Truth and Consequences Ep 141

Drums of Autumn

Chapters 51-53

Week 27

“Betrayal and Blame”

Summary:

Roger found himself a prisoner. He was concussed and battered. He forcibly traveled with the Tuscarora for more than a week. He escaped hoping they would not pursue him. He found a stone circle. He was recaptured. Brianna was at River Run until her parents returned. She was angry and distant from Jamie. She fell into the rhythm of River Run, and Aunt Jocasta loved her company. She and Claire had a difficult goodbye. Jamie offered his promise before they left to find Roger. Claire was reunited with a familiar face. Young Ian had a heart to heart with Claire. The Tuscarora pointed them north to a Mohawk village. Jamie and Claire finally made peace with each other and themselves. They reached Snake-Town and hoped to find Roger and secure his release. (1:45)

Inside the Chapters:

Part Eleven: Pas du Tout (not at all)

Chapter 51 – Betrayal – October 1769

Roger woke with vomit in his hair, thinking he was on the Gloriana. He was tied up, in pain, and vomited again. He was on the back of a horse, lying across it on his belly. His captors took him off the horse, and he fell face first into the leaves. He grappled with memory to figure out where he was and what had happened. The pain in his head and his body was excruciating. Then he remembered. Indians. Where was he though? His memories swirled. He remembered the Gloriana and Bonnet, then Brianna and the handfasting. A face like Brianna’s came into his mind, but it was fleeting when one of the Indian men grabbed him. Roger thought the Indian meant him harm and he fought. The man had meant to loosen Roger’s hands not hurt him. He was in the mountains with four Indian men. He drank from a nearby brook. His teeth were loose; there were cuts in his mouth and upon his chapped lips. A jolt of memory, Claire, Brianna, and Jamie Fraser. He had been at Fraser’s Ridge. The face of Jamie seared in his mind. He remembered it now. The meeting, the fight, and how Jamie and the other man had meant to kill him. He thought they had given him to the Indians, but to what end? As he stood and relieved himself, he couldn’t look at the men around the fire because it filled him with rage (p854, Nook). (4:00)

As he shared dinner with the Tuscarora, he tried to speak with them in various languages, but they responded to none of them. When it was time to sleep, they tied him with a noose around neck and feet. He had a little room to move before he would choke himself. He slept restlessly as his dreams were filled with violence. The next morning, they left the camp. Roger walked with a noose around his neck and wrists tied to the horse’s harness. He thought they headed north and couldn’t have traveled very far from Fraser’s Ridge. He memorized landmarks, so he could come back this way after he escaped. Days were passing as if in a trance, so Roger made a small knot in his coat for each day. He was going back to Fraser’s Ridge no matter what it took. (4:59)

He found his opportunity to escape on day 8. He cut his hands free and ran. They called after him, but he didn’t stop. He saw them and kept going. He was terrified when he found cover. He had no idea what direction he had come. His foot was bleeding from a gash in it. He made a makeshift bandage. He found a place to rest. He slept. When Roger woke, he was hungry and thirsty. Surely, they didn’t follow him? He picked a direction and went. He cautiously listened for pursuit. Roger scrabbled around a rock face and in the clearing in front of him was another set of standing stones. He couldn’t hear them and tried to remember what the date could be. As close as he could figure it had to be near to just past Samhain. He didn’t know if this circle worked on the same dates as Craigh na Dun. He had the gems in his pocket, and if they were open, he could escape. He struggled with the thought of abandoning Brianna. Could he leave her behind? He decided if he wasn’t going to step through the stones then he had to go back to hidden safety or climb the cliff face. When he looked up, a face was looking down and a noose settled around his neck again. (6:25)

Poor Roger. He has a concussion, loose teeth, cuts, bruises, scrapes, and was a prisoner of the Tuscarora. Even though he escaped, he gashed his foot and was caught again. Even though his attempt was foiled, he found a stone circle. That might serve for future purposes.

Chapter 52 – Desertion – River Run, December 1769

Brianna stood outside of Hector Cameron’s tomb. The inscription read Semper Fidelis. Had he been a faithful man and to whom? She and Jamie hadn’t spoken to each other since that terrible day. Brianna had screamed at him in her final words of rage, and he had left the cabin and not returned that night. She wa...