Once, traveling at night, I fell asleep in the passenger seat of a moving car, lulled by the noise and motion into an illusion of serene weightlessness. The driver of the car took a bridge too fast an...
Oh, foisted, is it? cried Mr. Ormiston in righteous indignation. Such a word! And if it means what I think it does, young man, you should get down on your knees and thank God for such foistingness!
Often the best tool is the most dangerous. One doesn't hesitate to use it on that account; one merely makes sure to take adequate precautions.
No. There were men there from all over the Highlands—from every clan, almost. Only a few men from each clan—remnants and ragtag. But the more in need of a chief, for all that. And that’s what you were...
No wonder he was so good with horses, I thought blearily, feeling his fingers rubbing gently behind my ears, listening to the soothing, incomprehensible speech. If I were a horse, I’d let him ride me...
My father always said that was the difference between an American and an Englishman. An Englishman thinks a hundred miles is a long way; an American thinks a hundred years is a long time.
More than most men, he valued his name-I only hoped that given time, it would once more have value.
Money is a good bridle, but a weak rein.
Mo Nighean donn, he whispered, mo chridhe. My brown lass, my heart.Come to me. Cover me. Shelter me. a bhean, heal me. Burn with me, as I burn for you.
Mmphm, I said, sounding self-consciously Scottish.
May God make safe to me each step,May God make open to me each pass,May God make clear to me each road,and may He take me in the clasp of His own two hands
Many of the lost will be found, eventually, dead or alive. Disappearances, after all, have explanations.
Man is born to sorrow and whiskers. One of the plagues of Adam.
Lying on the floor, with the carved panels of the ceiling flickering dimly above, I found myself thinking that I had always heretofore assumed that the tendency of eighteenth-century ladies to swoon...
Let’s go. Jamie’s hand was firm on my arm, and I made no protest. Following Jared, guarded by the sailors, we stole away from the quay, surreptitious as though we had started the fire.
Let the dead bury the dead, Sassenach, he said softly. The past is gone—the future is not come. And we are here together, you and I.
Last night I dreamed that Roger was leaving. I’ve been dreaming about his going for a week, ever since Da suggested it. Suggested—ha. Like Moses brought down
Joy. Fear. Fear, most of all. His hand came up and smoothed my curls away from his nose I havena been afraid for a verra long time, Sassenach, he whispered. But now I think I am. For there is somethin...
John stood waiting, shivering, as the sound of hooves and voices went past. Who might it be? Not soldiers; there was no sound of brass, no jingling spurs or arms. The sounds faded, and Jamie turned ba...
Jamie, I panted. He pushed his kilt out of the way and pressed my hand against him. Bloody Christ, I said, impressed despite myself. My sense of propriety slipped another notch. Fighting gives ye a...