The Fiery Cross

by Diana Gabaldon

  "As to where I got them"-he leaned over the fence, extending a hand palm-up and wiggling his fingers toward the horses in invitation-"I have been breeding them for several years. I brought these at Mrs. Cameron's invitation; she has it in mind perhaps to purchase one of my mares, and suggested that one or two of her neighbors might also be interested. As for Lucas, here, though"-the stallion had come over, recognizing his owner, and was submitting gracefully to having his forehead rubbed-"he is not for sale."

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  Both mares were heavily in foal; Lucas was the sire, and so had been brought, Wylie said, as proof of the bloodlines. That, I thought, privately amused, and for purposes of showing him off. Wylie's "black pearls" were exciting keen interest, and a number of the horse-breeding gentlemen from the neighborhood had gone visibly green with envy at sight of Lucas. Phillip Wyhe preened like a cock grouse.

  110h, there ye are, Sassenach." Jamie's voice came suddenly in my ear. "I was looking for you."

  "Were you, indeed?" I said, turning away from the paddock. I felt a sudden warmth under my breastbone at sight of him "And where have you been?" "Oh, here and there," Jamie said, undisturbed by my tone of accusation. "A

  verra fine horse indeed, Mr. Wylie." A polite nod, and he had me by the arm and headed back toward the lawn before Wylie's murmured "Your servant, sir" had been quite voiced.

  "What are ye doing out here wi' wee Phillip Wylie?" Jamie asked, picking his way through a flock of house slaves, who streamed past from the cookhouse with platters of food steaming alluringly under white napkins.

  "Looking at his horses," I said, putting a hand over my stomach in hopes of suppressing the resounding borborygmi occasioned by the sight of food. "And what have you been doing?"

  "Looking for Duncan," he said, guiding me round a puddle. "He wasna in the necessary, nor yet the smithy, the stables, the kitchen, the cookhouse. I took a horse and rode out to the tobacco-barns, but not a smell of the man."

  "Perhaps Lieutenant Wolff has assassinated him," I suggested. "Disappointed rival, and all that."

  "Wolff?" He stopped, frowning at me in consternation. "Is yon gobshite here?"

  "In the flesh," I replied, waving my fan toward the lawn. Wolff had taken up a station next the refreshment tables, his short, stout figure unmistakable in its blue and white naval uniform. "Do you suppose your aunt invited him?"

  "Aye, I do," he said, sounding grim but resigned. "She couldna resist rubbing his nose in it, I expect."

  "That's what I thought. He's only been here for half an hour or so, though-and if he goes on mopping it up at that rate," I added, looking disapprovingly at the bottle clutched in the Lieutenant's hand, "he'll be out cold before the wedding takes place."

  Jamie dismissed the LieutenantMth a contemptuous gesture.

  "Well, then, let him pickle himself and welcome, so long as he only opens his mouth to pour drink in. Where's Duncan hidden himself, though?"

  "Perhaps he's thrown himself in the river?" It was meant as a joke, but I glanced toward the river nonetheless, and saw a boat headed for the landing, the oarsman standing in the prow to throw his mooring rope to a waiting slave "Look-is that the priest at last?"

  It was; a,short, tubby figure, black soutane hiked up over hairy knees as he scrambled ignominiously onto the dock, with the help of a push from the boatmen below. Ulysses was already hurrying down to the landing, to greet him.

  "Good," Jamie said, in tones of satisfaction. "We've a priest, then, and a

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  The Fiery Cross 42-1

  bride. Two of three-that's progress. Here, Sassenach, wait a bit-your hair's coming down." He traced the fine of a fallen curl slowly down my back, and I obligingly let the shawl fall back from my shoulders.

  Jamie put up the curl again, with a skill born of long practice, then kissed me gently on the nape of the neck, making me shiver. He wasn't immune to the prevailing airs of spring, either.

