"Previously..." "Your ring." "Key to Lallybroch, so you'd know the place was as much yours as mine." "'Twas one day in October." "Captain Randall came along to our place." "Now let my sister be." "Your sister?" "No!" "The Duke of Sandringham has arrived." "I look forward to helping your husband to restore his good name." "This is my first real opportunity to gain a path and take my rightful place as laird of Broch Tuarach." "I was born on October the 20th, in the year 1918." "That's 200 years from now." "I'm from the future." "It's what you wanted, to go home." "Take me home to Lallybroch." "♪ Sing me a song of a lass that is gone♪" "♪ Say, could that lass be I?" "♪" "♪ Merry of soul she sailed on a day ♪" "♪ Over the sea to Skye ♪" "♪ Billow and breeze ♪" "♪ Islands and seas ♪" "♪ Mountains of rain and sun ♪" "♪ All that was good ♪" "♪ All that was fair ♪" "♪ All that was me is gone ♪" "♪ Sing me a song of a lass that is gone ♪" "♪ Say, could that lass be I?" "♪" "♪ Merry of soul she sailed on a day ♪" "♪ Over the sea ♪" "♪ To Skye ♪" "_" "And they just stay aloft, like birds?" "Well, no." "Airplane wings are stationary." "They don't flap." "And you've ridden in one?" "Yes, several times." "I love flying." "How high can you fly?" "Well, I don't know exactly." "Thousands of feet in the air, certainly." "Thousands of feet?" "Must have god's own view of the world from that height." "It's amazing." "And especially the first time you go up." "I mean, everything you can see on the ground, it just falls away, until it disappears." "Hmm." "How old are you, sassenach?" "Never thought to ask." "I'm 27." "Oh." "I always thought you were about my age or younger." " Are you disappointed?" " No." "It's just that when I'm 40, you'll be 245." "I think your calculations are a little off." "There it is." "Lallybroch." "It's like you always said it was." "Aye." "Gah!" "Come." "Come." "It's behind you now, Jamie." "It's in the past." "There were rumors." "Dougal told me afterward that Randall had got Jenny with a bastard child." "It's rumors." "Aye." "You care to see more?" "Or would you rather go into the house and offer me better entertainment?" "Hello." "Hi, my name's Claire." "Are you playing with the apples?" "Hmm." "What's your name?" "Jamie?" "Jenny." "Four years and no word?" "This is my wee Jamie." "This is your uncle, mo chridhe, the one you're named after." "Why?" "Why would you name him after me?" "What's wrong, a-graidh?" "Are you ill?" "Do you not think I've suffered enough for what I let happen that..." "Ye must name Randall's bastard after me, to be a reproach as long as I live?" "Randall's bastard?" "Jack Randall, you mean, the Redcoat captain?" "Go find Mrs. Crook, my wee lamb." "Correct me, brother, if I'm wrong, but I have a strong impression you're saying that I played the whore to captain Randall." "I'd rather I was dead in my grave than see my sister brought to such..." "And whose is this one?" "To have you ruin yourself for me was shame enough, but..." "Another one with no father to give him a name?" "We shouldn't have come." "Jamie, perhaps we should all go inside... tell that trollop to keep her Neb out of my business." "She's my wife, and you will speak of her with respect." "Jamie, please." "Do I have to do what I did when we were bairns?" "Grab you by the bollocks to make you stand still and listen to me?" "Are you now trying to shame me in front of my own wife?" "Well, if she's your wife," "I imagine she's more familiar with your balls than I am." "Don't test me, brother." "Last I saw you, bloodied and broken, strung up by your wrists in that archway, and then leaving me to think you're dead, or certain never to return again, and this is how you come home?" "Whose child is the boy?" "Mine." "And that one, too." "Ian?" "Yer brother-in-law." "It's good to see ya, Jamie." "You always knew how to make an entrance." "We thought you were dead until we received your chest from castle Leoch." "And this would be?" "The trollop, otherwise known as Claire Fraser." "Jenny I-I'm... a damned fool, and no a day wiser in four years." "Uh!" "Ye drink whiskey?" "I have