The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon [33]
Roger feels himself delicately balanced between two women he cares for: Claire, whose personality and story fascinate him—and Brianna, with whom he is falling ever more deeply in love. As he talks with Claire, and searches with Brianna, he feels more and more strongly the unseen presence of the third member of this family—Jamie Fraser.
MEANWHILE, JAMIE’S OWN story unwinds, punctuated by Claire’s memories, as told to Roger, and Roger’s own investigations with Bree.
Reaching Lallybroch safely, Jamie survives his wound but is forced to hide in a cave on the estate, to avoid the notice of the English patrols that cross the district after Culloden, looting, burning, and killing. Apart from his family, but near them, he survives hardship and loneliness, solitude and grief, taking some comfort in being able to provide for and protect those he loves, if only in a small way. He does not speak Claire’s name, and lets it be assumed that she is dead. Only in his heart does he speak his daily prayer—Lord, that she may be safe. She and the child.
Life is perilous in the Highlands, and not only for those who fought with Charles Stuart. Between marauding English soldiers and near famine, hardship and danger are a way of life for the inhabitants of Lallybroch. When Jamie’s presence comes close to exposing his sister and his newborn nephew to English wrath, Jamie determines to carry out a bold course of action. He arranges to have one of his tenants “betray” his presence to the English, thus collecting the price on his head, the gold to be used to feed and care for the people of Lallybroch.
Trail to Jamie’s Cave.
Jenny rubbed her for hard against her lips. She was quick; he knew she had grasped the plan at once—and all its implications.
“But Jamie,” she whispered. “Even if they dinna hang ye outright—and that’s the hell of a risk to take—Jamie, ye could be killed when they take ye!”
His shoulders slumped suddenly, under the weight of misery and exhaustion.
“God, Jenny,” he said, “d’ye think I care?”
There was a long silence before she answered.
“No, I don’t,” she said. “And I canna say as I blame ye, either.” She paused a moment, to steady her voice. “But I still care.” Her fingers gently touched the back of his head, stroking his hair. “So ye’ll mind yourself, won’t ye, clot-heid?”
The ventilation panel overhead darkened momentarily, and there was the tapping sound of light footsteps. One of the kitchenmaids, on her way to the pantry, perhaps. Then the dim light came back, and he could see Jenny’s face once more.
“Aye,” he whispered at last. “I’ll mind.”
Lord John Grey is in disgrace. Exiled from London as the result of a scandalous affair, and sent to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands as governor of a small prison fortress, he finds his new surroundings remote, uncomfortable, and unpleasant. He finds the prisoners worse than unpleasant; among the roll of grim and dour Scots is a name he hoped never to hear again—that of Jamie Fraser, Laird of Broch Tuarach.
Writhing in shame at the memory of his encounter with Jamie Fraser during the Rising, Grey is torn between a desire for revenge and a sense of honor that makes revenge impossible. Fraser, once his enemy, is now his prisoner, a ward of his care. Abuse of his position and power is unthinkable—whatever else they may be, the Greys have always been men of honor. Grey resolves never to see Fraser alone, never to speak to him. With luck, the man will in time become one of the faceless mass of prisoners.
This scheme is short-lived; the appearance in the nearby village of a mysterious stranger, wet with seawater and raving of gold, forces Grey to summon James Fraser— the only man available who speaks both French and Gaelic, and who, as a prisoner, cannot make use of information for himself. The mention of gold is enough to prick any man’s