Whatever problems we might be facing – and I knew there were plenty – we were together. Forever. And that was enough.
Bodies under the foundation, though – that’s where a lot of the local ghosts come from.
I had known her long enough, though, to realize that one of Jenny’s greatest gifts was her ability to see something with utter clarity – and then to look straight through it, as though it wasn’t there.
Here we stopped, turning our horses over to the attention of a hostler, who moved so slowly as to seem ossified.
I thought of telling him that his own touch seared my skin and filled my veins with fire. But I was already alight and glowing like a brand. I closed my eyes and felt the kindling touch move to cheek and temple, ear and neck, and shuddered as his hands dropped to my waist and drew me close.
It occurred to me, listening to the chorus, that men in a hospital ward seldom really snore. Breathe heavily, yes. They gasp, groan occasionally, and sometimes sob or cry out in sleep. But there was no comparison to this healthy racket. Perhaps it was that sick or injured men could not sleep deeply enough to relax into that sort of din.
Only a raid, Sassenach. I’ve been doin’ that since I was fourteen. It’s only in fun, ye see; it’s different when you’re up against someone who really means to kill ye.” “Fun,” I said, a little faintly. “Yes, quite.
Castle Leoch. Well, at least now I knew where I was. When I had known it, Castle Leoch was a picturesque ruin, some thirty miles north of Bargrennan. It was considerably more picturesque now, what with the pigs rooting under the walls of the keep and the pervasive smell of raw sewage. I was beginning to accept the impossible idea that I was, most likely, somewhere in the eighteenth century.
Oh, they call me Rab the Ranter, and the lassies all go daft, When I blow up my chanter.
And if there was eternity, or even the idea of it, then perhaps Anselm was right; all things were possible.
To have ye with me again, to talk wi’ you, to know I can say anything, not guard my words or hide my thoughts. God, Sassenach the Lord knows I am as lust-crazed as a lad, and I canna keep my hands from you, or anything else. But I would count that all well lost, had no more than the pleasure of havin’ ye by me, and to tell ye all my heart.
It’s only a moment, but ye feel as though it will last forever. Strange, is it no?” he said thoughtfully. “Ye can almost see the light go as ye watch – and yet there’s no time ye can look and say ‘Now! Now it’s night.
You have my name and my family, my clan, and if necessary, the protection of my body as well.
Gently, he turned me away from him and fitted himself to my back so we lay nested together. His hand cupped my breast, not in invitation or demand, but because it seemed to belong there.
Seeing them, Jamie reached for a remnant of bread, and tossed it with considerable accuracy into the middle of the flock, which exploded like shrapnel, all fleeing the sudden intrusion.
Papist, and whether I found the word of God any comfort or not, at least I could compare my troubles with Job’s.” He laughed. “Oddly enough, it was some comfort. Our Lord had to put up wi’ being scourged too; and I could reflect that at least I wasna going to be hauled out and crucified.
I was born for you,” I simply said, and held out my arms to him.
Why not? I wanted to say. Because you didn’t know her, she was nothing to you. Because you were already hurt. Because it takes something rather special in the way of guts to stand up in front of a crowd and let someone hit you in the face, no matter what your motive.
I blotted the tiny wound with the corner of a towel dipped in the vinegar solution. To my surprise, the leeches had worked; the swelling was substantially reduced, and the eye was at least partially open, though the lid was still puffy. Mrs. Fitz examined it critically and decided against the use of another leech. “Ye’ll be a sight tomorrow, lad, and no mistake,” she said, shaking her head, “but at least ye’ll be able to see oot o’ that eye.
I felt at once horribly vulnerable and yet completely safe. But then – I had always felt that way with Jamie Fraser.