18 January, 1746
Bellmont House, Stirlingshire, Scotland
"Do I have the honour of addressing the Duke of Sandringham?" said the sergeant. The Duke of Sandringham eyed both Cailean and I suspiciously. The man was untrustworthy and could give us away at a moment's notice, and no matter how vehemently we denied it, it would be his word, a highborn English man, against ours, two lonely unknowns, supposedly from Leeds. Our lives were in his hands, and he knew that very well.
"You do, indeed," said Sandringham to the sergeant. "But the honour is all mine, Sergeant. I do so treasure any opportunity to aid one of the king's men, especially in these difficult times. Fer Christ's sake, just get it over with… "How may I be of assistance?"
"I bear a letter for you, Your Grace, from Lieutenant Barnes. He requests your courtesy in giving temporary shelter to Mr. and Mrs. Derry, an English couple we rescued last night," said the sergeant, handing Sandringham the letter in question.
"Oh!" said Sandringham, evidently toying with us like a cat with a mouse and approaching us. "Mr. and Mrs… Derry , is it?"
"Yes, sir," Cailean said to him, masking bitterness as best as he could.
"I should be delighted to offer you both the hospitality of my humble home," he said to us, a suspicious glint in his eye.
"I thank you, Your Grace. Lieutenant Barnes will be most obliged," said the sergeant. "I must be on my way to Keswick. Good day to you, sir. Madam." We gave our polite bows and curtsies, then the sergeant left us in the care of the cold hands of the Duke of Sandringham. Once the sergeant was gone, he dropped his false cheerful composure.
"I need a drink and something to eat, and judging by your appearances, so do you ," he said to us. "Rescued, did he say? From what? Rabid bears?"
"Highlanders," said Cailean cooly.
"Much the same thing, no?" asked the Duke.
"Not us," said Cailean, dropping his accent. "Ye ken who we are and where we're from. Ye mentioned a drink, did ye? Catrìona needs medical attention. She was injured."
"Were you now? I understand there was a battle yesterday nearby. At a place called… Falkirk?" Sandringham said, crossing the room to a decanter of whisky and pouring three glasses. He picked them up and handed one to both Cailean and I. "My dear, you look awfully contemptuous right now," he said, taking in my expression.
"Ye pretended te no' recognise us," I said to him. "Why?"
"You should be grateful I did not give you away to the sergeant," said Sandringham.
"Never said I wasnae. Just confused. I thought ye might blurt out our real names when ye first saw us," I replied.
"Oh, the last thing I would do, my dear, is blurt ," Sandringham told me dramatically. "How could I commit such a lovely woman to the tower? So damp. Quite took the curls out of my wig the last time I was there, but I suppose you don't have to suffer these inconveniences."
"Ye were a guest at the Tower, aye?" Cailean asked him. "Fer what, dare I ask?"
"Only a misunderstanding, I assure you," said the Duke.
"Dinnae suppose this 'misunderstandin' had anythin' te do with yer loyalties?" I asked him.
"Quite, which is why the army has virtually made a ring around my estate," said the Duke.
"More soldiers than are out front?" I asked, slightly alarmed. The Duke saw this mild alarm in my eyes.
"Indeed," he replied. "They think they are being inconspicuous, but really, with those coats? Scarlet red is not a natural colour… nor is your titian hair colour." He paused as he crossed the room to the window, looking out onto the lawn at the redcoats camping out there. "In fact, I am being watched. Every entrance of this house is being watched. I am still suspected of being a Jacobite. And speaking of Jacobites…" He slowly turned to face me, looking me straight in the eye. "I assume your dashing husband must be intent on rescuing you as we speak?"
"I cannae say," I lied, and he gave a suspicious smirk.
"The man will do anything for his beloved wife. He even joined the Jacobite cause after never expressing interest in politics - at least, not until you arrived, my dear. I believe it would be safe to assume that he is , and in that case… I wish to be rescued, too," said the Duke, taking me off guard. "If I desire to be rescued, I cannot give the soldiers the names of the Red Witch and the Black Fowlis, can I?" At this, I scoffed.
"I should have kent ye would try and use me fer yer own gains," I told him with amusement.
"Surely, my dear, you must know that I have always been a Jacobite in my heart," said the Duke.
