Imagine Willie (not the jackass we see in the books) calling Jamie “Da” and Claire overhearing it
Homecoming - Part Thirteen
Book 9 speculation; William arrives at the Ridge with his cousin Dottie the same day that the MacKenzie family has made their unexpected return.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve
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Claire finished the row and spread the stitches on the needle to gauge her progress. They were looser than they should be and something didn’t look right…
She cursed quietly to herself and threw the knitting to the floor. She had dropped a stitch and it had run. Her options were to try and fix it by going up the column of dropped stitches or to pull it all out and start fresh. Given that it had only reached about three inches in length, it would probably be easier to start the scarf over from scratch. With a frustrated sigh, she leaned down from her chair to retrieve the tangled mess of wool.
The door creaked open and Claire peered around to see Jamie entering their bedroom as quietly as he could.
“I thought ye’d be asleep by now, Sassenach,” he whispered, bending to kiss the top of her head and eaming the knitting in her lap. “What have ye done to it?” he asked, sympathy and amusement evident in his tone and smile.
“I think you can see what I did without my telling you,” she snipped at him. Taking the balled yarn in one hand, she began wrapping the loose end around and around, watching the sloppy stitches of her work slip out of each other’s grasp. Reversing the process was far faster than creating it in the first place. She would set it aside for now and begin afresh in the morning when her mind — and fingers — were rested and flexible.
“I still cannae believe Bree told him we exchange gifts at Christmas,” Jamie murmured, shaking his head and crouching by the hearth to put another log on the fire.
“The children have come to expect it having been in the 20th century for so long,” Claire reminded him. “Mandy never spent a Christmas here on the Ridge so she truly doesn’t know anything else.”
“Aye, but ye could make William somethin’ else. There’s plenty ye could concoct in yer surgery that he’d appreciate. He’ll no be used to such a hard winter as he’ll see here on the Ridge. A balm or something for when his hands and nose are chapped wi’ cold.”
“And what are you making him?” Claire turned the tables as a challenge. “Don’t think I don’t see you whittling away at a new chess set. There’s only the two of you and Ian that play and you already have a perfectly fine set. I’m making him a scarf and I’m knitting it both because I need the practice and because he’ll know and appreciate the effort that went into it.”
“Do ye no worry that he’ll be put in an awkward spot wi’ our gifts to him?” Claire could hear the doubt in Jamie’s voice. “I ken Bree gave him warning but I cannae think he’ll have luck wi’ making ready gifts for the rest of us. I… I wouldna want him to feel he had to do something in turn.”
“I think he knows by now that we don’t keep score with such things,” Claire asserted. “And we don’t have to put him on the spot when the children are given their gifts. We’ll find a time that’s right.”
Looking resigned more than confident, Jamie nodded and pushed himself to his feet. He bent and twisted a moment before the fire, the popping of his joints mingling with the crackling of the burning logs.
“Come to bed, Sassenach?” he requested, reaching a hand out to help Claire from her seat.
She took it, yawning as she stood. Jamie tucked her against his chest for a moment, letting his chin rest atop her head. She felt the tension leaving him — and leaving her as well. The worries and uncertainties of the day dissolved in the night as they went to bed and found reassurance and comfort in each other.
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Christmas morning arrived and, as Claire had warned Jamie, Mandy and Jem were in an excited frenzy with Germain catching some of the excitement. It was just the Mackenzies and William at the big house with Claire, Jamie, and Germain. Fanny had gone to stay with the Murrays to serve as an extra set of hands about the kitchen or with the babies. For most of the folks on the Ridge, Christmas was treated as just another day.
Brianna and Roger insisted the children help with breakfast and the chores before there would be even a discussion of gifts. William watched just behind where Claire stood as the three small bodies dashed about without complaint but with Roger reminding them that if they went too quickly and mucked things up, they’d find themselves doing everything twice.
“I don’t know as I’ve ever seen them in such a state,” William remarked quietly to Claire as he helped her tidy the kitchen. “Is Christmas really treated so differently in Scotland?”
“Not exactly. It’s more to do with how Bree was raised. She enjoyed celebrating the day that way and it’s something she’s carried on with her children,” Claire explained carefully.
“Family tradition, then. Though I understand from Roger that marking the new year is a wider celebration and that more of the people here on the Ridge participate…?”
“Hogmanay,” Claire smiled wider. “Yes, that’s more what you’d expect the Scots hereabouts to celebrate. We’ll be having a larger party here for that. Christmas is a smaller, practice run, I suppose,” she chuckled.
“But there are no gifts for… Hogmanay?” he hesitated, pronouncing it carefully.
“Nope, no gifts. Just a lot of wonderful company, music, and dancing. Food, of course, and whisky.”
The growing noise outside indicated the children were returning from their chores and would not be deterred much longer, and not without voicing their discontent.
Claire ushered William from the kitchen and into the main room where Roger, Brianna and Jamie had fetched the gifts from hidden places and stood guard waiting for good behavior and everyone’s presence before beginning to distribute them.
William quietly excused himself and hurried up the stairs for a moment, leaving Claire, Jamie, Brianna, and Roger exchanging silent questions back and forth about whether or not they should wait for him to begin. Before the wordless conversation was completed, William’s footsteps could be heard descending the stairs once more.
Mandy scurried to his side before he managed to find himself a seat.
“I want yers first, Uncle William,” she declared loudly. “Please?”
William looked to Brianna and Roger who nodded. He brought his sackcloth bag from behind his back and retrieved a child-sized cloak that had been lined with fur.
Mandy’s eyes went wide and her mouth formed an O. She bounced with excitement as she reached out to let William help her try it on.
“It’s sae warm,” she purred. “No wonder we’ve had sae much rabbit stew!”
The adults all laughed.
“Your mother helped with the sewing,” William explained with a grateful nod to Brianna. He reached in to his bag again and pulled out matching knives for Jem and Germain. They were only short blades made by the local blacksmith, and would primarily serve for chores as well as hunting and trapping. But the boys were eager to head outside to practice throwing them at the side of the barn.
“Uncle Ian kens how to throw knives,” Jem exclaimed. “He’ll teach us how!”
“Ye’re all stayin’ put till we’re through here and ye’re no goin’ to be disturbin’ Uncle Ian wi’ demands he teach ye anything,” Roger warned. “Ye’ll ask politely and ye’ll offer him help so he’s no losin’ more time than he can afford, aye?”
Jem and Germain promised then looked to see what other gifts were waiting for them (which turned out to mostly be practical and necessary items like new and warmer clothes, securing the knives’ place as their favorite gift of the day). Mandy bounced around the room in her new cloak, brushing the soft rabbit’s fur against her cheek.
William ducked his head to hide the prideful smile the sight brought to him.
Claire slipped along the outer edge of the room till she came up beside him.
“You’re a hit,” she told him quietly, her eyes still on her grandchildren.
“I’m glad there was something I could give. It’s a nice tradition to mark the day and the children certainly enjoy it,” William remarked.
“I’ve a little something for you as well,” Claire said, offering him the neatly folded scarf. It wasn’t as precise as she would have liked, but it was long and above all, warm. “Jamie can tell you, I’m not the best knitter, but if you’re going to be here through the winter, you’ll need some warmer things.”
“Thank you, Mother Claire.” William grinned and then leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“Jamie has something he’s been working on for you as well,” she told him, “but I think he’ll give it to you later, when the children have gone to bed.”
William’s cheeks darkened. “I don’t have anything to actually give either of you,” William explained, self-conscious.
“You don’t have to—”
“No, there is something I want to do for you… that is… From what Brianna and Roger have told me about Hogmanay, there’s a… a role or service I might perform—what did she call it… Frost foot?”
“First foot,” Claire said. “And I think she’s right. You would be a good fit for it. I know it would mean a lot to Jamie.” She spotted him nestled in the doorway to the kitchen and nudged William gently in that direction. “He can explain it better than I can and the children are distracted.”
“Thank you, Mother Claire.” William slipped away from her side and into the kitchen, Jamie following a moment later.
Claire began inching her way closer to the doorway as soon as they disappeared, stopping as soon as she was close enough to hear what they were saying.
