AN: Thanks so much to the reviewer who pointed out that I was constantly spelling Jamie as Jaime-I never noticed! All the chapters should be fixed for that now.
CHAPTER 10
The détente between Jamie and Frank continued for the long ride west to Loch Achilty. Once they reached the loch, one of the local farmers easily directed them towards the croft with the 'fairy child.' Claire, remembering her own witchcraft trial, felt grateful that due to the child's young age (and hope to God that child was Brianna), the mystery of the 'fairy child' was ascribed to fairies and not to witchcraft. She still was nervous all these years later in what the local superstitions could drive the Highlanders to believe and to do. Jamie reassured her that a young child would not be accused of witchcraft or anything else dark.
When the three were a quarter-mile from the property line for the farm, Jamie reared up his horse and had Claire stop hers and Frank's as well.
"Here's the plan," Jamie started. "I will go in and see and speak to the girl."
"Just you?" Claire interrupted.
"Yes, if you two go in and it's Brianna. She will yell out 'Mummy' or 'Daddy' and it's all over. Even if it's Brianna and not their 'fairy child' returned to them, they will not want to give her up easily." Jamie took a deep breath as the next words were not easy to say, "I am a stranger to Brianna. If it's her, she won't know me so they won 't know my true intentions. Also, as former declared regent for Hamish, Laird of Clan MacKenzie, I have some ability to get meself into their home and assert the right to question their lass on his behalf. The English may want to destroy our clans, but we folks still believe in them and our own ways and that can work to our advantage here."
Claire nodded her assent and Frank, seeing the logic in Jamie's plan nodded as well.
Jamie wanted to be clear on specifics though, "First, does Brianna speak French? The family certainly wonna and I want to speak to her without their understanding."
Claire nodded. Just because they were living in Boston and de facto Americans, Claire didn't want Brianna restricted to only English.
"Good," Jamie smiled, "Secondly, do you have anything of Brianna's?"
Claire grabbed the satchel and pulled out the Daisy Duck hair barrette that she had found in Craigh na Dun in 1955 after Brianna had first gone missing. "She wears them in pairs. She probably has its match."
"Good, lastly, what stories about fairies does Brianna know from your time?"
Frank spoke up, "Tinkerbelle. She's from a movie called Peter Pan we saw two years ago. It's from a book from the early 1900s. No one else could know that."
Jamie repeated it to make sure he got the names right, "Tinkerbelle and Peter Pan?"
Frank wasn't satisfied, "So if you go in there and determine it's her, then what?"
"Then I tell her, in French, that I'm friends with her Mummy and Daddy and we'll be back tonight for her and not to be scared."
"Why tonight?" Claire pressed.
"Because if we try to reason with them, then we might never get her back from them. They could run, thinking that we're trying to steal their daughter just like the fairies did with their baby and left the changeling. If we try to take her by force now, then it could get violent. The best is to sneak in at night and get her far away from the property before they realize she's gone."
Claire nodded her agreement at his reasoning. "Frank?" she asked, wanting him to agree also.
"That does sound sensible, but take a look at her photo again before you go in," Frank suggested in answer.
Jamie slowly approached the thatched hut on horseback. He called out his arrival so he wouldn't be immediately attacked. When he spotted the man of the house, he swung off the horse and his feet hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Hello there, I am James Fraser, cousin to Hamish MacKenzie, Laird of Clan MacKenzie and was appointed regent by Colum MacKenzie until he came of age. Since yer wife is a MacKenzie, I was asked to come here in his stead and speak to the lass heard tell returned by the fairies."
That speech earned him looks of suspicion, but also hesitant acceptance. Even post-Culloden, simple farmers did not easily refuse entry to the Clan Lairds or their appointed representatives. The man had dark hair and sun-weathered leathery skin. He carried himself with a dignity that reminded Jamie of Murtagh and he hoped that an armed fight would not be necessary between them.
"Well met, James Fraser. Me name is Angus MacGuffin. Ye wish to examine the lass?"
"Aye sir, I do."