"We've seen the letters. They definitely would incriminate ye if they'd fallen into the wrong hands," Cailean told him.
"Have you, now?" said the Duke.
"I'm reasonably sure ye dinnae have a heart," I said, crossing my arms. "Why would Jamie rescue ye after all the times ye'd left him te hang dry?"
"Because I have doubts that the dear lad knows where you actually are," he told me. "How could he? The only way he could know your location is through my good offices."
"No' so," I told him. "I informed a beggar who kens him. He kens Jamie will be lookin' fer me. Perhaps he's riding through the front gates at this verra moment."
"I certainly do hope not, my dear, because if he is, then he will find himself in a trap. Do you not recall the ring of soldiers around my estate?" Sandringham asked me. "Now, your dear brother here has stated that you are wounded?"
"No' badly. I treated it myself," I said to him.
"As best as ye could. She needs proper stitches and herbs," Cailean interrupted.
"Perhaps I can send for the soldiers' physician," said the Duke. The door to the parlour opened again and having expected a servant, I was very surprised to hear my proper name being exclaimed.
"Mrs. Fraser!" exclaimed young Mary Hawkins, who had grown considerably in the last year and a half since I had last seen her.
"Mary!" I exclaimed back as she rushed into the room to embrace me.
"Ah, I knew I was forgetting something," said the Duke. "Mrs. Fraser, you are very familiar with my goddaughter."
"Goddaughter?" I asked.
"Indeed, and she has some grand news to share," said the Duke, crossing the room again with his back to us.
"I… I am to be married," Mary told me meekly.
"Married? Te who?" I couldn't help but ask.
"To a Mr. Elias Granger. He is a wealthy merchant who wishes to attach himself to the family of a duke, even if it means accepting soiled goods for a bride," the Duke answered, turning back around to face us.
"A loyalist, I assume?" I asked him. "Tryin' te play the English side by havin' yer goddaughter marry a supporter of the king?"
"Oh, Madam, you do wound me!" said the Duke. "Mary, my dear, if you will excuse us. I have need for a very serious conversation with Mr. Fowlis and Madam Fraser."
"O-Oh, all… all right," said Mary awkwardly.
"I shall see ye soon, aye?" I said to her, and she nodded meekly before leaving us. "Is this conversation more serious than the one we were havin' before?"
"Quite," said the Duke as suddenly, three men entered the parlour. Cailean and I glanced at each other with slight concern as the three men approached us, two of them on Cailean's sides and one of them by me.
"What's this aboot?" Cailean asked Sandringham suspiciously.
"I'm afraid that I may have been a little dishonest with you both," said the Duke. "It is very clear that the Bonnie Prince's glorious war is doomed to fail, and with suspicions of being a Jacobite looming over my head threatening to send me to the headsman, well… I do hope you can forgive me." The men suddenly grabbed Cailean and I tightly, the pair of us struggling and grunting as we tried to get out of their grips. "The Red Witch and the Black Fowlis are under my roof, and with Red Jamie on his way? Three infamously wanted Jacobites all at once… It is an opportunity I simply cannot pass up. Surely, you understand."
"Ye traitorous bastard!" I shouted at him.
"A title only you shall know I possess, my dear," said Sandringham. "Take them to the chamber in the west wing, Danton. Lock the door and post two guards. These two are quite dangerous, the woman especially." As we were dragged out of the parlour, I met Sandringham's eyes, a malicious glint of amusement in his eyes reflecting the fire of hatred in mine.
"Ye will regret this," I told him as I was dragged out of the room. "I swear ye will!"
"Ta-ta for now, my dear Mrs. Fraser," said the Duke, and we were then dragged out into a dark corridor.
"Bars on the fucking windows," Cailean said as he messed about with the window. "That bastard's thought of everrathing, didnae he?"
"We need te find a way te get word te Jamie, tell him not te come," I said as I paced in front of the fireplace.
"He might be able te help us fight these bastards. Three against two isnae verra good odds, especially when we ken already they're strong enough te hold us," Cailean replied to me.
"And how will that help us against the ring of English soldiers Sandringham wanted us te make sure we kent aboot?" I asked him. "The three of us together cannae fight off an entire army."
