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 8 – On the Water
CHAPTER 41 We Set Sail

The Artemis is at a small Scottish port, Cape Wrath, waiting for Fergus and a small group of smugglers who will join the crew and be there to help Jamie once they arrive in the Indies. Claire grates ginger for tea for Jamie to try to help with the nausea they know is coming. Six men arrive, but Fergus is not with them and the time to sail is fast approaching.

Jamie keeps an eye out, and just as they cast off, Fergus appears and unexpectedly has Laoghaire’s daughter, Marsali MacKimmie with him. They claim to be married (they are handfast), but Jamie tells the captain to return to shore to send Marsali home. However, it is too late for that and Marsali insists that if they try to send her home she will say that she is “ruined” so Jamie reluctantly agrees to let her come, but she and Fergus are not to be together until they are married by a priest. When Marsali is rude to Jamie, Fergus explains that Jamie has taken care of them both and insists that she apologize, which she does.

Jamie watches the shore of Scotland disappear, thinking he may never return, but Claire makes a comment that indicates to him that she has seen his gravestone. She tells him about it, but he doesn’t want to know when and she explains that there was no date. “Aye, well, I suppose if I shall be in Scotland, and still married to you – then maybe ‘when’ doesna matter so much.” He also says he won’t set foot in Scotland again without Young Ian, so this must mean they’ll find him safe.

Due to the presence of only two cabins, Fergus must share with Jamie and Marsali with Claire because Jamie won’t allow the young people to stay together. This is awkward given Marsali’s feelings toward Claire, but they don’t see each other much. As usual during sea travel, Jamie is horribly seasick, and Claire, Fergus and Mr. Willoughby each play a part in taking care of him.

Claire introduces herself to the ship’s cook, Aloysius O’Shaughnessy Murphy, whose galley is immaculate and though he initially refuses to let a woman into his galley, she impresses him and promises him saffron and they begin a mutually beneficial relationship. Claire gets boiling water and Fergus helps her clean the heads. Later, Murphy tries (unsuccessfully) several things to see if Jamie can keep anything down.

Claire returns to Jamie and he tells her that he fears one of the smugglers is a traitor and might want to kill him, but she should ask Fergus for details. He also insists that it’s not Innes. Fergus tells of two incidents when Jamie nearly died (by falling casks and fire), but they could have been accidents. All six smugglers were present both times. They are also concerned because the man Mr. Willoughby killed at the brothel may have connected the smuggler Jamie Roy with the printer Alexander Malcolm (he had a Bible that Jamie had printed). Not even the smugglers know about Jamie’s identity as the printer. But, since the ship captain calls Jamie “Fraser” they must now discover if there is a traitor, and if so, who.

Claire tries to help Jamie with pleasant imagery, but he kicks her out. Then, she and Mr. Willoughby have an easily-overheard conversation about how prolonged dry wretching is bad for a person, including possible tangled testicles. Eventually, a very reluctant Jamie allows Mr. Willoughby to use acupuncture needles on him and it helps enough to keep him from vomiting for at least a quarter hour. People stare when he goes up on deck, including a scream from Marsali, but it’s still an improvement in his condition. Mr. Willoughby determines that Jamie was born in the Year of the Ox, which Claire considers appropriate.

- I feel terrible for Jamie feeling so awful, but his extreme seasickness and related bad mood provides some comic relief. Do you think even Jamie would get over it eventually without the acupuncture? His seems more extreme than most, but can seasickness really last for a months-long journey?

- So, do you think the man Mr. Willoughby shot was actually an excise agent even though he didn’t have a warrant? If not, who was he? That whole situation baffles me and even on my 3rd or 4th time through this book, I don’t really understand that subplot (or don’t remember what I may have figured out before). This goes back to earlier chapters in Edinburgh when I was trying to keep track of Jamie’s various identities and who knew him by each name.

- What do you think of Marsali now that we see a bit more of her? And, what do you think of her as Fergus’ choice for a wife (given that she is Laoghaire’s daughter and half his age)? This explains why Fergus clearly didn’t want Jamie’s help in talking to his beloved’s mother back when they were at Lallybroch.

- What to you think of Murphy, the ship’s cook? Claire once again shows a great ability to deal with all sorts of people when they meet.

For those who like to see where in the world..... here is
Cape Wrath in Northern Scotland

I always have the greatest sympathy for Jamie when he sets sail - sea sickness is truly awful , I'm just so relieved that the acupuncture worked...

I also find all of the smuggler/printer/excise/multiple identity business very confusing... but decided at some point during my first read of Voyager that the details didn't matter so much. It's all very convoluted, but the essential story remains what's happening with the characters we love, so I stopped caring too much about unraveling who knows which identity of Jamie's, etc.

Marsali & Fergus are an interesting pair. He's twice her age! She clearly has a bit of her mother's spitfire nature in her, although fortunately we see over time that she has a good, loving heart as well.

I'd forgotten that this is where we learn about the concept of handfasting, which will be important down the road as well.

great summary abl, as always.

Sea sickness is a miserable experience and the problem is that once you are sick, it is very hard to stop being sick short of getting off the boat. Add to that all the smells on a boat and it is surprising more aren't sick.

Even sick though, you are right and Jamie adds lots of humor. I loved the acupuncture with Mr Willoughby.