  "I suppose I must go on looking for Duncan," he said, with a tinge of regret. His fingers lingered on my back, thumb delicately tracing the groove of my spine. "Once I've found him, though ... there must be some place here with a bit of privacy to it."

  The word "privacy" made me lean back against Jamie, and glance toward the riverbank, where a clump of weeping willows sheltered a stone benchquite a private and romantic spot, especially at night. The willows were thick with green, but I caught a flash of scarlet through the drooping branches.

  "Got him!" I exclaimed, straightening up so abruptly that I trod on Jamie's toe. "Oh-sorry!"

  "Nay matter," he assured me. He had followed the direction of my glance, and now drew himself up purposefully. "I'll go and fetch him out. Do ye go up to the house, Sassenach, and keep an eye on my aunt and the priest. Dinna let them escape until this marriage is made."

  JAMIE MADE HIS WAY down the lawn toward the willows, absently acknowledging the greetings of friends and acquaintances as he went. In truth, his mind was less on Duncan's approaching nuptials than on thoughts of his own wife.

  He was generally aware that he had been blessed in her beauty; even in her usual homespun, knee-deep in mud from her garden, or stained and fierce with the blood of her calling, the curve of her bones spoke to his own marrow, and those whisky eyes could make him drunk with a glance. Besides, the mad collieshangie of her hair made him laugh.

  Smiling to himself even at the thought, it occurred to him that he was slightly drunk. Liquor flowed like water at the party, and there were already men leaning on old Hector's mausoleum, glaze-eyed and slack-jawed; he caught a glimpse of someone behind the thing, too, having a piss in the shrubbery. He shook his head. There'd be a body under every bush by nightfall.

  Christ. One thought of bodies under bushes, and his mind had presented him with a blindingly indecent vision of Claire, lying sprawled and laughing under one, breasts falling out of her gown and the dead leaves and dry grass the same colors as her rumpled skirts and the curly brown hair between her-He choked the thought off abruptly, bowing cordially to old Mrs. Alderdyce, the Judge's mother.

  "Your servant, ma'am."

  "Good day to ye, young man, good day." The old lady nodded magisterially and passed by, leaning on the arm of her companion, a long-suffering young woman who gave Jamie a faint smile in response to his salute.

  "Master Jamie?" One of the maids hovered beside him, holding out a tray of cups. He took one, smiling his thanks, and drank half its contents in a gulp.

  He couldn't help it. He had to turn and look after Claire. He caught no more than a glimpse of the top of her head among the crowd on the terraceshe wouldn't wear a proper cap, of course, the stubborn wee besom, but had some foolishness pinned on instead, a scrap of lace caught up with a cluster of ribbons and rose hips. That made him want to laugh, too, and he turned back toward the willows, smiling to himself.

  It was seeing her in the new gown that did it. It had been months since he'd seen her dressed like a lady, narrow-waisted in silk, and her white breasts round and sweet as winter pears in the low neck of her gown. it was as though she were suddenly a different woman; one intimately familiar and yet still excitingly strange.

  His fingers twitched, remembering that one rebel lock, spiraling free down her neck, and the feel of her slender nape-and the feel of her plump warm arse through her skirts, pressed against his leg. He had not had her in more than a week, what with the press of people round them, and was feeling the lack acutely.

  Ever since she had shown him the sperms, he had been uncomfortably aware of the crowded conditions that must now and then obtain in his balls, an impression made forcibly stronger in situations such as this. He kent well enough that there was no danger of rupture or explosion-and yet he couldn't help but think of all the shoving going on.

  Being trapped in a seething mass of others, with no hope of escape, was one of his own personal visions of Hell, and he paused for a moment outside the screen of willow trees, to administer a brief squeeze of r
eassurance, which he hoped might calm the riot for a bit.

  He'd see Duncan safely married, he decided, and then the man must see to his own afffirs. Come nightfall, and if he could do no better than a bush, then a bush it would have to be. He pushed aside a swath of willow branches, ducking to go through.