been known to have a glass or two." "Today, I'm thinking we'll be taking more than that, Claire." "Thank you, Ian." "Cheers." "What happened with Randall?" "I want to know." "I need to know." "Then I'll tell you..." "Once..." "And never again." "After he felled you..." "Uhh!" "Take my hand." "Take my hand." "I went with him into the house." "He took me up the stairs." "He was talking the whole way up, but I didn't hear a word he said." "My mind was racing with what to do." "I was just trying to keep my wits." "He led me into the bedroom." "Shh." "Look at me." "Ugh!" "Ah!" "Aah!" "Uh!" "He threw me on the bed, and then he stood there a minute, rubbing himself." "I hadn't been with a man then, but I ken now that he was trying to..." "Make himself ready." "Turn around." "I don't know why." "It was the only thing that came to my mind to do, but he didn't like it when I laughed, and I could see that, so I laughed some more." "I said turn around, you Scottish cunt." "When I woke up, he was gone." "And that's the last I saw of captain Randall." "Ye satisfied?" "Ye see, you were wrong, and I'm expecting an apology." "Have I no said as much?" "No, you haven't." "She's right, she deserves an apology." "This is between my brother and me." "I was just suggesting that he... can I see you in private for a moment?" "Excuse us." "I'm yer husband." "You mustn't embarrass me in front of my family and the servants." "You're doing a fine enough job of that yourself." "You've a sharp tongue, Claire, but there's a time and a place for it." "Oh, and I suppose you'll be the judge of that?" "I need you to trust me here." "This is my family, my land, my time." "I'm laird, and you are my lady." "We should both conduct ourselves as such." "I'm not the meek and obedient type." "Don't think anyone would ever make that mistake, sassenach, but then I don't think anyone would ever say the same of Colum's wife, either." " Letitia?" " Aye." "Strong woman, respected, feared even, but she never crossed her husband's word in public." "Now behind closed doors, let's just say my uncle dodged his share of crockery in his time." "Be careful, my laird." "I have a much better throwing arm than the fair Letitia." "So..." "Whereabouts are ye from, Claire?" "Oxfordshire originally, but I suppose this is now my home." "Ye're planning on staying then?" "Aye." "Aye, we are." "What about the price on yer head?" "I'm expecting a pardon, with the aid of the Duke of Sandringham." "It hasn't come through yet, but we're hoping it will soon." "Never thought you'd be so trusting of the English." "Perhaps I could trouble you for some warm water to wash?" "Been a difficult few days." "And you mentioned a chest from Leoch?" "Aye." "It came from a woman called Mrs. Fitzgibbons." "It's upstairs in the spare room." "Well, since the laird's staying, he should have the main bedchamber." "Move our things to the north room." "No, we wouldn't dream of putting you out of your room." "Well, seeing as it's the laird's room, after all..." "I'll get the case." "You missed the whirlwind." "The what?" "The servants." "They tore through here like dervishes." "I'd barely turned my back, and they'd cleared away all of Jenny and Ian's things." "It's almost exactly how I remember it." "Huh." "My father always had a book over there, open at the page he was reading." "Hmm." "And he used to put his boots here." "Hmm." "And... and he used to keep his..." "Keep his..." "Ah." "His blade." "Oh, it's beautiful." "It's viking, I think." "Aye." "Five-lobed pommel." "Tenth century." "I told you." "I was raised by an archeologist." "I recognize the patterns on the hilt." "It's a fine example." "I'd hardly tiptoe in here as a boy, so sacred was the laird's room." "But I'd slip in when he was out at the fields, just to hold it for a few moments." "Dream of the day it would be mine." "It is yours now, Jamie." "Ours." "Ours." "My father, he built this place, ye ken." "His blood and sweat are in this stone." "This land." "And now his bones are, as well." "They buried him out in the graveyard, next to my mother and my brother, willie." "When was the last time you