volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
'How did you know who I was?
He smiles.
'The lieutenant said you were the one with the curly hair without a cap who gave orders to everybody like a sergeant-major. '
volume 4 : Drums of Autumn
- You are my courage, Sassenach, and I am your conscience. You are my heart ... and I am your compassion. None of us would be complete without the other. So you still do not know it ?!
volume 3 : Voyager
- Okay, you can come! he said, annoyed. But I, too, ask you one thing, Sassenach: try not to get killed or cut into pieces. It would be very stressful for my nerves.
volume 1 : Outlander
- A clean shot, right there, under the throat. You have to hit quickly and deeply, it takes a little force. If you prefer, you can slit my throat, but you risk dirtying the sheets.
I leaned over to pick up the weapon.
- You would look smart if I did, poor bell! let go I.
I saw that he was smiling under his arm.
- Sassenach?
- What?
- I would die happy.
volume 1 : Outlander
I made one last attempt.
And do not you mind that I'm no longer a virgin? I asked.
He hesitated a moment before answering:
'Not until you see any inconvenience in marrying a virgin.
volume 1 : Outlander
La deuxième fois,je me suis réveillée en sursaut,agitée par une jouissance féroce,le corps tendu comme un arc,les reins cambrés par l'agonie exquise de l' union physique.Je sentais encore la chaleur de son corps sur le mien,se diffusant jusqu'au bout de mes artères,tandis que des vagues de plaisirs irradiaient de mes entrailles. J'ai refoulé la conscience,me retournant entre mes draps à la recherche de l' odeur chaude et épicée d'un homme au désir repu,et je me suis blottie dans les bras rassurants de mon amant.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
'It's not your liver,' I said. He is on the other side.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, I'm a doctor, I reminded him.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
'Your son, your nephew, your wife,' I jeered.
Fraser, three; Gray, zero.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
Here I am again on the threshold of the war, citizen of nowhere, out of time, with no other country than mine ... and this earth bordered not by the ocean but by the blood, whose only borders are the contours a face loved for a long time.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
Jamie was not wearing a uniform, but when he appeared in his full Highlander outfit, Mrs. Figg almost choked. She had not been the only one.
- By the holy shepherd of Judea, does this man really wear a woolen skirt? she had slipped me. And what is this motif? There is enough to make you look out of the head!
'In his mother tongue, we call it a celebratory beast,' I explained. More simply, we say a kilt. When the reason is the tartan of his family.
She stared at him for a long moment with an intrigued look, turned to me, opened her mouth to ask me a question, then changed her mind and closed it.
- No, I replied with a laugh. He does not wear anything below.
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
The body can easily be mutilated, and the spirit distorted ... but there is a part in the man that can never be destroyed
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
- You could not cry when the children left, neither for your house, nor for your little garden, nor for the poor girl and her baby. But you cry for your cat because you know you can stop.
- Where do you get that?
- Because neither can I cry about all these things, Sassenach, and I do not have a cat.
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
He moaned softly as I squeezed his bandage.
-Mmph ... what happened?
I paused and looked at him.
'How did it go?' Is it to me that you ask?
He stared at me patiently with his valid eye.
-I mean, how was the battle? I know what happened to me, more or less.
'I know that too,' I retorted. You've been cut into pieces like a pig that is being brought to the slaughterhouse and you've got your skull half smashed! You still wanted to play the heroes, that's what happened to you!
-I do not have...
I did not let him finish, my relief quickly giving way to anger.
-You did not have to go to Ticonderoga! You should never have gone! You promised to just write and print pamphlets! Do not fight anymore unless you have to. But you did not have to! But you had to go anyway, a kind of proud, stubborn Scotch and ... and pompous!
-Pompous?
-You know very well what I mean! You could have been killed!
'Yes,' he agreed. I thought my last hour had come when I saw the dragon melt on me. I screamed and scared his horse, who rushed and kicked me in the face.
-Do not change the subject !
-I thought the subject was precisely that I was near death ...
He tried to arch an ironic eyebrow but winced in pain.
-No, the subject is your bullshit! Your dirt of selfish stubbornness!
-Oh that.
-Yes this ! You ... you're just a bastard! How can you do this to me? Do you think I have nothing better to do than run after you to repair the damage?
At this point, I was screaming. To make matters worse for my fury, he began to smile, his expression made even more vulgar by his eyelid half-closed.
-You would have made a good fishmonger, Sassenach. You have the jibe for that.
-Farm there, kind of ...
-They will hear you.
He nodded to me a group of continental soldiers coming down the slope in our direction.
-I do not care if I hear me! If you were not already hurt, I'll ... I'll ...
'Be careful, Sassenach,' he interrupted me, still smiling. If you cut me other pieces, you'll have to fix them again.
-Do not tempt me !
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
A man must always aim for what is beyond his reach. If not, what good is Heaven?
volume 6 : A breath of snow and ashes
And if time is related to God in one way or another, then memory is necessarily the act of the devil.
volume 6 : A breath of snow and ashes
'I was not thinking of anything except to plunge into a bath of warm water up to my neck, scour my skin until it came off my flesh, let the blood flow along from my legs and gently rise to the surface in thick red clouds that would hide my body. '
volume 6 : A breath of snow and ashes
- If you were not there, the sun could not get up or go to bed.
