Outlander Book Club: Written in My Own Heart’s Blood Chapter 40 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter picks up with the men arriving. Roger notes that they are all wearing green kilts, and we find out that these are Dougal and his men.

I’m surprised by Roger thinking about whether Buck is born yet or not. It’s the late 1730s. Wouldn’t Roger have known that Buck was a baby in the early 1740s. That would suggest that he couldn’t be born yet. Plus, the way Dougal asks about Geillis and the cabin suggests that they haven’t met yet. I don’t get Roger’s thinking process in this point, especially as he questions whether a person can go to a time when they exist. Wasn’t that noted when Roger tried to go back to a time when his dad was alive with him?

Dougal wants to know more about Roger and Buck, and they continue the story that they’re looking for Jem. They also share that they are MacKenzies. This immediately leads to Dougal offering to put out word, saying Colum would definitely spread the word of a missing boy.

The topic of Buck and Roger being ghosts comes up, but Dougal decides they’re not ghosts. He does want to know the story of Roger being hanged, and Roger realizes he has to stop short in mentioning Jocasta as Jocasta Cameron is still in Scotland during this time period. He just sticks to the fact that his wife had family in America.

After all this, Dougal wants to know about the croft. That’s when Geillis (with the last name Isbister) is mentioned. Mr. MacLaren shares that Geillis went to Cranesmuir, and Dougal says that he will go there to see her.

Dougal gives Roger and Buck two of his men’s horses to get to Edinburgh. That leads to Roger giving the name of a coaching inn for Dougal to get word to him if he finds Jem. Roger doesn’t want to put the connection to Lallybroch just yet.

The MacLarens are clearly glad to get rid of everyone. They’re not too happy when Roger says he may call in on the way back and are very happy to say that he’ll go to Leoch if he and Buck return.