"Ripped By mstoll" "I hope you kept yer powder dry." "Misfire, and I'll ram that pistol down yer gullet." "Well, there's only one way to find out." "Taran, put yer gun down." "I've found a scoundrel in here, Jenny." "He's lucky I've got a steady hand, or he'd have a ball in his brain by now." "That's no scoundrel, you fool." "That's my cousin." "Jamie." "Jamie MacTavish." "Cousin, you say?" "My pardon to you." "You'll understand my caution." "I've never laid eyes on you, MacTavish." "Jamie came for a visit." "Walked in one fine day without warning, and with a wife on his arm." "Jenny and Ian didn't know we were married." "We surprised them." "A Sassenach?" "For a bride?" "Nearly put a gun to his head myself when I heard." "But we've come to know Claire." "She's a decent woman." "We don't mind her English-ness so much." "Pleased to make yer acquaintance, mistress." "I'm Taran MacQuarrie." "You'll excuse my confusion." "I thought yer husband was intending to rob the place." "No, Taran, we like to leave the robbing to you." "MacQuarrie." "We dinna expect you till next month." "Aye, that was the plan." "But I was pining for Jenny's rabbit stew." "Uh..." "I took that sword of yours to the smithy." "Had the nicks ground off the blade, and polished off the rust with a bit of whale oil." "You needn't have troubled yerself." "It was no trouble." " Looks better than new." " Aye." "You're welcome." "So, my stomach's rumbling like thunder." "Jenny, how about you put some supper on the fire?" "You know yer way to the dining room, lads." "I do indeed." "MacQuarrie's come." "Let's get supper ready." "Are you daft, sister?" " Welcoming the watch into our home." " Agh, hold yer tongue." "It's not like we had a choice, now, is it?" "It's only for a couple of days." "MacQuarrie's a decent fellow." "And you fixed his sword for him." "Maybe you'd like to polish his boots as well." "I did the man a favor, that's all." "They're criminals, out to line their own pockets." "The money we pay is for protection from the Redcoats and other raiding clans." "They look out for us, Jamie, and our tenants." "And what about the price on my head?" "If the watch knew, they'd turn me over to the Redcoats in a heartbeat." "That's why we're going to fill their bellies, give them a place to sleep, and you, cousin, are going to keep yer wits about you until they've moved on." "How often do these men come around?" "Every few months for nigh on two years now." "I never would have agreed to this." "But you weren't here, now, were you, Jamie MacTavish?" "Keep your voices down." "Do you want them to hear you?" "Jamie." "You think it hasn't taken its toll on Jenny and me?" "Well, it has." "But it was our burden to bear." "If you've got a better idea, let's hear it." "Jenny?" "Breathe, relax." "Here, let's get you a seat." " Is it the bairn?" " Aye." "Kicks like a mule on fire." "Just listen to your sister." "Tread lightly and don't provoke them." "Oh, burns like a torch going down, aye?" "As long as it wets my thrapple." "Aye, Jenny hides the good stuff away when we come, along with Ian's fine tobacco." "Do you blame me?" "You're a quiet one." "Where are you from, MacTavish?" "Na h-Innse Gall." "Aye, you don't sound like an islander." "Well, Jamie spent time in France fighting with the French army with Ian." "Perhaps that's what's influenced his accent." "Did you, now?" "I did some soldiering myself with the French in Austria." "Were you posted in Spain with Ian?" "Aye." "Aye, the border mostly." "We got separated during a battle." "I thought he'd died on the field." "Hmm." "That was Silesia in '40." "He spent the next three weeks convalescing in a brothel." "In a hospital." "Thank you, Mr. MacTavish." "Now, I was in Silesia in '42 when they stormed Prague." "We took that fortress before Francis Stephen knew what hit him." ""Never be taken alive."" "How daring." "There's nothing like charging into the guns after that first volley before the enemies get a chance to reload." "Aye." "And a sword to the head puts a good end to the second." "So you're an old colleague." "Curious." "'Cause I've traded a lot of army tales with Ian, and he's never mentioned you." "I'm sure I must have." "No." "I'm sure you didn't." "If you two weren't so deep into the drink," "I'm sure you'd remember." "Here's to a long life and a merry one, a quick death and an easy one, a pretty girl and an honest one, a stiff whiskey and another one." "Aye." "How long are you staying?" "A few days." "I have a few more men arriving tomorrow." "We are planning something big." "I'll tell you about