He lifted my hand and kissed it, then laid it on my chest, closed on my ring, and went out.
volume 6 : A breath of snow and ashes
- If I die, do not follow me. The children will need you. Rest for them. I can wait.
volume 6 : A breath of snow and ashes
The door opened with a crash, and Brianna came in, disheveled and staring. She stopped at the foot of my bed and, pointing my index finger in my direction, said:
- You do not have the right to die!
- Ah? I took it by surprise. I did not know that I was going to pass the weapon to the left.
- You tried ! I know it !
- But ... I did not do it on purpose ...
If I had not tried to die, I did not really try to stay alive either. I must have looked guilty because she narrowed her accusing eyes.
- Do not you dare to start again!
Pivoting on her heel, she went back to the door, turning on the threshold to stammer in a strangled voice:
- Because I love you and I can not do without you.
volume 5 : The fiery cross
The bravest are certainly those who have the clearest vision of what lies before them, glory or danger, and, notwithstanding, go to meet him to face him.
volume 5 : The fiery cross
- Is everything ok Sassenach?
'Just a spasmodic rhinitis,' I replied, wiping my nose with my handkerchief.
He glanced cautiously at the forest.
- where ? right here ? you told me they lived in Africa.
- What ... Ah, you mean rhinos! Yes, it's true. I just wanted to say that my nose was running, but I'm not seized.
volume 2 : Dragonfly in amber
- If you have such a low opinion of men, it's a miracle you support us, Jamie and I, laughed Ian.
Jenny waved her ladle to her brother and her husband sitting side by side.
- Oh, you are not really men!
- Oh no ? What are we all about? they were indignant with one voice.
Jenny smiles at them. She patted Jamie's skull and kissed Ian's.
'You, you are mine,' she explained.
volume 5 : The fiery cross
A Highlander was a warrior, but even the most powerful fighter was a man. The madness of the united men had reigned over the moors for a thousand years. It was a madness that bubbled in your blood, nourished by the cries of your companions, by this collective force that gave you wings and made you feel immortal, because, if you fell, your mind continued, screaming in the mouth of those who ran by your side. It was only later, when the blood had cooled in the inert limbs, that the moor was ringing with the women's tears ...
volume 5 : The fiery cross
So that was his reason. As on the surface of the water a face responds to the face, so the heart of the man is the reflection of the man. But the law of courage was the one he had defended for the longest time.
volume 5 : The fiery cross
He laid a kiss on my forehead and headed for the door. Once on the threshold, he turned around.
- These ... uh ... sperm ...
- Yes ?
- Can not we get them out of there and give them a decent burial or something?
I hid to smile behind my cup of tea.
'Do not worry, I'll take good care of them,' I promised him. Have not I always done it?
volume 5 : The fiery cross
- When the day comes when we will have to separate, if my last words are not 'I love you' ... it will be because I will not have had time to pronounce them.
volume 4 : Drums of Autumn
- The work is progressing? he asked nonchalantly.
- Yes ... I put the floor and one end of the roof. Claire and I are going to sleep there tonight, I think.
- Ah.
Roger stretched his neck, negotiating the perilous curve of a jaw.
- Claire says I can walk. Tell me what spots I can do.
- Do you know how to handle tools?
- Not really.
He had built a small bird house when he was at school, but figured it did not matter.
- You do not know how to use a plow?
Jamie Fraser was looking at him with an amused gleam in his eyes.
- No. I do not know how to milk a cow, build a chimney, cut shingles, kill bears, eviscerate deer or fight with the sword.
- Oh no ?
- No, but I'm tough. Will you be ok?
- We'll do it with. Have you ever seen a shovel in your life?
volume 4 : Drums of Autumn
'In the old days, medical students paid men to steal bodies from the cemeteries,' I said, handing Jamie my dirty handkerchief.
He had just hoisted himself out of the hole.
- Dissecting corpses was the only way for them to study anatomy.
- Really ? he said, wiping his forehead.
He gave me a sarcastic look before adding:
- 'Formerly', when was it for you?
Fortunately, it was too dark for Ian to see me blush. This was not the first blunder I made, and probably the last one, but most of the time, they only got me a surprised look, at most. The simple truth exceeded the imagination.
- I guess it's today, I admit.
volume 4 : Drums of Autumn
'One can tolerate the intelligence of a woman, my dear, as long as she is equally pleasant to look at. Conversely, a pretty woman can do without it, as long as she has the good sense to keep quiet.
volume 4 : Drums of Autumn
My father always said that the difference between an American and an Englishman was that the Englishman considered that a hundred kilometers was far away, and that the American thought that a hundred years was a long time.
volume 3 : Voyager
'Do you know anything about midwives?
- And how, my lord!
Fergus dusted himself with elegance before continuing in a solemn tone:
When I was at Madame Elise's, it was not uncommon for a lady to go to bed.
I can imagine it easily. You probably want to say that a lady goes into childbirth.
-Perfectly, my Lord. That's how I was born myself!
volume 3 : Voyager
- Geneva, Willie's mother ... she wanted my body.
Laoghaire wanted my name and the sweat of my brow to provide for herself and her daughters. John ...