MacGuffin's hand went to the hilt of his dirk and replied reluctantly, "Verra well. We will submit. Ye may speak to the lass, but ye will no be takin' her to Leoch to be examined. No unless ye wish to battle me as well, sir."
Jamie tried to assuage the man and was silently glad that invoking the name of the MacKenzie Laird had worked, "I'm sure that will no be necessary. I only wish to speak to the lass and report back to the MacKenzie." Jamie gestured at the door of their hut, "May I come inside?"
MacGuffin nodded and allowed him entry. Jamie had to duck to get through the small door and it took him a moment to adjust to the darkened room; he scanned the room for Brianna, but also to memorize the layout. He would need to remember every detail if his plan was going to work.
He could tell the family lived simply. There was hay covering the dirt floor and they all lived in this one room—the parent's bed in one corner and the children all shared another bed in the opposite corner. A sizeable cauldron was perched over the fire likely filled with a vegetable broth with bits of scrap meat thrown in and allowed to simmer throughout the day. Jamie did not see any lass that could be the much-discussed 'fairy child.'
"Where is the lass?" Jamie prompted. "Cairstine, is it?"
"The lass is in the barn loft, I'll just goin fetch her. Have a seat," MacGuffin gestured at a hewn chair and left him in the hut alone.
Jamie was too restless and could not sit. He paced instead and took advantage of the opportunity to study the hut better and confirming his earlier assessments about which bed was the parents' and which was the kids. He also checked for where the household weapons were stored.
Jamie had no quarrel with this family, but if the lass was Brianna then she absolutely would be retrieved and returned to her mother. In fact, he felt grateful to the MacGuffins for shielding her from what could have been a far worse fate. If his plan was necessary and if it worked, he would return here and explain regardless of the danger to him. He understood the superstitions of the Highland folks too well. Once they had decided to believe one of the folk stories—or decided that this red-haired lass that they found was their long-lost, fairy-stolen child returned to them, then no amount of argument or logic would change their mind. To MacGuffin's mind, Jamie was sure, Jamie would be the kidnapper of their child and not the reverse.
When Jamie heard footsteps out front, he quickly found the chair and assumed a bored, expectant look.
MacGuffin and a middle-aged woman that Jamie guessed was his wife and the MacKenzie relative appeared in the doorway. Far behind them, he could just barely glimpse a wee lass. She had red hair hanging down in front of her bowed head as she stared at the ground, obscuring her face. She was dressed in typical Scottish clothes and appeared quite timid, choosing to toe the dirt with her bare feet.
Jamie gave a respectful slight bow to the lady, "Well met, Mistress MacGuffin."
She merely nodded in response. The woman looked as though she had a hard life, filled with long hours of hard work and that she didn't wish to be interrupted to provide an audience to one of her clan leaders.
Jamie asked her, "Is this your wee lass restored back from the fairies?"
"Aye, she is."
"Can ye introduce us?"
"Cairstine? Comma here, lass."
Jamie dropped to his knees so he could speak to her eye-to-eye.
The lass trudged forward, still looking at the dirt, hair still hanging forward.
"Cairstine?" he tentative asked. He put a finger beneath her chin and slowly, gently lifted up so he could see her fully.
When Jamie saw her face, looked into her eyes., he immediately had to close his to keep his emotions in check. He could not allow tears and emotions of this moment to ruin the ruse and compel MacGuffin to snatch the child back from him.
The lass resembled the photo and had his long-departed mother's eyes, but he still did not want to get his hopes up. His mother was a MacKenzie, but so was this woman. It didn't mean anything…yet. However, he felt a curious but pronounced stirring in his blood when he saw her. He'd only had that experience one time before—at a cabin long ago when he first met a beautiful woman who helped him with his dislocated shoulder—Claire.
"Hello there, wee lass. I've heard quite a bit about ye and wanted to meet ye. Me name is Jamie Fraser and I'd be pleased if ye would speak with me and answer me questions."
"Yes sir, Mr. Fraser."
Yes? Not Aye?
