"Previously..." "Ye need not be scared of me, nor anyone else here, so long as I'm with you." "You're coming on the road." "I think it would be wise to have a healer along." "Have you seen any of your Scottish companions raise funds for the rebellion?" "Captain, I refuse to submit further to this interrogation." "You have no right to that woman." "Now, she must be returned to me for protection." "I'm afraid further questions have arisen." "Be sure to deliver her to Fort William by sundown tomorrow." "I can only legally refuse to hand you back to Randall if I can change you from an English woman to a Scot." " Dougal wants us to be married." " I know." "Well, doesn't it bother you that I'm not a virgin?" "No, so long as it doesna bother you that..." "I am." "Ready?" "For what?" "Right, then, folks." "Lovely." "Now?" "Why not?" "What about your parents?" "They've been waiting for us at the restaurant." "Let them wait." "Frank, they've never even met me." "Yeah, so?" "They'll never meet Claire Beauchamp." "I will have the pleasure of introducing them to Mrs. Frank Randall." "You--you're mad." "Are you sure you wouldn't rather a big church wedding or" "No, no." "I'm sure." "Maybe your family would prefer it." "Darling, the only family I care about is you." "And the family that we will make together." "Will you marry me?" "Of course." "You may kiss yer bride." "You forget your life after awhile... the life you had before." "Things you cherish and hold dear are like pearls on a string." "Cut the knot, they scatter across the floor, rolling into dark corners, never to be found again." "So you move on." "And eventually you forget what the pearls even looked like." "Or at least you try." "Sounds like the wedding party is still going strong." "Don't suppose they're going to bed anytime soon." "No." "Not until they know we've made things official." "Should be grateful they didn't want to watch." "Only Rupert and Angus." "A wee joke." "You're a regular Bob Hope." "Was he a funny man?" "I always thought so." " Perhaps a drink?" " Aye." "To a-a lady of grace, a woman of strength, and a bride of astonishing beauty." "My wife." "Claire Fraser." "You needn't be afraid of me, Claire." "I wasna planning to suddenly force myself on you." "Never thought you would." "I have questions." "Ah, I suppose you do... under the circumstances." "What is it you want to know?" "Well, I, um..." "What the hell." "Might as well come straight out with it." "Why did you agree to marry me?" "I mean, Dougal didn't give me much of a choice, but you" "Well, I..." "I didna see I had much choice either." "We do not have much time." "Captain Randall is expecting Mistress Beauchamp to be delivered to him tomorrow." "Now, we are all about to embark on a boat built entirely of paper." "The letter of the law is the only thing keeping Claire out of Randall's hands." "And so if it is to work, then we have to follow it to the letter." "The marriage must be consummated right away and witnesses must swear that they were present in the building if not in the room itself." "Does Claire know about all this?" "She has no say in the matter." "I thought you didn't want with rape, Dougal." "No rape." "Persuasion." "She's a smart lass." "She'll see the reason for it in the end, but there can be no secret agreements between the two of ya, you saying that you have when you have not." "Besides, I can think of worse things in my lifetime than holding onto that sweet pair of ciochan," " plunging my cock" " Yeah, enough!" "If Claire does become my wife," "I'll thank you to stop talking and thinking of her like some common whore." "Hey!" "If?" "There is no if about this, laddie." "Now, she took a few blows at the hands of Randall and kept silent, which is a fair sight more than I'd expect of any ordinary woman." "But you know Randall." "You know what he's capable of." "What do you think'll happen to her if she falls into his hands again?" "So you married me to keep me safe." "Aye." "That's the gist of it." "You have my name, my clan," "my family." "And, if necessary, the protection of my body as well." "Tell me about your family." "How many generations back?" "Your parents will do." "Aye." "My father was a Fraser." "Of course." "A younger half-brother to the present master..." "Colum and Dougal... my mother was Aileen Mackenzie, the elder sister of Colum and Dougal." "Colum wished my mother to marry Malcolm Grant." "My aunt Janet is dead, like my mother, but my aunt Jocasta..." "I had my father see me grow up." "I was always grateful for that." "It was a distraction, to be sure, but a welcome one for both of us." "When he told me his family history," "I reciprocated in kind... and we each spent the next several hours