“Claire can go wi’ ye if ye’re certain ye dinna mind,” Jamie said as he finished explaining the responsibilities to William.
“I don’t. Since I’m to stay her through the winter, it will be a good way to introduce myself to more of the local residents,” William mused. “And I wanted to thank you… for making me feel welcome here and… allowing me to stay–”
“Ye’ll always have a place here,” Jamie interrupted. “Whether ye want it or no, it’s here for ye.”
“Thank you… Da.”
Claire pressed her lips into a tight line to keep the tears that sprang to her eyes from sliding free. It was a good thing she couldn’t see Jamie or William just then because it would have undone her completely.
She waited until she heard Jamie’s steps leave the kitchen before she made her way around to the front of the house and slipped out the door.
She found Jamie standing in the side yard, staring out across the clearing.
It was cloudy but didn’t smell like there would be more snow just yet. The little bit of light was magnified as it reflected off the snow. Paths had been cut through the otherwise pristine scene. Dirty trails to and from the barn and other outbuildings, the shortest distance possible to keep the time in the frigid air to a minimum.
Claire hurried to Jamie’s side and nestled against him, pulling her shawl tighter and wishing she’d grabbed a cloak on her way out. Jamie opened his coat to her and drew her close, sniffing to control his tears and runny nose so he wouldn’t drip on her.
“I heard,” she whispered, reaching up to wipe away the wetness before it could freeze in place.
Jamie just nodded and rested his forehead against her crown, sharing his happiness with her.
anonymous asked: I'd like to see the whole family, including William, maybe LJ, celebrating Jamie's birthday on the ridge. Of course after Roger & Bree have returned.
Homecoming - Epilogue
Book 9 speculation; William arrives at the Ridge with his cousin Dottie the same day that the MacKenzie family has made their unexpected return.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen
The snow and ice of winter had melted away and the early warmth of spring had coaxed some green from the bare branches and ground of the mountainside. Too much longer and it would grow difficult for those unfamiliar with the way to find the path through the woods an up to Fraser’s Ridge. It might have been a few years since he’d last visited, but the way was still distinct enough in Lord John Grey’s memory for him to follow the trail easily.
William had let him know about his plan to escort Dottie and her baby to her husband’s sister on the Ridge. When that trip turned into a prolonged visit, William had written him about that as well. But it had been Jamie who’d informed John about the young man’s decision to stay on the Ridge through the harsh winter months. It was a decision that sat uncomfortably with John. Even now, having heard from William several times and knowing that the stay had proved satisfactory, John wasn’t sure what to make of it.
On one hand, he was pleased that the tension between father and son appeared to be resolved. But on the other, it was strange to no longer be the conduit between them… to be left out by both of them. He wanted them to be happy… but he wanted to be there to enjoy their happiness, to have a shot at being a part of it too.
It was silly to feel that way about it, he told himself. He had been invited, after all, so they weren’t going out of their way to exclude him. And there was more to it than just William and Jamie. Jamie had written about the return of his daughter and son-in-law to the Ridge with their children. And there was other family living there as well. It was a place full of Jamie’s people — the Ardsmuir men, his fellow Highlanders, and more.
Not a place for the man those people remembered as the governor of their prison. Even if the Frasers welcomed him warmly enough, what would the larger Ridge community make of his presence?
It would be a short visit then, no more than a few weeks. And would William be leaving with him at the end of them? John hoped so. He missed the young man’s company and there was plenty of business the young earl needed to take care of, both in Virginia and at the estates he’d inherited abroad. He couldn’t hide in the Carolina mountains forever.
Except he could, and he just might. John knew better than to guess at what time in the wilderness with the likes of Jamie and Claire Fraser might have changed for William.
The trail grew more distinct and the woods thinned having been largely cleared for building and fuel. He urged his horse to a quicker pace, eager to be done with his ride and among people again — he was growing tired of only having his own thoughts for company.
There was a sudden movement up ahead and his horse startled and reared. John barely kept his seat, surprised himself.
“Sorry!” hollered a youthful voice as a small form scrambled up from the ground, dusted itself off, and began speaking to calm the horse.
When the horse had settled enough, John slipped from its back and took a firm hold of the bridle, running a soothing hand along its neck and quieting the animal the rest of the way.
The boy came closer, apologizing repeatedly and when John caught sight of the ruddy hair and piercing blue eyes, he chuckled and shook his head.
“You must be Brianna Mackenzie’s boy,” he remarked. The boy broke into a grin and nodded. “You look like your mother.”
“Aye, everyone says so. There’re worse things, I suppose,” Jem quipped. “I didna mean to startle yer beast there. We’ve been comin’ out and keepin’ watch for ye everyday this week. I thought I might see ye comin’ from farther off if I climbed the tree but the branches were a bit more broken than I counted on and when I saw ye were so close already, I put my foot in the wrong place and — well, I suppose ye can guess the rest.”
They had only advanced a few yards along the path toward the house when additional noise signalled the approach of the others sent to watch for the expected guest.
“Was that you made such a stramash?” Germain asked, ridicule and amusement infusing his voice.
“Grannie Claire warned ye,” Mandy scolded. “She said ye were gettin’ too big to be climbing the trees and she’d see ye in her surgery did ye keep it up.”
“Aye, well I’m no hurt, am I,” Jem countered. “Now run ahead and tell them he’s come.”
“Uncle William’s excited to have ye here,” Mandy bubbled as she turned, ready to sprint.
John found himself smiling as he followed the two boys at a slower pace and listened to their babbling. It seemed he had arrived in time for a small celebration that would be taking place in honor of Jamie Fraser’s birthday.
“It’s just the Murray’s that’ll be over and perhaps Mrs. Hunter and the bairns, now ye’ve come in time — ye’re her uncle, no?” Jem asked.
“I am,” John confirmed, not that the child was paying much attention to the answer. He’d launched into a list of the food the women were busy preparing while the men were at work on the house for the returned Mackenzies. It must have been a long winter indeed, with so many people crowded under one roof.
The new Mackenzie house was closer than the rebuilt Fraser homestead and they soon heard the shouts and pounding of roof shingles being passed up and nailed into place. The boys ran down a shallow incline toward the nearly completed structure while John paused to observe.
It was easy to spot Jamie, crouched on the roof and wiping sweat from his brow with one hand while he waited to be handed the next shingle. Ian Murray stood with a pile of shingles in his hands, Roger Mackenzie laughing behind him. Which meant it was William who had the girl, Mandy, sitting on his shoulders. Ian would hand the shingle up to her and she passed it along to Jamie who shuffled along the roof and nailed it into place.
Jamie looked up as the boys careened toward them, screaming with excitement. Spotting John, Jamie raised his hand in welcome and moved toward the ladder to come down. William turned then and smiled at the man who’d raised him.
The children were again sent ahead while the men of the Ridge welcomed the visitor and tidied up, happy for an excuse to end their day early. Roger and Ian casually hastened their pace so that they soon were much further ahead of Jamie, John, and William.
“You survived a winter in the mountains then, son?”
William laughed. “Yes, though it might be more accurate to say the mountains survived winter on the Ridge.”
Jamie chuckled warmly at that. “Aye. We’d more folk to stay than we’d planned and there were times it seemed we might need to bed some down alongside the animals in the barn so we’d no be so much under one another’s feet. This is one of several houses and expansions we’ve been at work on so far and thank the almighty the weather’s cooperated and helped us along.”
“We’ve expanded the Murray’s house so that Dottie and Minnie have a room to themselves,” William explained. “She’s had word from her husband that he should be granted leave to visit soon, but whether he actually gets it will depend on the war, of course.”
The mention of the war lead to a prolonged silence, eventually broken by Jamie. “I’ll take yer horse for ye,” he offered as they approached the big house. “William can show ye to the room Claire’s prepared for ye, if ye dinna encounter her on yer way.”
“Thank you,” John said, handing over the reins while William removed the bags with John’s clothes and other things.
John thought he saw movement at one of the windows but when they entered the house, all the noise seemed to be concentrated in the kitchen in the back. William led him upstairs and John suspected it had been Claire at the window and that she’d seen to it he and his son would have a few minutes to themselves ahead of what promised to be a boisterous gathering.