  "Duncan," he began, and then stopped, the swirl of carnal thoughts disappearing like water down a sewer. The scarlet coat belonged not to Duncan Innes but to a stranger who turned toward him, with surprise equal to his own. A man in the uniform of His Majesty's army.

  THE LOOK OF MOMENTARY startlement faded from the man's face, almost as quickly as Jamie's own surprise. This must be MacDonald, the half-pay soldier Farquard Campbell had mentioned to him. Evidently Farquard had described him to MacDonald, as well; he could see the man had put a name to him.

  MacDonald held a cup of punch, as well; the slaves had been busy. He drained the cup deliberately, then set it down on the stone bench, wiping his lips on the back of his hand.

  "Colonel Fraser, I presume?"

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  "Major MacDonald," he replied, with a nod that mingled courtesy with wariness. "Your servant, sir."

  MacDonald bowed, punctilious.

  "Colonel. If I might command a moment of your time?" He glanced over Jamie's shoulder; there were giggles on the riverbank behind them, and the excited small screams of very young women pursued by very young men. "In private?"

  Jamie noted the usage of his militia title with a sour amusement, but nodded briefly, and discarded his own cup, still half-fall, alongside the Major's.

  He tilted his head toward the house in inquiry; MacDonald nodded and followed him out of the Aillows, as loud rustlings and squealings announced that the bench and its sheltering trees had now become the province of the younger element. He wished them good luck with it, privately noting the location for his own possible use, after dark.

  The day was cold but still and bright, and a number of guests, mostly men who found the civilized atmosphere within too suffocating for their tastes, were clustered in argumentative groups in the corners of the terrace, or strolling round the paths of the newly-sprouting garden, where their tobacco pipes might finne in peace. Assessing the latter venue as the best means of avoiding interruption, Jamie led the Major toward the brick-lined path that curved toward the stables.

  "Have you seen Wylie's Friesians?" the Major asked as they rounded the house, making casual conversation 'til they should be safety out of earshot. "Aye, I have. The stallion's a fine animal, is he not?" By reflex, Jamie's eyes

  turned toward the paddock by the barn. The stallion was browsing, nibbling at the weeds by the trough, while the two mares head-and-tailed it companionably near the stable, broad backs shining in the pale sun.

  "Aye? Well, perhaps." The Major squinted toward the paddock, one eye half-shut in dubious agreement. "Sound enough, I daresay. Good chest. All that hair, though-wouldn't do in a cavalry horse, though I suppose if it were proper shaved and dressed. . . "

  Jamie suppressed the urge to ask whether MacDonald liked his women shaved as well. The image of the loosened curl spiraling down that bare white neck was still in his mind. Perhaps the stables might afford a better opportunity... He pushed that thought aside, for later reference.

  "You had some matter with which ye were concerned, Major?" he asked, more abruptly than he'd meant to.

  "Not so much my own concern," MacDonald replied equably. "I had been told that you have some interest in the whereabouts of a gentleman named Stephen Bonnet. Am I reliably informed, sir?"

  He felt the name like a blow to the chest; it took his wind for a moment. Without conscious thought, his left hand curled over the hilt of his dirk. "I-yes. You know his whereabouts?"

  "Unfortunately, no." MacDonald's brow lifted, seeing his response. "I ken where he has been, though. A wicked lad, our Stephen, or so I gather?" he inquired, with a hint of jocularity.

  "Ye might say so. He has killed men, robbed me-and raped my daughter," Jamie said bluntly.

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  The Major drew breath, face darkening in sudden understanding.

  "Ah, I see," he said softly. He lifted his hand briefly, as though to touch Jamie's arm, but let it fall to his side. He walked a few steps further, brows puckered in concentration.

  "I see," he said again, all hint of amusement gone from his voice. "I hadn't realized ... yes. I see." He lapsed into silence once again, his steps slowing as they neared the paddock.

