Outlander

Castle Leoch

~Miriam POV~

Once we arrived inside the walls of the castle I was helped down by Murtagh as the rest of the highlanders get down off their horses each of them looking exhausted. I stood their quietly while keeping my head lowered not wanting to draw attention to myself. The last time John and I were here we simply took the car. After spending two days and nights on horse back I knew I would never find my way back not unless I convinced these people to help me in some way. I looked up to one of the windows and I saw a man watching me, once our eyes meet he went farther into his room so he was out of sight. My eyes are torn away from the window when I hear a woman say, " Rupert m'dear it's good to see you!" She gives Rupert a big kiss on the cheek before saying to the rest of the highlanders and saying, " ye'll all be needing breakfast I reckon. Plenty in the kitchen. Away in and feed yourselves." The group of men all begin to head inside while Jamie stays by his horse and starts to unpack things. Soon the woman walks closer to us and she says to Murtagh, " Murtagh you look and smell like a rat that's been dragged through sheep dung." Murtagh gets a devilish smile on his face as he says, " Gi' us a kiss, then" she begins to laugh as he runs at her to give her a kiss. She says, " oh, no!" While Murtagh says, " a kiss then!" After Murtagh heads inside she instantly stops laughing when she sees me. She says, " and what do we have here?" She walks closer and Jamie looks between the two of us and says, " Miriam Lockwood , Miss Fitzgibbons." Jamie walks over to Miss Fitzgibbons and says, " Murtagh found her and Dougal said we must bring her along with us, so..." she replies with "So." She looks at me and says, " Well...Miriam." I nod at my name and she walks over to me and says, " come with me. We shall find you something to eat and something to wear that's a bit more...well a bit more." She grabs hold of my arm and starts to lead me away from Jamie when I say," well what about him?" Jamie says, " I can fend for myself." I say, " No your hurt, he was shot yesterday." Miss Fitzgibbons looks over at Jamie with a worried expression. Jamie says, " I'll be fine." I say, " no you won't, I bandaged his shoulder but I wasn't able to clean it of dress it properly. I must tend to it before it gets infected." Miss Fitzgibbons just stares at me for a moment making me think she didn't know what I was talking about. I say, " I mean inflamed, you know with fever and swelling." She still stares at me and says, " oh Aye, I can find what you mean. But do you mean to say you know what to do for that?" I nod as she says, " are you a charmer then? A Beaton?" I nod and say, " something like that." Miss Fitzgibbons says to Jamie, " Jamie, you heard the lady, you need tending." She turns back to me and says, " this way. Let's get you out of the rain." She begins to lead me inside the castle, we go down a hallway towards a room. When we enter the room I ask for a few things so I can tend to Jamie. Soon she comes back and says, " as you asked, garlic and witch hazel to boil the rags. I also brought comfrey and cherry bark for the pain." I reply, " Perfect." She says while on her way out, " call out if you need anything else." Before she leaves I say, " I will, thank you Miss Fitzgibbons." She turns to me and says, " everyone calls me Mrs. Fitz you may also." She smiles at me and I nod, she leaves and I grab a boiled cloth and moved to Jamie's back to start cleaning the wound. I remove the blanket that is around him so I can clean the wounds easier and see the large scars that litter his back. I gently trace a finger in one of the scars as Jamie says, " The Redcoats. Flogged me twice in the space of a week. They'd have done it twice the same day, I expect, were they not afraid of killing me. There's no joy in flogging a dead man." I say, " I shouldn't think anyone would do such a thing for joy." Jamie give an amused chuckle as he says, " Well, if Ainsworth was not precisely joyous, he was at least very pleased with himself." I dropped the rag and I pick it up and say, " clumsy, it'll have to be boiled again." I put the rag back in the pot I turn to Jamie and ask, " why were you flogged?" Jamie replies, " well, the first time was for escaping Fort William. And the second was theft, at least that's what the charge sheet read." I get a cloth and stand up and begin cleaning the wound when I ask, " why were you escaping in the first place?" Jamie leans back and playfully whispers, " they were holding me prisoner." I can't help but show a small smile as I reply, " I gathered that. Why? On what charge?" Jamie