“You look well,” John told William as they began arranging John’s things about the small but comfortable room. “You’re enjoying yourself here, then?”
“I have, yes,” William confessed. “I thought it would be… awkward. And it was. At first. But now… Mother Claire told me that, when she looks at me… she sees the life they might have had if they hadn’t been parted by circumstance… She said that she looks at me as the son they should have had.”
John nodded but kept quiet, watching the color rise up William’s neck and settle. He felt a slight strain in his chest, waiting for William to find the words he was struggling with, waiting for his son to look at him.
“You know, Brianna was raised believing another man to be her father?” William asked, finally looking at him. John could only press his lips together, recalling the day Brianna had told him about her other father. William looked away again, out the window toward the barn where Jamie was tending to John’s horse.
“Since I first learned the truth… I wondered, sometimes, what it might have been like. If what Mother Claire said could have been true — if I had been their son and been raised by them… with a sister and cousins… I think I would have liked it. I think… it would have been… I would have been happy.”
John cleared his throat quietly, the strain in his chest getting tighter. “I think so too,” he said. “They’re good people, and would have raised you well.”
William looked back at him again and smiled. “I’m still glad that you were my father, though. Whatever it might have been… I wouldn’t trade you.”
John smiled and blinked back the tears in his eyes as he stepped forward and put a hand on William’s shoulder. William turned and embraced him, the tension in John’s chest disappearing under the pressure of his son’s arms. It lasted only a moment and then William stepped back, chuckling quietly.
“It’s helped to talk with Bree,” he confessed. “It’s difficult to wish for such different things at the same time — what might have been and what was.”
John nodded. “It’s all past, now, and nothing to be done about it. You can only appreciate what you have in the present, and look to the future.”
“Mmmm… And in our very near future is strong Scottish whisky, a fine dinner, and some music and dancing, if Roger Mac has anything to say about it. Let’s go down. Mother Claire will be wanting to see you and Dottie will be here soon — her baby looks just like Aunt Minnie.”
Something happens where William saves Mandy. He realizes how much it would hurt him if anything happened to her causing realizations about family.
Homecoming - Part Eleven
Book 9 speculation; William arrives at the Ridge with his cousin Dottie the same day that the MacKenzie family has made their unexpected return.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten
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William wasn’t completely sure how it happened, buy Mandy had become his shadow. Which turned out to be a good thing, because he found her easier to be around than any of the others at the Ridge… aside from Mother Claire, perhaps. And his cousin, Dottie, but he didn’t spend as much time with her as he knew he ought. Though he had come to terms with Rachel’s marriage to Ian and he was happy to be on speaking terms with them again, there remained an awkwardness between them that had yet to fade.
He still wasn’t sure what he felt about Jamie, it changed too often and too quickly. He could talk over things with Brianna, but the success of those endeavors depended on both their moods (Mother Claire said that was because of their Fraser blood, as likely to pick a fight as support each other). Roger… William didn’t have the faintest idea what to make of the man and it seemed Roger suffered the same conundrum.
It warmed his heart to see how Fanny continued to thrive in the care of the Frasers. She had grown into her own person in a way he hoped would make her sister proud. She was often away with the Murrays helping Rachel and Dottie care for their babes. Germain and Jem were as close as brothers and could rarely be found outside of each other’s company. And Mandy was too often the odd man out. Too young (and uninterested in babies) to join Fanny, the boys didn’t want her slowing them down.
Rather than acknowledge any hurt at being left out, Mandy had taken in interest in William instead. He’d earned her admiration and captured her curiosity when he’d joined them playing hide and seek. She hovered around him the rest of that day and then he noticed her watching him the next day. When he asked her if there was a particular reason why she was doing so, she surprised him by launching into a string of questions.
“Why do ye talk like Grannie Claire?”
“If ye didna play hide and seek as a bairn, what did ye play?”
“Is it true ye were in the army? Grandda fought in a bunch of wars.”
“How long are ye stayin’ here? Will ye stay till spring so we can play in the snow? I used to make snow angels wi’ Jemmy when we lived at Lallybroch but it didna snow there so much as it did in Boston, or that’s what Mam says.”
William found himself laughing at the enthusiastic questions and then crouching to take the young girl’s hands when she seemed hurt by his amusement.
“My apologies, Miss Mackenzie. I’m afraid you’re going a little too quickly for me to be able to answer properly. And for it to be a true conversation, you must allow me to ask questions of you as well,” he told her.
She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, then nodded and thrust her hand out to him. “Deal. I go first though.”
He took her hand but rather than shake it, he bent his head and gave her a peck on the back of it.
“Well, what’d ye do that for?” she asked, baffled.
“Because I felt like treating you as the lady you are,” he told her with a playful smile that failed to register with her.
“I am not a lady,” she informed him. “Now, what sorts of games did ye play as a bairn if ye didna play hide and seek and can ye teach me how to play them?”
“Ah, but it’s my turn. You already asked me your first question and I answered,” he teased, looking down and the hand by her side, which quickly repositioned itself on her hip.
“That wasna a real question!” she objected.
“Oh, but it was,” he insisted. “I laid out the rules and you agreed to them, did you not?”
A triumphant smile lit her face. “Yes I did, and tha’s yer first question answered. My turn again.”
William chuckled and moved to sit beneath a nearby tree. “Fair enough. Go ahead.”
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They played their question game while William went about various chores, while he wandered and explored the area surrounding the Ridge, and while they sat out in the yard doing nothing.
He went about seeing to his horses one afternoon, and examined the cart he’d brought with him and Dottie. One of the wheels needed to be tightened before it could be taken out again but instead he put the cart into one of the disused stalls of the barn where it would remain out of the way and protected from the elements. Mandy fed hay one piece at a time to the horses until they grew tired of waiting for a proper mouthful and snorted in her face.
He’d stayed long enough that it would be foolish to try and leave the mountain. There was no telling when the snows of winter would start and he had no intention of being caught in the middle of the woods during a blizzard with only the barest sense of where he should be headed.
He was stuck on the Ridge until spring. But he wasn’t as disappointed by the idea as he’d thought he’d be. It was actually a relief to have the decision made for him. Perhaps he’d just been putting off making up his mind precisely so he wouldn’t have to.
While he was in the barn with Mandy, Jamie came through and asked if William would like to accompany Brianna and himself on a hunt the next day.
“We’ll be needin’ more stores before the snows come and I ken ye’re a fair shot,” Jamie explained.
Though he was surprised (and not at all surprised) that Brianna would go on the hunting trip, William agreed. After Jamie left, he then had to explain to Mandy why she wouldn’t be able to go with them.
“Even Germain and Jem won’t be joining us, so you’re not the only one who’ll be staying behind,” he told her. The scowl furrowing her brow was enough to know that line of reasoning didn’t matter. “How about, I do my best to get something for you while I’m out? Some rabbit fur to line a hat or some gloves for you perhaps?” She began to perk up. “And while I’m gone, you need to figure out something to surprise me with as well. See if you can find any berries or nuts for a snack — I’ll be hungry by the time I get back.”
She was smiling by then. “I ken just what I’mma find for ye, but I’m no goin’ to tell ye or it’ll no be a surprise.”
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William woke and left early with Jamie and Brianna, taking only as much as they might absolutely need to make the journey back — hopefully laden with at least a hundred pounds of meat apiece — as easy as possible.
The three of them spoke little on the trip, partly due to the necessities of their making the trip, but also because they didn’t need to talk. They fell into similar rhythms, trading taking the lead as one of them spotted a trail and lead the others in pursuit. It was… surprisingly companionable and enjoyable. With the settled goal before them, the pressure fell on the task rather than how they would be around one another. He was amazed by Brianna’s skill and humbled by the pride in Jamie’s face whenever William caught their father watching them.
Brianna took down two large turkeys and a pheasant. Jamie downed a buck and had the two of them go on ahead a ways while he butchered and packed the meat as best he could. They’d swing back to help him after another hour on their own. William had begun the day targeting rabbits and smaller creatures, successfully bagging three with similar coloring that would line some boots and a hat for Mandy. On the final stretch with just Brianna, he managed to take down a young doe. It was more easily carried whole and butchered at the Ridge than trying to rush the job with the day advancing and ominous clouds descending. They left more of Jamie’s buck behind than they were happy with but as snow began to fall, they wished they had asked someone else to join them only so they would have more help carrying everything back.