  "I trust you do intend to tell me what ye know of the man?" Jamie said politely. MacDonald glanced up at him, and appeared to recognize that regardless of his intentions, Jamie's own intent was to gain what knowledge he had, whether by conversation or more direct methods.

  "I have not met the man myself," MacDonald said mildly. "What I know, I learnt in the course of a social evening in New Bern last month."

  It was an evening of whist tables hosted by Davis Howell, a wealthy shipowner and a member of the Governor's Royal Council. The party, small but select, had begun with an excellent supper, then moved on to cards and conversation, well marinated with rum punch and brandy.

  As the hour grew late and the smoke of cigarillos heavy in the air, the conversation grew unguarded, and there were jocular references to the recent improvement in one Mr. Butler's fortunes, with much half-veiled speculation as to the source of his new riches. One gentleman, expressing envy, was heard to say, "If one could but have a Stephen Bonnet in one's pocket. . . " before being elbowed into silence by a friend whose discretion was not quite so much dissolved in rum.

  "Was Mr. Butler among those present at this soiree?" Jamie asked sharply. The name was unfamiliar, but if Butler was known to members of the Royal Council ... well, the circles of power in the colony were small; someone in them would be known to his aunt, or to Farquard Campbell.

  "No, he wasn't." They had reached the paddock; MacDonald rested his folded arms atop the rail, eyes fixed on the stallion. "He resides, I believe, in Edenton."

  As did Phillip Wylie. The stallion-Lucas, that was his name-sidled toward them, soft black nostrils flaring in curiosity. Jamie stretched out his knuckles mechanically and, the horse proving amiable, rubbed the sleek jawline. Beautifiil as the Friesian was, he scarcely noticed it, his thoughts spinning Eke a whirligig.

  Edenton lay on the Albemarle Sound, easily accessible by boat. Likely, then, that Bonnet had returned to his sailor's trade-and with it, piracy and smuggling-

  "Ye called Bonnet 'a wicked lad,' " he said, turning to MacDonald. "Why? "Much of a hand at whist, Colonel Fraser?" MacDonald glanced at him inquiringly. "I recommend it particularly. It shares some advantage with chess, in terms of discovering the mind of one's opponent, and the greater advantage, in that it can be played against a greater number." The hard-bitten lines of his face relaxed momentarily in a faint smile. "And the still greater advantage that it is possible to earn a living by it, which is seldom the case with chess."

  "I am familiar with the game, sir," Jamie returned, with extreme dryness. MacDonald was a half-pay officer, with neither official duties nor an active

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  regiment. It was by no means unusual for such men to eke out their meager salary by the acquisition of small bits of intelligence, which might be sold or traded. No price was being asked-now-but that didn't mean that the debt would not be called in later. Jamie gave a brief nod in acknowledgment of the situation, and MacDonald nodded in turn, satisfied. He would say what he wanted, in good time.

  "Well, sir. I was, as ye might suppose, intrigued to learn who this Bonnet might be-and if he were indeed a golden egg, which goose's arse he'd dropped out of."

  MacDonald's companions had regained their caution, though, and he could learn nothing further of the mysterious Bonnet-save the effect he had on those who had met him.

  "You'll ken that often enough, ye learn as much from what men don't say, as what they do? Or from bow they say it?" Without waiti
ng for Jamie's nod, he went on.

  "There were eight of us at play. Three were making free with their speculations, but I could see they kent nay more of Mr. Bonnet than I did myself. Two more seemed neither to know nor to care, but the last two-" He shook his head. "They became very quiet, sir. Like those who will not speak of the devil, for fear of summoning him."

  MacDonald's eyes were bright with speculation. "You are familiar with the fellow Bonnet yourself?" "I am. The two gentlemen who knew him?"

  "Walter Priestly and Hosea Wright," MacDonald responded promptly. "Both particular ftiends of the Governor."