He paused, hesitating.
- ... John had my friendship, and me his. But how do you tell all that, then tell you that I've only loved you? How could you believe me?
The question remained suspended between us, glittering like the reflection of the lagoon at our feet.
'If you tell me, I'll believe you,' I said in a small voice.
- Really ? But why ?
- Because you're an honest man, Jamie Fraser.
I smile, not to cry.
'Only you,' he said in a voice so weak that I hardly heard him. Only you, to whom I gave my name, my heart and my soul.
volume 3 : Voyager
When you know you can not help it, it's not so much about courage anymore. It's like a woman who will give birth. She can not help it, even if she is afraid, she must do what she has to do. It's only when you know you can also say 'no' that you have to be brave.
volume 2 : Dragonfly in amber
I watched him, trapped in his eyes. I looked at him and I could see the depths of his soul, his inner wounds. I would have cried for his pain and for mine, if I had been able to. But his eyes were mine, dry and wide open. His body was chained to mine, and he pushed me in front of him as the east wind swells the sails of a ship on the high seas.
volume 2 : Dragonfly in amber
- And as long as I'm there, damn you, Claire Randall Fraser. Yes, I am resentful. I hate each of your memories where I do not appear! Each of the tears you shed for someone other than me! Every second of your life you spent in another bed than mine! I hate them ! I hate them !
In a gesture of humor, he spilled my glass. Once calmed, he pulled me to him and kissed me passionately before shaking me again.
- You're mine, Claire Fraser! To me ! I will not share you with anyone, whether it's a man, a memory or anything, as long as we're both alive. So never say his name before me! You hear me ?
He kissed me again to support his words.
- You hear me ?
- Yes ... I said half-stunned. If ... you wanted to ... stop shaking me like a ... plum tree ... maybe I could answer you.
volume 1 : Outlander
- When I was sixteen, Mother Fitz teased me saying that a girl would be right about me. I told him it was up to the man to choose.
- And what did she say to that?
- She rolled her eyes and said, 'You'll see young cock, you'll see ...'
And I saw.
volume 1 : Outlander
The sun set behind the black fir trees and the first stars lit up in the sky. It was mid-November and the evening breeze was cool. Jaime leaned her forehead against mine, drowning her eyes in my eyes.
- You first.
- No you.
- Why ?
- I'm afraid.
- Fear of what, Sassenach?
- To stop being able to stop saying it.
He glanced at the skyline where the sickle of the moon was rising.
- It's almost winter and the nights are getting longer, mo duinne.
Clenched against him, I felt his heart beat.
- I love you.
volume 1 : Outlander
As we climbed this hill yesterday, I prayed with all my strength. Not for you to stay, it did not seem right to me. I prayed to have the strength to let you go. I said, 'Lord, if I've ever been brave in my life, it's the day I need it.' Help me, make me strong enough not to fall into his knees and beg her to stay. '
He looked at me with a smile.
'It's the hardest test I've ever had, Sassenach.
volume 2 : Dragonfly in amber
Jamie at Claire
I'll find you again, I promise you. If I have to endure two centuries of purgatory ... two long centuries distant from you, will be my punishment, the price I have to pay for my crimes. Because I lied, I killed, I stole ... and even betrayed. And I did not keep my word ... but when I stand before God, I will have an argument that will erase all the rest ... Lord, you gave me a wonderful woman ... and I loved her with all my being!
volume 2 : Dragonfly in amber
- So, you are a lady and you are expecting a child.
Does your husband still let you come here? He must not be a man like the others.
- Indeed. He's Scottish, I summed up succinctly
volume 2 : Dragonfly in amber
On a chivalrous whim, which did not cost him much, His Highness had ordered the evacuation and treatment of the wounded English first. These, too, are the subjects of my father and I want them to be well treated, he said. The fact that the Highlanders who had just won in his name were also his subjects seemed to have escaped him.
'Given the behavior of the father and the son,' I mumbled to Jenny Cameron, 'all we have to do is hope the Holy Spirit does not interfere too!'
volume 4 : Drums of Autumn
A dark thing lands on the driveway in front of us with a soft noise. I stopped abruptly and clutched at Jamie's arm.
'It's a toad,' he said in a calm voice. Do not you hear them sing?
'Singing' was not really the verb that would have come to my mind to describe the cacophony of croaking that resounded in the reeds beside the river. On the other hand, Jamie had never had a musical ear.
He put his foot forward and gently pushed the little brown figure.
'Brekekekew, ko-ax, ko-ax,' he said. Brekekekex, ko-ax!
The toad leaped and disappeared into the tall grass that bordered the path.
- I knew you had the gift of languages, I observed, amused, but I did not know you were speaking toad.
'Not fluently,' he protested modestly. It seems that I have an accent.
volume 1 : Outlander
You know the words of St. Paul: 'Better to marry than to burn. Well, I burned myself slowly.
I laugh again, feeling my heart as light as a sixteen-year-old girl.
- That's why you married me? I teased him. To avoid sinning?
- Yes. That's what marriage is for, right? It makes sacred acts that I would otherwise have to confess.
This time, my heart melted.
- Oh, Jamie! It's crazy what you like me!
