Claire settles in to read the account of Jamie's exodus from Culloden and Inverness in Lord Melton's journal, which Roger just received in the mail from a fellow-scholar. The experience of reading has the ability to transport her to the place, particularly since it is a place she already knows:
I accepted a cup of tea myself, and sat down in the wing chair with the pages of Melton’s journal. The flowing eighteenth-century handwriting was surprisingly clear, in spite of the archaic spelling, and within minutes, I was in the confines of Leanach farmhouse, imagining the sound of buzzing flies, the stir of close-packed bodies, and the harsh smell of blood soaking into the packed-dirt floor.
“ … in satisfaction of my brother’s debt of honor, I could not do otherwise than to spare Fraser’s life. I therefore omitted his name from the list of traitors executed at the farmhouse, and have made arrangement for his transport to his own estate. I cannot feel myself either altogether merciful toward Fraser in the taking of this action, nor yet altogether culpable with respect to my service toward the Duke, as Fraser’s situation, with a great wound in his leg festering and pustulent, makes it unlikely that he will survive the journey to his home. Still, honor prevents my acting otherwise, and I will confess that my spirit was lightened to see the man removed, still living, from the field, as I turned my own attentions to the melancholy task of disposing of the bodies of his comrades. So much killing as I have seen these last two days oppresses me,” the entry ended simply. (96)
Some of the difficulties of archival research and working with primary sources--the handwriting and archaic spellings--figure into the account, but by contrast, since Melton's handwriting is legible. The limits of the research in this case are the limits of Melton's first hand knowledge. It is as Brianna asserts her faith in Jamie's identity as the "Dunbonnet" of legend that the research moves from textual sources into the realm of oral history:
“The Dunbonnet?” Fiona, tut-tutting over my cold cup of undrunk tea, looked over her shoulder in surprise. “Heard of the Dunbonnet, have ye?”
“Have you?” Roger looked at the young housekeeper in astonishment.
She nodded, casually dumping my tea into the aspidistra that stood by the hearth and refilling my cup with fresh steaming brew.
“Oh, aye. My grannie tellt me that tale, often and often.”
“Tell us!” Brianna leaned forward, intent, her cocoa cupped between her palms. “Please, Fiona! What’s the story?”
Fiona seemed mildly surprised to find herself suddenly the center of so much attention, but shrugged good-naturedly. (97)
When written sources have been exhausted, oral tradition fills in the gaps, and puts Roger on Jamie's scent once more:
“Jesus Christ,” Roger breathed. He set his cup down carefully, and sat staring into space, transfixed. “Prison.”
“You sound like that’s good,” Brianna protested. The corners of her mouth were tight with distress, and her eyes slightly shiny.
“It is,” Roger said, not noticing her distress. “There weren’t that many prisons where the English imprisoned Jacobite traitors, and they all kept official records. Don’t you see?” he demanded, looking from Fiona’s bewilderment to Brianna’s scowl, then settling on me in hope of finding understanding. “If he went to prison, I can find him.” (99)
Roger has a sort of opportunistic attitude that does not register as amiss, since the reader wants Roger to find Jamie. But there is some insight into what it means to think like a scholar in Brianna's dismay as compared to Roger's enthusiasm--a man's misfortune is a scholar's gold, and in this case, the man in question is the focus of much narrative sympathy:
“He’s in there,” Roger said softly. “On a prison roll. In a document— real evidence! Don’t you see?” he demanded again, turning back to me. “Going to prison made him a part of written history again! And somewhere in there, we’ll find him!” (99)
Though Roger's enthusiasm is in part because of his now-intimate connection with the story through Claire and (especially) Brianna, there is a certain coldness in his jubilation to find that Jamie went to prison. The contrast with Fiona's more personal connection with the tale is sharp:
“So he made a bold plan, the Dunbonnet did,” Fiona was continuing. Her round face was alight with the drama of her tale. “He arranged that one of his tenants should go to the English, and offer to betray him. There was a good price on his head, for he’d been a great warrior for the Prince. The tenant would take the gold o’ the reward— to use for the folk on the estate, o’ course— and tell the English where the Dunbonnet might be taken.” (98)
Even though the story is far removed, the connection to the oral tale seems more emotional--more human than the connection documents can provide.
Gabaldon, Diana (2004-10-26). Voyager (Outlander). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
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