  "Merchants? "Among other things. Both have warehouses; Wright in Edenton and Plymouth, Priestly in Charleston, Savannah, Wilmington, and Edenton. Priestly has business concerns in Boston, as well," MacDonald added as an afterthought. "Though I know little of their nature. Oh-and Wright's a banker."

  Jamie nodded. His hands were folded together beneath the tails of his coat as he walked; no one could see how tightly his fingers clenched.

  "I believe I have heard of Mr. Wright," he said. "Phillip Wylie mentioned that a gentleman of that name owns a plantation near his own."

  MacDonald nodded in affirmation. The end of his nose had gone quite red, and small broken blood vessels stood out in his cheeks, mementoes of years spent campaigning.

  "Aye, that would be Four Chimneys." He glanced sidewise at Jamie, tongue probing a back tooth as he thought.

  "Ye mean to kill him, then?"

  "Of course not," Jamie replied evenly. "A man so well-connected wi' those in high places?"

  MacDonald looked at him sharply, then away with a brief snort. "Aye. Just so."

  They paced side by side for several moments without speech, each occupied with his private calculations-and each aware of the other's.

  The news of Bonnet's associations cut both ways; on the one hand, it would

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  likely make the man easier to find. On the other, those associations would complicate matters quite a bit, when it came to the killing. It wouldn't stop Jamieand MacDonald clearly perceived that-but it was a matter for thought, to be sure.

  MacDonald himself was a considerable complication. Bonnet's business associates would be interested to hear that someone meant to cut off their source of profit-and would be more than likely to take action to prevent it. They would also pay well for the news that their golden goose was threatened; a prospect MacDonald would naturally appreciate.

  There was no immediate way of corking up MacDonald, though; Jamie lacked the means for bribery, and that was a poor recourse in any case, as a man who could be bought once was always for sale.

  He glanced at MacDonald, who met his eye, smiled slightly, then turned his head away. No, intimidation wouldn't serve, even had he a mind to threaten one who'd done him a service. What, then? He could scarcely knock MacDonald on the head, only to prevent his spilling to Wright, Priestly, or Butler.

  Well, and if it could not be bribery or force, the only thing left to stop the man's mouth was blackmail. Which presented its own complications, insofar as he knew nothing-for the moment-to MacDonald's discredit. A man who lived as the Major did almost certainly had weak spots, but finding them ... how much time might he have?

  That thought triggered another.

  "How did ye hear that I sought news of Stephen Bonnet?" he demanded abruptly, breaking in on MacDonald's own contemplations.

  MacDonald shrugged, and settled his hat and Aig more firmly.

  "I heard it from a half dozen different sources, sir, in places from taverns to magistrates' courts. Your interest is well known, I fear. But not," he added delicately, with a sideways glance, "its reason."

  Jamie grunted, deep in his throat. It seemed he had no knife with but a single edge. Casting a wide net had brought him his fish-but without doubt, it had also caused ripples that might warn away the whale. If the whole coast knew he sought Bonnet-then so did Bonnet.

  Perhaps this was a bad thing; or perhaps it was not. If Brianna were to hear of it-she had been outspoken in her desire that he leave Bonnet to his own fate. That was nonsense, of course, but he hadn't argued with her; only listened with every appearance of consideration. She need know nothing until the man was safety dead, after all. If an unwary word were to reach her before that, though ... He had only begun to turn the possibilities over in his mind when MacDonald spoke again.

  "Your daughter ... that would be Mrs. MacKenzie, would it?"

  "Does it matter?" He spoke coldly, and MacDonald's lips tightened briefly. "No. To be sure. 'Twas onlyl had some conversation of Mrs. MacKenzie, and found her most ... charming. The thought of-" He broke off, clearing his throat. "I have a daughter, myself," he said abruptly, stopping and turning to face Jamie.

  "Aye?" Jamie had not heard that MacDonald was married. Quite possibly he wasn't. "That would be in Scotland?"

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