14 October, 1766

Early in the morning, I was harvesting herbs from the garden when I found myself suddenly joined by Jenny, who sat down on the raised bed and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry fer bein' so unkind te ye," she told me, catching me off guard. "It's obvious how ye love my brother so, but I can tell somethin's happened te ye that made ye show it in a different way. I dinnae ken what that might be - givin' up yer child, seein' war… But I hope whatever it is, ye'll get over it soon."

"Trauma isnae somethin' ye just… get over," I told her. "It took me such a long time te recover from losin' Brian, and Faith as well… But the things I saw… It was different from losin' a child. I… I wish I could explain what I've seen. All I ken fer sure is… it was devastatin'."

"Must be, te change ye so. I never kent ye te shy away from a fight," she told me, and then she let out a heavy sigh and stood up. "I need te prepare lunch. Mr. Gowan will be here soon, as will Mrs. MacKimmie."

"Mr. Gowan?" I asked, a bit surprised to hear the name, but Jenny was already going inside. I finished harvesting herbs and then went inside, going up to mine and Jamie's room to restock my most basic herbs that I'd used on Jamie, finding Jamie himself struggling to put his shirt on. "Here, let me," I told him, assisting him with his shirt and buttoning the sleeves for him.

"I dinnae need this anymore," he told me, referring to the sling.

"Aye, ye do. Ye dinnae want te tear those stitches, do ye?" I asked him, resting my hands on my hips once I'd finished.

"Is that why ye still willnae lie wi' me?" he asked me curiously.

"I still have my own stitches. With all the abdominal damage I endured, it's best te err on the side of caution," I told him. "So, Jenny said Mr. Gowan is comin'. She doesnae mean Ned, does she?"

"Aye, the verra same," Jamie told me as he sat down to pull his boots on one-handed. I bent down to help him tie the laces and do the clasps.

"He's still alive?" I asked.

"Aye, likely in his eighties now, but alive and still a solicitor," Jamie told me. "I trusted him wi' this… situation… considerin' he was involved in our own marriage."

"What are ye expectin' te come from this?" I asked him. "I hope ye'll have her charged fer attempted murder. She could have killed ye, Jamie."

"I dinnae think tha' right," he said, shaking his head. "Her lassies will go te an orphanage of some type. It wouldnae be right te rob them of their home, or their mother."

"But she tried te kill ye!" I exclaimed.

"Aye, and ye did kill many of the King's men durin' the uprisin'," Jamie told me, and I let out a huff.

"Tha' was different. They were tryin' te kill me, no'… steal my assumed husband away from me," I told him.

"Ah, so ye did steal me away from her?" he asked me, teasing me lightly, and I chuckled lightly.

"Like hell I did. She tried, and failed ye again, te steal ye away from me ," I told him, standing up and lightly grasping his shoulders, leaning into him to kiss him. "Yer mine, and Laoghaire can kiss my arse if she thinks she's gettin' a piece of ye. She had two years te claim ye as her own and she never did."

"She'll figure out some way te get her pound of flesh," Jamie said with a small sigh, and then he kissed me again and stood up. "Best we get this over with, aye?"

"Just as long as she doesnae try te kill me again," I told him. Together, we went downstairs just as Ian admitted Ned Gowan, who I was shocked to see looked exactly as he had the last time we met twenty-three years ago. "Ned Gowan! Blessed Bride, look at ye!" I exclaimed when I saw him, and his eyes widened when he saw me.

"Oh, my dear! Is it truly you?" Ned Gowan exclaimed, grasping my hands in his. "Oh, yer a feast for these auld eyes!"

"Me? Ye look as if ye havenae aged a day! What's yer secret?" I asked him, and he chuckled.

"Well, I never married," he said with amusement. "Ah, Jamie! Mr. Murray! See, now, the both of them have aged quite a bit, and what's the difference between them and myself? Marriage!"

"Aye, and war, ye auld coot," said Jamie with a chuckle. "Shall we get down te business?"

"Oh, yes indeed. We have much to discuss before Mrs. MacKimmie and Mr. Mackenzie arrive," said Ned, following Jamie into the parlour, where Archie was entertaining the children with a story about his grandsire.

"…and he boarded the English Man-of-War and frightened the breeks off of them!" he exclaimed, earning a heap of giggles from the children.

"All right, all right, clear on out of here," Jamie said to the young children, who giggled as they got up and ran out of the room. "Yer aunt will have yer head on a silver platter fer fillin' the heads of her grandchildren wi' such stories."

"But tha's all they are te them. Stories!" Archie exclaimed.