saw your father?" "It was at Fort William, a week after I'd been flogged the first time." "Jamie!" "Father, what are ye doing here?" "Having a word with captain Randall, trying to see if we can get ye out." "I'm sorry for the whole damn mess." "Ye left me in charge, and now Jenny's... what has happened is not yer fault." "I know you were flogged." " I'll be all right." " Captain Randall is waiting." "No." "This is my son." "Have ye no compassion?" "Remember to pray, and I'll stand by ye, no matter what happens." "Ye're a braw lad, son." "I just met your father." "He's worried about you." "I'm afraid he was disappointed when I told him your charges are of such a serious nature that you cannot be bonded without a written clearance from the Duke of Argyll." "And the thing is, even if he does succeed in getting such a clearance, which I doubt, it would be impossible for him to make it back in time, so..." "It's a shame that you and I have got off to such a poor start." "Only a week before, he'd had me flogged near to death." "Didn't understand, I couldna imagine what he was talking about now." "And he bandied words around for a while." "He likes to do that." "Likes to play with his toys." "But in the end he was quite blunt about what he really wanted." "Which was what?" "Me." "It's quite simple." "Give over to me." "Make free of your body..." "And there will be no second flogging." "And if not..." "Well..." "The first stripes were still raw on my back." "I could scarce bear my shirt." "And I felt dizzy every time I stood up." "The thought of..." "Of going through it all again, being bound, helpless, waiting for the next lash..." "I had no real idea, of course, but..." "I thought being buggered would be less painful and be over quicker, most likely." "And he said I'd be set free the same day, so..." "So..." "I considered it." "But..." "I could still feel my father's kiss on my cheek and thought what he would think of me." "Not the buggery." "He'd no gi' that a thought or care, but..." "For giving in." "For letting that man break me." "So I couldn't do it." "Ah." "Uhh!" "Dougal was there, at the flogging." "My father, too, though I didn't know it at the time." "Aah!" "I fell halfway through." "They thought I was dead." "Dougal said he let out a small sound and dropped like a rock and didn't get up again." "I didn't see it." "Didn't see him die." "Didn't see him taken away." "Didn't see him buried." "Never even seen his grave." "Even if you had given in to Randall, do you really think it would have made any difference?" "And don't you think he would have still had you dragged out into that yard and flogged you just for the sick pleasure it gave him?" "I'll never know." "How long does it take a person to dress?" "Supper's not going to keep." "We should get cleaned up." "Have you ever run a house before?" "No." "Then ye'll have a lot to learn about keeping up a place like this." "I would imagine." "It sounds quite challenging." "I'm a quick study." "Ye'll get your chance." "Quarter day is tomorrow." "Aye." "What is that?" "Ah, well..." "It's like when we collected the rents for the MacKenzies, but here the tenants come to us to pay." "And sorely needed this quarter." "We've had poor harvests two years running." "We're piling debt upon debt." "Ah, we can talk about finances later." "Tomorrow will be a time for celebrating the laird's return." "Sounds very public." "Isn't that risky?" "At least until your pardon comes through." " No." " Our tenants are like family." "Not a man, woman or child would think about betraying Jamie to the redcoats, at any price." "Hmm." "Of course." "It's good to hear." "I'll take a look at the ledgers after we've eaten." "Aye." "Thought you'd want to visit father's grave?" "Aye." "Tomorrow." "If he were alive, he'd expect a visit this evening." "If he were alive, he'd expect me to go over the ledgers and prepare for quarter day." "Suit yerself then." "Stuffed cabbage, Claire?" "No, thank you." " Hello." " We're right pleased to have you back, my laird." "We hope you both bide at home for a good long while now." "As do we, Robert." "Thank you." "I