"I'm sure it's no' an entire army. The English wouldnae waste that many men just te keep an eye on a bloody Duke," he told me.
"If it's more than three, it's more than enough," I said with a heavy huff.
"Do ye still have yer bow? If we can get the glass out of this window, ye can fire down at the soldiers," Cailean replied.
"And what good will that do? They'll just storm inside and pick us off in here," I told him.
"Well, we cannae just give up!"
"I'm thinkin'! I'm tryin' te think!"
"Well, think quickly," Cailean told me, suddenly perking up when he heard a noise. At first, we eyed the door, but were surprised to hear a squeaking sound coming from the wall. Suddenly, a panel of the wall pushed open, and out of a small dark passage emerged Mary.
"Mary!" I exclaimed. "What are ye doin' here?"
"Why are you locked in?" Mary asked me.
"I dinnae have time te explain, but ye need te get word te Jamie te stay the hell away from here," I told her sharply.
"But what about you?" she asked.
"Cailean and I have escaped worse," I told her, and it was quite true. "You can slip out unnoticed."
"I want to come with you," Mary told me, taking me off guard.
"What? Mary, now isnae the time!" I told her firmly.
"I can't stay here, I can't marry Mr. Granger. If you want my help, you have to help me escape," said Mary, a hell of a lot firmer than I would have expected from her.
"Huh," I said, clearly impressed. "Verra well. But first, ye must-" The door to the bedchamber swung open, startling all of us, and Sandringham entered the room followed by his three servants.
"Mary, my dear. I thought you might have wheedled your way into this room," Sandringham said to his goddaughter, who suddenly lost all the strength and spine she'd had when bargaining with me. "Seize all three of them. Tie them up and gag them," he ordered his men, who did just that. The three of us were tied up together against one of the posts of the bed. Cailean and Mary were gagged first, but as the third - Danton, I believed, who seemed quite hesitant to come near me - raised his hands with the gag for me, I saw suddenly a scar on his hand. I pulled my sgian dubh out and slashed the man's hand as he fled, leaving a considerable scar…
"How long has this man been in your employ, Sandringham?" I asked suspiciously before he could gag me.
"Hold," said the Duke to Danton, who paused. "I hired him in Paris. You're not thinking of trying to steal him away for your husband, I'm certain. Not that you could, Danton is very loyal to me."
"I'm sure he is," I said, looking up into Danton's dark eyes. "When did ye hire him in Paris?"
"What an odd question," said the Duke.
"Odd, is it?" I glanced down at the man's hand. "Tha's a right nasty scar ye've got there. Looks like it was given to ye by a woman who was bein' attacked." Sandringham's eyebrows suddenly raised in alarm.
"She recognises you!" he exclaimed as Danton backed away from me.
"Your Grace, I promise you, I took all precautions!" Danton exclaimed.
"So you put them up to it? Yer own goddaughter, Fer Christ's sake!" I demanded from Sandringham. Poor Mary behind me let out a small squeak, evidently in shock, and began to cry.
"Yes, well, that was quite unfortunate," said the Duke, regaining his composure. "There was never any intent that you should be killed, my dear Mrs. Fraser. I would never do that to Jamie, although that was the Comte's original desire…"
"Saint Germain?" I asked him.
"That is the man," said the Duke. "I understand that you killed him yourself. I should very much love to have the details of that encounter."
"Why did ye do it?" I demanded from him.
"I owed him a rather large sum of money, you see, and I had no immediate means of payment, but I was horrified by the notion of disposing such a delightful woman," said the Duke, approaching me and bending down in front of me to caress my face. He pushed up my head to extend my neck. "Such a waste…" He stood then and turned to step away from me. "So I managed to persuade Le Comte that simply having you raped was sufficient revenge for the loss of his goods. You should really be very grateful to me. You could so easily be dead by now. And you still could be, Madam. Easily ."
"Ye'll regret keepin' me hostage," I told him. "Though I will say, yer verra smart te tie me up. Yer right… I am a verra dangerous woman." I made sure he could see the venom in my eyes so that he knew full well that I truly meant: if I got out of these restraints, I would cut his throat and bleed him out on this floor.
