last hours on earth surprised John Grey. What other characteristics do you think surprised Grey most about the fearsome “Red Jamie” in the broadsheets spread around during the rising?

*What did you think about the wanderers mutterings – did you think they were really about the Frenchman’s Gold, after reading what he said to Jamie?

Great job, NE Mom!

When I first read Voyager, this chapter really was a mystery. The wanderer is not adequately explained within this chapter or book. A spoiler thread is definitely appropriate here!

I was surprised that LJG did not have anyone on his staff with a working knowledge of Gaelic. But, then, apparently all of the officers were assigned to the wilds of Scotland for only a year of hardship. What was the point of learning a "barbaric" language? Interesting then that LJG is forced to deal with his old nemesis.

I was amazed that Jamie would refuse to serve as a translator. Is anyone aware of a concept of prisoner's rights at this time?

I found it realistic, but surprising, that neither man recognized the other after their encounter ten years before. LJG certainly learns many things about our "Red Jamie" as the story continues.

I am pleased, NE Mom, that you pointed out the humor when Jamie let himself (?) be captured. Jamie endears himself to LJG and to the reader in this scene.

I am impressed with LJG's character. He seemingly never considered trying to possess all or a part of the gold for himself. The only gain that he hoped for was an early release from Ardsmuir. When Jamie returned, LJG was properly embarrassed by the treatment given to Jamie.

Almost caught up! I've been away, but returned home yesterday and I've been catching up on chapters (reading and posting). Great summaries everyone (sorry if I didn't say that in each chapter).

I've always wondered whether Jamie really didn't recognize John, or whether he just put his blank face on so that John didn't realize that Jamie recognized him. I actually suspect that he knew but didn't let on. In a later chapter, Jamie will refer to Carryarick, surprising John, but there is still a question about when he figured it out. Knowing Jamie as we do, I suspect that he figured it out fairly quickly. If John looked familiar when Jamie saw him speak before the prisoners, Jamie would have plenty of time to figure out when and where he had encountered him before - what else did he have to occupy his mind for hours of labor or sitting in the cell? And, having seen Hal, he had more to go on than just what John looked like at 16.

Now that I'm thinking about this (and I'm typing on the fly here, so I might not make sense), I wonder whether Jamie recognized him and knew that both John and Hal had shown a strong sense of honor in the past. This knowledge could affect how he dealt with John including his initial refusal to be an interpreter. A nasty commanding officer may have had him beaten or something for refusing, but he might know that John is an honorable man who wouldn't do that. [Actually, I kind of like this idea now that I thought of it because I thought his refusal was a little odd before.]

I loved both the watercress scene and the scene when Jamie gives himself up. I thought it was a pity that Jamie saw John looking at his raw skin from the irons and that ruined the more comfortable companionship at the inn. Mind you, I don't think Jamie was seeing it as companionship, though John was starting to. Jamie was being careful what he said and keeping his promise to the letter. But, I think they could both use the companionship of the other and it was too bad things got awkward at that point.

(One or two more chapters to read and post about and I'll be caught up. Woohoo!)

Welcome back, ABL! We missed you!