By: Suepafly
Lieutenant Jeremy Foster asks Claire if she is there by her own choice, and although she hesitates, she does admit that she is the guest of the Clan McKenzie. He accepts her answer, but asks that she meet with his commander. Claire cannot refuse. She felt a heaviness leave her breast some, and she was back among her people. She felt liberated to be looked on with pity, instead of hostility. She knew what Dougal was feeling as they rode with the Red Coats. Into the Garrison keep they ride. Lieutenant Jeremy Foster orders his men to see to their own horse, and leads Claire and Dougal inside.
Claire returns from saving lives to find only Captain Randall getting a close shave. Claire remembers giving her doppelganger husband a much sexier shave. He trusted her with the straight blade relic that had been in the family for a long time, probably the same blade being used now. The young soldier cuts Randall, and he demonstrates his steady hand on the young soldier. Shave time is over, and the poor boy probably needs a change. Claire asks for Lieutenant Foster, but he too is gone. Looks like Claire won’t be leaving today for Inverness. He agreed to her leaving before hearing her troubling statements. Randall admits that since their first encounter, she’s haunted his dreams. He wishes to apologize, and the mere memory leads him to shame. The apology gives her pleasure, and he looks forward to revealing his true nature. It’s all puppy dogs and kittens between the two. The pair both call for honesty in equal doses, and Randall opens up the questioning, asking where she’s from. Claire claims Oxfordshire, but Randall knows of no Beechams in Oxfordshire. She points out that he’s hardly an expert, hailing from Sussex. He asks if she speaks from French, and she does. He implies that she’s a prostitute, though she does not look like one. He then asks her maiden name, but she does not answer, but rather pleas that she is not a threat, and only wishes to continue her journey in peace. He first found her in the forest in her undergarments and was struck down by a Scottish man, one of Dougal’s. She is either a trollop or a traitor. Neither options are good ones. She spins a tale of a love stationed in Scotland that she followed, only to find out that he was unworthy of her, being a rapist and whoremonger. When she refused him, he attacked her, causing her to flee in only her shell. She hopes that Randall would prove to be a gentleman and not pry any further. Randall does not answer at first, he takes a small blade to sharpen a writing stick, asking the man’s name. Claire does not give it, and she goes to look to see what he is writing. He’s taken down her likeness, calling it beautiful lies. He plans to use Claire to gather information on Dougal and his Jacobite cause. Claire tells him that she knows nothing, but Randall does not believe her. She refuses to submit further interrogation, willing to wait under guards for Commander Thomas. Randall warns her against leaving. She knows his methods well, Jamie’s back in her mind. Randall remembers the poor highlander boy that she speaks of, and tells the tale of how he received 100 lashes without making a sound, that Dougal was there to see it all. And since he took the first punishment with little effect, he would administer another 100 himself. Jamie shook but remained cocky, and Randall promised to break him. He claimed that it was hard for him to bring the whip down on the already mangled flesh, and that he promised to pace himself, but Jamie refused to cry out. His flesh tore more, blood spilled everywhere, and still Jamie did not make a sound. He refused to beg for mercy. Randal himself could barely stand, and Jamie was practically unconscious. He never once said a word, and even his soldiers could take no more. One fainted, and the crowd laughed, earning him more of Randall’s scorn. The crowd began to look away in horror, as Randall went for bone. He saw the beauty in the flesh, the truth. Jamie and he were creating a masterpiece of exquisite bloody proportions. He promised a reveal, and he revealed a far more sadistic side than Claire was expecting. He came to Scotland to serve his King and protect his country, and he finds himself the protector of ignorant people, with hatred and darkness taking root in his soul, growing. This is the man that her husband hails from. Claire knows how war can affect men, and the fact that he sees it gives her hope that he can still be a good man. Randall isn’t so sure. He cannot undo the things that he’s done, but he can win back his humanity if he wishes, she believes. The rehabilitation of Black Jack Randall, is a long road, one that could start with him escorting her to Inverness, but with a punch to the gut, that’s not likely to happen ever. He’s a creature of darkness, he enjoys it, and he plans to get the truth. He asks his corporal if he’s ever kicked a woman, that its freeing, and invites him to kick the downed Claire. The corporal can’t muster a good kick, until he’s pushed. Women are soft, Randall says, and tells the Corporal to do it again. Dougal bursts through the door, and picks Claire up. Soldiers hold them by gunpoint, but Dougal plans to take his guest back. Randall has few choices, he can either let them go or start a war. Randall gives him the night to get her to the Fort, otherwise they will be hunted down and killed. Dougal and Claire ride back to the clan at a gallop.
Claire was close to passing out when Dougal pulled them to a halt. She looked like she needed a drink. Dougal asks her again if she is a spy for the English or the French. Claire tells him again that she is no spy, and Dougal sheaths his blade. If she lied, he would have had to use the blade. She asks why he believed her this time. She drank from the Liar’s Spring. If she had been lying, her gizzards would have sizzled. She’s certainly no spy, and moreover, Dougal has a plan so that she doesn’t have to appear at Fort William. If she’s no longer an Englishwoman, she doesn’t have to go. She just needs to marry a Scot.
Claire tells Jamie Dougal’s plan, and he’s not opposed to it. She’s mended his wounds plenty, and he doesn’t want her to fall into Randall’s hand. Claire wonders if there is someone else, but Jamie finds her a good prospect, and with a price on his head a less shiny one. She asks if it bothers him that she isn’t a virgin, and he tells her it doesn’t as long as it doesn’t bother her that he is one. Atleast one of them will be going in.
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