"Ned, I dinnae think I've ever introduced ye te my son," Jamie said, turning to Ned. "This is Archie. Ye met once, a long time ago - when Archie was a weeun still in his mother's womb."

"Is that so? This is the bairn?" Ned exclaimed, accepting Archie's outstretched hand and giving it a shake.

"Archie Fowlis Fraser, sir. A pleasure te meet ye," Archie said to him happily.

"Say, ye look an awful lot like yer great grandsire! I've met him, aye, a long time ago. I was sorry te hear about his death. He was a fine man, he was! We met I'd like te say, oh… when he was a little aulder than ye are now," Ned told him.

"Really? Tha' must have been fascinatin'! Grandsire was already settled down when I came along. He's told me quite a few stories aboot his youth," Archie replied.

"Aye, he did have a troublesome youth, he did. I was defendin' his nephew, Alasdair, after he kidnapped the young lad of the Laird of the Isles," Ned told him, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Alasdair did tha'?" I said incredulously. "Christ, I kent he wa as wild lad, but I didnae ken he was that wild!"

"Oh, aye. I'd say the lad was worse than his grandsire," Ned said with a chuckle.

"Say, Ned, do ye need a housekeeper by chance? Due te… circumstances… I'll no' be livin' in Edinburgh fer some time. My housekeeper will be out of a job. Would ye… Would ye mind hirin' her? She's go' two bairns te feed. Her name is Elizabeth MacCleary," Jamie said to Ned, who seemed interested in this.

"A housekeeper would be a blessing in my home!" he exclaimed happily. "I'd be glad te hire her! Now, fer the present, we must get down te business! Will the lad be servin' as a witness?"

"Aye, he will, and Catrìona will stay as well," Jamie told Ned as we all sat down in the parlour across from each other.

"Of course, of course," said Ned as he plopped down on the settee. "So, we are questioning first the legality of the marriage with Mrs. MacKimmie. The answer is simple: With the return of the first Mrs. James Fraser, legally, the marriage te Laoghaire MacKimmie is invalid. Eh, ye'll have te make reconciliations with the church, mind ye."

"Aye, it's a price I'm willin' te pay," Jamie answered him.

"Now, my dear, where exactly were ye which led to Mr. Fraser thinkin' himself a widower?" Ned asked me.

"In the colonies," I said, glancing between Archie and Jamie. "Jamie had sent me there te avoid the English and… the ship wrecked and I… lost my memory fer a time. I came back the moment I gained it back."

"Were ye married at all during that time?" Ned asked me.

"Aye, but… I was widowed," I told him. "There was a war."

"Ah, the Seven Years' War, yes. I did hear of it in the papers," said Ned, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Tell me, did ye ever meet Colonel Washington? I heard he was quite the war hero!"

"I… never had the pleasure," I answered him. "I was a healer in the war."

"A verra noble profession," said Ned as he took notes. "Is Young Mr. Fraser here the only child of your marriage?"

"We have three children," Jamie told him. "Two daughters as well."

"Three children in total," said Ned, taking notes. "Did you ever have any children with Mrs. MacKimmie?"

"Not at all. Her children are from her previous marriage. We never even consummated our marriage," Jamie said rather confidently, earning a surprised look from Ned.

"Ye wed the lass in late December of 1764 and yet, ye never consummate yer marriage?" Ned asked him curiously.

"She… didnae wish te," Jamie told him.

"I see," said Ned. "Now, Mrs. MacKimmie has made a complaint te the Justice of the Peace fer, er… distress and and loss of support." My eyebrows raised at this.

"How could she do tha'?" I asked him.

"'Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned'," said Ned, and Archie scoffed.

"But she shot him!" Archie exclaimed.

"Lad," Jamie said to him to silence him.

"The lad has a point," said Ned. "In Scotland, as we know, the Disarming Act means that owning a firearm is a criminal offence. Where is this weapon now?"

"My cousin has it hidden in the stables," Archie told him.

"Is there any way of proving this firearm belongs to Mrs. MacKimmie?" Ned asked us.

"Besides the three of us bearin' witness, the five holes in my arm and the scratches on my son's arm and Catrìona's face… no," Jamie answered him.

"Well, if it proceeds te trial and you're summoned to court, she may be indicted. We could arrange for the weapon te be turned over to the British," Ned said as he continued taking notes.

"And what'll happen te her?" I asked him.

"If found guilty, she could be transported to the colonies. Virginia, most likely," said Ned, and Archie scoffed lightly.