"Can you tell me about yer time with the fairies?"
She nodded at Mr. and Mistress MacGuffin, "They said not to speak of the fairies."
"It's fine with me. Isn't it?" He turned to the mistress and gave his best stern Clan Laird glare.
The woman, raised to respect the clan all her life, nodded. While he had the mistress's attention, he asked, "Are these the clothes that Cairstine wore when ye found her?"
"No. We burned those and those strange fairy shoes. They stole our daughter for six years and left a weak changeling in her place. We want no of them creatures."
Jamie nodded and turned his attention back to the lass, "Will ye be willing to answer some questions about yer time with the fairies, lass?"
Shyly, the girl nodded. From Claire's description of Brianna, he didn't think she would be so timid; however, she had been thrown out of her world, away from her parents and everything she was used to. Although she had a roof, food, and folks who were nice to her, she had still lost all the remnants of her old life—even her name and her clothes. If this was Brianna, it would likely cause even the most assertive, headstrong child to undergo a drastic change in demeanor.
"Were the fairies kind to ye lass?"
She nodded.
"How was it that ye stopped being with the fairies?"
The girl didn't want to answer at first and took some time to choose her words, "I was on a hill with tall stones—a fairy hill…he said," she paused to indicate MacGuffin. "I touched a large stone in the middle and then I felt like I was just falling…like falling down the rabbit hole."
Jamie was confused, "Rabbit hole?"
"Yeah, like in…Never mind," she ended glumly.
He tried a different tactic, "What did the fairies call ye?"
She gave a wary glance at the MacGuffins, "They say it's not my real name. My real name is Cairstine."
He gave her an encouraging smile, "Even so, how did the fairies call ye?"
"Bri—Brianna."
Jamie had to slam his eyes shut once more or he would start to cry at once and throw his arms around the girl. He felt a glorious warmth surge through his body. Brianna was found. Brianna was no longer missing. She wasn't hurt, hungry, or abused. These people wouldn't harm her. And yet, she still needed to be safely restored to her mother.
"Do ye have the mark of the fairies?"
Brianna was confused, "The mark?"
He touched the upper part of her left arm, "Here. Can ye roll up yer sleeve, please?"
Brianna obliged him and sure enough, the small pox scar that Claire had was on her arm as well.
"Thank ye lass, ye can fix yer sleeve now. I have a present for ye."
He took out the Daisy Duck barrette and held it out for her. When she spied it, her eyes flew from the barrette in his open palm up to his face with energized excitement. "I..I lost this. I know where I lost this. How did you find it?"
Jamie switched to French, «Only nod to what I tell ye, understand?»
Brianna nodded.
Jamie checked that the MacGuffins didn't understand his words. Continuing in French, Jamie told her, «I know your mother and she misses you. She loves you and cannot wait to see you again. I will leave here soon, but I will come back tonight in secret and collect you then. I promise to bring you to your mother and do try not to be scared. I will be leaving you here until tonight only because I don't want anyone to be hurt. Please don't speak of this and just act normal and go to bed like normal. Understand?»
Brianna, wide-eyed, nodded. She was a smart girl and knew well enough to not ask any ill-advised questions like 'You know my mother?'
Jamie switched back to English then, "Well, it does seem that Tinkerbelle and the rest of the fairies did take good care of ye. Yer such a brave girl and I am verra much happy to meet ye. I ken yer parents are verra, verra proud of ye."
He glanced then at the MacGuffins to assess their reaction to his visit with the girl. They seemed confused by the switch to French and his compliments to the lass, but they could find nothing specific to object to, so they stood there silent and allowed it to continue.
Jamie rose to his feet and needed to address the MacGuffins once more before taking his leave, "Thank ye again fer yer time and yer permission to examine the lass. I find her verra fine and suffering no ill-effects. I will report back to the Laird that there is no to be concerned about and that she is actually a bonny, verra special lass.
Jamie hated leaving Brianna here, even for the few short hours until nightfall, but he understood the necessity of it as his foremost priority was delivering his daughter back into her mother's arms. His plan had the best chance to achieve that goal.