They expected everyone to come rushing out of the cabin to help when they hallooed the house but only Germain and Jem emerged and ran to help them.
“Mandy’s missing!” they hollered. “Gran and Da and Uncle Ian went to find her. They thought she was playin’ wi’ us but we came back when the snow started and told ‘em she’d no been wi’ us,” Jem rambled, his fear prominent. “Fanny’s watchin’ the fire and gettin’ food ready but they’ve been gone longer’n they should be and–”
“Quiet, now,” Jamie ordered. “Which direction did they go?”
“They split up,” and the boys talked over one another pointing every which way.
“William, you stay here and take care of all this,” Jamie instructed, gesturing to their haul. “Bree, dinna fash. It’s likely they’ve already found her and are just havin’ a time getting back through the snow.” At least two inches had already found their way down through the treetops to coat the ground around the cabin.
“No,” William objected. “I think… I believe this is my fault. I think she got the idea to wander off because of something I said yesterday. I’d like to help look for her.”
“What did you say to her?!” Brianna yelled, her maternal fear boiling over. Jamie grabbed hold of Brianna to keep her from physically doing anything to William.
“It doesn’t matter. I might have an idea of where to find her,” he insisted, looking to Jamie.
“Go,” Jamie nodded. “We’ll take care of this and then we’ll join the rest of ye if ye’re not back already.”
William handed his gun to Germain and turned the sack with the three rabbits over to Jem. He dumped the doe on the ground and headed back up the hill into the trees.
He didn’t know where she would look for the sorts of nuts he’d suggested, but he couldn’t stay behind wondering where she was and not doing anything to help. Not when he blamed himself. He should have known that she would wander off on her own, would go further than she ought to without someone like himself with her. And with the snow coming in… He should have told her to have Mother Claire help her with something, or just let her be disappointed and frustrated without trying to soothe and placate her. It was irresponsible on his part and if anything happened to her…
He spotted the tree where he’d encountered the children playing that first time he’d joined them.
There were footprints beneath it. Too small to belong to Germain or Jem.
He followed the trail along a circuitous path leading back in the general direction of the cabin. Disturbances in the path and additional footprints from smaller, more local creatures, told William that Mandy had endeavored to try her hand at trapping. She’d gone along with him, checking traps before, and had undoubtedly watched her father, grandfather, and even her brother and cousin fiddling with different snares.
The trail ultimately led him to the doors of the barn and relief washed through him. He knocked gingerly before going in. It was warm thanks to the large bodies of so many beasts.
“Mandy?” he called quietly and heard a rustling from the corner where his cart was stored.
“Ye’re back!” she cried, rushing out to pounce on him, a dead mouse held awkwardly by the tail in her hand. “I caught ye somethin’ too, see.”
He took it from her to examine it, trying to hurry things along so they could get back. He desperately wanted Brianna to calm down and forgive him. He wanted Mother Claire and the others home safe rather than out in the cold and the snow. He wanted to sit and hear Jamie sharing their stories from the day’s hunt while everyone enjoyed a warm dinner in the cosy safety of the cabin.
“How did you manage to catch it?”
“Well… I didna so much catch him as find him,” she confessed. “But I had to make sure he was dead and he is.”
“Well, you’ve done a fine job. I’ll have to have you help me with the traps again after the storm’s passed and we’ve found a way to line your boots with some of the rabbit fur I brought back with me.”
“I wanna see!” she exclaimed, rushing past him back outside through the snow to the glow of the cabin.
He trailed behind, noticing that Mother Claire, Roger and Ian were gathered in the yard with Jamie. Mandy barreled down toward them and the cry of joy and relief that went up when they spotted her warmed him even as the snow began to make its way into his boots. Jamie clapped him on the back and bent to whisper, “Well done, lad,” while the others questioned Mandy about where she’d been and why.
William felt color rise in his cheeks at the praise and the welcome. Mother Claire embraced him and relieved him of the dead mouse, the two of them chuckling over it.
I would love to see a sweet scene or two of William at Fraser's Ridge (circa book 9) bonding with Mandy and/or Jem. What do the kids think of their Uncle Willie?
Homecoming - Part Ten
Book 9 speculation; William arrives at the Ridge with his cousin Dottie the same day that the MacKenzie family has made their unexpected return.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine
With so many people about the big house—and with so many of them watching him—William felt the need to get away. He couldn’t retreat to the room he’d been given upstairs. It was too close and would feel too much like hiding. They’d be waiting for him to come down and then he’d have to watch them restrain themselves as the impulse to bombard him with questions seized them all. Well… maybe not Mother Claire. But her gentle kindness and understanding would leave him feeling coddled and he didn’t need that either.
He just needed some space and some time to adjust to… everything.
He slipped out the back, picked a direction, and began walking. The children were having something to eat and with so many of them about, it took a large number of the adults to get them sorted. He also thought he heard Jamie and Brianna discussing plans for some sort of building they hoped to start work on soon.
William soon felt the tension in his head and limbs loosen. The air was crisp and had that clean feeling that can only be found when you remove yourself far enough from a habited space. The forest wasn’t too dense but there was plenty of shade keeping the area cool. He could find no discernable path and paused to take in and mark his surroundings. The last thing he needed was to get himself too lost to find his way back and require a search party. He would never manage to escape being watched if that were to happen.
There appeared to be a clearing to his right, so William headed in that direction. He knew he wasn’t close to the big house, but he could — perhaps — pretend he’d been sent on an errand to one of the other houses on the Ridge and get a sense of just how far off he’d gotten.
But there was no cabin or farm when he reached the edge of the clearing. Instead, the trees opened as they approached a steep dropoff. William kept to the treeline and safely away from the edge. When he looked up and out, a quiet and calming sense of awe overtook him.
A corner of the valley lay before him. He’d seen more stunning views in his travels through the colonies. He was momentarily thrust back into a memory of visiting the Ridge as a boy and Jamie taking him on a hunting trip. There had been a remarkable view along a cliff like this — though, that one had been steeper, the view stretching further. It must have been at a higher point on one of these mountains.
It wasn’t the vast wilderness that William found incredible here. It was the columns of rising smoke. It was the empty spots among the trees along the mountainside. There had to be more than two dozen of them. The homesteads of settlers who had followed Jamie, trusted him with their lives and their families. Settlers who had built something for themselves in the wilderness — who were still building and would build long after Jamie was gone.
William felt a stab of admiration for the man who’d fathered him. He had heard enough of Jamie Fraser’s history to know he hadn’t had an easy life — especially after the Jacobites were defeated — so to see how much he’d accomplished…
It was difficult to make out but William was pretty sure he could tell which of the cleared spaces belonged to the Frasers. Marking it in his memory, he headed back into the forest and oriented himself in the right direction once more.
As he walked, William’s thoughts traveled to his sister, Brianna, and all that she’d said about her own upbringing, how she hadn’t known Fraser was her father until she was grown. She’d certainly come to embrace Jamie Fraser. Hearing her talk, she’d clearly adored the man who raised her — and who’d lied to her. Somehow she’d managed to make peace with the two men and their roles in her life.
He’d asked her about that too. What had she done to find that peace within her or had she just woken up one day and felt different. She’d said it wasn’t until she became a mother herself that she had really been able to come to terms with it all, as much as she ever would.
“I looked at my baby and knew I’d do anything for him. I would never do anything to purposely hurt him. And I knew that all of my parents must’ve felt the same way,” she’d said. “I never would have imagined how many lies I’ve told my children — to keep them safe, to keep them innocent… Mostly small lies that won’t mean much in the long run, but little betrayals of their trust that they would be horrified by if they learned the truth now. And then there are larger lies, though they’re fewer and mostly lies of omission. Those are the ones I worry about,” she confessed. “I guess… because those are the ones that hurt me the most. But that’s why I give my parents a great deal of slack now, for what they kept from me.”
William had let the subject drop, preferring to mull it over on his own. Where was the line between outright lies and lies of omission in his case? And how much did it matter? It didn’t change the love he’d received from his mother, his grandparents, or Papa. How much had they done it to protect him and how much had they done it to protect the memory and reputation of the mother who’d borne him? Again, did it matter? What would he have done in their situation?
