Brianna questions whether Jamie is telling the truth in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 81
Roger and Brianna start the chapter of Outlander Book 6 with questions about Jamie. By the end, Bree has to share the details of Malva’s circumstances with someone else.
We start the chapter with Roger and Brianna discussing the rumors and gossip going around the Ridge. Everyone has found out about the story Malva has told. And Roger is sure it’s a story. We even get to find out why he believes it’s all a story, and I’m curious why he doesn’t think of mentioning this to anyone.
However, Bree isn’t so certain. She wants to believe Jamie is loyal, but she has a story about Frank from the past—someone else she thought was loyal to her mother. I love that we have this doubt. It’s important to understand why the rest of the Ridge would believe that Jamie could do something like this. If his own daughter questions things, won’t everyone else?
By the end of the chapter, Bree has to tell Bobby all about Malva. It’s clear that there is more to Bobby’s story, and this is where some foreshadowing is. I’ll get to that in the foreshadowing section.
The chapter was partly used in the TV series, but not fully. I’ll get to my thoughts on the changes to how this chapter was handled in the adaptation section.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 81.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Bree not too certain that Jamie is telling the truth. She wants to believe him, but she remembers of a time when she was younger going through Frank’s wallet. She found a note from someone who wanted to meet with him. She goes on to explain she never had proof, but she did always feel like things were off between Claire and Frank.
This continues that belief that Frank did have affairs. However, Diana Gabaldon has shared that in the book, Frank didn’t cheat. So, what was he up to and who was that note from?
Roger wants to stop the rumors, though. He is sure that Jamie didn’t have an affair. For one, he knows Jamie. He also knows that Malva isn’t telling the truth about when she got pregnant. He notes that it is now May, and if she’s six months along, she would have conceived in November. Malva says it was when Claire was sick, and Roger notes that was in September. The timing is off.
Why wouldn’t he tell anyone of this? Maybe he realizes that it will do no good. He does think that getting Jamie and the Christie men to the Lodge might help to stop the rumors, though.
Things move on at the cabin, where Roger hears someone chopping wood. It’s Malva, so he goes out to talk to her. There isn’t much time for her to say anything. Allan Christie comes out and starts a fight, but Roger is bigger and able to handle it.
In the end, Jamie and the Christies don’t get to work things out in the Lodge. The Christies don’t attend. It means the rumors will keep on spreading.
Brianna does get the chance to tell Bobby that Malva is pregnant. She doesn’t tell him about all the rumors, but Bobby heads out of the house anyway. He has something else on his mind. He ends up in a fight with Young Ian, which certainly foreshadows a few things to come in the next chapters. Malva is not so innocent.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
The foreshadowing comes at the end. The start of it is more about plot development. Things will get worse for Claire and Jamie before they get better.
But at the end, we get the foreshadowing of who the baby could belong to. Bobby and Young Ian are both fighting, and we know later that it’s about Malva. Both of them have slept with her, even if the people at the Ridge don’t know. Maybe that rumor should have spread to stop the rumors about Jamie, although Tom wouldn’t have wanted that!
I think Allan coming out to protect Malva also foreshadows some things. It’s clear that Malva is struggling with the lies, and Allan is concerned that the truth is going to come out. He can’t let that happen, can he?
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
Some of this chapter was used in the TV series. We got to see the discussion between Roger and Bree. This discussion was slightly different, though. Bree had no idea about affairs until Frank’s memorial when Sandy came up to Claire. That’s when Bree and Roger learn the truth, and it’s no wonder Bree is so concerned that Jamie isn’t as loyal as he makes it out to be.
I don’t mind the change to the chapter. It fits with the story that the TV show has told us up to this point.
The bit completely missing from the chapter was everything involving Bobby Higgins. Well, and the Christies, but that scene was replaced with Claire going to see Malva and Allan.
We didn’t get to meet Bobby Higgins in the TV series in Season 6. That doesn’t really surprise me considering how much needed to fit into the show with so little time. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bobby was skipped over completely, although I do then have to question what they’ll do with Amy McCallum. It is possible that Bobby will be introduced in Season 7 just to deal with Amy’s storyline, especially if she does move to the Big House to be the housemaid now that Lizzie’s storyline has played out.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 81? Let us know in the comments below.
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