says, " that...I think it was obstruction." I say while I begin to bandage his wound again, " Obstruction? What's that? Doesn't sound like a serious crime." Jamie replies, " well, I suppose it's whatever the English say it is. Aye it was near to four years ago now. They put a levy on all the landholders in the county. Sent out small parties of soldiers, collecting food, horses for transport, and suchlike. Aye, it was one day in October, Captain Randall came along to our place. My father was away, he'd gone to a funeral. I was up in the fields when I heard shouting. He wanted to send a message. This is what you get when you fight back against the English. So, she went with him. She thought he'd kill me, and perhaps she was right. After that, I dinna ken what happened. When I woke up, I was trussed up in a wagon with the chickens, jolting down the road towards fort William." I had finished bandaging him up and I say, " I'm so sorry, it must've been terrible for you." Jamie replies, " Aye, chickens are very poor company." He moves wrong and grunted in pain I say, " don't do that, I'll have to strap that arm to your side. Just hold still." As I am wrapping the bandage around his waist so I can strap his arm to his side he says, " you're a kind woman, with a good touch. Your husband is a lucky man." As soon as he said those words I freeze, my husband I hadn't thought of John in the past few days I was so caught up in how I was going to escape. But all the emotions from today stirred up the feelings I kept down inside me for so long. I tightened the bandage and sink to the floor and stared into the fire. I can feel the tears brimming in my eyes as Jamie asks, " Mistress, Mistress Lockwood, what's wrong?" I feel the tears falling down my face, I take a ragged breath before I say, " I'm fine, I was just thinking about my husband." Jamie asks, " Lass, is he not alive?" I start to sob, " No, Actually. He's not alive." I turn to Jamie sobbing he comes down to the floor with me and he wraps his arm around me and I hold onto his shoulder and I cry into it. He says, " There, do not cry." I finish sobbing and slowly pull back from his shoulder, I look into his eyes I feel captivated by them. We are so close together I can feel his breath on my skin. We stare at each for a moment before I quickly get up to my feet. I wipe my eyes and say while he stands up with me, " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Jamie looks at me before he says, " you need not be scared of me. Nor anyone else here, so long as I'm with you." I say, " when your not with me?" Jamie says, " just never forget that your English in a place where that's not a pretty thing to be." He takes a step forward and grabs my hand I say, " Thank you, I will." Jamie says, " watch yourself. Now sleep a bit. You're worn out. Likely someone will want to speak to you before too long." I nod and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and say, " I suppose you're right." Jamie leaves and I wait a few minutes before laying down to have a quick nap. It's not long after a fall asleep that Miss Fitz comes into my room and opens the curtains while saying, " you must get up now! Come along! Up with you! You slept the whole day. 'Tis near 5:00. Have some hot broth for you by the fire." As I get up and wrap a blanket around me so I can go sit in the chair to eat some broth she says, " Rouse yourself." She hands me the broth as I take a seat, I say, " thank you" I take one bite before she takes it from me and places it back near the fire. She ushers next out of my seat, " come along." She starts by taking off my dress and she notices my undergarments. She says, " what kind of corset is that?" I reply while delicately touching the straps, " it's a brassiere. It's from France." She says " oh" I unclip it and take it off and hand it to her. I place my arms over my chest to cover myself a little bit. When she finishes dressing me she takes me to a mirror I see that I am in a dress with a red skirt and a blue corset over a white long sleeved top. It accents my breasts and shows of my necklace with my ring on it, my hand goes up to the ring and I hold it gingerly in my fair fingers. Miss Fitz says, " there. Now you're ready to be taken to himself." I hear a knock on the door and Murtagh nods out the door. I follow him out and he leads me to a room with many books and some bird cages. If I was going to survive, I needed to acclimatize myself as quickly as possible. I knew where I was, but when? From the clothes and weapons alone, I knew it was most likely the 18th century. 