What might things have been like if he’d been raised by Jamie Fraser? That had to be a question that Brianna had asked herself too. Of course, she was Jamie Fraser’s daughter by Mother Claire, and anyone who saw the two of them together… Whereas, he…
Jamie had told him several times that whatever regrets he had about William’s mother, he didn’t regret William’s existence. But that could mean… too many things.
Laughter. Not just any laughter, but the laughter of children. It was so light and happy it distracted William from his thoughts.
Brianna’s children were playing in the woods. At least, those were the two he could see. William suspected the other children weren’t too far away. Fanny or, perhaps she was too old to bother with children’s games. But the older boy with the French name; he would be involved. He didn’t seem the type to miss out on mischief and fun. Right now Mandy was following a few steps on Jem’s heels as he crept through the underbrush to peek behind a tree. Mandy jumped and squealed but Jem shook his head.
William turned his path to approach them slowly, continuing to watch them.
There was a great commotion that involved Mandy shrieking with terror and Jem and another child laughing.
Mandy didn’t seem amused. She turned on her heel to stomp away but stopped dead when she spotted William watching. The boys stifled their laughter and smiled benignly at William.
“What have you three been playing at?” William asked. “It looked like you were enjoying yourselves.”
“We were just playin’ hide and seek,” Jem answered. “But I think Mandy’s had enough.”
Mandy turned back around to glare at her brother. “Wha’ I’ve had enough of is you and Germain playin’ against me. I wanna be seeker.”
“And we dinna want ye gettin’ tired part way through and goin’ off to pick flowers and leavin’ us hidin’ till dark,” Jem threw back at her.
Mandy’s face grew red at the accusation.
“Perhaps you can explain the game to me,” William intervened.
All three children looked at him with the same puzzled expression.
“Have you never played it then?” Germain asked.
“I didn’t have anyone to play with,” William explained. “No one my own age. I had tutors until I was old enough to go to university and then I went into the army.”
Mandy’s mouth gaped open. “Ye’ve never played before? At all?”
William chuckled, a little self-conscious under the gaze of the older boys. “I didn’t have the opportunity to play games very often, but I did play… And I rode horses a lot. It was uh… it was your grandfather who taught me to ride when I was about your age,” he told Mandy.
“Grandda’s great wi’ horses,” Jem agreed.
But Mandy was still focused on the fact William had never played hide and seek before.
“You can be seeker wi’ me,” she declared, turning to Jem and Germain to see if they would challenge her or let her have her way.
*************************************************
“They should have been back to the house by now,” Brianna remarked, anxiety overflowing.
Claire tried to soothe her but knew it was pointless given all Brianna had been through the last few months.
“They’re children, Bree. If they’re having fun, they won’t be thinking about how worried you might be or how late they are. Remember Germain is with them and he knows these mountains as well as your father does.”
Brianna’s arm suddenly shot out across Claire’s chest, forcing her to stop in her tracks.
“I hear someone,” she whispered.
Claire rolled her eyes and gently maneuvered around Brianna’s arm.
“It’s William,” Claire said, keeping her voice quiet so their presence might remain unnoticed. “He’s got Mandy with him. I think… I think he’s playing with them.”
“Playing what?”
Mandy was on William’s shoulders, her hands in his hair guiding him. He had a grip on each of her legs and was leading her around from tree to tree so she could peer up into the branches from a higher vantage point.
“Found you!” Mandy hollered, pointing up at Jem whose leg was just visible on a branch.
Claire felt Brianna breathe a sigh of relief beside her, and then giggle as they watched William fighting to keep Mandy properly balanced amidst her excited flailing. At one point, she leaned forward over William’s head to peer at him upside down. The smile that broke out on his face at whatever she said caused Claire’s chest to tighten.
“Shall we leave them to continue playing?” she suggested to Brianna. “I think they’ll find their way back on their own and I’d hate to disrupt them.”
Jemmy adores his Granda. They are very close. I imagine he'll become close to Mandy also now that they are back in 18th century. Frank may be important to Bree but he's unlikely to be of any importance to Jemmy and Mandy. Imagine a scene where Jemmy is disinterested in Frank or dismisses him in some way. Maybe Jemmy says something to upset Bree? Maybe Jamie has a word with Jemmy about being sensitive to his mother's feelings towards Frank but is secretly delighted by his words and loyalty?
Mandy was asleep in Roger’s arms and Jem stood beside him kicking at a pebble in the path.
They stayed back while Brianna stepped forward to lay the wreath at the base of Frank Randall’s headstone. She rested her hand on the top and after a moment, eased herself down to sit before it.
Roger couldn’t make out what she said but could hear the rise and fall of her voice as she spoke to him. She must be filling him in on all that had passed. Not Claire returning to Jamie—she’d have told him that after her mother had gone when she’d been left in Boston on her own. No, Brianna would be telling Frank about her own decision to pass through the stones. He knew she’d been conflicted in her feelings for Frank—the hurt and betrayal of learning he’d kept the truth from her, the yearning to be able to ask him why, the undying desire for his approval and love.
Roger understood better now he was a father (twice over) himself, especially with everything they’d had to sacrifice for Mandy. He thought that must be part of why Brianna had wanted to come and do this before they left to go back to Scotland.
Jem groaned with boredom and Roger hissed through his teeth to catch his son’s attention.
“Show some respect,” Roger whispered when Jem looked up at him.
“But I didna ken the man,” Jem objected but at least kept his voice low.
“It’s no about him,” Roger insisted. “It’s about yer mam and what he meant to her.”
“But he wasna even her real da.” Jem flinched as Roger’s hand shot out to administer a light smack to the back of Jem’s head.
“Be thankful yer mam didna hear that,” Roger scolded sharply.
“She seems sadder about him than she does about leavin’ Granda and Gran,” Jem muttered resentfully.
“If ye dinna shut yer mouth, ye’ll be regrettin’ it,” Roger warned. “Ye ken yer mam and I didna make the decision lightly, any more so than yer Granda did when he sent Mam and yer Gran away all those years ago. What d’ye think he’d make of yer attitude just now, eh Jemmy?”
Jem blinked as his face turned red, then he hung his head. “He’d tell me to think of Mam,” he replied in a sheepish voice.
“So if ye’ll no bide me and wha’ I say, bide what ye ken Granda would say.”
They were quiet for another few minutes while Brianna finished at Frank’s grave, pressing her fingers to her lips and then the headstone before rising and wiping her eyes. Roger shifted Mandy from one shoulder to the other, his neck sweating from the heat radiating off her sleeping head.
“Jemmy? Are you alright, honey?” Brianna asked, sinking to her knees in front of him and lifting his chin with her fingers.
“I miss Granda,” Jem whimpered, throwing his arms around her neck and giving in to his tears. “And Gran and I wanna go home.”
Brianna lifted him off his feet when she rose, fresh tears shining in her own eyes as well.
“I miss them too,” she said. “And I know it would mean a lot to him to hear you say that, but he’d also want you to have what fun here that you can, and be happy if you can. Neither he nor Gran would want you crying for them—not much, anyway.”
Jem laughed at that but it soon turned into a loud sob that threatened to wake Mandy.
“You know, Da and I were talking about what we’d do now Mandy’s well again—where we’d go and where we’d live,” Brianna explained as she followed Roger toward their parked car. “We were thinking of going to Scotland. What d’you think Granda would make of that?”
Jem sniffed and quieted his sobs long enough to respond, “He says he wants to see it again before he dies… and that a Scot’s no a true Scot wi’out seein’ it wi’ his own two eyes.”
“And he’d want ye to be a true Scot, no?” Roger chimed in.
“So maybe you’re alright with us goin’ there?” Brianna checked.
Jem nodded then rested his head against her shoulder, nuzzling to her neck the way he had when he was a baby.
Hello ladies! I would love to read a fic in a book 9-ish setting, to see wee Mandy meeting her grandparents, and Jem seeing them again and being reunited with Germain/the Ridge in general, as well! Thank you <3
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight
Homecoming - Part Nine
Brianna set Mandy down on the bench alongside the long main table. Claire was directing Jem and Germain to clean themselves up before she’d allow them any of the bread or honey. Both boys being in good spirits thanks to their reunion, they obliged while Mandy watched with wide eyes.
