Outlander Book Club: Written in My Own Heart’s Blood Chapter 115 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with Claire and Jamie at night. Claire wakes while Jamie has a nightmare. We see how she has learned to deal with these. It’s a contrast to Rachel learning how to deal with Ian’s nightmares.

In a boarding home elsewhere, Ian and Rachel talk about what to do next. Ian wants to head back to Fraser’s Ridge and farm on his land. That’s something Rachel would like. She’s sad that it means leaving Denny and Dottie, but she’s excited that Ian will get away from the Army and fighting.

That night, Ian has a nightmare that leads to him strangling Rachel. She’s able to fight him off and wake him, but she’s unnerved by the events. Ian shares everything that happened with the man he killed. Rachel admits that while she is scared of Ian a little, she is also scared for him. After all, she’s a peaceful woman.

Ian goes back to sleep, but Rachel needs to read for a little at first. When she does go back to sleep, it’s not for long. She wakes feeling that they are not alone. She doesn’t see anyone. Instead, she feels something in her stomach. She knows that something is growing in her womb.

The next morning, Ian and Rachel wake to find out that Rollo died during the night. It’s such a sad moment, especially as Ian puts all his thoughts together. He knew that Rollo as getting old, and he realizes that Rollo held on until Ian had someone there to be with him.

I also get a sense that Rollo waited until Rachel was pregnant. Or I do wonder if Rachel felt like she wasn’t alone because it’s Rollo’s soul going into the baby she is now carrying. This is connected to Indigenous beliefs of souls moving up and down, and Rollo’s soul would deserve to move up to human form.