Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 34 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

This chapter starts with Brianna getting to Lallybroch. She’s bought a horse to make the journey across, knowing that it would be too far by foot. We do get to see how Brianna has planned ahead for this, something that the TV show didn’t give us. I’ll get to that, though.

Brianna is riding in men’s clothing, which is relevant for a later point in the chapter. It immediately raises suspicions and questions though, especially from Young Jamie, who rides out to Bree to meet her.

As soon as Bree tells him who she is, Jamie immediately realizes that it’s the truth. There is no doubt about it just looking at her. Bree’s other cousins feel the same way. In fact, so does Jenny, but not because of her looking like Jamie. There’s someone else she looks like.

However, it’s the men’s clothing and the look of Jamie Fraser that is important at first. Laoghaire MacKenzie is at Lallybroch. She’d seen Brianna riding past Broch Mordha and immediately came to Lallybroch, sure that Jamie was cheating her out of the money she should have from him.

Brianna hears Laoghaire’s side of the story about Claire and Jamie. She hears all about Laoghaire’s thoughts about Claire and Jamie, although Bree isn’t fazed too much. Claire had already told Bree all about Laoghaire, including what really happened at Cranesmuir all those years ago.

Laoghaire is sure that Bree is only here for money. Is there even proof that Bree is Jamie’s daughter? That’s when Bree takes the pearls out of her pocket as proof. How would she have those pearls if she wasn’t Jamie’s daughter? Of course, Laoghaire tries to take the pearls, believing them to be rightfully hers, but Brianna grabs them back. There is no way Bree will give up those pearls.

Once Laoghaire is kicked out of the house, along with her bumbling brother, the Murrays are able to focus on welcoming Brianna into the home. Jenny makes it clear that she definitely believes Bree, and it’s not because of the look of Jamie. It’s the look of Ellen, which Brianna thinks about when she sees Ellen’s portrait in the hallway.

Jenny wants Brianna to stay for a few days. It’ll give them all a chance to get to know each other.

This then leads to Jenny giving Brianna Jamie’s recent letters from the colonies. While it’s mostly a look at things we already know have happened, we do get to find out that Young Ian recovered from the measles. These letters are important for Brianna. She gets a chance to read Jamie’s word, hear his voice in her head. She gets to know him a little bit.

When Jenny worries that Bree may be too scared of the dangerous world that the colonies are. Bree is still going across the water though to get to her parents. Deep down, she knows she needs to.

While Brianna stays with the Murrays, she gets a chance to learn more about Jamie’s life there after the Rising. It all starts with Ian Murray coming to breakfast in his kilt. That’s when Ian takes Bree around Lallybroch and to the cave that Jamie stayed in. At first, she finds the cave suffocating, but then she realizes there’s a feeling of solace there.

After spending some time at the cave, Brianna returns to Ian. That’s when he admits that it’s no longer dangerous to wear the kilt, even though it is outlawed. There’s nothing left for the British soldiers to take except the land.

Ian does have a concern that he wants to bring up, though. Ian wants to know what will happen to Lallybroch. Jamie had signed it over to Young Jamie, but what about now that Jamie’s daughter is here. Bree makes it clear that she doesn’t want Lallybroch. That’s not why she’s here, allowing Ian to relax a little.

I don’t think that Ian was worried about losing the place or family drama, but more about the upset that it could cause for everyone, especially Young Jamie who has grown up the last 20 years with Lallybroch in his name. He’s just being a concerned father.

Now that is out of the way, everyone can focus on the joy of Brianna being around. And it is joy, not just to see Bree, but to see that Jamie has a child, something Jenny and Ian never thought would happen.