it afterward if you're interested." "In the meantime, one of my horses has turned up lame." "Needs shoeing." " I'll need to see the smithy in the morning." " Aye." "I'll take a look at him for you." " I'm good with horses." " Aye." "And we wouldn't want anything to keep you from yer travels." "I'll take you up on yer offer." "Our compliments to the cook." "But if I take another bite," "I'll be sleeping in the mud pen with the swine." "There are extra blankets for you in the south cottage, and fresh hay." "I see you helped yerself to Ian's tobacco." "Fine tobacco it is." "Too fine for the likes of you." "Yeah, Shh." "Rabbie, pass me the pincers, a bhalaich." "An abscess." "No wonder he turned up lame." "When was the last time you had him shod?" "Just get it mended." "Fire!" "Fire!" "I'll pish on it for you." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Aye." "More." "Fire!" "This family's taken you in, given you food, shelter." "You might want to show some gratitude." "And you might want to remember who has the pistol here." "Stand down!" "Stand down!" "All of you." "Go on, get out of here." "Go on!" "My apologies for the stramash." "They're good lads." "They're just a wee bit coarse." "And they dinna have the army like we did, aye." "I'm trying to school them." "Good luck to you." "You know, I could use a man like you." "Not just a bonnie fighter, a warrior." "I've done enough fighting in my life." "I'm settled now." "You let me know if you change yer mind." "Bhrain!" "Lucais!" "It's about time." "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna grace us with your presence, Mr. Horrocks." "You two lads know each other?" "I thought so." "But you tom-faced Scots all look the same to me." "Let's get a drink." "But he knows there's a price on your head." "Aye." "Traitor to the British." "He's got no problem robbing and killing Scots." "He won't stay quiet for long." "Why would he stay quiet at all?" "Surely there must be something he wants." "Lallybroch was the one place I thought we'd be safe." "I should never have come home." "Don't say that." "Whatever happens, we'll handle it." "No matter the cost." "Now, you see here?" "The Chisholm land borders the Fraser's land to the west, and the Chisholm rent party will be traveling through this pass tomorrow." "Our best shot's Lochaber Bridge." "A day's ride." "We take them just after they cross under the bridge." "That's a fine spot for an ambush." "And they'll be flush, you say?" "Aye." "Their sacks will be the fullest with coin and goods." "After this, we've got the mending." "You any good with a needle?" "Well, I've stitched more wounds than clothes, but I'll give it a whirl." "Oh." "Jamie, have you no sense?" "Look what you've done to your auntie's skirt." "It's all right." "I don't mind." "Well, I mind." "Mrs. Crook." "I'll take him back to the house for a bit of bread and honey." "Be nice to get some chores done without a bairn under my feet." "Some days I can scarce go to the privy alone." "But soon he'll have a wee brother to play with." "How do you know it's not a sister?" "Well, I've had no morning sickness and a taste for salty food, and I'm carrying low, same as Wee Jamie." "It's a boy, all right." "You have siblings?" "No, I'm an only child." "Well, it's good for a man to have a brother." "Jamie was only eight when we lost Willie to smallpox." "He said Ian's been like a brother to him." "Aye, he is." "The two of them were like one after Willie died, especially in a fight." "Old John, Ian's father, used to tell Ian his job was to guard his chief's weaker side." "And he did." "When Jamie and Ian stood shoulder to shoulder, there was no one who could take the pair of them down." "Jenny." "What's wrong?" "My waters have broken." "Looks like this laddie's on his way." "All right." "Let's get you inside." "Jenny, it feels to me that this baby is breech." "Well." "He's in the wrong position." "The head should be down here, but it's still up here." "He's a footling, then?" "Yes, I suppose." "We're going to have to turn him." "I'm going to need you to lie on your side, and then I'll have to palpate the belly." "Here." "You know about babies and such, then?" "I've seen childbirth." "You've not yet been with child yourself, then?" "No, I haven't." "Grannie MacNab says ye should drink a tea of raspberry leaves and rosehips when the moon is waxing." "That and a bit of lady's mantle with a raw egg beaten up in it." "It's not working, is it?" "No, it isn't." "He's determined to land on his feet." "He's a stubborn one." "Definitely has Fraser in him." "We