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VOYAGER
By Diana Gabaldon

Chapter 26 - Whore's Brunch

Claire awakens to find Jamie gone from their bed. She is instantly aware of her surroundings and circumstances, smelling the warmth of her man in the bed linen around her. She looks up and finds him relieving himself at the chamber pot and stays quiet observing his naked backside. He looks around and finds her watching him and smiles as he rejoins her in bed.

They lay together for some time, taking in each other, noting the changes to each other’s bodies over the passage of time. Claire touches Jamie’s scarred leg wound and they talk about Lord Melton sending him home on the wagon. Claire doubts her decision to leave Jamie, she wished she had stayed so she could have taken care of him. He reminds her that quite possibly she would have starved and died leaving their child without a mother just as so many others had during the hard times after Culloden. Lost time, painful separation, regret…..”But we might have had more time”…..she laments.

Jenny had forced Jamie to live by sheer stubborn willpower, when he was delivered to Lallybroch, taking draconian measures to save his leg as she was not going to let him die or become a cripple. As they continue to talk the future and past intertwines as they both fill in the gaps as they lived it, the past and future perspectives of the twenty years apart from each other. Jamie is somewhat disconcerted to find out that his life was written about and that his daughter thought him a hero.

Ian, Jamie’s brother in law, drops in for a wee visit aye. “I never thought to find ye in a kittle hoosie Jamie?” He comes to find Jamie cozied up in a brothel with a ‘harlot’ and immediately misinterprets what he sees. Ian looks like he’s seen a ghost when Claire is finally revealed to him by Jamie! So funny ! He came looking for his youngest son Ian who apparently keeps running away from home.

Claire is left alone for the first time since finding Jamie as the men go off to find young Ian and Jamie to also attend to some business. Her thoughts are a collision of all that had happened since starting her search for Jamie with Roger, to the probabilities of what events may exist in time to come. She muses on the life of the tenants of Lallybroch, Jenny and her children and how they will react to her sudden reappearance. A knock on the door reveals young Ian searching for his Uncle Jamie. Claire is happy to meet him. After he leaves, another knock ushers in the small chinaman, Mr Willoughby. They talk of his first meeting with Jamie. Claire is not at ease with him being there as he offers more than once to wash her feet. She is glad when he leaves. Her stomach rumbling and realizing that breakfast was never coming, Claire wraps herself in the bed quilt and follows the scent of food downstairs. She is welcomed to table by about twenty women who immediately mistake her for Madame Jeanne’s newest working member of the establishment.

Fed and finally dressed by Madam’s seamstress Claire overhears some very disturbing news between Madame and her porter and Bouncer Bruno. There’s a fiend going about Edingburgh murdering women. The women are understandably very upset about this.

A knock at the door reacquaints a very startled and pleasantly surprised Claire with Fergus! This tearful reunion is interrupted by Jamie who immediately whisks Fergus away downstairs after explaining briefly that excisemen was in pursuit!

Claire decides to go after them and surprises a man standing in the open doorway to the kitchen. Mistaking Claire for a fille de joie he reaches out and grabs onto her arm. Mr Willoughby appearing at the same time, and in a bid to defend Clair’s honor, shoots and kills the exciseman. Claire quite by reflex catches the falling body as it sags to the floor. The sound of the shot brings down some of the ladies of the establishment as well as Fergus and not long after Jamie. Bringing some order to the situation Jamie moves the body to another room and sees to Clair who was going into shock.

As Claire settles Jamie ponders on the identity of the dead man. He was not an exciseman as Claire thought. Jamie would have recognized him if he were. A search of the body revealed of all things a bible! This is clearly puzzling to Jamie as he also is worried about the whereabouts of hiis youngest nephew, wondering what Jenny will do to him if her son did not get home safely.

He is now fearful all at once about so many things. “I had forgotten….everything……Joy. Fear. Fear most of all…….I havena been afraid for a verra long time, Sassenach,” he whispered softly, his mouth against her hair. “But now I think I am. For there is something to be lost now.”




