Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 20 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Brianna and Roger heading out for shooting practice. As they walk, Brianna starts thinking about how she and Roger had immunizations against various diseases. She even finds out that Roger thought of more than she did, preparing himself for a life in the past for Brianna.
However, she realizes that Jemmy doesn’t have that protection. She’s seen what it’s like with young boys. They will get scrapes and bumps, and there isn’t the protection of the 20th century for him. She has to push those thoughts to one side.
The two spend time shooting. Roger didn’t want Jamie to teach him because he didn’t want the look of shame. It’s easier with Brianna since she knows the type of man Roger as in the 20th century. And Bree is a patient teacher.
During their practice, Brianna shows off her abilities, managing to kill a squirrel. It’s the only creature she kills while out there until they’re on the way back. They see a group of turkeys, and Brianna gets Roger to shoot one of them. He misses, and Brianna ends up killing one of the turkeys.
Roger didn’t realize Bree was such a good shot, and he thinks that it’s from all the practice with Jamie. Bree explains that Frank used to take her shooting. We find out just how much Frank taught her growing up, and the two discuss whether Frank knew that Brianna would come to the past at some point. Did Frank find something about her in the past?
If not, Frank must have worried that Brianna might end up in the past searching for Jamie if she found out about him. He wanted to make sure Bree was prepared for anything, even if the things they did together weren’t typical for a young girl in Boston in the 1950s and 1960s.
Overall, this chapter is one for the two characters to learn a little more about each other. It’s a chance for connection that they’ve never really had a chance to gain, even when they lived in the 20th century. There was never a need for some of the conversations to come up, never realizing that they would end up in the past.