should go get Ian." "He should know what's going on." "I'll not tell him anything and neither will you." "No point in worrying the man." "Tell him the bairn's coming, nothing else." "Making yerself comfortable?" "I was wondering when you'd seek me out." "We have a lot to talk about." "Then let's talk." "This, this is all yours." "Isn't it?" "Yeah, I saw the name "Fraser" carved in the lintel." "Who's Jenny to you?" "Very well." "Don't tell me." "She's bonny." "So's your bride." "Yeah." "They speak about the luck of the Irish." "But you, Jamie Fraser, you're the lucky man." "What do you want, Horrocks?" "To sail to the colonies." "Boston, I fancy." "Then go." "Scotland won't miss you." "I'm gonna need money for my venture." "You'll have plenty in your pockets after the raid on the rent party." "It's a start, but not much of one, not after I divvy the pot with the others." "My thinking was maybe you'd be willing to help a fellow." "Same way as I'm helping you by keeping my mouth shut." " For a price, I'm sure." " You're a canny lad." "But you put up some money now, and I swear, you'll not see my face again." "How much?" "He's dropped now." "I can feel it." "All right." "We just have to wait." "Tell me what it's like, being pregnant." "Well, it's no romp in the heather." "Can't you see my face?" "I know." "Come on." "Tell me." "Well, uh..." "In the early days, it's just a bit like wind in yer belly." "Later, you start to feel the child move." "And it's like a fish on a line, just a quick tug, and then gone so soon, you're not sure you felt it." "They sleep for hours at a time." "Sometimes when there's been no movement, you fear they've died." "And then you try to wake them, and when they kick again..." "You get down on yer knees and promise God anything he asks if he'll just keep them safe." "Ooh." "Just breathe." "And towards the end, when the child moves a lot." "It's a feeling like when yer man's inside you." "When he comes to you deep and pours himself inside you and that throbbing begins." "Feels like that, only much bigger, like..." "Like it's him you've taken into you instead." "That's what they want sometimes, you know." "They want to come back." "Mistress?" "There's word from the village." "The midwife was called away to tend to a relative who's taken ill." "It's all right." "It is possible to deliver a breech baby." "I'm going to have to reach inside and guide it out." "All right, but you'll be fetching me a good stiff dram before we start." "In that case, the baby will likely be drunk, too." "Then he'll come into the world a true Scot." "All right." "Ever since they got here, you have the look on your face like you've got a thistle stuck up your arse." "You're provoking them." "They burned hay we need for winter." "You'd have me turn the other cheek?" "That's why you've got two cheeks, you limmer." "Jenny hates the very bones of them." "I canna understand why you don't." "MacQuarrie could take more from the estate than he does." "Just ask the MacIntoshes." "He's been easy on us." "So you're boon companions with him." "Aye, so I am." "And if you want to ken the truth of it," "I look forward to his visits." "To drink whiskey with a man who doesna look on me with pity, as if I'm some lame cur." "Maybe I favor him because he's a soldier or because..." "Because he reminds me of you." "And because he protects us from the Redcoats." "He pays them to stay away, and when they don't, he fights them." "You pay one devil to protect you from another." "I'm not proud of it, but there it is." "What happened here with Jenny never will again." "But no man can stand up to that monster Randall alone." "Not you, not me." "It takes an army." "The watch is our army now." "What's the matter?" "That new man, Horrocks." "I've met him before." "He knows about the price on my head." "He wants money to keep quiet." "What are you going to do?" "I dinna ken." "Jenny told me about a small sum your father left." "It's ferreted away in a nook in the broch." "I canna use that money." "Half of it's yours by right." " If Jenny knew about this..." " She doesn't know about it." "And I want it kept that way." " I won't be taking that money." " Yes, you will." "It's what she would want." "It's what I want." "That money was meant for you, for our sons and daughters." "I wanted to fill this house with our children, hand down the good Fraser name." "I've let you down, Claire." "It's me that's let you down." "The truth is, I may never give you a son as beautiful as little Jamie." "I don't think I can have children." "I tried before I met