Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 24 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with Roger performing the list of songs Jamie has given. There’s only one song from the ’45, and that’s a song about Prestonpans. It is used to rally the men, helping them remember the great victory during a failed rebellion.

While performing, Roger watches Jamie moving around the group. He listens, shares stories, and tells jokes. It’s all part of Jamie being a laird, a leader of men.

After Roger finishes his performance, Jamie steps up and calls on the men. He knows that he’s not their laird, but the fiery cross is a call to the men to follow him. In a sense, he’s asking to be their chieftain in the way that Dougal took that role for Colum at Leoch. This is all because of the summons from Tryon.

It sounds like everyone is on side, but all this is from Roger’s view. He can just watch. He does mention how Brianna relaxes when Jamie lights the cross. There aren’t the shouts and cheers that she would have been used to hearing from the KKK news reports, so she’s able to experience the fiery cross for what it really is here.

After the speech, Roger sings one more song. It’s Flower of Scotland, which wouldn’t be a song anyone in the time period would know. It hadn’t been written yet! However, it’s something they can appreciate, and it’s not like they’d know if’s a song from the future.

While singing, Roger thinks about the battles to come and a speech that John Adams will give. The speech is about being a warrior so his son can be a merchant and grandson can be a poet. Roger realizes that he is going to need to be a warrior for Jemmy.

This is a huge moment for Roger. It’s that turning point where he realizes that he needs to be a soldier. At least for the time being.