Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 66 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

When Roger gets to the Ridge, he comes across Claire first. He’s glad of that happening. She’d be the calmest of all those he’d run into.

Claire is shocked by Roger’s state but mentions that he has a son. He gets a little hope that the child is his but then realizes what Claire means. She assumes that since Roger is back, he’s claiming to be the father whether he is biologically or not. There is a chance of it.

When he gets into the cabin, he performs a blood oath on the baby. He makes it clear that he claims the child.

Brianna now wants to know why Roger is back. Is he there for love or obligation? Roger doesn’t really know yet, and they question the handfasting. Jamie says there are three months of the handfasting left, so Roger has until then to make up his mind and then convince Brianna. If Brianna doesn’t want to marry him then she won’t be forced into that.

It’s still not quite enough for Jamie. The two men go outside the room and fight a little. Claire will handle Jamie, but Brianna will need to handle Roger.

It’s a few days later and Claire refuses to allow Roger to walk on his injured foot anymore. She looks at it and realizes there are abscesses that he’s routinely popped and drained to avoid a serious infection. She has been waiting for this, getting maggots ready to use for the removal of the dead tissue.

She comments that one of her Native American friends taught her about maggots. That has to be Nayawenee, and she’s still able to help beyond the grave. Claire even notes that if she did it the way she would have done in her own time while in the past, it would be very painful and could leave him crippled.

Brianna is with Roger the whole time. When Claire leaves them together, she sees Jamie. He’s put a roof on Claire’s surgery. Roger can sleep up there, and it starts getting people out of the cabin.