"Accordin' te sailors, I hear Richmond is verra lovely this time of year," he said, and Jamie elbowed him in the side.

"No, I'll no' turn the pistol over," Jamie said, and I looked up at him incredulously.

"But she must be punished. She nearly killed him! And she wounded my son as well!" I exclaimed. "She deserves te be punished!"

"Aye, but the girls dinnae," Jamie replied, glancing at me. "They've already lost one father, and now they'll be losin' another. I'll no' have them lose their mother as well." I let out a frustrated huff.

"Well, what does she want, then?" I asked Ned. "I'm sure she thinks she's the victim here."

"Catrìona," Jamie told me, resting one hand on my knee and giving it a soft squeeze.

"I believe it is her chief desire to have your husband castrated and his bollocks mounted on her wall, but I suspect tha' she may be amenable te alimony," Ned answered me.

"Hm, expectin' a cheque whether Jamie's in heaven or hell. She isnae even legally his wife, how can she demand alimony everra year until he dies?" I demanded from Ned.

" A nighean , why dinnae we find out first how much Laoghaire is expectin'?" Jamie asked me.

"That is something we'll need to wait for Mr. Mackenzie to disclose with us. He will be representing Mrs. MacKimmie," said Ned.


JAMIE POV

"Thirty pounds?" Archie exclaimed once Hobart Mackenzie, Laoghaire's older brother who was also a solicitor, disclosed what Laoghaire demanded from us. "Tha's more than a farmer's wages in two years!"

"Archie, settle down!" Jamie snapped at his son.

"It's two years' wages, Da! It isnae fair te ask that of us when our business has just gone up into flames!" Archie exclaimed, and Laoghaire scoffed.

"I deserve it fer the pain and sufferin' yer parents have caused me!" she snapped at him. Laoghaire had never expressed any kind of maternal feelings for Archie despite being his stepmother for two years.

"Laoghaire, please," said Hobart, looking over his own documents. "Mr. Fraser, we ask ye te pay fifty pounds first and then by the start of the year 1767, ye'll be expected te pay thirty pounds per annum by the first of December."

"Tha's a generous amount of time," Jamie said, but Archie only scoffed.

"How do ye expect us te make thirty pounds when we dinnae even have a print shop, Da?" he asked his father.

"Then we'll open another one, Archie, now ist ," Jamie said to his son.

"Laoghaire also asks fer twenty pounds a year fer maintenance of the household fer the girls until they're properly wed," said Hobart.

"Twenty pounds each ," Laoghaire spat, and Archie sent a filthy glare at her.

"Ye want te suck my father dry of everra shillin' he has, dinnae ye? Cannae believe I was a fool te offer marriage te ye," Archie spat back at her.

"Archie, enough. I'll be askin' ye te leave if ye cannae control yer tongue," Jamie said to him, and then Archie narrowed his eyes at Jamie.

"It's either me or Mama, and I'm bein' kind," Archie replied.

"Yer quite a wee brat, ye ken. Just like yer mother," Laoghaire spat at him.

"Do ye have it in yer notes that Mrs. MacKimmie nearly killed my father? She was aimin' te kill my mother," Archie asked Hobart, who just let out a bored sigh.

"Aye, I am aware of this," he said disinterestedly.

"We have the pistol in our possession and would be glad te turn it over te the British, along with three witness accounts of Mrs. MacKimmie wielding it, unless the alimony is reduced," said Ned, chiming in. "Twenty-five pounds in immediate payment, ten pounds per annum and five pounds per girl, per annum."

"Tha's not enough fer what Jamie's done te me and my girls!" Laoghaire snapped.

"Need I remind ye what the punishment is fer being in violation of the Disarming Act?" Ned asked her, giving her a look over his spectacles.

"Thirty pounds in immediate payment, fifteen pounds per annum and ten pounds per girl," said Hobart.

"How aboot we meet in the middle?" Ned asked him. "Twenty-seven pounds in immediate payment, twelve pounds per annum and seven pounds per girl?"

"I'll agree te go fer twenty-five pounds in immediate payment and seven pounds per girl if ye agree te pay fifteen pounds per annum," said Hobart, and Laoghaire gasped.

"How could ye go that low? I'm yer sister!" she exclaimed.

"Aye, and tha's exactly why I'm bargainin' te get ye more per annum, ye wee fool," Hobart scolded his sister, and Jamie heard Archie chuckle, which earned him a fierce, hateful scowl from Laoghaire.

"Twenty-five pounds immediately, and a grand total of twenty-two pounds per annum, to cease upon Mrs. MacKimmie's marriage to another man. We have ourselves a deal, Mr. Mackenzie," said Ned, reaching out to shake hands with Hobart.