brought this small gift for you, mi'lady." "Oh, how lovely, thank you." "It looks delicious." "I brought these for you, mi'lady." " Thank you so much." " You're welcome." "They're beautiful." "How are ye?" "Good to see ye." "Jamie?" "Should we get started?" "Aye." "Hello." " Feel." " Ooh." "I think it's a boy." "Make yourself at home." "Aye." "Ah?" "Ha ha." "Ah." " So you think it's a boy?" " Yeah, I think so." "Duncan." "Married now?" "Aye, my laird." "Duncan, this is but half of what ye owe." "Apologies, but we lost one of our cows to sickness two months ago." "Well, ye can settle up next quarter, when I'm certain things'll be better." "I appreciate your understanding and mercy." "Not mercy at all." "Yer father was a good man." "Farmed this land when I was but a bairn." "Give me that." "I'll no squeeze the last penny from you when times are hard." "That was my father's view." "Mine as well." "Thank ye, my laird." "Thank ye, kindly." "All right, who's next?" "It's so pretty." "The lavender's great." "I like to make an oil from it." "You put it on your wrists at night, like this." "Cheers, boys." " Uh!" " Oi!" "You put that back, you cheeky wee bastard." "Ah!" "Excuse me." "I don't believe we've met." "Claire Fraser, lady Broch Tuarach." "I ken fine who you are." "I told you there'd be none fer you." "There are plenty of bannocks." "They said he'd gone and married a sassenach." "That's correct." "Can I be of some assistance?" "Boy's just got to learn to do what he's told." "Then maybe I can take him off your hands for a few minutes." " What for?" " So you can enjoy yourself without having to watch him." "Join your friends." "Just don't be filling his head with any of that English claptrap." "And you behave." "It's all right." "Maybe we should go to the kitchen, find you something to eat, okay?" " Ooh!" " Ah..." "I think we can find you something tastier than bannocks." "What have we here then?" "Jenny..." "His father was being very rough with him." "Is your back sore?" "We should get him cleaned up and something tasty to eat." "Who did that?" "Not for you to worry about." "Mrs. Crook will get you a wee bite." "It was his father." "I saw him beat him outside." "MacNab?" "Yeah, I remember him." "Excuse me, mistress." "M'laird, will you take a drink with me?" " Aye." " Aye." "Shouldn't we do something about it?" "Jamie?" "Good night, m'laird!" "Cack!" "I've seen elephants sit down with less impact." "English, please." "Sassenach, now ye're a Scot, ye should work on yer Gaelic." "Where have you been?" "Out with MacNab." "I tried to reason with him, but in the end" "I had to show him the difference between abuse and discipline, huh, with these." "Then I said to him, "Ronald," ""if I ever see any evidence of yer harming your wee laddie, you'll have to answer to laird Broch Tuarach," huh." "That's me." "Huh." "Yes, I know." "Jamie, you reek." "You've actually seen an elephant?" "Yes." "Rode one, too." "Oh?" "Ye'll have to..." "To tell me all about it." "Mm." "Mm." "Mm." "Hair of the dog?" "I think I may need the whole hound." "Ian tells me ye didna collect the rents yesterday." "Ugh." "It's been a hard year, as ye said yerself." "As laird, I decided to give my tenants some ease." "And how easy do ye suppose yer tenants will be when the whole estate goes under because we canna make ends meet?" "Perhaps we should postpone this till he's feeling a little... and ye've saddled us with another mouth to feed." " What're ye on about, Jenny?" " Rabbie MacNab." "His father threw him out, thanks to you." "He said, "if Jamie Fraser thinks he can be a better father, he can damn well pay for his upkeep."" "Jenny, he was only trying to help the boy out, and clean clothes and bannocks aren't going to stop the boy from being beaten." "Do ye think life just started when the two of you walked through that door?" "Rabbie's granny and I were working on Ronald's sister to take the boy." "Did ye not even consider talking to me before you pulled out yer fists?" "Do ye think that's how father would have handled things?" "I am the laird of this estate now, and I do not need to discuss the running