drinking and talking and... generally getting to know our new spouses for the first time." "First evening with the girl, everyone waited to see would she take him or no?" "He was charming, a born storyteller, like most Scots." "She told Malcolm Grant off." "And he headed home as a result." "As the hours passed, I began to relax and eventually to enjoy myself." "And your mother?" "She and my father slipped out of the castle right under the noses of 300 clansmen." "And my father loved telling that story." "I told you to stand back, ye coof ye!" "I wasn't gonna ponce around outside the door, was I?" "Waiting for them to answer... like we were just coming by for a nice cup of tea." "And just what are you doing?" "Dougal sent us up to see if ye'd, uh..." " y'ken?" " Now, who's the coof?" "They've still got their clothes on." " Get out." " You can still do it" " with your clothes on." " I know that, but not on your wedding night!" "I was just hoping to get a wee keek at her breasts." "They're related to you?" "Rupert only." "Distant cousin." "It's getting rather late." "Perhaps we should go to bed?" "To bed... or to sleep?" "Well..." "Either way you're... not likely to sleep in your corset, so I'll..." "I'll help you with the... the laces and such." "Skirts first." "Aye." "It's my turn." "Where did you learn to kiss like that?" "I said I was a virgin... not a monk." "If I need guidance..." "I'll ask." "Jamie, you're crushing me." "So was it like you thought it would be?" "Almost." "I thought... no, never mind." "What?" "Tell me." "You'll laugh at me." "Promise, I won't laugh." "I didna realize you did it face-to-face." "I thought you must do it the back way, you know, like--like horses, ye ken." "I'm sorry." "I know, I promised I wouldn't laugh." "I'll ask you a question." "Of course." "Did you like it?" "Murtagh was right about that, then." "Murtagh?" "He said women generally do not care for it." "Well, he and Rupert." "And Ned." "They offered a lot of advice on the subject last night." "I did like it, Jamie." "There it was." "Not only was I a bigamist and an adulteress, but I'd enjoyed it." "I need to get some food." "Claire, wait." "Claire, wait!" "Hey, lass, if you're still able to walk," "Jamie isna doing his duty by ye!" "If she's worn ye out already, Jamie," "I'll be more than happy to fill your place." "Bit of a curse and give us peace." "Better go back inside, Sassenach." "Until they've had their fun, they'll no leave us alone." "Oh, Jamie, how was your first time?" "Did ye bleed?" "No, but you will, you bugger, ye dinna haud yer wheesht." "Hey, while you're filling your face, maybe I'll go upstairs and fill mine, hey?" "Maybe-- maybe I'll fill it with my fist, huh?" "All right, lads, show's over." "Dinna need to stay up any longer." "Aye, but let's hope you do." "Why don't you buy yourself a wedding night like Ned did?" "It's the only way he'll ever get one." "Thank you." "Don't think ye've thanked me properly." "For finding you somewhere better to stick yer cock than the fillies in the stable." "Thank you." "Truly." "Come on, sit yourself down awhile." "You don't want to appear too keen to return to your... your bride." "Did he really say that?" "Aye, he said, "You never want to let a woman see you're too eager to please her." "Gives her too much power."" "Really?" "And what did you have to say to that?" "I said I was completely under yer power and happy to be there." "Is there any more whiskey?" "Always." "Thank you." "Sorry." "What does that mean?" ""My brown-haired lass."" "Rather a dull color, brown, I've always thought." "No." "No, not dull at all." "It's like the -- the water in a burn, the way it ruffles down the rocks." "Dark in the wavy spots with... wee bits of auburn when the sun touches it." "I see, um... see a new kilt for the occasion." "Aye." "The Fraser colors." "Where did you get it?" "Did it cost you dear?" "It cost nothing but time and conversation." "The clothes belonged to the husband of a Fraser widow about five miles from here." "Died about ten years ago." "I wager she talked the poor bugger into an early grave." "She wants them back by tomorrow night." " Why?" " I didna ask." "I almost didn't bring the damn things back to you anyway." "The village is crawling with redcoats." "I'm well aware." "Otherwise I 'd be collecting my own wedding clothes." "And what do you think would happen when you prance out of here with your red hair and your mickle wearing Fraser colors?" "You might as well paint a target on your back." "I plan to be wed but one time, Muztagh." "So I'll do so in a way that would make my mother proud." "Hud." "What do you make of her?" "Mistress Beauchamp." "She'll do." "I think my mother would have approved." "Do I