1743, Scotland is definitely part of Great Britain. A man says, " I see you have meet some of my friends." I look up and see the man from the window. I close the book that is in my hands as I say, " Forgive me for helping myself." He begins to walk towards me and I notice how his legs are bowing at the ankles. I hand him the book and he says, " some old comrades, some new acquaintances, yet to make their secrets known. But all friends nonetheless. I welcome you, Mistress. My name is Colum Ban Campbell Mackenzie, laird of this castle. Please." He motions towards the chair for me to sit I do a small curtesy I take a seat. 1743, decades before the American revolution. England and France are at war again. One of the Hanover kings is in the throne. But which one? Colum takes a seat at his desk as I sit silently in the chair. He says, " it was my understanding that my brother and his men found you in some apparent distress." I reply sassily, " apparent? I was attacked and nearly raped by one of the soldiers King George 2nd." He replies, " and other than this near rape, you suffered no further molestation?" I say, " No. please extend my gratitude to your brother for his kind escort. I will of course need to arrange transport back to Inverness as soon as possible." He replies, " I'm sure something can be arranged. But I do myself want to know how exactly a lady such as yourself cane to be wandering about in the woods, dressed in nothing but her shift." I say, " I am a widowed lady from Oxfordshire. I was traveling with a manservant to distant relatives in France, and we were set upon by highwaymen. While I managed to escape the bandits, I was forced to abandon my horse and property. While wandering through the woods, I was suddenly attacked by Captain Jack Ainsworth. I believe you know of him. It was during this unpleasant encounter that I was relieved of my clothes." Colum says, " it is true that Captain Ainsworth has a certain reputation. But he is an officer. A gentleman. And your saying a man bearing the King's commission decided to rape a stray lady traveler he upon in the woods for no good reason." I say, " is there ever a good reason for rape master Mackenzie?" He replies, " I beg your forgiveness, madam. An unfortunate turn of words on my part." I say, " not at all. I believe we were discussing my transport back to Inverness." He sighs before saying, " Aye. A tinker by the name of Sean Petrie, he will be here Saturday next. He stops at Leoch in his way to Inverness once a month, and he often has room for one or two passengers." I nod and put a look of confusion on my face, " Saturday next? Forgive me. I've lost track in all the confusion." He says, " not at all. Five days from now. Meanwhile..." he stands from his chair and I stand with him as he continues, " I offer you the hospitality of our humble home." I reply, " thank you." Before leaving the room. Five days. Five days and I would be back on the road to Inverness, then back to the stones atop craigh na dun, and hopefully back home. I did know something of this era. The politics, the people, their dress. Even some of their customs and colloquialisms were familiar. But it was all secondhand knowledge, acquired from books, museums, and paintings. I walked in the castle walls so I was looking down at the courtyard. It was like landing on an alien world you'd only glimpse through a telescope. I noticed boys playing with wooden swords in the courtyard when Dougal came up and played with a boy named Hamish they looked like a father and son pair. I never would have thought that Dougal could be good with kids. But then you begin to wonder if maybe life on this alien worlds isn't so different after all. That evening I entered the hall where everyone was eating and before I went in I fixed my hair and dress so I looked presentable. As I walk down the center aisle the people stop talking and all stare at me. I stop before Colum and curtesy and Dougal gets up out of his chair and motions for me to sit in it. I take a deep breath before moving to take a seat in his chair. Everyone begins to talk again as soon as I am in the chair. Colum pours me some wine and I say, " Thank you." I raise my glass and cheer before taking a sip. Colum sets down his glass and says, " may I present my wife Letitia? Letitia, Mrs. Saoirse O'Connor an Irish lady of Oxfordshire." Letitia says, " a pleasure to meet you." I reply, " the pleasures mine." Colum says, " I trust Miss Fitzgibbons found you comfortable lodging?" I reply, " very. She's a wonder." Letitia says, " the wonder is how she manages to bake bannocks such as these with the poor ovens we have in the kitchens." She tosses me one and I nod in gratitude before taking a small bite. Colum pours me more wine