"I want Balriggan, too!" Laoghaire exclaimed.

"I'd be willin' te give her Balriggan fer the girls te reside in," Jamie chimed in.

"Excellent, that settles that, then," said Ned, adding the numbers to the legal contract he had drafted.


"Tha's an outrageous sum!" Catrìona exclaimed later when Jamie relayed the amounts to Jenny and Catrìona.

"She wants te bleed us dry!" Jenny exclaimed with frustration.

"Aye, I ken, but I'll no' put that burden on ye, Jenny," Jamie told her.

"And where do ye expect te get twenty-five pounds Jamie, when yer print shop is ashes and yer press is in my mill?" Jenny demanded from him.

"There's a place I ken where there's a box full of ancient coins. I can take them te London, get them valued and sell them," Jamie told her.

"Is it wise fer ye te go te London?" Catrìona asked him. "I'd think the continent would be safer."

"Aye, perhaps. We could go te Paris, then," Jamie replied. "Maybe Jared can find someone te trade fer sterlin'."

"Paris?" she asked, her eyes slightly wide with concern.

"Aye," Jamie replied. "The place is an island. I swam there once, I can do it again."

"No, Jamie. Ye cannae swim anywhere until that arm is healed," Catrìona replied.

"How far is it?" came the sudden voice of Young Ian, causing all of us to turn and face him.

"Ye dinnae need te go, Ian. I'll swim out te the isle," Archie told him.

"Yer wounded, too, Archie!" Catrìona exclaimed.

"It's just a scratch, Mama! I'll be fine!" Archie said back to her.

"Uncle Jamie, how far is it?" Young Ian asked Jamie specifically.

"Aboot… a quarter mile, maybe," Jamie told him.

"Aye, I can swim that," Young Ian said with confidence.

"Like hell ye are!" Jenny snapped at him. "Yer not te set foot off this land again, Ian Murray!"

"But I'll be fine, Ma! I'm a better swimmer than Michael or Jamie or literally anyone else!" Young Ian whined.

"Go off and do yer chores!" Jenny ordered him, and Young Ian let out a fierce huff before stalking off outside. "He'll no' be goin'."

"Jenny, the lad's auld enough te see a bit of the world outside of Scotland. Ian and I had our time in France. Better he goes wi' me than goes off te war," Jamie said to her.

"But what if ye lose him?" Jenny asked Jamie, and then she looked to Catrìona. "Can ye ensure he doesnae lose my son? Yer a mother. He'll need yer worry over his head."

"I have… never been as strict of a parent, but… aye, I promise I'll keep him in line," Catrìona told her, giving her a soft smile. Jenny then looked at Jamie again, worry in her eyes.

"Will ye take better care of him this time?" she asked him.

"Aye, I promise," Jamie said to her with certainty.

"Then… I suppose it's best if… Ian and I let him have his freedom while he still thinks it's ours te give," said Jenny, quoting what Jamie had said a couple of days before. "Just bring him back te me."

"We will, Aunt Jenny," Archie said with a smile. "Maybe we could even take him te Barra? He's been sayin' he always wants te go."


16 October, 1766

Selkie Island, the Isles, Scotland

CATRÌONA POV

No matter what century one was in, the Scottish coast was always rocky, wet, and quite cold. I shivered just a little, and then felt Jamie's arm wrapping tightly around me as we stood on the moor. "How far's Barra from here?" Young Ian was asking Archie as they made their way down to the shore.

"Quite a distance, laddie. It's one of the southernmost isles in the Outer Hebrides," Archie replied to him.

"Ye really think he can make tha' swim?" I asked Jamie, tucked comfortably underneath his arm. It being October, the air was frigid, and despite the fact that I was taking a big risk, I had wrapped my tartan tightly around myself.

"Aye, I'm sure of it," Jamie told me with a smile.

"Well, if he runs into trouble, I'll be able te rescue him if need be," I said.

"If yer no' lettin' Archie out there wi' a wee scratch, there's no way in Hell I'd let ye go out!" Jamie told me, and I lightly scoffed.

"Ye ken I swam the length of Castlebay te Cìosamul twice wi' a bullet wound in my shoulder?" I asked him.

"Yer shoulder isnae what's injured," he replied.

"Jamie, I'm healed now. I took my sutures out three days ago, everrathin's healed over nicely," I told him.

"Any pain?" he asked, and I scoffed again. "Catrìona?"