you." "With Frank." "I should have told you before we were married, but I never counted on loving you," "much less having children with you." "I'm so sorry." "Perhaps it's for the best." "There's..." "There's so many things that can go wrong." "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." "Or for you to suffer." "I wouldn't mind the pain." "I would." "I can bear pain myself, but I couldna bear yours." "That would take more strength than I have." "I shouldna keep you from Jenny." "Of course." "Don't worry." "She'll be fine." "I'll make sure of it." "Oh." "Ho-ho." "I must thank you." "You've been generous." " Then we're done here." " Yeah." "There's just one small concern." "I thought there might be." "This is enough for safe passage to the colonies." "But then there's the matter of making a living when I'm there." "Buy a small shop, start a business." "I hear Boston's an expensive city." "That's everything I have." "But you're the Laird." "Surely you can raise the rents of your tenants, huh?" "Sell off livestock or land?" "This is clan land." "It's belonged to my family for hundreds of years." "More's the pity if you lost it, then." "You must be deep in the drink to say such a thing." "Ah..." "An Irishman's never drunk." "As long as he can hold on to one blade of grass, he'll not fall off the face of the earth." "I do partake from time to time, and my tongue gets loose." "Who knows what I might say?" "I'm a danger to myself, and others." "Like your kith and kin." "You leave my kin out of this." "The British Army don't take kindly to those who harbor outlaws." "Prison's no place for decent folk." "I'm sure you'd agree." "I thought I killed my last man in the war." "I'm grateful." "Although if you hadn't done it," "I would've done it myself." "The man was an absconder, a traitor and a thief." "He wasna worthy of the watch, nor even a Redcoat." "Let's bury the bastard, which is more than he deserves." "Wipe the blood off first." "Ian." "Remember, we used to argue" "which was the bigger sin," "fornication or killing." "And worry whether we would go to hell." "Well, if you're going to hell," "I might as well go, too." "God knows you'll never manage alone." "Go get the shovel." "Take this." "My fingers are swelling up like sausages." "You can put it in the jewelry box." "I keep it hidden in the drawer when the watch is around." "Our brother Willie carved that for Jamie for his fifth birthday." "I found it recently." "I meant to give it to him." ""Sawny."" "It's a pet name." "It's a play on the Gaelic for his second name, Alexander." "It's what Willie used to call Jamie." "I know he'd want him to have it." "Willie's buried out there, next to my mother." "She died two years after he did, in childbirth." "Give it to Jamie for me." "You give it to him yourself." "Woman, quit yer screeching!" "Yer wife's howling like she's giving birth to a harpsichord." "Oh, ho!" "I think we've used a bit more of your hay than usual." "Buy some extra, in case you run short in the winter." "You know, we haven't seen Horrocks since supper." "No." "Neither have I." "Ah!" "He'll turn up." "Irish pogue." "He'd better." "'Cause we leave for Lochaber tomorrow." "Ah!" "Hey, lads." "Tomorrow, aye." "How's Jenny?" "The babble's taking its own sweet time." "But she's coming along." "Well, there's still no sign of our friend Mr. Horrocks, which is a wee bit of a puzzle." "It is a puzzle." "Well, his horse is just outside, so he can't have gone far, given that the man would barely walk 10 steps to pish, much less wander away." "Now," "I have a fair knowledge of mathematics." "Three men go out, two men come in." "If I add to that the fact that you two knew each other and you hid it from me," "that doesn't tally up." "I don't get yer meaning." "Why'd you kill him?" " Let me explain." " I'm a wanted man." "There's a price on my head." "Ten pounds, sterling." "Likely twice that now." "Horrocks knew it." "He threatened me and my family." "So..." "Iran him through." "Good." "I never liked the Irish bastard." "If ever a man needed killing, it was him." "We're raiding the Chisholms today, and now I'm a man short." "And I could do with a tall, strong Scotsman who's swift with a sword." "So unless you're prepared to dig seven graves, including your own..." "I'll ride with you." "This once." " I'm coming, too." " No, you're not." "If he wants to come, let him come." "He's got two hands." "He can hold a gun." "I'll have you both." "Watch your back." "He could still turn you in for the reward after you've served his purpose." "I don't think he will, but