look like a gypsy to you, huh?" "Able to commune with the spirits?" "Have you still got your brooch?" "Your mother had the sweetest smile." "Would warm a man to the backbone just to see it." "Claire's smile is just as sweet." "Here." "Murtagh said that?" "I wouldn't have expected anything quite so romantic." "Well, still waters run deep, ye ken?" "Is he a Fraser or a Mackenzie?" "Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser." "I'm surprised Dougal waited for him to go get your kilt." "He was in such a hurry." "He was, but I slowed him down." "I'll do it." "But I have three conditions." "Ah, Christ, it would be easier if I kill ye both." "Much harder to explain." "First, we must be wed properly." "In a church." "Before a priest." "Half past 10:00." "And this one still burrowing under his blankets." "Oh, Christ, Father!" "Did I no just tell you to aim it off to the side?" "There'd be no problem if he had left me in my bed." "We only need your services for an hour, then you can coorie back doon under your blankets." " He says he won't do it." " That is no what I said." "I said I canna perform a wedding until after the banns have been read." "But that would take three weeks." "We don't have three days." "Then I won't be performing your wedding." "I have a knife too, and I'm no afraid to use it." "I believe we have you outnumbered, Father." "Aye, but neither of ye a priest." "Kill me, and you have no one for mile sund to perform a wedding." ""Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation and to doctrine."" "1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 13." "Church doctrine says before there can be any wedding, the names of the contracted parties must be publicly announced three times and three consecutive" "Look, you dozy smout" ""You are not under the law... but under grace."" "Romans 6:14." "If you'd learned your catechism from Father Bain, you'd ken your Bible verses too." ""Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine."" ""Continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee."" "1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 16." ""Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."" ""Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines."" "You're mixing up the verses." "It's all Hebrews." " Well, ye canna do that." " Ok." "Enough!" "It's colder than a witch's tit in here." "Ye'll perform the ceremony tomorrow, banns or no, or you'll be performing your last rite." "Go ahead, kill me." "Even if I burn in the fiery pit, it'd be better than spending one more Sunday in this miserable freezing box." "How would you like your own proper windows?" "Dougal said that the wee man barely skipped a beat before asking what time we would like the ceremony to begin." "Church and money: some things don't change." "Here." "What was your next condition?" "If ye'd have let me finish the game," "I would've won us a proper ring." "Well, this is what Jamie wants, and since it's his wedding, this is what he'll get." " Good day to you." " Good day." "Are you the blacksmith?" "Of course he's the blacksmith, ye great gob." "We want a ring made." " A wedding ring." " For a lass." " Can you do it?" " A wedding ring?" "I suppose." "I've got some silver in the back." "No." "Make it from this." "It's a perfectly good key." "It would be a shame to melt that down." "Oh, dinna melt it down." "The groom wants you to keep the mmm... the part that goes into the lock and...the... part on the other end." "The blade and the bow." "Aye, the blade and the bow." "You didna ken that." "Aye." "It can be done." "Next week." " Today." " It'll cost ye." "Gie him the money." "All right." "Ye said ye'd pay half." "I would have, had you not taken me out of the game." "A key." "Key to what?" "Nothing." "It was just something I had in my sporran." "What was your third condition?" "I left that to Ned." "What about this one?" "Do you like it?" "M-mistress, please." "I'm here to find a dress, not a woman." "I like this one." "This one's my favorite color." "Do you like it?" "Look what it does at the back." "It laces up." "Do you want this one, then?" "Wouldn't you like to take me out of this one?" "The--the bride isn't a" " A woman of loose morals?" " Aye, yes." "She's a--she can't be wearing that on her wedding day." "Then mebbe ye shouldn't be shog for a dress at a whorehouse." "I have something might suit ye." "Get back, back now." "Or I 'll clout your ears for ye." "Courtesy of a certain lord with whom we are familiar." "His lordship bought it in London for his lady." "On his way home, he lost the rest of his money at the tables in Stirling, so when he came by us for his usual visit, he was long on desire but a wee bit short on