As for Fergus and Marsali - poor Claire and Jamie. They are just back together, not long at all, and they can't even enjoy their marital relations. I thought is was very sweet that Jamie is taking such a fatherly role with Marsali, given he isn't her da. I would think that would score points with Laoghaire but of course she would be so bitter than nothing is likely to get through. Is the age difference too much? I don't know. However, Marsali is very young. However, love can overcome a lot.

Like Lisa, I try not to get caught up in the who knew what when and just have faith the DG will reveal what she wants us to know and in her own time..

I agree with everyone that trying to keep Jamie's different identities straight was not worth the effort!

I was very glad that Fergus refused to allow Marsali be disrespectful to Jamie. My opinion of Fergus went up a notch - he is very devoted to Jamie, which is commendable considering their history! Marsali is trying to assert herself, she is just too young to realize that it was not appropriate, especially after all that Jamie has done for her and her family. I guess with Laoghaire as her example (and the way she treated Jamie) Marsali didn't realize that it was wrong.

I have been seasick as well, but I couldn't help myself... I found Jamie's seasickness comic relief. The entire discussion between Claire and Mr. Willoughby was really funny. Poor Jamie!!! He is no match for Claire at times!

Love Murphy! He appears tough but I think he is a marshmallow!

I enjoyed your summary, audiobooklover!

Murphy is just another one of those quirky characters that DG loves to throw in there that you love reading about. First he doesn't want to cook for the men and then by the end he takes it as his personal mission to get something into Jamie. These are the kinds of men that Claire can work her charm on the most.

I liked the whole Marsali/Fergus storyline. It's apparent how young and impetuous she is to just run away with Fergus and then she's thrown onto the boat with the two people that she resents the most, J&C. Imaging having to room with her as a mate? God Bless Claire, she's a better person that I would have been under the circumstances.

I wanted to dislike Marsali - knowing who her mother is - and yet her obvious love for Fergus is heart-warming, and shows how determined she is to get her man -

Thanks everyone. I also wanted to dislike Marsali given whose daughter she was and her attitude toward Claire (and to a lesser extent, Jamie). But, she certainly has courage and goes after what she wants.

I've been trying to work out the excisemen stuff this time since we are reading and discussing in detail and I've been through the book a few times now. Other times, I've been happy to let a lot of the details go, but I thought I'd give it a shot to figure it out. Not sure it's working very well, though. . .

And, Claire has repeatedly proved that she is a better woman than I. With her courage, her ability to adapt, to think on her feet and deal with strange - and sometimes dangerous - situations very quickly and to deal with many people, some of whom are quite mean to her. I admire her. And, definitely better her than me.

[BTW. My parents arrived yesterday afternoon, so I am likely to be scarcer than normal. Sorry if I don't respond to something or if it takes a long time.]

abl, have fun with your parents!

If you figure out the excisemen, please share! I haven't been able to keep all that straight in my head and would love an explanation.

I am also confused and frustrated by the excisemen incident and the traitor among the smugglers. Can anyone help us out?

As for Marsali's appearance with Fergus, what a wonderful couple! Marsali's presence really adds to the rest of the story, especially once she overcomes her dislike of Claire. Jamie's pronouncement of forced separation is one of those "Think before you speak" moments that really adds to the story! Jamie and Claire wouldn't know how to handle wedded bliss on a two month voyage (Caribbean cruise no less) anyway.

DG develops Mr. Willoughby to be interesting and surprisingly useful. Murphy is delightful.

Thanks for your great review, abl! (And under pressure, too.)

Great summary ABL.

I always thought the traitor among the smugglers was a decoy for the real traitor, whose identity is revealed at the end of voyager. Casting suspicion on everyone confused matters and kept Jamie on guard.

Marsali has grown on me, but I did find her quite annoying in the beginning. Leaving Scotland turned out to be a positive move for her and allowed her to make her own judgements about Claire.

Don't want to spoil here but it will be revealed later in the book. This book had a lot of villains that you didn't suspect. That's all I'm saying.

What's so funny (to me) is that I read this book less than a year ago, and I cannot for the life of me remember who the villains are! I guess that's what I get for reading all seven books in a row, with barely a breath in between. No wonder I'm enjoying this re-kilt so much -- so much of it seems brand new!

Boy, I must be getting old...

RE: Marsali: I don't blame her in the least how she reacted to both Jamie and Claire. Think how you'd feel if your mother was tossed over in such a public and humiliating way. Yes, Jamie provided a very nice settlement on her mother but that is only a drop in the bucket for the pain and humiliation her mother suffered (yes, I'll concede she deserved much of it) Marsali probably doesn't have any of the background information about Jamie, Claire and her mother (other than that Claire is a "witch" and a "whore") and can only see the effect on her mother and her family's standing in the community.

She also probably has some anger towards Jamie for abandoning her sister and her when he moved away. She loved him and accepted him as her father and then he left. She's fatherless again and without protection. Actually it says a lot about her loyalty and love for her mother that she does confront Jamie. I can see where Marsali would find it very hypocritical for Jamie to be lecturing her on morality.

While I love Jamie and Claire as a couple and for themselves individually and agree that they deserve happiness, I do think they shouldn't get off scot free (forgive the pun... and need to see some of the effect their actions have had on others. As Jamie said, "there is a thing called justice..."

Pauline, Thanks for remembering where the mystery villian is revealed. I know I read it, I just could not remember where. Well see in the end of the book. Whoever has the chapter outlines can watch for it!