“Jemmy did wha’ she said,” Mandy remarked quietly to her mother, “and didna put on a fight first.”
Brianna gave an un-amused laugh as she used a damp cloth Claire provided to wipe Mandy’s face and hands.
“Why?” Mandy pressed.
“You’ve heard me and Da and Jem talk about Grandda and Gannie before,” Brianna reminded Mandy. “When we’re here, they help Da and me to take care of you, so when they ask you to do something, you need to listen to them and do as they say. Understand?”
Mandy looked over at Claire who was slicing a loaf of bread at a small table next to the doors that led through to the kitchen. Jem and Germain burst through a moment later, their hands, faces, and hair still dripping from their scrubbing.
“Go back through and make sure that floor is clean,” Claire told both boys, holding the eye of each of them long enough to ensure they heard the steel behind the instruction. There were giggles as soon as the door closed behind the mischievous pair.
Mandy turned back to her mother and nodded.
Claire carried the sliced bread over on a large plate and handed Brianna a napkin to spread on the table before Mandy.
“Fanny, will you fetch the honey from the pantry?” Claire requested before settling in at one end of the table across from Brianna and Mandy. “Better take what we want now because there won’t be a chance for seconds.” She put a slice of bread on the spread napkin in front of Mandy, smiling at her before handing a slice to Brianna and taking one for herself as well.
“Mam says yer my Grannie,” Mandy informed Claire, “and tha’s why Jemmy listens to ye.”
Claire chuckled. “I am. You were just a baby when I saw you last. A little bigger than the baby you saw earlier, but not much bigger.”
Mandy turned to Brianna for confirmation of Claire’s claim.
“Grannie was the first one ever to hold you when you were born,” Brianna assured her daughter, the girl’s surprise at that causing her mouth to fall open. “And you know how one of your middle names is Claire? That’s cause it’s her name.”
“Is tha’ why my hair’s got curls too?”
Brianna and Claire fought to suppress their laughter and Claire nodded. “The color’s from your father but I do believe the curl traces back through your mother to me.”
Fanny returned with a ceramic pot of honey and a spoon, offering them to Claire.
“Would you like to do it yourself, Mandy?” Claire suggested with a questioning glance at Brianna.
“If you do, you’re gonna do it sitting in Grannie’s lap, not mine,” Brianna said, already rising and lifting Mandy over the table to hand her to Claire. “I’ll eat it but I have no desire to wear it.”
Claire settled Mandy in her lap and handed her the spoon to dip into the pot while Claire held it and adjusted it as necessary to minimize how much dribbled onto the tabletop. When there was a large pool of honey on the bread, seeping into the air pockets and leaking to soak the napkin beneath, Claire eased the spoon from Mandy’s hand and handed the pot down the table for Fanny and the boys to negotiate (Jem had grown tired of waiting and had already eaten the crust off his bread).
Mandy tried to lift her slice of bread to bite into it but had to blow her curls out of the way first. Claire struggled to hold back her granddaughter’s hair but when Mandy pulled back, chewing happily, a strand of honey trailed back to the end of a ringlet. She whipped her head around to look up at Claire over her shoulder, flinging the honey into the older woman’s face.
“I like this honey better’n wha’ we have at home,” Mandy told Claire. “Ours comes from a bear.”
“A bear?” Fanny frowned. “Bears don’t make honey. Bees make honey.”
“I didna say they make it,” Mandy challenged the older girl with a roll of her eyes.
“Mandy,” Brianna scolded.
Fanny backed down as well, turning her attention to Germain and Jem who were seeing how high they could hold the spoon of honey and still dribble it on the slice of bread below.
“Where did you get the bears in Scotland?” Claire asked Mandy quietly.
Mandy was pleased to see that even if the girl didn’t believe her, Grannie did.
“Mam had a friend who sent them to us cause they’re Mam’s favorite.”
Brianna mouthed ‘Joe’ to her mother who smiled at the thought of her old friend.
The boys and Fanny had finished with their snack and were smearing the remnants of the honey across the backs of their hands as they raced to the door—Fanny demonstrated a little more decorum than that, taking care to wipe her face on her napkin and leave it neatly folded before floating out of the house and toward the garden where William was talking with Ian, Rachel, and Roger.
“And did you ever get to meet your mother’s friend?” Claire asked, her eyes fixed on Brianna who nodded.
“Ah huh. When Da was missin’ Mam took us to see ‘im in Boston. She said it’s where she grew up and tha’ he was a friend of yers first. He’s the one helped with my heart when I was a wee bairn,” Mandy explained, her voice pitching high at the end before she stuck her fingers in her mouth to lick them clean.
“And did you have fun in Boston?” Claire asked, giving Mandy a small bounce in her lap
Mandy giggled. “Ah huh. We did ‘speriments drivin’ round the Common and Mam took us to a big park but it was inside and we werena allowed to play on the grass cause someone else was havin’ a game.” Mandy’s excitement cooled and she whispered accusationally to Claire, her eyes darting back to Brianna, “I wanna go back an’ visit but Mam says we cannae do that. She says we cannae go home to Lallybroch again neither.”
Claire sighed and reached for the damp cloth Brianna had left on the table, using it to wipe the stickiness from Mandy’s face. Brianna looked up as a door opened and Jamie came in with as large a piece of paper as he had in his study. A quill was in one hand, his fingers stained with ink.
“I’m sorry you can’t go back to Scotland and Lallybroch,” Claire said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure you’re happy here. You’ll have playmates nearby and some cousins.”
“Uncle Ian and Aunt Rachel,” Brianna reminded. “Baby Brian.”
“And I ken ye’ve been bouncin’ about for a time wi’ no place that’s been yers since Lallybroch,” Jamie spoke up, spreading the paper on the table. “But why don’t ye come over here and help me and yer mam make a start of fixin’ that?”
Claire let Mandy down so she could scamper around the table and climb into her mother’s lap.
“Wha’s this?”
“This is goin’ to be yer new house,” Jamie told her, using the quill to point at the diagram he’d started sketching. “It’ll start wi’ just this big room here—tha’s about as much as we’ll be able to build before the snows come—but then in the spring, we start framing this part out here and before summer arrives we can knock out this wall and it’ll be the kitchen for the larger house.”
“Ooooh,” Brianna purred, reaching over and taking the quill from her father’s hand. “If we take the larger part of the house and move it to this side of the cabin instead, the kitchen chimney will help heat it along here. Then, a second chimney on the far side here…”
“Jem’ll get plenty of practice splittin’ kindling if ye want a house wi’ two chimneys like that,” Jamie remarked.
“I wanna practice too,” Mandy piped in.
“I’ll see the smith about a wee hatchet for ye,” Jamie promised, blinking at Mandy with a smirk on his face before glancing up to see Brianna struggling to hold her tongue. “If ye’re goin’ to be helpin’ yer mam and me wi’ the new house, ye’ll need to start wi’ the right tools.”
Claire reached over to the pot of honey and ran her finger around the rim, gathering the drips and dribbles on her finger and popping it in her mouth while she smiled at Brianna with a look that teased, It’s our right as grandparents to spoil them.
“Did ye build this house?” Mandy asked Jamie, her jaw dropping when he nodded. “All of it? By yerself?”
“I had help, though… I’m sure it would ha’ gone that much faster did I have you helpin’ too.” Mandy slipped from Brianna’s lap and shuffled across the bench to climb into Jamie’s lap.
“How’d ye do the map?” She reached for the quill from Brianna. “Show me?”
“It’s no a map the way most folk think of maps,” Jamie explained, guiding her hand as the tip of the dry quill traced the lines of the sketch. “It’s no even a proper plan—that would have the measurements marked here…”
Hi! I'd love to see more Homecoming! Maybe William can have that conversation with Bree... or maybe he can stop avoiding Rachel ^^ Thank you so much for all your work!
Book 9 speculation; William arrives at the Ridge with his cousin Dottie the same day that the MacKenzie family has made their unexpected return.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven
Homecoming - Part Eight
“Would ye no rather be helpin’ yer sister-in-law and her bairn to settle?” Roger asked of Ian and Rachel as they followed the children through the woods back to the big house.
