Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 71 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with Claire treating Roger, but she’s called away to help another situation. She gives instructions to Brianna to keep Roger alive. Really, it’s about settling Roger’s mind. He needs to know that someone is with him, but he can’t turn his head. That means Brianna needs to touch him and talk to him.

Brianna initially panics. What if she gets things wrong? What if she ends up killing him accidentally? She panics, and we get to see that insecurity within her. While she managed to help the soldiers from the battlefield, she worries when it’s someone personal to her. She’s out of her depth, and we get that within her thoughts.

However, she does manage to pull herself together. She assesses Roger’s injuries, giving us details of everything. That includes the way the rope has cut into his hand that he slipped through.

He is also covered in leeches to help deal with all the blood collecting around his body. Brianna even notes how red and swollen his body is from the hanging.

At the end, Brianna gets angry. How could Roger end up in such a predicament? It’s a very normal, human reaction. She has nobody else to get angry at except Roger. He ends up laughing at the situation, bringing some life back to him after such a situation.