of it with my sister." "Ha." "Beggin' yer pardon, laird Broch Tuarach." "Oh." "Mrs. Crook!" "Yes, my laird?" "This bread tastes like it was made with pebbles." "The mill's not working properly." "We had to grind the flour by hand." "What's being done about it?" "The mistress..." "Mrs. Murray..." "Had me send for Davy McAndrews to fix the mill." "I'll deal with it myself." "How's it looking?" "It'd be a damn sight better if the wheel were turning." "There must be something stuck under the sluice." "I'm gonna have to go down, see if I can pry it loose." "What?" "But..." "Jamie..." "You'll freeze to death." "Most likely." "At least ye'll be able to serve decent bannocks at my wake." "Oh." "Cack!" "Mrs. Crook told me the stupid fool had come up here." "Jenny, you shouldn't be chasing around in your condition." "There was no need for you to come after us." "Aye, there was." "Keep silent." "We don't want them to know you're English." "Good morrow, ladies." "Good morrow." "If ye're stopping for a bag of meal," "I'm afraid ye'll be disappointed." "The mill wheel's no working just now." "Perhaps next time ye come this way." "Oh?" "What's amiss, then?" "Ye should call yer master back." "He shouldna meddle in things he doesna understand." "Oh, you've no cause for worry, missus." "Corporal's father has a wheat mill in Hampshire." "What he doesn't know about water wheels would fit in me shoe." "No help for it." "I'll have to go under and see what's holding it." "Look at that!" "Wonder what was stuck in it." "Hey." "A perfectly good shirt." "How on earth did that get stuck into the mill?" "It's Scotland, sir." "Ladies." "Thank you kindly, sir." "Hee-up!" "Jamie!" "Blessed Michael defend us." "What the hell were ye doing, ye?" "Have ye not grown up a bit?" "Jenny, will ye..." "Will ye please turn around when I try to get out?" "Before my cock snaps off." "What the hell was she doing here?" "Heard about the Redcoat patrol." "She was just trying to warn you." "So you're a night owl, are ye?" "Yes, I suppose I am." "Jenny's up with the lark, but I've always been an owl myself." "Is this Jenny?" "Aye." "Those were her birds." "Any time one was found wi' a lame leg or a broken wing, she'd have it healed and eating from her hand." "You surprised she has a gentle side?" "No, of course not." "Perhaps a little." "She's a Fraser." "Their hearts are as big and soft as their heads are thick and strong." "It was Jenny who took care of me after I returned from France with a stump of wood." "Jamie told me you lost it while the both of you were fighting in France." "It doesn't slow me down much." "It aches a wee bit towards the end of the day." "Have you tried guelder rose or water pepper?" "I've no tried the water pepper, no." "Well, I'd be happy to make some for you." "Thank you." "Jamie said you were a healer." "Ye've seen mangled men before?" "Yes, many, unfortunately." "Jamie hadn't." "It shocked him to see me like this at first." "He tried to hide it, but I knew." "Ah, no matter." "He brought me back to Scotland, and Jenny made me whole again." "Is that why you married her?" "Ye think I had any choice in the matter?" "She came up to me out in the field one day, while I was mending a fence." "I was covered wi' muck, and her, standing there like a bush covered wi' butterflies." "She says... well, I dinna ken exactly what she said, but it ended with her kissing me, and saying," ""fine, we'll be married on st." "Martin's day."" "And I was still explaining to her why we couldna do any such thing when I found myself in front of a priest saying," ""I take thee, Janet."" "Hmm-hmm." "She's an extraordinary woman, isn't she?" "Aye, when she's not being an outright, stubborn-headed, pain-in-the-arse mule." "Frasers." "Once they've dug their heels in, there's no budging them, and you don't want to get between them when their danders are up." "How do you manage?" "Well..." "Ye can tug on their rope or give them a wee kick in their backside." "And they might move, or ye might get bit for your trouble." "And then what?" "Kick them harder." "Good." "Now I have your attention." "And you're going to listen