It was his turn to laugh heartily. He was folded in half and had to sit on the aisle. He leaned back and rolled in the grass, almost choking.
- But what's wrong with you? I asked, annoyed.
He straightened up and wiped his eyes.
- Murtagh was right about women. I risked my life for you, stole, burned, assaulted, and murdered you. All I got was insults, kicks and scratches in the face. Then I fight you and tell you the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to me, and you declare that I like you!
He started laughing again. At last he got up and held out his hand.
- You're really incomprehensible, Sassenach, but I like you too. Let's go.
volume 3 : Voyager
The Highlanders were the most stoic and brave of the soldiers, the sailors coming right behind. I had seen some who had not flinched while I put their bones back in place, that I sewed them up and that I made them suffer martyrdom for one reason or another. But when it came to disinfecting them with alcohol, it was another story. We could hear their cries from leagues to round.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
"You once told me that the more you cross, the worse the effects get, didn't you?
"I already find them powerful enough when you cross for the
first time.
I felt a little chill at the memory of this emptiness, a chaos in which there was only a commotion, where only a hint of thought remained that allowed you to remain yourself between one breath and the next.
"But, yes," I confirmed. It's getting worse."
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
I had repeatedly explained to the children that they should not kill non-venomous snakes because they were doing us a favor by eating mice and rats. However, since most adults on
the Ridge considered a good snake to be a dead snake, my fight was far from won.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
This morning I examined Roger's throat. I felt like Thomas the skeptic. It seemed so strange to see him in front of me, to touch him, and, at the same time, it seemed perfectly normal to me.
I gently stroked the back of his hand with my thumb, feeling the knots of his joints and the rough texture of the scar where his
ring finger had been.
"That's what I feel all the time," he said in a slightly hoarse voice, closing his fingers around mine. When I wake up early in the morning and see you near me, I wonder if you are real. Until I touch you... or that you let go of a wind.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
... She has asked me to convey her greetings and tell you that if any of you get sick or injured, she will travel to treat you. She is a healer and...
"Pfft," said Mrs. Cunningham. She is not about to set foot in my house, I assure you, my daughter. As soon as I heard about this woman, I planted chamomile and holly around the door.
No witch will enter my house, I tell you.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
"You know, I've had time to think about it," Jamie said. After Culloden, when I was an outlaw, sleeping under the stars, listening to the voices carried by the wind. I thought about what I had done, or not done, and wondered what would have happened if I had made other choices. If we hadn't tried to stop Charles-Édouard Stuart... our lives would have been very different, even if it wouldn't have changed anything for Scotland.
Maybe I could have kept Claire with me. If I hadn't fought Jack Randall in the Bois de Boulogne, would I have two daughters today?
He paused for a moment, his eyes filled with shadows.
"One is never entirely in control of one's destiny," he continued. A part of you is always in the hands of another. You can only hope that this other is God.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
The commander was an officer named Buncombe. Your father described him to me as a "decent guy for a sassenach." He had brought two good bottles of whiskey. (He saw Jamie sketch a smile.) We drank with Buncombe and he promised to send his soldiers to investigate. It gave me hope. I really thought I'd be able to find Jem.
He hesitated for a moment, figuring out how to say what he meant. However, Jamie knew his father.
"It wasn't so much Buncombe's courtesy, it was thanks to Brian Dhu," he said, turning to Jamie. He was... Well, very good, but it was more than that. He could clearly see Brian riding in front of him on top of a hill, the rain beating his cap and broad shoulders, his back straight, sure of himself.
"It felt like – I had the impression – that with a man like him by my side, everything would be fine.
"Everyone felt that way with him," Jamie said softly.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
We had a roof over our heads. A roof of our own.
I stood underneath for a long time, my nose in the air, delighted. People came and went, carrying equipment and food from the lean-to, the Higgins' house, the dairy, the vegetable garden. I suddenly had the vision of an expedition with my uncle Lamb as we set up camp: it was the same disordered effervescence of moving objects, good humor, relief, joy... of hope.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
... Is it Oggy we hear? Or a puma?
"It looks like a puma that has hemorrhoids, so it must be Oggy.
This made Claire laugh and he felt a moment of happiness. He took a small sip of wine, grimaced and returned the bottle.
"To whom do you intend to serve him?"
"To no one," she replied, cautiously smelling the broken neck.
I have a very hard piece of elk that I'll let macerate in overnight and then boil it with beans and rice. What name will they baptize this child with and when?
"There is no hurry. No one will confuse him with another Ridge child.
Indeed, Rachel's little man had the most powerful lungs Jamie had ever heard and was constantly using them. For the moment, he did not seem to be suffering. He bawled for fun.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
Something is coming, you know. Something specific, serious, terrible will happen. It's in your head, you're chasing it away. It comes back, slowly, inexorably, in your mind. You prepare for it as best you can. At least, that's what you think. Deep down, you know: there is no way to avoid, contain, cushion the impact. It will happen and you will not be able to do anything about it.
You know all that. Yet you never tell yourself that it is for today.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
After a few moments of embarrassment, Brianna said:
"I don't think I've ever met a Quaker. We can say "Quaker", by the way? I wouldn't want to...