and asks, " why Lockwood ?" I reply, " I beg your pardon?" He replies, " I was wondering why you call yourself Miriam Lockwood." I reply, " it's my name." He says, " Aye but if your family hails from France, would it not be more properly Lockwood?" I say, " well the ties we have with are old, but not close. At some point I suspect an ancestor decided to adopt the English style." Colum nods and then asks, " what part of France do your folk come from, exactly?" I reply, " the relatives I have are from the north. Near Compiègne." Colum nods and repeats what I said, " Compiègne." To change the subject I say, " I trust Mr. McTavish is feeling better." Letitia says, " Mr. McTavish?" Dougal says, " She means young Jamie." Letitia says, " Jamie? Why? Whatever is the matter with the lad?" Colum replies, " Naught but a scratch my dear. Where is he though Dougal?" Dougal replies, " I sent him to the stables to help old Alec with the horses." Colum asks, " The stables?" Dougal says, " Best place for him under the circumstances. I don't want him inside the walls. But it's yours to choose, if you don't agree with my orders." Colum says, " I reckon he'll do well enough there. Bring us a bottle of the Rhenish." He takes the bottle and says, " now you won't find this in Oxfordshire. Are you bound for Compiègne then?" I reply by raising my glass, " Compiègne, yes." I take a sip. Colum says, " it's a lovely city wouldn't you agree?" I reply, " in truth I wouldn't know having never been there myself." Colum asks, " first visit?" I had my head, " yes." I take another sip of wine as Colum asks, " And will you be staying with family?" I nod my head and say, " distant family." Colum says, " never meet them." I reply, " No but I look forward to it though." He says, " a joyous occasion I imagine." I say, " one can only hope." I see a boy running by I say, " Hello, my name is Miriam." I outstretched my hand and he takes it and we shake hands. Letitia says; " go on then, give her your name." The boy says, " Hamish" I reply, " it's a pleasure to meet you Hamish. I saw you playing with stoker today in the courtyard with your father." Hamish says, " with my father?" I say, " yes surely you remember, Dougal. You were swinging him around." I see that Dougal has a look on his face that shows me I made a mistake and Hamish's gaze is on Colum. I say, " I'm sorry I seem to have made and error." Hamish says, " I'm the son and heir of Colum Mackenzie." Letitia pats the chair beside her and says, " Indeed you are." Hamish goes to sit by his mother when I say, " I'm afraid the rigors of the past few days are catching up to me. If you should excuse me, I should like to retire early tonight." Dougal gets up and let's me out of the chair by pulling it back. Colum says, " a good night to you then. Mrs. O'Connor." I leave the room and start making my way back to my room. John would have laughed and said I fell for the oldest trick in the book. Ply the subject with food and drink, all the while continuing the interrogation. I would have to be more careful if I were to survive these next few days. The morning I get dressed in the same dress I wore yesterday and make my way to the kitchen. I see Miss Fitzgibbons making something I slowly walk over to where she is. Once she sees me she says, " you've missed breakfast. Still some porridge." She points towards the left over porridge I make my way over and get some to eat. It doesn't look very appetizing she says, " I'll warm it for you." I say, " No I...I was thinking I should change the bandage on Mr. McTavish's shoulder. Jamie. Where would I find the stables?" She says, " up at the meadow. To the East." I grab some supplies and start making my way up to the stables when I notice that Rupert is following me. I get a little irritated but it's not bad. When I get to the stables I can see Jamie working with a Colt. I stand there and watch how he works the horse. I accidentally knock over a cup that is sitting on the fence and the Colt rests and runs away from Jamie. Jamie says, "Aye" I say, " I am so sorry about that." He takes off his sling he looks mad but he says, " she's just a girl with spirit is all. That's always a good thing. What can I do for you Mistress Lockwood?" I reply, " it's what I can do for you. Some fresh bandages and some lunch." He gives the cutest smile I have ever seen as he says, " Aye." We head inside and sit in the hay, I re-bandage his shoulder and Jamie eats the food I brought for him. I say, " Quite the appetite, I should think you'd eat grass if there was nothing else." Jamie replies, " I have. Doesna taste bad, but it's not very filling." I say in disbelief, " you've actually