He gave his daughter one last long look and kept his hands clasped behind his back to prevent himself from throwing his arms about her. He had never imagined that this would be the way he'd first meet his daughter, but all the strange twists and turns of the winding road of his life had showed him that life could be painful, it could be wondrous, it could be miraculous, but it could never, ever be predictable.
He mounted the horse, unable to take his eyes off the adoring eyes of his daughter. He had rode in, brought something of hers from her home, and promised he would come back to reunite her with her mother before another day dawned. He would remove her from this strange home and strange people where she was supposed to pretend to be someone else.
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Frank and Claire sat on a fallen log with their horse tethered nearby. They didn't speak much. With each passing day, they were becoming more and more strangers and less like a couple with almost two decades of history and shared experience, even if almost half of that time had been spent apart thanks to the war and the stones.
Claire was a frazzled bundle of nervous energy. Jamie would bring exultant or disappointed news when she saw him next. Her nervousness set her knees and hands to trembling motivating Frank to bridge the chasm and take one of her hands and put his arm around her. Claire allowed it. They had always been able to connect because of their shared affection for Brianna; they did better as parents than as spouses. She was glad he hadn't mentioned Jamie's story from the night before and she had checked the stitches on his cheek several times. She had done well with the stitching, considering most of the work had been done at night by firelight and candlelight and part of it while Jamie was relating the horrors of Black Jack.
He would have a scar on his face for the rest of his life and she felt sorrowful about that and she knew Jamie felt very guilty and ashamed that it had come to that. However, her medical work in the aftermath had reduced the damage so that the scar gave him a certain uniqueness and character that he didn't possess before. The scar wouldn't be disfiguring, but instead provided an interesting contrast to his professorial demeanor.
Frank adored the feeling of Claire in his arms. When she had first returned and they had agreed to be married once more, he felt truly happy and hopeful. However, hope can be very cruel and make a person believe that a situation will improve regardless of the perceived futility. He had always craved her even at times in the last seven years when he didn't like her very much. He had always felt the physical attraction and after she had recovered from Brianna's birth, he had endeavored to possess her as much and as often as possible. She usually had submitted, though she had never balanced him with passion and enthusiasm. She never countered his eagerness or precipitated any of their encounters. That had been disappointing, but not enough for him to stop having her. He may not have been in combat during the war, but every time that he bedded his wife for the last seven years, he got this deep, satisfying knowledge than he had somehow won a battle.
Now he felt adrift in a swirling sea. He was losing his family; he could feel them slowly, surely slipping away. His first inclination had been to follow Black Jack as that man would not go quietly or quickly into defeat. However, after learning Jack Randall's true nature the other night, he knew he couldn't follow that path and needed to find his own way. It felt strange and slightly sad that he didn't know what his own path was. Here, now, with his arm around his wife, he could almost feel the echoes of the past in Boston and the times that she would have submitted to his touch. Frank knew, deeply knew within his bones, that those times were now over too.
Frank sat there with Claire, fighting the memory of Fraser's words about Jack. A few nights before he had learned the whole story about Fraser and Jack, Frank had a dream in which he was the one with the power and in control. He was no longer fighting against his darker nature, but instead he was indulging in it, glorying in it, and simultaneously feeling so superior to the person he was torturing. Remembering that, and remembering from Fraser's story that such dark thoughts could lead to dark actions, he renewed his determination again to turn away from the taunting, seductive powers of his ancestor, Black Jack. Frank would not let that man blacken, overwhelm, or overtake his mind.
And then his mind turned to Claire, she had been there beside Fraser throughout that entire ordeal. Claire had endured a lot too from Jack—not only directly, but indirect pain too through Fraser. Probably for the first time, he started seeing the hellish circumstances through her eyes and for once, he didn't feel slighted, cheated, or resentful.
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The Randalls sat there in nearly complete silence for the entire duration of Jamie's absence. When they heard the thunder of hooves, Claire dropped Frank's hand instantly and stood up, eager for any news.
