Book: The Scottish Prisoner
Quotes of Book: The Scottish Prisoner
In this instance, the point of showing you the king's funeral was primarily that it provided Lord John with his moment of enlightenment regarding Jamie's motive for remaining at Helwater. Secondarily, it shows a historical turning point that a} anchors the reader in time, b} metaphorically underlines the conclusion of the Grey brothers' quest, c} marks a turning point in Lord John's relationship with Jamie Fraser, and d} opens the door to a new phase of both personal and public history-for George III {who was the grandson, not the son, of George II} is, of course, the king from whom the American colonies revolted, and we see in the later books of the Outlander series just how that affects the lives of Lord John, Jamie Fraser, and William. book-quoteJamie Fraser looked across the field to where Twelvetrees stood with his two companions, then looked soberly down at Grey. "He must not live. Ye may trust me to see to that." "If he kills me, you mean," Grey said. The electricity that ran in little jolts through his veins had settled now to a fine constant hum. He could hear his heartbeat, thumping in his ears, fast and strong. "I'm much obliged to you, Mr. Fraser." To his astonishment, Fraser smiled at him. "It will be my pleasure to avenge ye, my lord. If necessary." "Call me John," he blurted. "Please." The Scot's face went blank with his own astonishment. He cast down his eyes for a moment, thinking. Then he put a hand solidly on Grey's shoulder and said something softly in the Gaelic, but in the midst of the odd, sibilant words, Grey thought he heard his father's name. Iain mac Gerard … was that him? The hand lifted, leaving the feel of its weight behind. "What-" he said, but Fraser interrupted him. "It is the blessing for a warrior going out. The blessing of Michael of the Red Domain." His eyes met Grey's squarely, a darker blue than the dawning sky. "May the grace of Michael Archangel strengthen your arm … John. book-quoteBut do you think he foresaw that Twelvetrees would call him out? Well, yes, I suppose he did," Hal answered himself. "Twelvetrees couldn't do otherwise. But does Fraser want this duel?" Grey saw what his brother was getting at and shook his head. "You mean that we might be doing him a favor by preventing his fighting. No." He smiled affectionately at his brother and put down his cup. "It's simple, Hal. Put yourself in his place, and think what you'd do. He may not be an Englishman, but his honor is equal to yours, and so is his determination. I could not pay him a greater compliment." "Hmmph," said Hal, and flushed a little. "Well. Had you better take him to the salle des armes tomorrow, then? Give him a bit of practice before he meets Twelvetrees? Supposing he does choose swords." "I don't think there will be time." The feeling of calm was spreading; he felt almost as though he floated in the warm light of fire and candles, as though it bore him up. Hal was staring at him suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?" "I thought it out this afternoon, and reached the same conclusions that we have just come to. Then I sent a note to Edward Twelvetrees, demanding satisfaction for his insult to me at the club." Hal's jaw dropped. "You … what?" Grey reached into the pocket of his waistcoat and pulled out the crumpled note. "And he's replied. Six o'clock tomorrow morning, in the gardens behind Lambeth Palace. Sabers. Odd, that. I should have thought he'd be a rapier man. book-quote