"I know you well, my dear," said Sandringham. "You and your husband will be hanged side by side. How romantic. Gag her, Danton." Danton seemed hesitant to approach me. "Do it!" As he was ordered, Danton approached me with the gag cautiously.
"Revenge will come fer ye," I told him, and he put the gag in my mouth.
JAMIE POV
Under the cover of darkness, Jamie and Murtagh crept along the outer border of the land that Bellmont sat on, observing a campfire in the distance. "Hugh said there's a lot of soldiers here," he said to Murtagh. "We need te be verra careful."
"Are ye sure the lass is in there?" Murtagh asked him.
"Aye, Hugh said she told him herself," Jamie replied. "No time te waste. I want my wife safe." Without uttering another word, the pair of them crept through the trees, ducking underneath leaves with every sound, but no redcoats were near them. They were only on the other side of the estate, which seemed a bit strange to Jamie. Something was off; this was too easy.
They crossed the lawn quickly and pressed up against the side of the house, sliding along the wall to the door that likely led to the kitchens. Murtagh and Jamie shared a quick glance, then pushed open the door and snuck into the kitchen. There was no one there, strangely enough. Where were all the servants? He and Murtagh shared another glance; Murtagh had had the same thought. The two of them quietly crept through the kitchen and entered the dining room, intending to enter the hallway next to the dining room when a voice suddenly startled them.
"Jamie! How marvellous of you to show up." Turning towards the voice, Jamie's eyes narrowed when he saw the Duke of Sandringham sitting in an armchair beside the fire, a cup of wine in hand. "Your wife has been eagerly awaiting your arrival."
"Where is she?" Jamie asked him. "Is she safe?"
"Oh, yes, quite safe, you shall be pleased to discover," said the Duke, and he stood. "Come, I shall take you to her." Murtagh gave him a quick tap on the shoulder, indicating with his eyes that something was up and the Duke was not to be trusted, but Jamie didn't care. He needed to see that his wife was safe and unharmed. He turned his attention back to the Duke and nodded.
"Aye. Take me to her," he said.
"Right this way," said Sandringham. He led Jamie and Murtagh up a dark stairwell with a candlestick in hand, then brought them to a door. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, inserting it into the keyhole. "I hope you don't mind that I have locked this door. There are English soldiers about, and I did not trust them near your lovely wife."
"I appreciate that," Jamie told him. The Duke pushed open the door and stepped aside, allowing Murtagh and Jamie to go inside. When they entered, the first thing Jamie heard was a muffled shout, and when Jamie's eyes fell on the ropes that were tightly wrapped around his wife's hands and the cloth that had been shoved into her mouth, he was hit on the head with the butt of a gun. It didn't knock him unconscious, but it hurt quite a bit and dazed him enough to be overtaken and tied up. He was dragged limply to the bedpost and tied up along with Murtagh, who was actually unconscious, and the man who had hit him tied a gag over his mouth.
"I do hope you will forgive me, Jamie, but you and your wife have presented me with an opportunity that I simply couldn't pass up," said Sandringham as Jamie came to and realised what was happening. "Sit comfortably. The soldiers will be here shortly." With one final snide look, the Duke of Sandringham and his men left the room, leaving them with only the sound of the key in the lock and the crackling of the fire across the room.
CATRÌONA POV
Now that both Jamie and Murtagh were tied up and gagged along with us, I had to think quickly. In my stocking was my sgian dubh , I could feel it pressing against my skin. If I could just reach it… But my hands were tied behind my back and the rope confining me to the bedpost was quite short. I had to think. How could I get us out of this mess? I got us out of Bloody Bush with a clever plan, so now I needed another one. I wiggled my hands a little bit; nope, the rope was too tight. My feet were free and loose, but I couldn't get my legs behind me to try and kick at the knot. I needed another plan… I shifted forward a little to test the length of the rope that kept me tied to the bed and realised that it was just long enough to allow me a little bit of movement. If I could get myself up…
"Mmmm," I heard a muffled sound in Cailean's direction, and turned my head to look at him. I gave him a slight nod, then leaned forward and shifted my legs back, partially sliding them under the bed. I realised that I could move my arms enough to allow for me to step through my locked arms like a loop, so I struggled to get one foot through my arms. It took a moment, but I was successful, then did the second leg. It worked; I had turned myself around and was now facing the bed with my arms in front of me. Bringing the leg with my sgian dubh closer to my hands, I dug into my stocking for the small blade, pulling it out and setting it down on the floor. Next, I was able to manipulate my hands enough to reach my face and pull the gag down from my mouth, taking a deep breath of air, earning a couple of muffled sounds from the others.