"They say, 'Friend,'" Rachel replied with a smile. That said, "Quaker" is not an insult. I'm sure you know at least one. You may not have realized it if the person in question was not using the tutoiement. Most of us don't have scratches, stains, or other physical marks that set us apart from others.
"Most?
"Naturally, I can't see my own back, but I'm sure Ian would have told me if he had something remarkable.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
Roger nodded, drank again and cleared his throat. Fatigue made his voice scratchy and cracked.
"I take it that you forgave him for...
I gestured at my own throat. I could see on hers the white line of the rope and the shadow of the small scar I had left while performing an emergency tracheostomy with a pen and the amber beak of a pipe.
"I loved him," he replied simply with a slight smile. It's not every day that you have the opportunity to love someone who gave you blood, his life, without knowing who you would be, or even if you would ever exist.
"You necessarily take risks, when you have children," I replied.
"That's right," he agreed.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
Bart, whom he had left to graze in the tall grass, stood with his head raised, his ears pointed, his nostrils dilating with interest.
"No! William whispered frantically. Especially don't hinch...
The horse neighed loudly.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
—He says he is who?" asked an annoyed voice in the corridor. The response was stifled by the scraping of the door on the irregular ground. William slowly stood up and straightened up from the officer (a major of the dragoons) who had just entered. The major stopped abruptly, forcing the two men following him to stop as well.
"He says he's the ninth Earl of Ellesmere, damn it! William said in a hoarse and threatening voice.
He stared at the major with the only eye he could still open.
"He's telling the truth," said an amused and familiar voice behind the officer.
William widened his eyes as he saw a thin, brown man wearing an infantry captain's uniform coming forward.
"Captain Lord Ellesmere," added the latter. Hi, William.
"I have renounced my commission," William retorted. Hi, Denys.
"But not in your title.
Denys Randall looked him up and down, refraining from commenting on his pace.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
Who would be my first visitor this morning? Maybe Germain. He had slept in the Higgins' cabin with Jem. However, he was not much more early than me. Fanny was far away, at the home of the widow Donaldson and her huge marmaille. It would come later. It would be Roger, I conclude, with a light heart. Roger and the children.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
She saw Brianna and was speechless. His almond-shaped blue eyes that looked so much like his brother's lit up with a warm light.
"O Holy Mary, protect us," she whispered. The giants have arrived. And I was told that your husband was even bigger than you. You also have children, I was told, who grow like weeds, no doubt?
"Rather like mushrooms," Brianna replied, laughing.
She bent down to hug her tiny aunt. Jenny smelled of goat, fresh wool, porridge and toasted sourdough bread. She carried another vague smell in her hair and clothes that Brianna had forgotten but immediately recognized: the soap that Jenny made in Lallybroch, with honey, lavender and a herb that existed only in the Highlands.
"I'm so glad to see you.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
—Oh," said Dionysius, relaxing slightly. My condolences. So you're trying to find out where he's buried? For... uh... bring his remains back to England so that he can rest in the family vault?
"That's what I had in mind," replied William. Except I found his grave and he wasn't in it.
He suddenly saw himself again at night in the Watchung, and the hairs on his arms bristled. The clay mud clinging to his feet, the icy rain seeping through his clothes, the blisters on his hands, the smell of death when, suddenly, his shovel had met a bone... He turned his head away.
"Someone else has been put in his place," he concluded.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
Brianna stopped at the top of the trail and wiped the sweat on her forehead and neck. The hut in front of them was well maintained and clean... Very clean. Whitewashed stones lined the path to the gate. The glass of the windows (glass!) was so clean that she could see her reflection as well as Roger's, two small colorful silhouettes on the green reflection of the forest behind them.
"Who whitewashes pebbles?" she asked, instinctively lowering her voice as if the hut could hear them.
"It can only be someone who has too much time to kill," he replied in the same tone. So I lean towards either a frustrated landscaper or a personality who has a neurotic need to control his environment.
"After all, why shouldn't there be maniacs in every era?"
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
Always wearing the hunting clothes he had lent her, Brianna took care of the remains of the deer. He watched her proudly. She handled the knife with skill and confidence, using all the strength of her shoulders. Did she get this know-how from him... or his mother? It wasn't just his hands, or knowing how to go about it... It was the rigor of his mind, he concluded approvingly. She had a job to do and did it without question.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
On the night of his return, Brianna had followed him to the construction site, both tripping against stones and taking their feet in the ropes like two drunks,
bumping each other's shoulders and holding each other by the elbows to avoid falling.
"I can make a mobile structure with pulleys," she said, putting her hand on the half-built chimney. We will be able to hoist buckets filled with bricks that you will only have to grab from the ladder. "
We," he repeated softly with a smile.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
She sat down, very slowly, on the stump.
He gave her time to digest the news, remembering only too well the mixture of disbelief, dizziness and fear he had felt when Claire, beaten and on the verge of a nervous breakdown after he had saved her from her witchcraft trial at Cranesmuir, had finally confessed to him what she was.
He also vividly remembered telling her, "It would have been easier if you had just been a witch." This made him smile and he crouched down in front of his sister.
"Yes, I know," he said. But, basically, it's a bit like they came from... from Spain. Or Timbuktu.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
"I'm surprised you didn't attack him with your dagger, uncle," said Ian. "Bear Killer," isn't that how the Tuscaroras called you?