Jamie came up short, hopped off the horse, and beamed a glorious smile at Claire. She squealed in delight and threw her arms around Jamie and held on tight to him.
Jamie, knowing this wasn't a good time to antagonize Frank, reached behind his neck and unclasped her hands. He gave her hands a quick kiss, "I met her. I met our bonny daughter. She's well. She is scared and unhappy, but she's holding up well considering how drastically her life has changed. It was so difficult to no put her straight away on the horse. I woulda too if no for the risk of a bullet in me back."
Claire asked, "So what now?"
Jamie instantly became more serious, "Well, the 'what now' is that I need to hear from both of ye that I'm runnin' the mission tonight and ye obey me orders just as though we was in the army. Understand?"
Jamie gave a stern look at both of them—all familiarity and light-heartedness gone.
Claire nodded in reply.
"I need to hear the words, Sassenach."
"Yes, of course. You have my word," Claire replied.
"Frank?" prodded Jamie.
"Yes," Frank replied, sounding genuine. "Brianna has always been the most important consideration. We're not going to screw it up now."
"Good," Jamie said, then dropped to a squat on the ground, collecting stray twigs and using them to assemble a floor plan of the MacGuffin's hut. He pointed out all the characteristics he had noted while in their home earlier that day.
"So Frank," Jamie advised, "your job is to go into the hut, go to the kids' bed here that I showed ye. Find Brianna and scoop her up. She's expecting us so she shouldn't be surprised, but remind her to stay silent. I want you to go with her to the door and out of the hut, but also protect her as much as ye can with yer body, huddle around her, such like. Remember—it's very important that ye duck your head when both entering and exiting. Don't get overly excited on the way out, be almost done, and then forget a wee detail like that. When ye get out of the hut, I want ye to run as fast as ye can to the horses about five hundred feet away. Don't look back, don't slow down. If ye hear a gunshot at any time, then ye three mount up on yer horse and ride away. Understand?"
Frank nodded.
"Just to be clear, yer job is to grab, shield, run. I will be covering ye and making sure that MacGuffin doesna hurt ye both."
"What about me, Jamie?" Claire didn't see where she fit in this plan.
"I need ye to wait with the horses, Sassenach."
"Wait with the horses? Are you joking? I want to help."
"Ye also gave yer word that ye would obey. Yer not plannin' to?" Jamie thought to tease her about promising to obey him in their wedding vows, but thought better of bringing that up with Frank around. He just wanted to get through tonight without making him mad…or scarring him some more.
"I will," Claire replied sullenly, "but to sit with the horses…"
"I have two very good reasons for it and I hope ye wonna argue. One: if anyone, Frank, Brianna, or meself is hurt then we're gonna need doctorin'. I ken ye donna want Brianna hurt and unable to do nothin' about it. Two: if anyone is injured, I would prefer it be Frank or me than ye. I donna want Brianna to see her mother hurt. She's been aggrieved enough."
Claire conceded his points. Jamie had obviously thought this out. "You're right."
"Things'll always be so much easier if'n ye just begin with those words," Jamie replied, his earlier jovial attitude returning.
Frank wanted some details clarified, "Why will be the horses be so far? If you want to get away fast, then shouldn't they be right outside?"
Jamie shook his head, "Horses are loud and they're a big target if it comes to that. I'd rather get away clean than get away fast."
Frank conceded the logic, "So, when do we start?"
"Deep of night. Best hope is the MacGuffins stay asleep and donna ken what's happenin' afore mornin'. I donna want any bloodshed."
Claire agreed, "Yes, definitely."
The three anxiously waited as the hours slowly passed and the moon slowly rose. Silence largely reigned in those hours as no one wanted the various romantic entanglements or arguments to jeopardize their mission. As a safe topic, Jamie asked Claire to recount her time at medical school and how that was different from nursing she'd learned in the war.
Finally, one time when Jamie looked up at the sky, he was satisfied and asked Claire and Frank, "Ready?"
"Ready, let's go get our girl."