"Christ, tha's disgustin'," I said once my mouth was free. "Right, next step…" I picked up the knife and positioned it between my teeth, then used it to saw through the rope. It took some time, but eventually, one of the loops around my wrist came free and I pulled my hands out of the knot, standing up and shaking them out.
"Mmmgggmmm!" Murtagh said, and I looked down at the four bound and gagged hostages before me, focusing more on the three men.
"My, my, aren't we in an interestin' situation?" I said. "This might be the quietest I've ever seen ye lot."
"Mmgghmmm!" said Cailean.
"Oh, what's that? Sorry, I cannae hear ye. Can ye speak a bit more clearly?" I said, teasing him, and he made a motion to kick me, but I stepped out of his reach.
"Mfmmm!" Jamie said through his gag.
"All right, all right, I guess I'll free ye lot, too," I said, but just as I ducked down, I heard the key turning in the door again. "Shit… Stay here!" Jamie and Cailean gave me a dirty look as I quickly positioned myself to stand behind the door. The door opened and Sandringham stepped in alone, closing the door behind him without even looking.
"I thought you all might like to hear-" He froze when he realised that I was no longer sitting among the four bound and gagged hostages on the floor, his voice quivering just a little as he spoke. "Where is she?" I quickly lunged and grabbed him from behind, holding the blade of my sgian dubh against his throat.
"Scream and I'll cut yer throat," I told him firmly as he stopped struggling and raised his hands in surrender.
"All right, all right! Be careful with that thing!" Sandringham said to me.
"Ye arenae exactly in the position te tell me what te do," I told him through gritted teeth. He suddenly kicked my shins where I had been cut, throwing me off my guard and smacking the blade out of my hand. Regaining myself, I quickly grabbed the pistol he kept at his side and cocked it, pointing it at him, but he only smirked at me.
" Do be smart about this, Mrs. Fraser. That pistol isn't even loaded," he told me.
"No' a problem," I said, tossing it aside and whipping out my bow, snapping it open and loading it with an arrow. "Probably shouldna tell someone yer weapon isnae loaded." This alarmed him, and he raised his hands in surrender again.
"All right! All right! Don't shoot that thing at me!" he exclaimed.
"Untie them," I ordered him. " Now. "
"All right!" said Sandringham, and he turned to face the hostages that were tied to the bed. He went to Jamie first, who was closest to him, and bent down to remove the gag from Jamie's mouth. Jamie spit in his eye, and Sandringham, with a disgusted look on his face, wiped the spit from his eye. "Perhaps I should have untied you last ," he said, then reached down to undo the ropes at his wrists.
"Right, step back. Jamie can untie them now," I said, ordering Sandringham to step away from the hostages, which he did.
"Are ye all right? Are ye hurt?" Jamie asked me when he stood.
"I'm fine. Just untie them," I said, and he went and untied Cailean next, who was closest to him as Sandringham backed up against the wall near the door.
"Fucking bastard, " Cailean snapped once he was free. "It was him, Jamie. He ordered the attack on Catrìona in Paris."
"Him?" Jamie asked, giving Sandringham a malicious look.
"She could be dead if I had not suggested rape to our dearly departed friend, the Comte," said Sandringham, as if to defend his actions.
"Shut up and sit down in that chair there," I said, ordering him away from the door. He sat down in the chair I had directed him to, my back now facing the door, and Jamie finished untying Cailean by freeing his wrists.
"Thanks, man," said Cailean as he stood. The door was suddenly kicked open loudly, causing Sandringham to let out a shout, and before I could turn around, Danton had his huge arms wrapped tightly around me, his scarred hand holding a knife to my throat. Meanwhile, Jamie and Cailean were forced to fight off the other two men and swords clanged and clashed. I heard Mary whimpering and Murtagh growling to be let free, but no one could spare the moment to free him. Jamie suddenly made a lunge for Danton, who quickly let go of me, but in the process, his blade had sliced through my skin, leaving a thin cut on my carotid artery.
Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic! I told myself as my hand immediately jumped up to my neck, my fingers plugging the hole. My vision went blurry as I felt the slickness of the blood all over my neck, but the hole was plugged effectively, slowing the bleeding significantly. I took several deep breaths to calm myself as I quickly got out of the way to avoid another injury from the fighting men. You are fine. You know what you are doing. You will be fine. I repeated those same phrases over and over in my head like a mantra, eventually bringing myself back to a calm level. There was no time to panic. If my blood pressure went up, the tear in my carotid artery could get too big for me to be able to effectively plug the hole, so I busied myself with distracting my mind. With my one free hand, I ran back to the hostages, removing Murtagh's gag and untying the rope that bound his hands. Murtagh jumped up to join the fight, and Jamie turned his attention to Sandringham.
" You ," he hissed.
"Now, now, c-come on now, Jamie! Let's discuss this all rationally like level-headed people," Sandringham said to Jamie.
"There is nothin' level-headed aboot you , Yer Grace," Jamie told him.
"It wasn't my fault! Saint Germain, he made me do it! It could have been much worse, believe me! He wanted her dead!" said Sandringham, letting out a loud noise when he saw Murtagh stab Danton through the stomach. Danton had been the last man standing and now, all three of Sandringham's servants were dead, leaving no one to protect him. "I-I-I alerted the English! They know you're here!"
"So why aren't they ?" Cailean asked him. "If they ken three wanted Jacobites are here, why are they no' comin' fer us?"
"Ye didn't alert them," I said suddenly. "Ye wanted te try and bargain with us, didnae ye? Try and see if we could make a better deal."
"Ye'll say whatever te whoever te save yer own skin!" Murtagh hissed at him.
"W-Well, that stops today. I swear it! I promise! Just please don't hurt me!" Sandringham begged, falling down to his knees. Jamie stared down at the pathetic man.
"Yer no' worth my time," he said to the Duke, then turned to face me, his eyes widening when he saw my blood-soaked hand and dress. "Catrìona-"
"Enough of this!" Murtagh hissed, and he stepped forward with his large broadsword and swung at Sandringham's neck. Mary let out a scream and I turned away, but I could hear the several hacks it took for Murtagh to cut Sandringham's head clean off. The room was silent for several moments, and Cailean finally broke it to cross the room to Mary and kneel down beside her to remove her gag and untie her wrists. Mary quivered silently, her eyes trained to the growing puddle of blood from the neck of the Duke of Sandringham. Murtagh picked up the lifeless head, then approached Mary, kneeling down and placing the head at her feet. "I kept my word," he said quietly. "I lay yer vengeance at yer feet." Mary didn't say anything, only stared at the head. I cleared my throat, drawing attention back to me, and both Cailean and Jamie became alarmed at the amount of blood on me.
"Catrìona! Yer wounded!" Jamie cried, running to me and trying to pull at my wrist.
"No, stop!" I hissed at him. "If I take my hand off of my neck, I'll bleed out. Just… Here, take this," I said, placing my sgian dubh into his hand. "Stick the tip of the blade into the fire." He stared down at the knife confused, so I gave him a shove. "Go, quickly! I cannae hold it all night!" He did as he was told, and while we waited, I ordered Cailean to search for sutures, which he found with the help of a young maid. When Cailean returned, Jamie had brought the knife with the hot, reddened tip back to me.
"What do ye intend on doin'- Christ!" he exclaimed, getting cut off by me quickly removing my hand from the hole in my artery and pressing the tip of the blade against it, cauterising the wound and closing up the hole. I let out a straining grunt as I waited a few moments before removing the knife, making sure that the hole was closed.
"There," I said, out of breath. "I'll be fine… Just give me the stitches and a bit of alcohol and we can go. Mary, can ye help me? I recall ye did some sutures in Paris. I cannae see what I'm doin'."
"But I… I… I don't think…" she stuttered.
"I trust ye," I said. I held the whisky-soaked rag to my neck while Mary cautiously sutured up the cut in my neck, and when all was done, I gave my neck one final wipe to clear it of blood and wrapped a clean bandage around my neck. "Right, best we be off. There's still English soldiers out there. Mary's comin' with us."