Jamie, who had regained his phlegm, gave his nephew an indulgent look.
"Have you ever heard the proverb "With age comes wisdom?"
"Yes," replied Ian, puzzled.
Jamie put the rifle against the rock face, continuing:
"Well, if you don't sit down, you don't have a chance to grow old. I'm old enough today to know that you don't fight a bear with a dagger for a deer carcass.
Volume 9 :Go tell the bees that I am gone
Ian's cabin was charming, not that it was very different from all the other mountain huts Brianna had seen. It had the advantage of being nestled in the middle of a grove of aspen. The pulsating foliage broke down the sunlight into a tremor of shadows and splinters, giving the house a magical look, as if it could disappear into the trees as soon as your back was turned.
Four goats and two kids poked their heads over the fence of their enclosure and welcomed them in a joyous raffut. Yet no one went out to see who the visitors were.
volume 6 : A breath of snow and ashes
- His problem, precisely, is that he doesn't shit. Well, not enough.
I pointed an accusing finger at him.
- Blame it on that awful diet. He told me: bread, meat and beer. Not a vegetable, not a fruit. In my opinion, constipation is commonplace in the British Army. I wouldn't be surprised if every last soldier had their assholes overflowing with hemorrhoids like bunches of grapes!
Jamie nodded.
- There are many things I admire about you, Sassenach. In particular, the delicacy of your language.
He coughed, rolling his eyes.
Volume 5: The fiery cross
"Hurry up then," he said. You know I can't sleep well if you're not by my side.
Claire laughed.
- Liar ! You're going to fall asleep right away, aren't you?
Jamie's silhouette had already faded into the darkness, but the breeze was blowing towards the cabin, and his voice floated in the dark, part of the night.
'No, not right away, Sassenach. But I can't do the other thing without you, can I?
Claire laughs harder.
- You just have to start on your own, I'll catch you.
volume 2 : Dragonfly in amber
… “Jamie was lying next to me, motionless as a stone recumbent. Moonlight illuminated the room, drawing a white line down her profile. He had his eyes closed, but I knew he wasn't sleeping.
"Jamie?" - Yes ? he replied almost immediately.
"You don't expect to leave me behind, do you?" The question has been on my lips since the arm wrestling scene with Ian, earlier in the evening...
...
Whether he liked it or not, I had already decided to go with him, no matter what.
"Leave you behind me?" he said with a wry smile. Because I have my say?
"No," I retorted. But I thought the idea would be in your head. He slipped an arm around my shoulders and I snuggled into him.
— Ah, for that yes, Sassenach. It stuck in my head. I even considered for a moment tying you to the banister, but... no. You will come with me, Sassenach. Along the way, you may get details of your history lessons. Besides, your healing skills will be useful to us. He stroked my arm and sighed.
“Honestly, I would much rather leave you here safe, Sassenach. But I'm taking you with me, you and Fergus. »…
Volume 3: Voyager
I'm a fool,” Jamie said. He had spoken crossly, while looking at Fergus and Marsali, who were engrossed in a conversation against the rail at the other end of the ship.
"What makes you think that?" I asked, though I had a pretty good idea. The fact that the only four married people on board lived in forced celibacy had caused some amusement among the crew members, whose celibacy was involuntary.
“I spent twenty years wanting to have you in my bed,” he says, validating my hypothesis, “and in the month that followed, I made it so that I couldn't even kiss you. without sneaking behind a hatch, and even then half the time I look around to find Fergus staring at me with a wrinkled nose, the little bastard! And no one to blame except my own madness. What did I think? he asked emphatically, looking at the couple opposite, who were rubbing against each other with obvious affection.
"Well, Marsali is only fifteen," I said softly. "I guess you thought you were acting like a good father - or stepfather."
“Ayy. He looked at me, smiling reluctantly. "The reward for my delicate preoccupation being that I can't even touch my own wife!" »
"Oh, you can touch me," I said. I took one of his hands, gently stroking his palm with my thumb. “But you can't engage in unbridled carnality. »
Volume 3: Voyager
"During all these years, I've played so many different roles, I've been credited with so many distinct personalities…" I felt him swallow, and he shifted slightly, the linen of his nightgown smeared with starch. rustling faintly. “To my nephews and nieces, I was Uncle Jamie; to Jenny and Ian, I was a brother; to Fergus I was my lord! to my sharecroppers the laird; for Ardsmuir's men, MacDubh; for the people of Helwater, MacKenzie; for printing customers, Mr. Malcolm; for the dockers, Jamie Roy...
His hand slowly stroked my hair.
"But here," he said in a barely audible voice, lying in the dark with you...I don't have a name. Finally.
I lifted my face to his and inhaled his warmth between my parted lips.
"I love you," I whispered.
I knew I didn't need to tell him that I meant it with all my heart."...
Volume 3 : Voyager
… “You saw my grave, didn't you? he asked softly. I hesitated, but since he didn't seem overly upset, I nodded.
"It doesn't matter," he said. Just... don't tell me the date, I'd rather not know.
- I would have trouble, there was none. Just your name and mine.