For me the old Jamie shows up here, taking charge, taking care of everything and everyone, feels so…right. Its just a calming feeling that Jamie is going to work ‘It’ out, as always.

I find it hilarious that Claire blushes at the women’s talk of the obvious telltale signs of the sex she’s been indulging in.

So were there really excisemen or just Jamie wanting to get Fergus away from Claire?

What is he pacing about like a cornered rat and thinking about? What to do, what to do…

Why is young Ian in Edinburgh though?

I am curious about the dead man.......A New Testament?? mmmmm. Are you?

"Something to be lost now."....only Jamie can infuse so much meaning into so few words - and indeed there is much to lose, but only time will tell the consequences of Claire's return..

It was lovely to meet up with old friends in this chapter - Ian and Fergus - so close to Claire in their own way, they must have been equally as puzzled at Claire's sudden reappearance, and yet treated her as if they had only just said goodbye.....

The girls of the kittle hoosie - what a great name for a brothel - shows just what life was life in 18c Edinburgh, and yet there is s sense of good natured rivalry between them, but with the added worry of a potential murderer thrown into the mix, means that none of them want to take any chances .

Their good natured ribald chat with Claire over breakfast was a joy to read ....no wonder Claire blushed.

Another great summary Surah

Great summary, Surah. I read this a few days ago (before I got involved in something else) and had several ideas for comments, some of which had slipped my mind until I read your summary and was reminded.

Considering everything that went on in this chapter, I was a little surprised that the title was Whore's Brunch, since that seemed a small part of the proceedings. Although, it did have that humorous element.

It was good to see some of the old Jamie taking care of things. I think there really were excisemen. We know they were running late (Madame Jeanne runs off in a tizzy because it is 15 minutes past when she was supposed to have the ramp down) and Jamie describes his deal with the authorities. I think it was a little strange that Jamie came up looking for Fergus himself since it seemed like he might have been better off helping the men unload quickly, especially since Fergus only has one hand and might not be as efficient as the others even if he came to help - unless maybe Fergus' role was different? In any case, I don't think he was concerned about getting Fergus away from Claire. I think the mess around the smuggled goods was exactly what it seemed (chaos, running late, having trouble finding people involved, whatever else).

Speaking of Fergus finding Claire, he's the only one that I noticed saying something that clearly concerned Laoghaire (something like "But, what about - "), though he doesn't finish the statement. I don't think Ian says anything related (the elder Ian, the younger doesn't realize who she is and assumes she works at the brothel, so L wouldn't be an issue). I love Claire's comment (to herself) about people's reactions to ghosts (Jamie fainting and Ian looking almost like his hair should be standing on end).

I found myself thinking of all the genres this book (and series includes) because the introduction of the Fiend adds the (serial) murder mystery element and the not-an-exciseman who gets killed is another mystery (who is he and why was he there at that time with a bible?). Plus, there is of course, romance (Claire/Jamie and the beginnings of Brianna/Roger), adventure (pretty much all of it), sci-fi (time travel), historical fiction (the 1760s, but to a lesser extent the 1960s as well), plus there is drama, humor, some upcoming magical stuff (fantasy? I'm thinking of the voodoo scene near the end), and probably more that's not coming to me. Really it was the clear intro of the murder mystery that made me start thinking about it all.

And, when they are concerned about young Ian and Claire mentions that the Fiend doesn't have a taste for boys, Jamie comments that there are plenty of others who have, which seems like foreshadowing of things to come.

I hadn't remembered that Claire thinks about a dragonfly in amber in this chapter in terms of the static moments Roger helped her discover (page 366 in my paperback version). I really liked the imagery and reference to the previous books (she gets the dragonfly in amber from the mute beggar - whose name is escaping me at the moment - in Outlander and then the title of DiA).

And, I love the last line that you quoted at the end of your summary about how now he is afraid because now he has something to lose. There is the obvious surface meaning there - Claire just went through a harrowing experience with the guy dying in her lap and is pretty shaky - but he's also presumably concerned about how she'll react to finding out about Laoghaire. She's handled the brothel, smuggling, Mr. Willoughby and his proclivities, being chased by the guys from the tavern, discovering that Jamie lied to Ian about young Ian being around, and probably several other things, but Laoghaire is the big thing to come, aye?