"A little, but no' dibilitatin'," I told him. "If I need te go out, I will, and I'll do fine. Yer speakin' te an islander, mind ye." Jamie chuckled slightly.

"Aye… mo Eileanach ," he said. " Eileanach , a nighean ruadh, lochlainneach … What else are ye?"

" Triallaire ," I said. "A traveller of all kinds, no? By sea, by land, by air… by time."

"Aye, suppose ye are," he replied, kissing the side of my head.

"Halfway there already," I said, noticing where Young Ian was. "He really is a fast swimmer." On most of the journey, Young Ian had bragged about how fast of a swimmer he was, how he would make the swim in less than an hour, and so on. I doubted him because the lad was scrawny and didn't have swimmers' shoulders as Cailean, Archie and I had - evidence of us having grown up on an island - but there he was, proving me wrong with every stroke.

"Aye, he's a braw lad, he is," Jamie told me. "So is our son, no?"

"Aye, he is," I said, smiling softly as I glanced down at the orange mass of hair on the beach beneath the moor. "Ye did good wi' him. He's such a good lad, verra kind, selfless… What he did fer Laoghaire was… remarkable. Granted, he didnae ken what she verra nearly did te him, but he didnae need te do that. It's incredible how… altruistic he is. Tha's so rare in a man. I've only ever seen it in you." I looked up at Jamie and smiled at him. "He gets tha' from you. Ye've raised our lad te be a wonderful man."

"Ye had yer part in it as well," Jamie told me, kissing the top of my head. "He learned how te be strong, bold and stubborn as hell from ye. He's got a fightin', fiery spirit that can only come from his mother wi' that same fightin', fiery spirit." I couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"I imagine Brèagha has a similar one?" I asked him.

"Oh, aye, she does," Jamie said, and then he chuckled. "Aye, she truly does, even fiercer than Archie's. Ye should hear the mouth on that wee lassie. Wonder where she got tha' from?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"My brother, who'll earn a good arse-kickin' from me when I see him," I said. "They'll be so surprised… I imagine Cailean never thought he'd see me again."

"He didnae," Jamie told me. "Are ye excited te go back?"

"I… I dinnae ken," I said a bit sadly, watching as Young Ian reached the island and climbed up onto the sand. "It… it's so different now… It was hard enough te get used te my grandmother no' bein' there, but now my grandsire and Saoirse are both gone. Archie said Beitiris died a couple years after I left… It'll never be the same."

"Neither of our homes are the same, are they?" Jamie asked me quietly, and I sighed.

"A consequence of time," I said. "Can ye see him?" Jamie removed his arm from around my shoulders and pulled out a spyglass, sliding it open and then looking through it.

"Aye, I see him… There he is. He's found it! Good lad!" Jamie laughed and then lowered the spyglass, then wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed me. "This'll give us our new life together."

"So long as Laoghaire doesnae demand anythin' else," I said with a soft chuckle. "Bitch is lucky she's no' bein' tried fer murder-"

"Da!" Archie suddenly cried, and we both looked down at him to see him pointing at the island. When we looked up, we saw a large fully rigged ship suddenly appear from behind the castle ruins on the island, and Jamie immediately pulled out his spyglass to look.

"Christ… They're on the island… IAN!" Jamie called, suddenly dropping the spyglass and running down to the beach. I picked it up and took a look at the island, watching as poor Young Ian came face to face with one of the assailants and tried to fight him off. He evidently threw the box down the hill and the box tumbled down, spilling all of its contents. The assailant attacked Ian and knocked him unconscious, then carried him over his shoulder back to the ship while another sailor picked up the box and a few of the items inside. I could see the sunlight sparkle off of something - they only picked up the gemstones. I moved the spyglass to the ship to see what flag it flew under - a dirtied field of white with some sort of red and gold symbol on it that sort of looked like a crown. Well, what the hell kind of flag was that?

"IAN! HOLD ON!" I heard Archie call, and I looked down to see both Jamie and Archie having stripped their coats and shirts and running towards the water.

"Jamie! Archie, no!" I called to them. "No, ye cannae! Ye'll never reach them in time!" I ran down to the beach to stop them, all of us ankle-deep in the ice cold water as we watched the ship start to sail away, heading south.

"Ian!" Jamie called again, but it was no use.

"What'll we do?" Archie cried, his tone panic-stricken. "Oh, Christ, what'll we do?"

"We go after him," Jamie said quietly. "Fer God's sake, we go after him! I promised Jenny I'd protect him! We're goin' after him." With that said, Jamie turned and stalked away, while Archie and I looked back at the ship, watching it disappear in the mist.