I'm going with him." "You should stay." "Jenny needs her husband here with her." "What I need is my brother home safe." "I lost him once already." "And Claire's here, so off with the both of you." "But haste ye back, Ian Murray." "Your newborn son will be waiting to meet ye." "Jenny found this, asked me to give it to you." "Sawny." "I haven't seen him for a long time." "You heard your sister." "Haste ye back, or else." "Or else what?" "Or else" "I will follow you," "I will drag you back by your thick, red curls, and you won't like it one bit." "No, Sassenach." "I'm sure I wouldn't." "Good being out on the road again, eh?" "In the pishing rain?" "The road's a dangerous place to live." "Why do ye do it?" "Robbing's not an entirely honorable profession." "I'm a fighter." "And I'm good at it." "I grew tired of fighting for rich dukes and monarchs." "I realized the world is mine." "And money taken is twice as sweet as money earned." "Here, that's a souvenir from our last raid." "Open it." ""Pale death visits with impartial foot" ""the cottages of the poor and the castles of the rich."" "These were made for Mary Stuart." "Real barrel of laughs, that one." "You know, I don't mind death as long as it comes under an open sky." "Myself as well." "This doesn't have to end after today, ye ken." "We could branch out, raid the royal tax wagons, English landowners." "We could go places." " Prussia, Flanders, Saxony." " Aye." "Make a name for ourselves." "They'd write songs about us." "You paint a bonny picture, MacQuarrie." "If it wasn't for Claire, maybe I'd take you up on it." "We'll talk again later, when your blood's up and you've got gold in your pocket." "Or what?" "You'll turn me over?" "To the British?" "Never." "I've seen the inside of a jail myself." "The Tolbooth." "I wouldn't wish it on a dog." "I'd shoot you first." "Bridge, just up ahead." " Come on." " Tell me you'll look after Ian." "There'll be no need to look after anybody." "Just do as I say, Claire." "Listen, you will get through this." "Ah!" "Damn you, Claire." "That's right, damn me." " I can't do this." "I can't do this." " Yes." "Yes, you can." "You've done it before, and you're going to do it again." "Get behind me." "Get behind me." "Christ almighty." "Oh, bloody hell." "All right, he's coming." "He's coming." "All right, here we go." " Hold up." "Hold up right there." " Aye." "When are the Chisholms due to pass?" "Just shy of sundown." "Horrocks said they're going to be coming from the east." "I'll go up there and stop them, just as they're crossing the bridge." "Aye." "You can say what you like about Horrocks." "Scunner knew how to pick the perfect spot for an ambush." "Let's get in yer positions." "Horrocks was right." "With the high walls and the dense cover..." "There's no way out." "Jamie!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Congratulations." "Hmm." "Your bonny little lass just landed on her feet." "A lass, ye say?" "Crivvens." "Three days, and still no sign of Jamie or Ian." "Every day I sat on the steps and stared at the road, as if I could will them to appear." "She had us well fooled, didn't she?" "Little Margaret Ellen Murray." "She certainly did." "'Twas my grandmother's name." "Maggie." "It suits her." "Wee Jamie may favor Ian, but this little one, she's got the Fraser eyes." "Here, Mrs. Crook will put her down for a nap." " Mrs. Crook." " Yes, mistress?" "Shh." "You look good with a wee yin in yer arms." "You'll be holding yer own soon enough." "I don't know that I Will." "Listen to me, Claire Fraser." "Every day for four years, I stared at that very road." "He will come home." "He always does." "These belonged to my mother." "You're tall and queenly, like she was." "The lady of Lallybroch should have them." "They're gorgeous." "Really, they are." "So very unique." "Someone gave them to her as a wedding gift." "She never would say who." "My father used to tease her about her admirer, but she just smiled like a cat that's had cream for its supper." "Ian, you're hurt." "I'm all right." "I lost my horse and my leg in the fight." "Where's Jamie?" "We were ambushed." "The Redcoats were waiting." "They knew we were coming." "Horrocks." "That dirty bastard must've cut a deal with them." "I don't understand." "Delivering the watch to buy his freedom." "The other lads were killed outright." "I fetched Murray home." "'Twas the least I could do." "Where is Jamie?" "MacQuarrie was wounded." "Jamie wouldn't leave him behind." "Was Jamie hurt?" "Not that I saw." "But they took him." "The Redcoats have him." "Ripped By mstoll"