Page 47 (1/2)

"No, I wouldna let Campbell send for you," he said softly "There’s the law, Sassenach--and there is justice I ken the difference well enough"

"There’s such a thing as mercy, too" And had anyone asked, I would have called Jamie Fraser a merciful man He had been, once But the years between now and then had been hard ones--and compassion was a soft eht he still had his kindness, though; and felt a queer pain at the thought of its loss I shouldna think so, no Had that been no more than honesty?

The boat had drifted halfway round, so that the drooping branch hung noeen us There was a small snort from the darkness behind the leaves

"Blessed are the merciful," he said, "for they shall find mercy Byrnes wasn’t, and he didn’t And as for me, once God had ht to interfere"

"You think God gave hiination for it Besides," he went on, logically, "where else would ye look for justice?"

I searched for words, and failed to find any Giving up, I returned to the only possible point of arguht to have told me Even if you didn’t think I could help, it wasn’t your business to decide--"

"I didna want ye to go" His voice was still quiet, but there was a note of steel in it now

"I know you didn’t! But it doesn’t ht Byrnes deserved to suffer or--"

"Not for hirasped the sides to keepwhether Byrnes died easy or hard, but I’m no a monster of cruelty! I didna keep you from him to make him suffer; I kept ye away to protect you"

I was relieved to hear this, but increasingly angry as the truth of what he’d done dawned on me

"It wasn’t your business to decide that If I’m not your conscience, it isn’t up to you to be rily at the screen offronds between us, trying to see hirabbed my wrist

"It’s up to ht grip on irl who needs protection, nor yet an idiot! If there’s so, then tell me and I’ll listen But you can’t decide what I’ me--I won’t stand for that, and you bloody well know it!"

The boat lurched, and with a huge rustling of leaves, he popped his head through the , glaring

"I ao!"

"You decided where I o, and that’s just as bad!" Theleaves slid back over his shoulders as the boatout of the tree’s shadow

He loomed in front ofout a good bit of the scenery behind hiht nose was an inch froh blue to be black in this light, and looking into the

I blinked He didn’t

He had let go of h the leaves Now he took hold of h the cloth His hands were very big and very hard, ility of my own bones in contrast I am a violent man

He’d shaken me a time or two before, and I hadn’t liked it In case he had so of the sort in s, and prepared to give hi," he said

Tensed for violence, I had actually started to jerk my foot up, when I heard what he had said Before I could stop, he had cla , Sassenach," he repeated, a touch of impatience in his voice "D’ye led ether

"You wouldn’t consider letting go of

"No, I wouldn’t Are ye going to listen to me now?"

"I suppose so," I said, still polite "It doesn’t look as though I’h to see his hter for a moment, then relaxed

"This is a verra foolish quarrel, and you know that as well as I do"

"No, I don’t" My anger had faded soether "It’s maybe not important to you, but it is to me It isn’t foolish And you know it, or you wouldn’t be ad"

The twitch was more pronounced this time He took a deep breath, and dropped his hands from my shoulders