The Outlandish Companion - Diana Gabaldon [55]
Beyond the sale of the stone, though, the dinner party results in another interesting—and alarming—development. Governor Tryon, new to the Colony, but an able administrator, is actively seeking “men of worth” to settle the dangerous and unexploited backcountry of the Colony, by taking land grants from the Crown and sponsoring the settlement of the land by emigrants. Tryon offers Jamie such a grant, putting aside the minor consideration that Jamie is a Catholic—and as such, technically ineligible; only white male Protestants are allowed to hold land grants.
“The offer is one of considerable interest, ”Jamie said formally. “I must point out, however, that I am not a Protestant, nor are most of my kinsmen.”
The Governor pursed his lips in deprecation, lifting one brow.
“You are neither a Jew nor a Negro. I may speak as one gentleman to another, may I not? In all frankness, Mr. Fraser, there is the law, and then there is what is done.” He raised his glass with a small smile, setting the hook. “And I am convinced that you understand that as well as I do.”
“Possibly better,” Jamie murmured, with a polite smile.
Initially bewildered by the alacrity of the Governor’s offer, Claire quickly grasps Jamie’s explanation of Tryon’s reasoning: Jamie is closely connected with the Camerons, a wealthy and influential family in the Colony. At the same time, Jamie himself is an “incomer,” with no existing ties or loyalties—save to the Governor, who is offering him land. Tryon knows Jamie for a soldier, and a man accustomed to command; who better to settle a part of the colony alive with unrest and the discontented agitations of the Regulators, an association of backcountry men with strong—and often violent—objections to the capricious and sometimes illegal behavior of the Crown’s appointees?
“The trouble is damped down but not settled,” Jamie said, shrugging. “And damp powder may smolder for a long time, Sassenach, but once it catches, it goes off with an almighty bang.”
Would Tryon think it worth the investment, to buy the loyalty and obligation of an experienced soldier, himself in turn commanding the loyalty and service of the men under his sponsorship, all settled in a remote and troublesome area of the colony?
I would myself have called the prospect cheap, at the cost of a hundred pounds and a few measly acres of the Kings land. His Majesty had quite a lot of it, after all.
The proposal bears little risk for Tryon; if Jamie doesn’t perform as the Governor desires, Tryon need only “discover” Jamie’s Catholicism, and a Royal court would revoke the grant.
The risk to Jamie is substantial—even more than he himself realizes, or so Claire fears. She has seen his gravestone in Scotland; presumably this means he will die there. So long as he remains in the New World, then, he must be safe? Intriguing as the Governor’s proposal is, she feels it’s not worth the risk of losing Jamie. If he goes to Scotland to raise a band of emigrants to settle his land, he may never come back.
At the same time, the prospect is undeniably tempting; to be once again what he once was—a laird, with land and tenants to care for and be sustained by. Claire decides to keep her silence—for now.
If Jamie is tempted, he is also cautious. He wishes to see the land the Governor proposes to give him, and assess its prospects before making a decision. Besides, he is anxious to visit his aunt Jocasta—his mother’s widowed sister, the last survivor of the MacKenzies of Leoch. Jocasta Cameron may be able to tell him more of conditions in the Colony, and give him enough information to decide on his course of action.
Jocasta Cameron’s estate, River Run, lies some two hundred miles north of Wilmington. Gritting his teeth, Jamie agrees to make the journey by river— much faster than the overland route. His dread of seasickness fades as the Sally Ann makes its way up the Cape Fear—but mal de mer is not the only danger on the river.
The Fraser party is wakened at dawn by an unwelcome intrusion: river pirates, led by their erstwhile acquaintance,