Colum MacKenzie announces a gathering of the clans to discuss the growing Jacobite unrest. Jamie, as laird of Lallybroch (though currently an outlaw), is expected to attend. Claire is still treated as an outsider, but she begins to realize that her actions have political consequences: her escape attempt could have sparked a war between the MacKenzies and the British.
Once at Leoch, Jamie invokes his right as a husband under clan law to discipline Claire for disobeying him and endangering herself (and the clan). He takes her over his knee and spanks her in front of the clansmen. Claire is humiliated and enraged. This scene is controversial but crucial: in Jamie’s world, it’s about control and safety; for Claire, it’s a violation of her modern sensibilities.
Jamie is furious. He believes Claire deliberately ran away to return to Frank (her 20th-century husband) and to the British. He doesn’t yet understand her true situation (being from the future). He drags her onto his horse, and they ride back to the MacKenzie camp at Leoch. Jamie is cold, commanding, and clearly hurt—he feels betrayed.