"Get the head," Murtagh said to Cailean.
"Get the head? Are ye mad, man? We cannae go out on the roads with a bloody head!" Cailean replied back to him.
"Just get the damn head and let's go!" I snapped at him. Nodding subtly, probably afraid to piss me off further, given I could have died easily that night, he picked up the head and on our way out, stuffed it into a burlap sack, and we slipped out into the night.
18 February, 1746
Inverness, Scotland
We finally arrived in Inverness with Mary in tow after several more weeks of travelling with the men. We'd said we'd bring her to Edinburgh, but she insisted that she wanted to go to Inverness, and once we arrived, she bid us farewell and left. I had no idea where she might even be going.
The injury to my neck healed nicely, but it did leave a very nasty scar. I admired it in the mirror at an inn late at night, trying to think of ways that I could hide it or oils I could use to make it fade. The door opened and Jamie entered the room, smiling subtly at my reflection in the mirror. "How's it look?" he asked me.
"All right. Best it's goin' te," I told him with a sigh. "It's been such a long few weeks…"
"I dinnae think I've told ye yet how heated seein' ye escape and threaten Sandringham like that made me," he told me suddenly, surprising me a little.
"Ye waited a month te tell me that?" I asked him.
"I knew that when I did…" he began, approaching me slowly and bending down to my level. "…I would take ye te bed and make ye scream, and I cannae do that in a camp surrounded by my men." At that, I scoffed and gave him a playful shove, but he wrapped his arms around me tightly and kissed the scar on my neck. " Mo bhean laochaire … Yer the strongest, fiercest woman I ken, and the damn smartest."
"Bein' from a different time probably has a lot te do with that, ye ken," I told him, resting my hands on his and looking at our reflection. "Speakin' of beddin'… ye havenae bedded me in quite some time."
"I havenae, which is why I intend on doin' so tonight," he told me in a husky tone. He raised one hand to the laces at the neck of my shift, pulling it loose and sliding the fabric down my arms. With the same hand, he caressed my breast, this thumb running over my nipple. I let out a soft groan, and his other hand began to slide further south, his fingers getting lost in the forest between my legs. "Mmm, yer so warm…"
"All thanks te you," I told him through a whisper. "Jamie…" His fingers moved even further down, and my hand jumped into his hair and tugged on his curls. "Oh, Jamie…" He kissed my neck again, and I quickly turned in his arms, grabbing him by the collar of his coat and pulling him closer to kiss him. "Take this off," I ordered him. " Now, James Fraser. I want ye naked now ."
"As ye say," he said to me, stepping back a little to pull off his coat first, then slip his shirt off over his head, leaving him only in his belt and kilt. I started clawing at his belt, undoing it and tossing it aside, then shoved him back towards the bed with my lips firmly on his, his kilt pooling at his feet, causing him to nearly trip. We collapsed onto the bed and I crawled on top of him, holding his face in my hands and kissing his lips. I felt his hands grip my arse firmly and he let out a low growl.
"Ye've the finest arse I've ever seen," he said to me, then rolled us over so that he was on top of me. He lifted me up and pushed me further up on the bed, then slid his hand under one of my legs while his other braced my hips for his entry. I let out a grunt when he did, then a sigh as I adjusted around his size. I wasn't used to him inside of me, considering it had been so long, and felt relief when he began to move. We fit together perfectly like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle; we belonged together, Jamie and I. Two people separated by four hundred years, brought together by some mysterious force. Well, I didn't give a damn what that force was, but I was eternally grateful to it. Without my Jamie, I would not be whole.
"Oh, Jamie… Jamie, mo ghràidh… mo chridhe, m' anam…" I whispered into his hair. My love, my heart, my soul. The very lifeblood that flows through my veins. As I felt myself nearing the edge, I moaned louder and gripped his hair, then as I felt the warmth of his seed erupt within me, my walls tightened around him. We each let out a cry together, then a sigh as we melted together into one. He lay his head on the bed beside me, still laying on top of me, and I held him in my arms and ran my fingers through his hair. "I love ye, Jamie…"
"I love ye, too, mo ghràidh… mo nighean ruadh ," he whispered to me, and he kissed me then. He turned on his side and pulled me with him, holding me tightly against his chest, his post-coital scent filling my nostrils and reminding me of where I was when I was in his arms… home.
