𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 | 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 ✅

40 - No News Is Good News

Eight Months Later,

21st August 1743

With a shock of red hair, gorgeous blue eyes like the ribbon that I had once worn around my wrist and chiselled cheekbones despite the baby fat, wee Jamie was gorgeous and fawned over by all of the women - and indeed, some of the men - at Castle Leoch.

Mrs Fitz and Laoghaire in particular had taken a particular fancy to him. Whilst Mrs Fitz didn't particularly like me much, she was very fond of wee Jamie and quite often mashed him up some of whatever it was that everybody else was having for dinner. Laoghaire liked to watch him play and crawl around, and sometimes took him for an hour or so whilst I helped in the kitchen or just generally when I needed a few minutes to myself.

Letitia adored him. I got the feeling that she had wanted more children after Hamish, but that she and Colum had not been blessed with any. She liked to hold the baby and play with him, and she especially liked it when he laughed.

I was in Letitia and Colum's private living area - a circular room with a beautiful fireplace, comfortable furnishings and the walls lined with tapestries whilst the floors ran with carpets. We laid a blanket down and then placed wee Jamie on it with some toys which he had been gifted during the first few months of his life. It was difficult for me to believe that he was almost a year old already, but watching him crawl around, laugh and play was everything that I had ever wanted.

Life with wee Jamie, in fact, was perfect. He was never a bother or demanding for my attention and would generally be happy in anybody's arms. He mostly slept through the night, with only a few exceptions, and he wasn't fussy with his food. On warm days I liked to take him into the meadows for a picnic by the stables because he liked to watch the horses, and on cold days we would sit by the fire with Letitia or in our own room. All things considered, he was thoroughly spoilt, and I loved that he had so many people who loved him.

"When do ye think Jamie will be back from France?" Letitia asked out of the blue, watching Jamie from over the top of her book, "he's been a long time."
"He took an axe to the back of the head, Letitia," I reminded her, "I imagine he's had quite a lot of healing to do."
Or he's died and nobody's bothered to tell me.

"It's a bit odd that ye havna had any news, isn't it?"
I frowned, watching wee Jamie pick up one of his wooden toys and put it into his mouth, "no news is good news, isna it?" I asked her, "if something," I swallowed, "if something bad had happened to Jamie, then surely Murtagh would be back to tell me."

"Och aye," Letitia replied, giggling as wee Jamie frowned at the taste of the wood, "no news is good news -" she cut herself off, "Hamish dinna let him eat that." Wee Hamish, Letitia's son, who had been on the floor reading quietly, took Colum's slipper from wee Jamie's grasp. Wee Jamie fussed and I sighed, laying my needlework down and bending to pick him up.

"It's a'right, Mo Mhac Gradhach." I told him softly, remembering fondly the different Gaelic names which my Jamie had called me throughout the years. The one that I had used for wee Jamie meant my darling son. I hummed quietly to him whilst Letitia watched Hamish read.

The door opened suddenly and we all jumped, wee Jamie bursting into tears again just when I had settled him.

I frowned, "thank ye for that, Dougal," I sighed, "I'd just stopped him."

"Aye, sorry, lass." He had a wide grin on his face.

"What is it?!" I asked excitedly, "is it -"

"They're on their way!" I didn't know how to show how happy I was. Dougal continued talking, "we're riding for Edinburgh now to be there for when their ship docks!"
"What wonderful news!" Letitia clapped her hands together in delight, "he'll be home soon, Eira, and then he can meet wee Jamie -"
"I'll ride with ye -"
"Ye canna!" Letitia exclaimed in a horrified tone of voice, shocking Hamish with her harsh tone. I looked at her in surprise, having never heard that tone from her before. She softened considerably as she continued, "I only mean that ye canna take wee Jamie with ye - he will fuss the entire ride to Edinburgh and back again."

I hummed in reply, shifting wee Jamie's weight to my other hip, "aye, ye have a point."
"Stay here with the little lad where I ken ye'll both be safe, and we'll bring his da home with God speed." Dougal smiled as he put one hand behind wee Jamie's head. When wee Jamie had first been born, Dougal hadn't wanted to touch him, but he had overcome his restraint in the past eight months and now was quite fond of making the baby laugh. I imagined that he was a wonderful father to his four daughters; Molly, Tabitha, Margaret and Eleanor, though he did not bring them to Leoch very often.

"Aye." I nodded, "a'right... get ye gone then, Dougal MacKenzie, wee Jamie needs his da!"

Dougal chuckled and bid us all farewell before he left, closing the door behind him.

I turned excitedly to Letitia, "he's coming home!" I exclaimed excitedly.