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"No? But then…" her voice died away Fogged with sleep and the exhaustions of pleasure, Roger paid no attention, only snuggling closer with a luxurious h his personal fog like a knife through butter

"How did you knohere I was?" she said

"H him with empty arms, and a pair of dark eyes a few inches from his own, slanted with suspicion

"How did you knohere I was?" she repeated slowly, each word a splinter of ice "How did you know I’d gone to the Colonies?"

"Ah…I…why…" Much too late, he woke to the realization of his danger

"You didn’t have any way of knowing I’d left Scotland," she said, "unless you went to Lallybroch, and they told you where I was going But you’ve never been to Lallybroch"

"I…" He groped frantically for an explanation--any explanation--but there was none, other than the truth And fro of her body, she had deduced that too

"You knew," she said Her voice wasn’t reat as if she’d shouted in his ear "You knew, didn’t you?"

She was sitting up now, loo over him like one of the Erinyes

"You saw that death notice! You already knew, you knew all the tiather his scattered wits "Ihave you known? Why didn’t you tell me?" she cried She stood up and snatched at the pile of clothes under them

"Wait," he pleaded "Bree--let me explain--"

"Yeah, explain! I want to hear you explain!" Her voice was ragged with fury, but she did stop her ru to hear

"Look" He was up hi But I--" He took a deep breath, searching desperately for words that ht make her understand

"I kneould hurt you I didn’t want to show it to you because I knew there was nothing you could do--there was no point in you breaking your heart for the sake of--"

"What do youI could do?" She jerked a shirt over her head, and glared toward his, Bree! Don’t you know that? Your parents tried--they knew about Culloden, and they did everything they possibly could have, to stop Charles Stuart--but they couldn’t, could they? They failed! Geillis Duncan tried toShe failed! They all failed!" He risked a hand on her arm; she was stiff as a statue

"You can’t help them, Bree," he said, more quietly "It’s part of history, it’s part of the past--you’re not fro to happen"

"You don’t know that" She was still rigid, but he thought he heard a hint of doubt in her voice

"I do!" He wiped a bead of sweat frohtest chance--but I didn’t I--God, Bree, I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hurt!"

She stood still, breathing heavily through her nose If she’d had the choice, he was sure it would have been fire and brimstone rather than air

"It wasn’t your business to h clenched teeth "No er, how could you do so like that!?"

The tone of betrayal in her voice was too much

"Damn it, I was afraid if I told you, ye’d do just what you did!" he burst out "You’d leave h the stones by yourself And now look what you’ve done--here’s the both of us in this godforsaken--"

"You’re trying to bla I possibly could to keep you fro such an idiot as to follow me?"

Months of toil and terror, days of worry and fruitless searching caught up with Roger in a scorching blast

"An idiot? That’s the thanks I get for killinglife to try to protect you?" He rose froet hold of her, not sure if he ain He had the chance to do neither; a hard shove caught hi into the hay

She was hopping on one foot, cursing incoherently as she struggled into her breeches