to me." "I did not marry the laird of Lallybroch." "I married Jamie, but I haven't seen much of him since we walked through the gates of this place." " That's who I am, now that..." " I am speaking, and you can talk when I'm finished." "Your father's dead, Jamie, but if he were here," "I wager he'd give you a thrashing for the way you've been acting." "You're trying to be someone you're not, and in the process you're wrecking the family that you do have left." "And if you're not careful, you're going to lose them, too." "Jenny." "Gave me a start." "Thought it was a ghost for a minute, did ye?" "Hmm." "Jenny, I..." "Jamie, I" " let me speak first, please." "That's the rent from the tenants." "And I thought perhaps I could speak to Rabbie's aunt, so..." "Even if she had taken him in," "I don't think it would have lasted." "She's a frachety woman with too many bairns as it is." "This is a better place for him." "Father would have thought so, too." "Aye." "I was wrong not to consult you, and I'm sorry for it." "Truly." "I hope to do it different in future." "I'm the one who's wronged you, and I'm so ashamed." "Of what?" "Ever since father died..." "A small dark part of me has blamed you for his death." "When they told me what happened at Fort William, that Randall flogged ye himself, and that seeing that is what killed father," "I thought you must have done something to bring it upon yerself." "Shot yer mouth off, or acted without thinking of the consequences, as ye have done all yer life." "But then out at the mill pond, when I saw the scars on yer back, scars made by a lash laid down wi' such fury... you dinna fash yerself about it anymore." "It was me." "It's my fault that Randall beat ye so." "You dinna ken what you're saying." "But I do." "That day..." "That day when Randall came here, when he took me upstairs..." "If I hadn't mocked him that way, if I... if I'd given him what he wanted he wouldn't have treated you like he did." "And then father... mo chridhe, no." "Don't." "I did anger Randall at Fort William, and I've spent the past four years of my life blaming myself for father's death because of it." "But now ye know better?" "Aye." "Hmm." "Aye, I do." "I know it's not yer fault." "Nor mine, either." "There's a devil in that man that no one can influence." "The only one responsible for putting father in his grave is Jack Randall." "Aye?" "It does trouble me, though, knowing ye went with him to save me, knowing he might harm ye." "I would have gladly died to spare ye." "And if yer life is a suitable exchange for my honor, tell me why my honor's not a suitable exchange for yer life?" "Or are ye telling me that I may not love ye as much as ye love me?" "Because if ye are," "Jamie Fraser, I'll tell you right now it's not true." "No." "Welcome home, laird Broch Tuarach." "Come." "You said Broch Tuarach means "north facing tower."" "Aye." "Well, it's round." "It doesn't have a face." "Well..." "The door faces north." "Frasers." "I'm beginning to feel like..." "Like I..." "Like I actually belong here." "Hmm." "I knew ye belonged here, with me, almost since the first time I laid eyes on ye." "That's one of the reasons I agreed to marry ye." "Though not the main one." "Then what was the main one?" "Hmm." "Because I wanted you more than I ever wanted anything in my life." "Right from that moment I fell off the horse and..." "Woke up in the dark looking up at your face." "Then there was that long ride together, with that lovely round arse wedged tight between my thighs, and that rock-solid head thumping me in the chest." "That's why you agreed to marry me, because of my round arse and my rock-solid head?" "Hmm." "I wanted ye from the first moment I saw ye." "But..." "I loved ye when ye wept in my arms that first night at Leoch." "But now I..." "I wake up every day, and I find that" "I love you more than I did the day before." "I love you." " Keep calm now, lad." " What right do you come into this house without..." "I've heard enough from the likes of you." "Now you stay silent as a lamb, my friend..." "Or this lovely lass is gonna be scrubbing yer brains off the floor."