“Mam has it all in hand and… if I’m bein’ honest…” Ian confessed quietly, “it’s a relief to have a break from her. I love her dearly but I’m no used to bein’ the only of her bairns wi’ her attentions. I think she’s in need of a wee change too and cleanin’ the cabin for Dottie while she and the bairn rest are as good for her as us.” Ian glanced briefly at Rachel who was preoccupied with Brian who’d sneezed. “Give her some time to adjust to what ye told her last night,” he added in a whisper.
“Well, I thank ye for letting me and the kids stay wi’ ye last night. Easier’n havin’ the carry ‘em all the way back.”
Germain and Jemmy had run ahead and were seeing who could climb a nearby tree fastest while Mandy hurried after and jumped to try to catch the lowest branch. Fanny appeared to be offering Mandy a lift but the youngest Mackenzie stubbornly refused the help.
“I am happy to have had the chance to meet thee and spend time coming to know thee,” Rachel said as she patted Brian’s back in the sling she wore across her front. “My husband has told many stories of thee and thy wife. I know he was sorry not to have thee with us when we were wed.”
“Aye well, there were many days when we would ha’ liked to have had him and the rest of ye wi’ us as well. Glad to see he’s found himself a wife and settled down proper,” Roger teased. “Puttin’ down roots.” The relief of being with family again was as heady and intoxicating as the whisky they’d shared the night before.
“Mama!” Roger heard Mandy shriek as the big house came into sight.
Brianna was in the yard with Claire and William, a basket over her arm already overflowing with greenery from Claire’s garden.
“Who’s that then?” Germain asked, dropping to the ground with a plop.
Jem dropped too, and landed right in front of Roger so that he jumped back before reaching out a hand laying it heavily on his son’s shoulder. Jem looked back at his father and gave him an apologetic smile.
“That… is a… visitor,” Roger answered awkwardly. He wasn’t sure how William would want to be introduced and hedged against his own inclination to call him the lads’ uncle. Germain frowned and looked to Jem who shrugged, still uncertain about how the young man was related to them himself.
Fanny recognized William immediately and was torn between running to him in her excitement and showing how she’d grown in his absence by demonstrating the proper decorum.
“Are ye sure ye dinna want to turn back?” Ian asked Rachel. “We’ve seen them safe back and Uncle Jamie and Auntie Claire willna mind.”
Rachel gave her husband an unamused look that Roger recognized well. He turned his attention to the children and his own wife, politely pretending to ignore the marital exchange happening beside him.
“If thee does not wish to see him then hurry thyself home,” Rachel retorted. “I believe that avoiding him will only prolong and call undo attention to any awkwardness there may be.”
Another sneeze from Brian punctuated his mother’s point and Rachel strode toward Claire, Brianna and William with greater purpose, quickly outpacing Roger and Ian. Roger watched William glance up from Fanny’s excited chattering and spot Rachel approaching. The color rose in the young man’s face as he bowed a greeting to Rachel then looked out to find Roger and Ian still making their approach at a leisurely pace. He nodded to the pair of them as well.
“I take it there’s history between ye?” Roger prompted.
“Aye, and a long one dependin’ on how far back ye wish to go,” Ian explained. “Strictly speaking, I was partly to blame for an embarrassing incident when he first visited ten years or more back.”
“Tha’s a ways alright,” Roger said with a snort. “Ye think he holds a grudge that long?”
“Well, it’s more to do wi’ the fact he fancied Rachel for a time… and likely still does. That I can tell her tales of his childhood humiliation doesna help.”
“What in heaven’s name did ye do to the lad?” Roger asked, glancing across at Ian who couldn’t conceal his amusement at the memory.
“All I’ll say is it ended wi’ him landin’ at the bottom of the privy and me down there soon after, though wi’ a wee bit more of my dignity intact,” Ian chuckled.
Roger snorted. “There’s nae dignity to be had if ye wind up covered in shite, no matter how it happened.”
“Mother Claire did a wonderful job,” William agreed with Fanny as she rattled off some nonsensical tongue twisters to demonstrate her newfound command of speech. “And you appear to like it here,” he added, a hint of question in his voice.
Fanny beamed. “I do. It can be as mad as the brothel and as loud, but I know Jane would have liked it here.” The girl’s smile faltered and her eyes shone as she looked away and took a deep breath.
“I’m glad,” William told her, reaching out and mussing her hair in a playful attempt to bring her back to lighter spirits. “Do you play with the other children or are you in charge of keeping them in order?”
“There’s none will keep Germain in order,” she muttered and Brianna snorted behind her.
“I’m afraid with Jem here it’ll only get worse,” Brianna apologized.
“Fanny, this is Mrs. Mackenzie,” William said by way of introduction. “She’s Mr. and Mrs. Fraser’s daughter.”
“I saw you last night,” Fanny noted. “You came down with Jamie and some others.”
“That’s right,” Brianna nodded.
Fanny turned to William. “Is she your sister? You call her mum ‘Mother Claire,’” Fanny pointed out.
Clearing his throat, William looked to Brianna and caught her smirking with satisfaction. It made him want to laugh as well as groan but the warmer of the two won out.
“Yes, she’s my sister… in a way. Not the same way that Jane was your sister,” William struggled to explain.
“Friend Claire,” Rachel called as she approached the house and garden with Mandy straggling beside her on tiny, tired legs.
Claire rose from a patch in the corner where she’d been weeding and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, smearing a bit of dirt over one eye like a second eyebrow.
“Rachel! I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” Claire exclaimed, wiping her hands on her apron and scooting around the edge of the fence. “I thought you’d be helping Dottie and Minnie to get settled.”
“My husband’s mother took it well in hand and I was eager to meet thy daughter as thee has told me so much about her,” Rachel explained and smiled at Brianna. “And I must apologize to thee for neglecting thee in my duties as hostess last night. Sister Dottie and the baby took more of my attention than I expected. But I’m glad to finally meet thee… and to see thee again, Friend William,” Rachel added, turning and smiling at him.
“You’re looking well… Mrs. Murray,” William greeted her awkwardly. “And it would appear congratulations are in order,” he nodded to the squirming bundle swaddled against her chest.
“I thank thee. It took us time to settle on a name for him. Brian James Hunter Murray,” Rachel cooed as she looked down at her contented and slumbering son.
“Named for our grandfather,” Brianna said quietly, coming up beside William, Mandy on her hip. “Same as me.”
“Issa bairn,” Mandy informed her new uncle. “He’s too wee for me to hold him yet.”
“It’s more that you’re too wee and not quite gentle enough to hold him yet,” Brianna corrected Mandy.
“He’s no too wee to hold him, is he?” Mandy asked, glancing to William. “Have ye ever held a bairn before?”
William wondered if the child was trying to see how dark a shade of red his face would go.
“As a matter of fact, I have,” he told her. “I brought my cousin and her baby daughter with me yesterday, do you remember?” Mandy nodded. “Well, she couldn’t carry Minnie the whole way by herself.” William thought back to the first terrifying moment Dottie had handed Minnie to him while she’d gone off to relieve herself behind a tree and the way she’d laughed finding he hadn’t moved a muscle in her absence. He had grown more comfortable with practice, however, though he remained paranoid that he would cause some sort of damage to the delicate and vulnerable baby. Every whimper and cry Minnie let out in his arms felt like an accusation.
But they’d been alone then, he and Dottie with the baby, either in unfamiliar towns and settlements or in the wilderness where he was their only source of protection. The weight of that responsibility had been heavier than he realized.
“Would thee like to hold Brian?” Rachel asked, surprising him. She was already pulling the baby free of his sling, his legs pulled up to his belly and his feet curling with what William saw as reluctance.
“Oh… That’s… I don’t…” William sputtered.
“Go on,” Brianna urged with a light bump from her elbow. “I don’t think Mandy’ll believe you till she sees it done.”
“He will be fine with thee,” Rachel insisted, gently settling the baby in William’s arms. “He’s not so breakable as he might seem and I have faith in thee.”
