Voyager - By Diana Gabaldon

Please discuss Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager ONLY in this thread. Thanks!
The SPOILER Thread can be found here.


PART 6 – Edinburgh
CHAPTER 29 Culloden’s Last Victim

While Jamie and young Ian head off to confession, Claire heads to an apothecary shop to obtain some medical supplies. The shop hasn’t changed much in 20 years except that the son of the man Claire knew now runs it, and he is not the expert his father was. Claire demonstrates her knowledge and is approached by another customer, a rather rude man, asking if she can prescribe something for a woman who has bouts of screaming and staring. Claire agrees to go see her later that afternoon.

Then, she meets Jamie and they have a fairly amusing conversation while they wait for Young Ian to finish his confession. One topic is being a great aunt and great uncle (yes, time really has passed ). One of the things Jamie mentions is having met a Jewish natural philosopher the year before [and since we will hear more about him later in the book, I thought I’d highlight that here]. Just as Young Ian arrives, Jamie startles Claire by biting her ear and she shrieks. When Ian asks why, Jamie says that she saw a spider and then goes on to share several interesting facts that he learned about spiders.

After dinner, Jamie goes to talk to the insurance man about the loss of the print shop while Ian accompanies Claire to see Margaret Campbell, sister of the Reverend Archibald Campbell whom she met that morning. She is greeted by the woman’s caregiver who tells her Margaret’s story. Claire also performs a physical exam on the catatonic, staring woman and finds essentially nothing physically wrong with her. Apparently, when she comes out of the staring phase, she screams until she exhausts herself and then sleeps for a long time.

Claire discovers that Margaret was the sweetheart of Jamie’s Jacobite friend Ewan Cameron despite the fact that her father and brother were Royalists. She went to try to find him after Falkirk and was taken and abused by English soldiers on her way back after Culloden. Since then she has been “soft in the head.” Now, her brother plans to take her to the West Indies hoping that a change of climate might help her. Claire gives her some prescriptions that she knows won’t hurt even if they may not help. As she prepares to leave, young Ian mentions Jamie’s name and Margaret speaks for the first time, repeating it. Then she starts screaming.

Claire and Ian return to the brothel to find Jamie and Fergus discussing the smuggling in light of Sir Percival’s warning. They plan to meet the French ship at Arbroath in 4 days, the third and last possible rendezvous. Ian wants to help, but Jamie refuses. He tells Claire that he has to take Ian home and try to mend things with his parents and asks if she minds going to Lallybroch, which she does not. He sends Ian off to deal with stuff from the burned print shop and sends Claire off to have a dress made before the trip.

- I liked that Claire quoted the line about “what a tangled web we weave” and then they discussed spider webs and their sticky and dry silk threads. I’m sure DG did that on purpose and I suspect Jamie did too. And, I think the sticky and dry threads were a metaphor for Jamie’s various identities and occupations and how he is careful to leave himself a safe way out (like the trap door in the print shop roof in the previous chapter).

- I’ve been focusing on Jamie’s identities, and therefore Claire’s identities as his wife. The current apothecary says that his father died the year before. Had he lived, he likely would have recognized Claire and knew her as Mrs. Fraser, which could be a complication had they stayed in Edinburgh as the Malcolms. It turns out to be a good thing that they are leaving the area.

- A related issue is that Claire recognizes Reverend Campbell as the man with Sir Percival and Mr. Wallace the day before, though he apparently does not recognize her. So, he was someone else who could potentially have known her as Mrs. Fraser, as Mr. Wallace had or as Mrs. Malcolm as Sir Percival was introduced to her.

- I love the developing closeness between Claire and Ian. I think the trip to see Margaret Campbell is the first time that Jamie tells Ian to look after his auntie, but certainly not the last.

- What do you think of the Campbells, and Margaret’s rather unusual condition? Were you surprised that Archibald wasn’t there when Claire came to see his sister by his request (or nearly, his demand)?