eaten grass." Jamie nods his head and says, " the winter. Year before last. I was living rough, you know, in the woods with a group of lads raiding cattle. We had poor luck for a week or more. No food amongst us left." I say, " one might ask why you were raiding cattle and living the life of a thief. Instead of tending to your own farm." Jamie is silent for a moment before he says, " there was a price on my head. €10. Sterling. A farmers whole year in these parts." I reply, " seems excessive for a single escaped prisoner." Jamie says, " no, not for escape. For murder. But I didn't actually kill the man I'm wanted for." I say, " you're a very complicated man, Mr. McTavish." Jamie says, " Nay, it's a simple story, really. I told you what happened to me at Fort William. I could hardly move for a day or two after I'd been flogged for the second time. And then I'd fever from the wounds. Once I could stand again, though, some friends made shift to get me out of camp. By means invest not go into. And there was some ruckus as we left, and a redcoat was shot." I say, " not by you." Jamie says, " to tell you the truth, I was to weak to do more than hang off a horse. Four years ago now. More like an old dream, But...There it is." Jamie gets to his feet I follow after him. I say, " I take your real name isn't Mr. McTavish." He replies, " No. No, it's not." I say, " a nom de guerre, as it were." He says, " Aye, if you like. You know it's valuable information, that. You know, I doubt there are informers in the castle itself, but there might be some in the country side be glad enough to earn a few pennies by letting the English know where I was, did they know I was a wanted man." I say, " Does Colum know?" Jamie replies, " that I'm an outlaw? Aye. Aye Colum knows. And Dougal. But there're uncles on my mothers side." I say, " now I know. Why did you tell me?" He says, " you asked." I say, " that's no answer. You could've lied, or told me it was none of my business." He replies, " I suppose I could have. Didn't think of that. Decided to trust you instead." Old Alec comes up to us and says, " are you done stuffing while the horses run wild? And when will that Colt be broken?" Jamie says, " none the sooner starving myself." Alec leaves as I pack up the basket Jamie picks up the blanket and says, " I best be returning to work. Thank you for the food and..." I say, " just try not to get flogged or stabbed today. That'll be thanks enough." Jamie says, " no promises, Sassenach." Jamie leaves to tend to the horses and make my way back to the castle. For the next few days I determined to maintain a simple routine, both, to keep my mind occupied while I awaited the tinker's arrival and to give Dougal's men nothing of the slightest interest to report. Mrs. Fitz put me to work helping to harvest for the kitchen. I found a quiet sense of pleasure in touching growing things once more, felt the satisfaction of helping them thrive. While I was picking some mushrooms I hear a woman say, " those kind are poison." It scared me so I hit my head on a branch. I turn around and see a women in the gardens she says, " I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh." I say, " I imagine it was funny from over there." I put the mushroom in my basket. I say, " thanks for the warning though, but I do know these mushrooms are poisonous." She says, " who is your planning yo do away with? Your husband, perhaps? Tell me if it works I'll try it on mine." I say, "Actually, now, while the caps of the mushroom are poisonous you can make a dried powder out of the fungi. It's very affective to stop bleeding if used topically." She says, " Fancy that. My name is Geillis. Geillis Duncan." I say, " I'm sorry I should've introduced myself. My name is..." she cute me off, " I know who you are Miriam. The village has been humming with talk about you since you came to the castle." I say, " what is they are saying about me?" She replies, " that your likely a Sassenach spy." She walks closers to me and nods towards some purple flowers, "You know those will start bleeding. To get rid of a child you don't want. Brings on your flux. But only if you use it early. Too late, and it can kill you just as it kills the child. The girls in the village come to me every now and again for such things. They say I'm a witch." I reply, " are you?" She says, " hardly. Although I am aware of how wood betony can transform toads into pigeons. " I stand up as she says, " you should come down and using me in the village sometimes. I have a cabinet full of potions and medicinals I wager will tickle your fancy. But I hope I'll see you tonight in the hall." I say, " the hall?"