Brian peered up at William with a wariness that suggested he wasn’t as sure about William’s abilities as his mother. But he didn’t fuss or wriggle, just watched William and relaxed as the tension in William began to loosen as well. Brian was heavier than Minnie and longer, but then both Rachel and Ian were taller than Dottie and Brian might be a week or so older than his cousin.
“It would appear you are a natural,” Claire remarked with a smile and rested a reassuring hand on William’s shoulder.
“Mam, I wasna tha’ small too,” Mandy stated, peering down at Brian with skepticism.
“You absolutely were,” Brianna contradicted. “Smaller even. Jem too though he was less inclined to be agreeable at that size. Hungry all the time and hollerin’ for me to feed him.” She gave Rachel a look of commiseration.
“Jem does ‘at now,” Mandy said inspiring a chorus of laughs.
“Wha’s funny?” Jem panted as he and Germain reached the group.
“Nothing. Had enough of climbing trees?” Brianna asked with a tone that told her son what the correct answer to the question should be.
“Aye. Gran, is there anythin’ in here we’re allowed to eat?” Jem turned to Claire, eyeing the stems of some carrots that were in one of the baskets on the ground.
He didn’t seem to notice the renewed laughter as Claire ushered the children to the house with the promise of bread and honey, Brianna following with Mandy still on her hip.
“I can take him back if thee would like to go inside as well,” Rachel offered but William shook his head.
“We’re fine for now,” he assured her, watching the baby blink at him and yawn. “You probably already know this,” William mused quietly, not looking at Rachel who had stepped closer and was leaning over her son to watch him, “but he has your eyes.”
She smiled though he couldn’t see it. “That’s what Ian says. My eyes and his father’s disposition.”
“If tha’s the case ye’ll be in trouble before long,” Roger said, teasing Ian who walked beside him. “Or should I say, he’ll be in trouble before long?” He elbowed Ian lightly in the ribs.
“Tis a trait Friend Claire says men with Fraser blood share,” Rachel agreed with a laugh, smiling at William to show she was including him in her generalization.
“Perhaps tha’s so,” Ian conceded, striding over to William’s side and putting an arm around his shoulders in a familiar and jovial way. “It’s why we must find ourselves women as will follow us in our trouble gladly—or those wi’ a knack for helpin’ us find our way out of it once more. If we’re lucky.”
“It’s clear you have been,” William said with a sincerity that altered the mood. He offered Brian to his father who took him with a confidence born of practice.
“Ye will be too… cousin,” Ian replied, confident in the first sentiment and hesitant in the latter.
William didn’t rebuke him or walk away. Instead he smiled. “I can only hope to be half so lucky.” He glanced to Rachel who beamed at them.
Ian took hold of Brian under his arms and lifted him up to look him in his pouting face. “That would be lucky indeed, would it no?” he asked in a sing-song tone.
Brian sneezed in his face. William watched Rachel as they both laughed and realized he was genuinely happy for her and for Ian.
I’d love to see Jemmy’s reaction to his first few days in the future.
At first he thought the noise was just from the stones but two days later, Jemmy realized that it was just loud in the future. Even Mam and Da talked about it once with a laugh.
A noisy boat took them to the mainland and they walked on dark and unusual rock until they found a long, flat building. Mam and Da said it was like an inn but he had to take their word for it having never actually stayed overnight at an inn that he could remember. He and Da and Mandy waited outside while Mam spoke to the people inside and arranged for their rooms.
Mam got in touch with someone she knew who could send them money and was coming to get them to take them to Boston where Mandy’s heart would get fixed. It would take two days for him to get there.
Jemmy didn’t leave the room. He was too afraid and there was so much to see inside the room anyway. It was really two rooms. A larger room with two beds and lamps that didn’t need candles or wicks or fire and were blindingly bright. Mam told him not to stare at it or get so close cause it would damage his sight, like staring at the sun. He spent a long time exploring the privy and playing with what Mam told him was a toilet. The noise was loud and the rush of water startled him but in an exciting way, not a scary one.
Da left for a while and came back with new clothes and some food in strange wrappers that rustled and came in strange colors. Mam went into the privy to bathe while Mandy slept on the bed, Da watching her while he and Jemmy ate the odd pastries. They weren’t hot and they were somehow both incredibly dry and incredibly sweet. He coughed until Da got him water from the special spring in the privy to drink.
After Mam emerged grinning and pink, her hair wet and wearing a clean shift made from a bright cloth, it was his turn to bathe.
He’d never been in water so hot. “I feel like a potato,” he told his mother who laughed.
“Is it cause I keep scrubbing and scrubbing you but there always seems to be more dirt to scrub off?” she asked, vigorously rubbing the washcloth behind his ears so that it tickled.
“No,” he giggled. “When ye put them in a stew. They get all hot and soft and I feel like that now.”
“Is that a good thing?” Mam asked, a funny smile on her lips.
Jemmy shrugged. “I like it right now. I hope the water’s this hot next time I have to take a bath.”
“It will be this hot every time you take a bath,” Mam told him. “And you’re gonna be washing more often than you did when we were on the Ridge with Grannie and Grandda. That’s just how things are done here.”
Jemmy sighed but conceded, “If it’s this warm I suppose that willna be so bad.”
Mam smiled and helped him finish scrubbing then got him out of the bath and dried him off.
The new clothes felt strange and they smelled strange. So did the bedclothes. He was tired but slept fitfully because of the noises outside and from someone on the other side of the wall of their room.
There were more of the pastries in the morning, the sweetness not as sharp nor the texture so dry as it seemed the night before. Mam said they were strawberry flavor but he liked the strawberries from Grannie’s garden better.
After breakfast Mam pulled out a pair of scissors and told him to sit still while she draped a towel around his shoulders and cut his hair. She’d done things to his hair before but she’d never cut so much off at once. He frowned when he looked in the mirror. His hair didn’t look like Grandda’s anymore, pulled back into a queue. Then Da sat down and let Mam do the same to him and Jemmy didn’t mind so much. “Hair can grow back,” Da whispered when Mam was busy cleaning up.
They offered to play games with him after that but he knew they needed to talk about what they were going to do after they got to Boston and Mandy’s heart got fixed. He would have said they should go back to the Ridge and Grannie and Grandda but he was afraid of the stones and even though it was scary, looking out the window and watching the future outside was beginning to make him curious.
He sat in a chair with his arms resting on the windowsill and watched. And asked his parents questions.
“Is that a real vroom?”
“Why are they dressed like that?”
“Where are they going?”
“What’s that she’s on?”
“What kind of vroom is that?”
“What’s that called?”
They made up a new game for him. He had to see how long he could watch without asking questions and Mam would time him using the automatic clock on the table between the beds. He could ask one question for every five minutes he watched quietly.
There were so many people. A few seemed to feel him staring and looked over at him. He ducked out of sight the first time. The third person smiled and waved so he waved back.
He wasn’t bored with watching but Mandy grew fussy and Mam and Da were acting funny because the person Mam knew was supposed to be getting there soon. Jemmy climbed onto the bed with Mandy to rub her belly and let her pull his finger into her mouth so Mam and Da could get ready.
Then there was a knock on the door and Mam got up to answer it. Jemmy moved closer to where Da was standing, blocking Mandy from sight and peering around Da.
“Bree?” the stranger’s voice said from the open door. “Christ, it really is you.”
“You remember Roger,” Mam said, gesturing to Da.
Da stepped forward and shook the man’s hand. Jemmy made a noise when the man looked at him and smiled but Jemmy stood his ground.
“This is our son, Jeremiah,” Mam introduced him, “and that’s wee Mandy on the bed. Jem, this is Dr. Joe Abernathy. He’s an old friend of Grannie’s.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jeremiah,” Dr. Abernathy said, reaching a hand out to Jemmy too.
Jemmy tried to remember Grannie telling stories about her friend Joe but all he could remember was that she usually stopped before she finished. She would spot him listening and stop herself saying she’d finish the story later when little ears weren’t around, then Mam, Da, and Grandda would laugh.
Looking at the offered hand for a moment, Jemmy took it and shook it the way he’d seen Da and Grandda do when men came to the Ridge with questions and requests. Dr. Abernathy smiled.
“First things first, let me give that little lady a medical examination and then we can talk.”
