A Breath of Snow and Ashes

At River Run Plantation, on August 6, 1774, the colony welcomes Flora MacDonald, icon of her people, with a huge barbecue (“worked” by the Africans enslaved there). She’d saved Charles Stuart from the English after Culloden and, although he lost the battle, she’d bonded the Scots to one another more than ever. Jamie has a long history with her, from when he was a child.

Remembering an unpleasant, sexually aggressive incident with King Louis of France, Claire has another near-fainting spell, recognizing it as a PTSD flashback.

Claire mingles with the guests, including MacDonald, and she learns that a new newspaper is being set up in support of the Whigs. The Whig lawyer, Gerald Forbes, whispers to Claire that he’s heard Jamie is amassing guns. He urges her to tell her husband to cease, not wanting to see “the savages” armed as they will eventually use them against the rebels. Claire realizes that circumstances are coming together faster than she expected. Meanwhile, Flora makes a speech, urging her fellow Scots to stay faithful to the Crown, as they didn’t leave Scotland to fight the same war again.

Jocasta has an abrupt pain in her left eye. Claire suspects it’s glaucoma, and she performs a painful procedure on Jocasta’s eye with a sewing needle. Jocasta tells them she took a little too much laudanum and was nearly attacked by an unknown man who told her he meant to steal her gold. She stabbed him with a small knife before he got away. Ulysses, Jacosta’s servant, shows Jamie and Claire where the gold had been kept; it’s gone. Claire stays in Jacosta’s dressing room to keep an eye on her overnight, while Jamie and a few other men patrol the grounds looking for the injured thief.

The Fraser family stays at Jocasta's a little while longer. On August 20, 1774, Brianna paints portraits for the other guests. While she’s painting Ian, they hear an intruder on the terrace whistling a Beatles song. It’s Donner, the time traveler traveling with the bandits who kidnapped Claire. He’s come looking for Claire to ask for help returning to his time. Donner time traveled with a large group intent on stopping the colonization of North America, but he found himself alone on the other side with his travel partner dead from the process. His leader, Raymond, knew a lot about time travel, including the location of the portals around the globe.

Ulysses arrives and takes Donner into custody. Donner has stolen a purse with 10 pounds in it from another guest, and he will most likely be hanged. Claire doesn’t trust him but hopes he won’t be hanged, and she wonders if Donner has more information. Jamie arrives with news that Manfred was seen at a brothel recently. They decide to go to the brothel to see if they can find out where Manfred went next.

Claire goes into town for some supplies and to see Dr. Fentiman, who has a case of deformed and intriguing body parts from various patients. He is drunk, and Claire gives him more alcohol, hoping to find out if he’s treated the mysterious thief from Jocasta’s house, or even Bonnet. Dr. Fentiman tells her a story about a man, shot in the testicle, who then robbed him and left his beautiful horse. The horse later was bought by Jamie and then stolen by Bonnet. Dr. Fentiman has two small golden syringes in a case, which he tries to keep away from Claire. When he’s called for duty assisting a birth, Claire pays the assistant a shilling for one of them. The assistant says they’re penis syringes, used for treating the clap.

Claire then goes to the apothecary for more supplies. The owners, the Brogues, are selling off everything and going back to England. Ralston Brogues appears, saying there’s a mob seeking to tar and feather the printer, and Jamie is holding them off singlehandedly. Claire runs with him to the scene. Jamie is brandishing a broken broom handle. Tar and feathers are everywhere. The crowd is on the verge of violence, but Jamie keeps them laughing. Ian and Fergus create a diversion, and Jamie sneaks the printer out the door.

Claire convinces Jamie to go to the brothel with her to treat the women and girls there for syphilis. After greeting Claire and Jamie, Mrs. Sylvie realizes Jamie is the Scot who saved one of her girls in a tavern one night. They tell her Manfred has been at her brothel and has syphilis. She admits to having slept with him but is in denial that she has anything. Jamie makes a bet with her and ends up beating her at cards, thus enabling Claire to inject penicillin into Mrs. Sylvie and the rest of the prostitutes. Walking back, they see the printer’s shop is in flames. Back at Jocasta’s house, Ian tells them Donner has escaped. Claire finds that Ian has been with Mrs. Sylvie and gives him a shot of penicillin, too.

On September 4, 1774, when he returns from his studies to become a minister, Roger runs into Aiden, who is fishing. Aiden is thrilled to see Roger, telling Roger that a young couple wants Roger to christen their new baby. Roger goes home to find Brianna successfully firing pots and pipes. She is proud and happy for him. Aiden reappears, saying the baby might die, and Roger needs to christen her as soon as possible. Brianna goes with him to find merely a bad case of colic. She advises them how to treat it, and Roger baptizes the baby, whom they name Rogerina.