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Jamie and Claire spend the winter at Lallybroch, forging a more solid
relationship with each other, family, and tenants. Jenny is pregnant with her
third child.
An enormous potato crop is planted at Lallybroch, which luckily offset the
destruction of the barley crop by hail.
A daughter, Katherine Mary, is born to Jenny and Ian.
Among the mail that arrives to their peaceful part of the Highlands is a letter
from Charles Stuart and another from Jamie's cousin Jared. The Bonnie Prince has
been corresponding regularly with Cher James up to this point; however,
this letter is different. Reading these letters, Jamie makes a horrifying
discovery: Jamie's name has been falsely signed to a Bond of Association that
proclaims his allegiance to the Stuart cause and irrevocably joins him to Stuart
as a traitor. He now had no choice but to fight with Stuart.
Preparations are made to leave and fight. Jenny asks Jamie to take Ian with him.
She fears he will not feel like a whole man if he doesn't go. Ian decides to
remain behind, "guarding his weaker side" as he had been taught to do.
He will keep things going at Lallybroch.
They carefully decide who will go and fight. No men under 18 and no women are to
accompany them, save Fergus and Claire. They throw as much into the cause as
possible now that they have no choice.
Jamie, Claire, Fergus, and the men of Lallybroch join Bonnie Prince Charlie to
fight for the Stuart Restoration.
The Jacobite army has just reached Calder hill and Claire knows that the Battle
of Prestopans (known to the Scots as the Battle of Gladsmuir) is just days away.
Jamie finds a boy in the woods near where they are camped. The boy is with the
English army and is bold enough to try to (he thinks) save Claire from this band
of Highland ruffians. Jamie takes advantage of this and threatens to rape Claire
in front of the boy if he does not reveal military secrets. After extracting the
information (at Claire's expense somewhat), Jamie treatens to kill the boy. He
spares his life at Claire's request and the boy, young William Grey, feels that
he nows owes Jamie a debt of honor.
Claire sets the boys broken arm and takes care of him before he is let go. She
then is ordered to the tent while Jamie punishes the men who were supposed to be
standing guard near the camp, but she watches anyway. She runs into the woods
before Jamie's turn to be flogged. Jamie also has Murtagh punish him for his own
carelessness.
In the night, Jamie and his men use the information they got from the boy to
sabotage the enemy. They sneak into the camp and steal the cottar pins from the
cannons, making them worthless.
They march to Tranent and meet up with Lord George and more of the Highland
army. While waiting for the battle to begin, Claire and Jenny Cameron and other
women made prepartions to aid the wounded that would come.
September 17
The Battle of Prestopans
The battle is won by the Highlanders, although Charles Stuart has the English
wounded removed from the field first. He feels that they are his Father's
subjects - never mind the Highlanders...
Jamie returns from battle, grimy and bloody, but without life-threatening
injury. However, his body does bear the marks of a horse stepping on him. He
also has been slashed by a saber, a relatively minor wound that Claire takes
care of for him.
Jamie declines the opportunity to stay in the manse that the Bonnie Prince
commandeered, insisting on being near his men and Claire. Later that night,
Jamie tells Claire about the battle and how they snuck down the hill and waited
for dawn extremely close to the English.
The Prince has led his army back to Edinburgh. His headquarters is Holyrood
Palace, where Jamie and Claire are now staying with him. Claire is summoned to
meet with Charles who wants her to help him convince Colum MacKenzie to join the
cause.
Claire and Colum speak privately. She finds out the true story behind the witch
trial at Cranesmuir - how Laoghaire set her up. He asks her for help in
commiting suicide, as his disease has advanced to the point where it is
unbearable. Colum wants to remain in control until the end and not be mindless
with opium use.
Balmerino points out broad sheets to Claire that proclaim the depravity of both
Stuart and her own Jamie. She even sees one referring to THE STUART WITCH -
herself. She realizes even more so just how precarious their situation would be
if the cause fails.
Colum summons Claire and Jamie to a private meeting with him at the kirk in the
Canongate. He asks their advice about joining the Stuart cause. Jamie tells him
to go home and to take his men with him. However, within days, Colum is dead,
and Dougal is the new chieftain. The MacKenzies of Leoch will fight with the
Scots.
As the Highland army continues their stay in Edinburgh, Claire gets a surprise
at her door one night. Jack Randall has snuck into Holyrood to get her. He
wishes her to come see his brother Alex, who is ill. Claire and Randall make a
deal. In exchange for her services as a physician to his brother, he tells her
secrets about the English army. Claire in turn feeds this anonymously to Jamie,
Stuart, and the other Highlanders.
Meanwhile, other troops of the Highland army are laying siege to Stirling
Castle, which eventually falls to them.
Charles decides to march south, but sends Jamie north on a mission. He is to
return at the head of the men of Clan Fraser.
Claire, Jamie, and Murtagh head north to meet with the Old Fox, Jamie's
grandfather, the Master of Lovat. Jamie had ordered his men to drop away one at
a time from the army and return to Lallybroch under the command of Ross the
smith. This was to happen while Jamie was away; however, the plan is foiled when
the Lallybroch men are caught desserting.
Lovat, an obnoxious, old curmudgeon, insults Claire, and Jamie punches him in
defense of his wife. Lovat has already asked Maisri the Seer to help him make a
decision regarding his involvement with the Rising. Maisri is afraid to reveal
her sight of Lovat being executed. Lovat turns to Claire for assistance with a
medical problem. He also, courtesy of Claire and Jamie's input, decides not to
make more than a token contribution of two hundred men to the cause.
Claire, Jamie, and Murtagh leave Beauly to rejoin the Highland army. Young Simon
of Lovat is with them leading his men to join the Highlanders. Claire and Jamie
divert from the group and go to Lallybroch. They discover that the men never
made it home. Murtagh arrives to tell them that the men are now imprisoned in
the Tolbooth in Edinburgh.
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Last modified on June 17, 1997.