- Yours ? I nodded again, feeling my throat constrict at the memory of the granite stele. It was what was called a “conjugal tomb”: two quarter circles set one inside the other to form an arch.
"She had your full name," I said. That's how I knew it was you. Under your name was engraved: "Tender husband of Claire." He nodded slowly, staring off into the distance.
“At least that means I'll be back in Scotland and still be married to you. In this case, the date doesn't really matter. He smiled wearily before adding, “That also means we're going to find Little Ian safe and sound, Sassenach, because there's no way I'm going to set foot in Scotland again without him.
"We'll find him," I assured him. I was not frankly convinced, but I nevertheless came to lean on his side. Slipping my hand under his arm, I watched Scotland slowly slip away. » …
volume 3 : Voyager
When you know you can not help it, it's not so much about courage anymore. It's like a woman who will give birth. She can not help it, even if she is afraid, she must do what she has to do. It's only when you know you can also say 'no' that you have to be brave.
volume 3 : Voyager
'Do you know anything about midwives?
- And how, my lord!
Fergus dusted himself with elegance before continuing in a solemn tone:
When I was at Madame Elise's, it was not uncommon for a lady to go to bed.
I can imagine it easily. You probably want to say that a lady goes into childbirth.
-Perfectly, my Lord. That's how I was born myself!
volume 4 : Drums of Autumn
… “Arrived at the bottom of the hill, we turned without speaking, and came back in the direction of the house. Just before the path leading to the door, I stopped him. "Jamie," I hesitated. “Do you think I love you? »
He turned his head towards me and stared at me for a long time before answering. The moon shone on his face, highlighting his features as if they had been chiseled in marble.
"If not, Sassenach," he finally said, "you're really picking the wrong time to tell me." »
I let out my breath in the ghost of a laugh.
"No, that's not what I mean. I assured him. "But..." My throat tightened and I swallowed hastily, needing to get the words out.
"I…I don't tell you that often." Maybe it's just that I wasn't brought up to say such things; I lived with my uncle, and he was affectionate, but not... well, I didn't know how married people..."
He put his hand lightly over my mouth, a slight smile touching his lips. After a while, he pulled it away.
I took a deep breath to stabilize my voice.
“Look, I insisted what I mean is… if I don't say it, how do you know that I love you?”
He stood still, looking at me, then nodded in agreement.
“I know because you are here, Sassenach. he said calmly. "That's what you mean, isn't it?
More... Volume 4: The drums of autumn
“Jamie? " " Yes ? "Should I…would you…do you need me to tell you?" »
He turned around and looked down at me. With the light behind him, he was shrouded in moonlight, but his features were dark again.
" No, I have no need of it. His voice was soft. "But I don't mind if you want to do it." Tell me once in a while. Not too often anyway, I wouldn't want to spoil this pleasure. »
I could hear the smile in his voice, and I couldn't help but smile back, whether he could see it or not.
"But once in a while wouldn't be a luxury, would it?" " " No. »
I approached him and put my hands on his shoulders.
" I like you. »
He looked at me for a long time. “I'm happy about that, Claire. he said softly, and he touched my face. " Very happy. Come to bed now, I'll warm you up. »…
Volume 6: Snow and Ash
The dry stems had sizzled, then the fire had spread with a roar. Bewildered by the heat and smoke of a dozen simultaneous outbreaks, the grasshoppers had leapt up and down like sparks, their wings blazing, then they had disappeared into the huge column of smoke and the swirls of ash.
And Roger had to arrive at that time with the new sharecroppers.
I restrained myself from laughing at this unfortunate event.
- Poor people ! Night was beginning to fall. They were all standing there, at the edge of the wood, with their bundles and their children, gazing dumbfounded at the blaze, while we danced around, barefoot, our skirts rolled up, screaming like monkeys and covered with soot.
Jamie covered his eyes with both hands, imagining the scene.
- Oh my God! They must have believed that Roger Mac had led them straight to hell or to a witches' sabbath!
A guilty giggle swelled my ribs.
– Oh, Jamie, if you had seen their faces!
Unable to hold it any longer, I buried my face in his chest. We laughed heartily for a long time, muffling the sounds of our voices
The Snow and the Ashes - volume 6,
- And There you go ! Keep your hand clean. I will prepare some fresh ointment for you. All you have to do is send Malva to fetch him. Come back to me in a week to have the wires removed.
I hesitated and glanced at Jamie. I wasn't happy to use her presence to blackmail me, but it was for the good of the patient.
“When you come back, I'll take care of your other hand, okay?
He was still sweating, but had regained some of his color. He looked at me, then, almost in spite of himself, turned to Jamie for a moment.
This one smiles.
“Say yes, Tom. Don't worry, it's just a snip. I've been through worse.
He had spoken in a playful tone, but his words could have been written in three-foot-high letters of fire. “I've been through worse. »
In the dark, I could clearly make out Jamie's eyes, which were narrowed by his smile.
Tom Christie still held himself stiff. He met Jamie's gaze, resting his curled hand on his bandage. He was breathing noisily.
"Good," he said. I will come.
He stood up suddenly, almost knocking over his stool,
and walked towards the door, staggering a bit like a man who - had a drink too many.
On the threshold, he had some difficulty with the doorknob, finally opened it, then turned back to Jamie. He was so angry he could barely speak.