And, sassenach posted while I was typing and I agree that "kittle-hoosie" is a really fun word for a brothel.

Great summary, Surah, and wonderful comments, ladies. This was an hysterical chapter. I could just imagine the latter part of the chapter in B/W in fast motion with piano music in the background.

Surah, you had asked why Young Ian was in Edinburgh. He wanted to explore the world with Uncle Jamie and chose to follow him without talking to his parents, at least that is what I recall.

There are little clues here and there to the role of Laoghaire. I have to recomb the chapter, but doesn't Mr. W. address Claire as the First Wife of Jamie?

Love that visual Lady Jayne of the b/w and piano music! Thanks ladies again for the encouragement...muah!

Surah, great summary. I too loved this chapter. Claire seems equally at home in a hospital or a brothel. What does that say about her? I thought it was too funny.

I loved Jamie taking care of things too. It was nice to see him back in action with Claire by his side. And I loved Fergus' reaction to her. He is almost as elated as Jamie was.

As for Mr. Willoughby, yes LJ, he does call her first wife.

We talked on a different thread about Mr. Willoughby calling her honorable first wife and how many of us were still surprised by later revelations. I just thought he was using it as a term of respect (I believe in China the first wife gets the most respect and is in charge of the household). Laoghaire never came to Edinburgh, did she? I guess Mr. W. and others have heard that he has a wife (and children?) back in the highlands, but when he says Claire is his wife, how can they know for sure she's not that one come for a visit or something? Did Jamie really tell Mr. W. that this was his first wife and not the other one he can't stand and left in the highlands? Hmmmm.

I think I always assumed that at some point, Jamie mentioned Claire to him. Maybe as a I was married before sort of thing. Or maybe Jamie told him once Claire was back. They did have a night between Jamie and Claire fetching him and the shooting in the cellar.

Oh and the scene with young Ian was terrific. He was so shocked that his revered Uncle Jamie would cavort with a prostitute! I thought it interesting that Claire didn't set him straight right away.

Well, Claire was naked in bed and hungry and not expecting to meet young Ian. I think she just got flustered and tried to explain how she knew Ian and her relationship with Jamie and it didn't quite come out and then Ian left in a hurry. So, basically, I think she meant to explain, but got so flustered it just didn't work that way.

This is one of the chapters that made me love this book. It has it all, laugh out loud funny with the whore's brunch, young and old Ian coming in and out of the room, Mr. Willoughby crawling into her room trying to get at her feet, and Fergus kissing her feet, all while Claire is practically naked.

I don't know why Jamie would tell Mr. W about anyone other than who Claire is since he is an Edinburgh associate just like his men. I would think that only the family knows the whole story.

Pauline, I agree with your appreciation of this chapter. If their arrival at Madame Jeanne's House the evening before was funny, Claire's attempts to be served at this house (after abandonment by Jamie) are hilarious! Her needs are most complete - clothing, food, and knowledge of her circumstances. She has many contacts, and all seem to extend her frustration. But the keynote scene at brunch is an excellent example of DG's humor and very appropriate as the title of this chapter. Notice that DG frequently uses misunderstanding by various characters as a device to extend the story.

This chapter reminds me of Joe Abernathy telling Claire about high school reunions and how little people change over time. This is not a high school reunion, but it is a reunion with more than just Jamie after twenty years.

At first I considered Mr. Willoughby's reference to Claire as "First Wife" as simply a Chinese term of respect. The discussion here is making me wonder if it is meant as another clue for Claire about pitfalls ahead.

We already know that nothing DG does is accidental!

Mr Willoughby's use of the term first wife reminded me of a friend who always introduced her husband as "her first husband" -
...the fact that he was her ONLY husband always made me smile ....

I'm thinking that's what Jamie said to him in "Scot's accented Chinese" when he was in the barrel, because he immediately climbed out and made amends for his earlier disrespect by kissing her feet.

Really interesting suggestion, Colquhoun lass. I hadn't considered that, but you may very well be right. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.