The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon [40]
Be that as it may, Jamie bustles his charge off to confession first thing in the morning, leaving Claire to reacquaint herself with Edinburgh, as she visits the apothecary’s shop for fresh herbs. While there, she meets another customer, a Free Church minister named Archibald Campbell, who—upon learning of her experience as a healer—begs her to come and see his sister, who suffers from strange silences and “fits.”
Miss Margaret Campbell does indeed have “fits,” staring and screaming—and when not so engaged, lives peacefully in the past, before the traumatic experience with English soldiers after Culloden that has deprived her of her wits. Claire is unable to offer more than nutrition and sedatives, but holds some hope that the Reverend’s intention to remove his sister to the Indies may make some difference in her condition.
Returning to the brothel, Claire finds Jamie and Fergus deep in conference. There is a fallback arranged for the rendezvous with the French smuggling ship; the details are arranged by letter between Jamie and Jared, with the smugglers informed only just before each rendezvous, so the secret seems safe. Jamie reluctantly decides to take Claire and Ian with him, as it is necessary to take Ian home to Lallybroch. However, he adds sternly, they are not to come anywhere near the actual rendezvous, but instead to remain safely at the inn on the road above the beach.
This plan is scotched when they find upon arrival that the inn has burnt to the ground. Left to themselves on the cliffs, with strict instructions to keep out of the way, Ian and Claire have a ringside seat as events below unfold. What unfolds, in fact, are excisemen, who have lain hidden in the sand, awaiting the smugglers. In the resulting melee, Claire and Ian flee to the road, where Claire nearly runs into another pair of excisemen, these waiting to trap any fleeing smugglers.
From the Customs officers conversation, it’s apparent that this was not only an arranged ambush, but one designed specifically to trap Jamie Fraser. Claire steals away to warn Jamie, who has managed to escape and is giving his smugglers directions to fade quietly away to their homes. Returning along the road, they find only one Customs officer—hanging from a tree.
With the print shop in ashes, dead excisemen at every turn, and the obvious fact that someone—and possibly more than one someone—is aware of Jamie’s multiple identities and his less-legal activities, a return to Edinburgh seems unwise. Jamie is not looking forward to a return to Lallybroch, either, but it is necessary to take Young Ian home.
For her part, Claire is wondering how she will be received by Jenny, the woman who was once her friend. The initial reception is strained, owing to Young Ian’s behavior, and his parents’ hurt at his apparent rejection of them in favor of his uncle. Jamie finds a way for both Young Ian and himself to make atonement, though, and the situation is resolved in warmth.
Claire rejoices at waking next morning in a place that has been for her the closest thing to home. Rising in the cold to light the fire, though, she sees three riders—all women—coming toward the house. She wonders who they might be, but finds her curiosity distracted by Jamie’s attentions.
He was interrupted by a sudden bang as the door flew open and rebounded from the wall. Startled, we turned to look. In the doorway stood a young girl I had never seen before. She was perhaps fifteen or sixteen, with long flaxen hair and big blue eyes. The eyes were somewhat bigger than normal, and filled with an expression of horrified shock as she stared at me. Her gaze moved slowly from my tangled hair to my bare breasts, and down the slopes of my naked body, until it encountered Jamie, lying prone between my thighs, white-faced with a shock equal to hers.
“Daddy!” she said in tones of total outrage. “Who is that woman?”
Claire is wondering much the same thing, but her curiosity is soon satisfied. The young woman is named Marsali; the daughter of Laoghaire, who meets