𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 | 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 ✅

41 - Claire Beauchamp

Two Weeks Later,

17th September 1743

Third Person POV

The woman looked around frantically, quite clearly in a state of shock. She was wearing nothing but her shift, and even that was more revealing than it ought to have been.

"A whore, for sure." Angus said as he stared at her, lust blatant in his eyes.

She shuddered at the thought of him.

"No, not a whore." Dougal took a step forward towards her. She took a step back and collided with Murtagh, who had been standing between her and the door in case she made a bolt for it. "She's much too well bred for that." He slapped Angus upside the head, "dinna look at her like that, man, I dinna hold with rape - even if the victim is English." He paused, "we'll take her back with us. Reckon Colum'll be wanting to know what she was doing alone in the countryside." The men nodded in agreement and then Dougal turned to a red haired lad by the fire, "what to do with ye, eh, Jamie?" He touched the lad's right shoulder. The lad groaned in pain and took another deep sip from a hip flask which someone had given to him before Claire had arrived in the cottage with her captor, Murtagh, though he had saved her from assault by the infamous Black Jack Randall.

"If you do it like that," Claire said in a rush as she stumbled over to the man and Dougal, who was trying to pop the man's shoulder back into place, "then you'll break his arm."
Dougal snorted, "and I suppose ye ken how to do it, milady?" He mocked.

She nodded, "I've done it before, yes."
There was only a brief hesitation before Dougal ordered his men to stand aside.

Claire took her position and looked directly into Jamie's eyes, "this is going to hurt a bit." She warned him.

He nodded and gritted his teeth, closing his eyes and readying himself.

He felt the joint roll back into place and he breathed out in relief despite the intense pain which had licked up his arm a few moments before.

"You," she said to one of the men, "give me your belt."

Angus, who she had spoken to, looked to Dougal for confirmation.

Dougal bowed his head and Angus huffed, undoing his belt and handing it to the sassenach. She made Jamie a sling from it and then looked at him, "how does that feel?"
"Good." He replied with a start, "thank ye, mistress."
She smiled, "my name is Claire Beauchamp."

"Mistress Beauchamp, then." He bowed his head politely.

Dougal asked, "can ye ride? We're expected back before the end of the month."

"Aye, I can."

"And ye'll take the sassenach." Dougal told her.

Jamie nodded, "aye. I will."

A week and a bit passed, and Claire found herself quite liking the young man whose horse she was sharing. He didn't talk much, but he was kind and made sure that she was always comfortable.

"So where are you from then, Jamie MacTavish?" She asked him suddenly, startling the silence that had settled over the MacKenzie travelling party.

He thought of his answer for a few seconds before he replied, "over yonder. Ye will not have heard of it, I'd be expecting."

They rode in silence for another five or so minutes before she asked, "where are we going?"
"To Castle Leoch." Jamie replied, "past my home; I'd have liked to stop in on my family - my lady - but we dinna have much time."

"You're married?" Mistress Beauchamp asked in surprise.

Jamie hummed lowly in reply, "not quite." He paused, "we were handfast - promised to each other for a year. I had a year to get back to her, and I failed -"
"Aye," Dougal said from the front of the party, startling everybody who had been silently listening in to Jamie's few words, "and for it, she got a bastard -"

Something in Jamie switched. Claire felt it behind her as he drew his dirk from his belt, the sound of the metal chafing against his scabbard making a noise akin to nails against a chalkboard. "Ye dinna call my son a bastard!" Dougal watched from over his shoulder, an amused grin on his face as Jamie continued, "we were handfast. That's as good as married. He is as pure as my love for her -"

"Love for her, aye?" Dougal snorted, "if ye loved her, then why didna ye come to Leoch and be there for her? Why did ye leave her? Why did ye spend six months with the broken men? Did ye not care for her at all, Jamie? She's a braw woman, is Eira, and a brave one to boot - she's had that bairn a'by herself and not a lick of help -"

Claire swallowed and then said, "I don't think you should talk about his wife or his son like that -" Jamie fell to the side behind her, pulling his tartan from her shoulders and wrapping himself up in it on the ground. "Help!" She slowed the horse and jumped from it as best she could, landing on her ankle uncomfortably. She knelt by Jamie, trying to ignore the pain in her ankle. She pulled the clothes at his shoulder aside and exclaimed, "he's been shot!"