clink." "He proposed a trade and I accepted." "Never been worn." "Was waiting for a gentleman to visit before putting it on, but I suppose it's best I never did." "No lass should wear another woman's dress on her wedding day." "Well, that'll do nicely." "Cost ye a schilling." "Fine, fine, fine." "Oh, must you run off straight away?" "It will take the girls a few minutes to wrap it up." "Protect it from the wether, ye ken?" "Perhaps we could offer ye some entertainment in the meantime?" " Come on." " Now, just slowly." "Not too fast." "Oh, come on." "Now you're just making things up." "No, I-I told it to you exactly as Ned told it to me." "Grinning like a dog with twa tails and beaming red the whole time." "Did ye not see the strumpet at the wedding?" " Oh, so that's who that was." " Aye." "I had no idea that all that was going on." "That's right." "Ye've not told me what you were doing all day." "Hey, on your feet, lass." "You hardly wanna get married looking like a melted candle." "Like a what?" "Oh, god." "So, do ye no remember anything of your own wedding?" "As a matter of fact, I do." "I did have a monstrous hangover, though." "I remember every moment, every second." "I'll never forget when I came out of the church and saw you for the first time." "It was as if I stepped outside on a cloudy day and suddenly the sun came out." "Your servant, Madam." "I can't marry you." "I don't even know your real name." "It's Fraser." "James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser." "Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp." "Well, if you two are quite finished... let's get on with it." "So you don't remember any of this?" "Not all of it, but some things are very clear." "I, James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser take, thee, Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forth, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health... till death us do part." "I, Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp take, thee," "James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser to be my wedded husband." "To have and to hold from this day... in sickness and in health... till death us do part." "Do you have the ring?" "Amen." "Say the words after me." "What exactly did the words mean?" ""You are blood of my blood and bone of my bone."" ""I give you my body that we two may be one."" ""I give you my spirit..." ""Till our life shall be done."" "You may kiss yer bride." "When you kissed me like that, well, maybe you weren't so sorry to be marrying me after all." "Take off your shirt." "I want to look at you." "Well, then... fair is fair." "Take off yours as well." "Have you never seen a naked woman before?" "Aye, but not one so close." "And not one that's mine." "I'm sorry." "I didna mean to hurt you." "You didn't." "You sure?" "Yes." "I dinna know women could..." "Does it happen every time?" "Only if the man is a very good lover." "But you're so small." "I didna want to hurt you." " What are you doing?" " Stay still." " Does that hurt?" " Little bit." "Do you want me to stop?" "No." "No." "What did you say?" ""I thought my heart was gonna burst."" "Mrs. Fraser." " You're out late." " Aye." "I'm just back from seeing Captain Randall." "I shared with him the happy news that you're no longer at his beck and call." "What did he say?" "That there are likely limits even to your tolerance for foul language." "I don't suppose he means to take any further steps about it?" "I shouldn't think so." "He's got more important things to worry about than chasing after one stray Sassenach, no matter how pretty." "And he's got better sense than to rile Colum by kidnapping his nephew's wife." "That's comforting to know." "I commend you for doing your duty." "But it needn't stop you from sampling other pleasures." "I find you to be the most singular woman, Claire." "I'm Jamie's wife." "Evening, mistress, Dougal." "Good evening, Rupert." "I would like to thank you for your kindness towards me." "The--the ring is magnificent." "Oh, well, you're welcome." "And a most hearty congratulations to you on your wedding day." "Thank you." "Ah, young Jamie may no have much experience, but that one looks like well ridden." "What was that fer?" " Check the horses." " I've already done it." "Do it again." "They're Scotch pearls." "They belonged to my mother." "And now they belong to my wife." "They're one of the few things I have left of her." "And very precious to me." "As are you, Claire." "I'll meet you downstairs." "If I don't get something to eat soon," "I might have to take a bite out of you." "I believe you've already done that." "And I look forward to doing it again soon." "Don't be long." "There'll be nothing left but crumbs."