10 April, 1746
As we made camp in Inverness, we were eventually joined by the prince's army, who spent the rest of the winter in Edinburgh. Set up a winter camp, he said… Definitely, far, far away from the prince in our exile. The prince arrived in late March and the officers that led each clan led their men through more training, but the men were tired. They were hungry, exhausted, cold, sick, longed for their homes and their families, longed for the warm beds before their hearths. There was no heart left in the rebellion… and it made sense, because Culloden was right around the corner. It was hard to believe, almost, that these were the same men who had fought gallantly at Prestonpans and Falkirk, who had marched fearlessly into England and taken Carlisle, but after five months of retreat, with hardly any food and a brutally cold winter to numb their feet, there was no room for them to have any heart left.
I could see it from Inverness. Culloden Moor, the battlefield where thousands of Scottish men would be buried in unmarked graves, intended to be forgotten. Would Jamie be under that ground? Would Cailean? Would I be buried there? Who was I kidding? Jamie wouldn't allow me near the battlefield, if he had any say in it. Not with Archie so heavily relying on me to live. Six days to go until the end of Highland culture… until the end of Scottish culture. Scotland wouldn't see a free day again for three hundred years after that day. Even in my time, we were still suffering for what was about to happen.
"Six days," I told Jamie and Cailean as we stood overlooking the moor. "We've come so far, done so much… just te end up right here anyway. We wasted so much time. How the bloody hell did we end up here?"
"It wasnae fer lack of tryin'," said Jamie. "Dinnae wave the white flag yet. We still have six days. We still have time te make Charles see reason."
"We tried fer two years te get him te see reason, Jamie. I dinnae think he has a sight fer it," Cailean told him.
"Aye, perhaps not," Jamie told him. I need te go and see te the welfare of the men. Hopefully, we can find somethin' te eat in this godfersaken place."
"I need te go into town, replenish my medical supplies while I can," I said, pulling my tartan even tighter around my shoulders. The apothecary had diminishing supplies, but still kept the things I needed most, thankfully. "Ginger, arsenic, chamomile, and a bottle of laudanum," I said to the apothecary.
"Laudanum? Tha's the second bottle this week, Mistress," said the apothecary, fetching the herbs I requested.
"It's a verra strong medicine," I told him as the bell on the door rang again and a small cloaked figure appeared by my side.
"May I have a bottle of laudanum, please?" said the meek and familiar voice, and I raised my eyebrows.
"Mary? Is tha' you?" I asked as the cloaked figure turned to me, revealing that it was, indeed, Mary Hawkins.
"Hello, Mrs. Fraser," she told me meekly. "Is it true? Everyone seems to think there will be fighting soon."
"Possibly," I said with a sigh. "What are ye still doin' here? I thought ye'd go home."
"Alex was nearby, and now he's in Inverness," she told me. "I came to him. He had a position assisting the overseer of a large estate near here and we are to be married soon."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" I told her. "I'm glad te hear ye've finally found some happiness after everything."
"Thank you, Mrs. Fraser," she told me, giving me a soft smile, then it faded. "Alex, he… he isn't doing well. Our landlady has a sick child and has been advising me on the proper medicines, but… they don't seem to be helping. Will you come with me to the church? To pray?"
"Of course I will," I told her. We paid for our requested herbs, then together, the pair of us made our way to the old churchyard. A snow-capped cemetery was the first thing we saw as we entered the churchyard, and as we came up to the door, Mary paused.
"I… I think I need a breath of air first… Will you wait for me?" Mary asked me.
"Of course," I told her. "I'll be inside." Leaving her to her devices, I entered the church, finding myself alone, save for one man who sat in the first pew. Not wanting to disturb him, I made my way to one of the back pews, but then he stood and turned to leave, stopping in his tracks when he came to my pew. Confused by this action, I looked up into the face of the man, and felt a small gasp leave my lips. "Randall?" I asked, meeting the eyes of Black Jack Randall.
"Mrs. Fraser," he said to me, his eyes firmly on mine. "I am glad to have met you here. I have a request."