- At least... At least it will be an honorable scar, won't it Mac Dubh?
Lively, Jamie sat up, but Christie was already out, walking down the hall so heavily on the hardwood floor that I heard the plates clink on the kitchen shelves.
- That little bastard!
His tone was somewhere between anger and bewilderment. He clenched his left fist, and I thanked Christie for running away so fast.
I wasn't sure I understood what had just happened. I felt like a handful of corn kernels caught between two millstones, each trying to grind the other.
Turning around to clean my surgical instruments, I said cautiously:
“I've never heard Christie call you Mac Dubh before.
In fact, Christie didn't speak Gaelic, but all the other former Ardsmuir inmates called Jamie by sound. Gaelic nickname. He employed "Mr. Fraser” or simply “Fraser” when he was in a more cordial mood.
Jamie pouted sarcastically, then grabbed Christie's glass and downed it.
– No, it tears the mouth off, this damned Sassenach.
He saw my bewildered expression and corrected immediately.
“I'm not talking about you, Sassenach. >>
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
"When I was little, I convinced myself that I was the bastard of a great man. I guess all orphans dream the same thing. It makes life more bearable to tell yourself that it will change one day, that someone will come and give you back your rightful place in the world. Then I grew up and let go of my illusions. No one would come to save me. Then…"
He turned to Jamie with a smile of deep tenderness.
“…I grew up again and discovered that after all I was indeed the son of a great man.” He brushed Jamie's hand with the tip of his hook. "I ask no more."
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
Gray barely knew Roger MacKenzie, but he suspected him of being a remarkable man. Not content to have survived his union with a creature as fabulous and dangerous as Brianna, he had even made her children.
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
Struggling to drown out their voices, William launched into convoluted greetings and, in a fit of gallantry, went so far as to kiss Mrs. MacKenzie's hand. In the process, he also kissed that of the baby, causing general hilarity. Mr. MacKenzie looked at him oddly but didn't seem to mind. He shook her hand with all-Republican vigor then, just to show that he too had a sense of humor, enjoined his son to offer his in turn. Intrigued by the officer's ceremonial sword, the child asked him:
"Have you ever bullied someone?"
"No, not yet," William replied with a smile.
"My grandfather, he killed about twenty men!"
- Jemmy!
volume 7 : An echo in the bone
- You know, there's a reason the hero never dies. In the worst of situations, someone has to keep a cool head to make the decisions. Go back and warm up in the cabin.
Volume 8: Written in my own heart's blood
"I've loved you since the day I met you, Sassenach," he said softly. I will always love you. I don't care if you sleep with the whole English army...well, no, that would be a serious problem for me, but I won't stop loving you.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
He knew the banality of evil; the human monsters presented themselves in human envelopes. Even so, he was surprised. Randall was an attractive, fairly elegant man with a lively, alert expression, an easy smile, and warm black eyes.
After all, he's human, and he might not be a monster yet.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
- Well... The... uh... the tall red-haired gentleman who came this morning, did you see him?
- Yes, she answered with a suspicious look.
- Did you take a good look at it?
- When he knocked on the door and asked where you were, I hardly had time to examine his face. On the other hand, I did see his behind when he pushed me and climbed the stairs four by four.
- Indeed, seen from this angle, the resemblance is probably less striking.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
John gray was resigned to die. He had been expecting it from the moment he said, "I knew your wife carnally." The only question was whether Fraser would shoot him with a pistol bullet, stab him, or gut him with his bare hands.
That the cuckolded husband looks at him calmly and just asks “Ah? Why?" was not just unexpected, it was…scandalous. Absolutely outrageous.
- "Why?" repeated John Grey, taken aback. You asked me “why”?
"Yeah, and I'd like an answer.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
- You lost your parents very young, my nighean donn, and you wandered through the world without roots. You loved Franck (his lips puckered slightly without his being aware of it) and, of course, you love Brianna, Roger Mac and the children, but... Sassenach, I am the true home of your heart. I know it.
He placed a kiss in each of my palms, his warm breath on my fingers.
- I have loved others and I love many people, Sassenach, but you alone hold my whole heart in your hands, and you know it.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
Jem made a little Scottish sound again.
- You do it on purpose? she asked him.
- What do I do?
- Never mind. When you're fifteen, I'll lock you up in the basement.
- What? But... Why... What did I do? he was indignant.
- Because that's the age when your father and grandfather started getting into serious trouble and obviously you'll be exactly the same.
- Ah, he said, reassured and not unhappy with the comparison.
volume 8 : Written in my own heart's blood
Jamie wasn't wearing a uniform, but when he appeared in his full Highlander outfit, Mrs. Figg nearly choked. She hadn't been the only one.
- By the Holy Shepherd of Judea, is this man really wearing a woolen skirt? she had slipped me. And what is this pattern? There is enough to make your eyes pop out of your head!
- In his mother tongue, this is called a fèileadh beag, I explained to him. More simply, we say a kilt. As for the pattern, it is that of his family's tartan.
She gazed at him for a long moment with a puzzled air, turned to me, opened her mouth to ask me a question, then changed her mind and closed it.
- No, I replied, laughing. He wears nothing underneath.