- Jamie admits that he told the elder Ian the story about Claire being in France all this time, and that Ian is too canny to believe it, but too good a friend to ask for the truth. Wouldn’t it be strange if Claire lived in France for 20 years and never contacted Jared, whom she had met and liked when she and Jamie lived in Paris? Given that Jamie works with Jared smuggling French brandy, shouldn’t they think it’s strange that she didn’t know for all those years that Jamie was alive? I suppose things like this are why Jamie is sure Ian realizes the story isn’t true.

- Other thoughts/comments?

Great summary, abl.

I agree Ian knows that isn't the truth but that that story is all he is likely to get. He could push Jamie for me but he knows Jamie enough to know that he will only get what Jamie wants him to know.

I did wonder what the reverend was doing when he should have been with Margaret...

I think the lack of a good cover story for Claire's absence is definitely a contributing factor to Jenny's actions later at Lallybroch. Maybe Jamie won't share more with Jenny and Ian, but they're certainly smart enough to realize that Claire wasn't sitting in France all this time thinking Jamie was dead. Good point, abl, about her not contacting Jared, at the very least.

Now that I'm rereading this book, the instances of Jamie keeping the big secret from Claire just keep jumping out at me. Why did Jamie get such a big penance after his confession? I'm guessing he's feeling a bit more guilty than he's letting on about his marital status. Loved when Young Ian again almost blurted out the truth:

"But Uncle--" Young Ian blurted. "What about--"

And Jamie uncharacteristically lost his cool for a moment:

"Be still!" Jamie snapped. "That will be all from you, laddie. Not another work, aye?"

On first reading, I guess I'd assumed this was about the smuggling. But seeing how Y Ian comes out with this immediately after Jamie asks Claire if she minds going back to Lallybroch with him, I think the meaning is quite different.

Great point about the spider and all of Jamie's various identities being the threads of his web. Definitely time for him to get the heck out of Edinburgh!

The whole France story was unbelievable to anyone over 15 in that family. Jared was writing and sending help regularly, so what, Claire can't drop them a line? America would have been a better bet (remember Frank's rule about using as much of the truth as possible in an interrogation?). ABL, you've pointed out several instances here that Jamie could have prepared Claire for the truth but is making absolutely no attempt. The whole spider analogy almost mocks the telling of the truth and the care and skill of stepping in between the lies. What a different Jamie he has become.

I love Ian's character and his emergence in Voyager was one of the highlights for me. He's that innocent, idealistic teenager looking for adventure. He loves his uncle and anyone who loves Jamie earns his love and support also.

I'm trying to think of it as Jamie being desperately afraid of losing Claire again and therefore limiting the potentially troublesome information he gives her. She's dealt with smuggling, rooms in brothels, a drunk little Chinese guy and probably several more things I'm forgetting. So maybe he thinks telling her immediately about Laoghaire and/or Willie would be the last straw that makes her leave him. But, really, I think he should have told her sooner.

Absolutely! I understand that Jamie was scared of losing her, that perhaps she'd turn around and leave if she knew the truth. But really, I just feel like shaking Jamie at this point! It's so unlike him to play the ostrich with his head in the sand.

If they'd stayed in Edinburgh, Jamie could probably have gotten away with the deception for a while longer, maybe pick the "ideal" time to break the news. (Hmmm, what kind of pillow talk would that be?) But it's just foolish of him not to realize that the truth will come out at Lallybroch. This is definitely the only situation I can think in these books where I want to tell Jamie to "man up"!

And then, of course, once the worst bit is out of the way -- oh, by the way, I kind of have another wife... -- why not tell Claire about Willie too? That piece should be much easier for Claire to accept and understand.

Great summary ABL..

I agree with the metaphor with the spider - Jamie was certainly weaving several strands....his secrets were firmly woven into the strands of his life -

"I suppose there's a moral there for web weavers." Jamie observed to me, sotte voce. "Be sure ye know which of your strands are sticky"

Jamie had so many sticky strands - he was in danger of becoming unstuck...

I think all those sticky strands are what made it necessary (or at least a very good idea) for Jamie (and Claire) to leave Edinburgh.