𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 | 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 ✅

18 - He Is Where He Belongs

Jamie and I went in through the kitchen door. Immediately, all of the maids curtsied to him, bowing their heads in respect.

"Milord is out, master." One of the maids said, glancing up at Jamie.

"Did he leave long ago?" I asked, interjecting before Jamie could answer her.

The maid shook her head. "Fifteen minutes or so." Whilst Jamie and I had been in the field and rolling around in the grass, his father had ridden from Lallybroch.

"Did he say when he'd be back?" Jamie asked.

"Aye, he said that he'd be gone a few weeks, but would be back for the end of next month." Jamie frowned, "it seemed urgent." The same maid added onto the end of her sentence as if that was an excuse as to why his father was not here to welcome him home.

"Aye, a'right. Thank ye, Louise."
He knew the names of all of the maids, of course, despite the fact that he had not been at Lallybroch for nigh on a year.

Jamie turned to me, "shall we see if we can find Jenny?" The silence which had followed us down from the field had been awkward and uncomfortable, so it was nice to see that when we were in the house, nothing had changed between us.

But of course, everything had.

I still ached for him, and I wondered if I would ever stop now that I knew how it felt to have him pressing himself against me -

"Eira?" He pressed, pulling me from my own mind. I glanced up, not noticing that I had been staring at the floor, and was met with one of his brilliant smiles. Jamie had his arm out to me. I looped one of my arms around it and let him lead me up the stairs and into the living room.

As always, a fire was set in the large fireplace, and the room was warm. Jamie's armchair was by the fire just as it had been the last time that he had come home, but Ian was sitting in it. When Jamie and me entered the room, Ian glanced up and grinned. He stood up and crossed the room in a few strides, throwing his arms around his friend. Jamie took his arm from my own and embraced Ian in return, the two of them laughing and excitedly talking over each other. I smiled, watching them both.

"Jamie!?" Jenny was halfway down the stairs, a large folded blanket in her arms, but upon seeing her brother, she dropped the blanket over the edge of the bannister and picked up her skirts, running down the remainder of the stairs and across the room, throwing herself at her brother. Ian got out of the way just in time. Jenny's weight collided with Jamie and he staggered back a few steps, letting out a loud grunt as he supported her entire body. "I missed ye, brother! Why didna ye send word ye were to be back today? I would have ridden to meet ye -"

Jamie glanced back at me momentarily and I gave a small shrug. It would have been unnoticeable to anybody but the two of us, but it was there. "I didna want to trouble ye." He told her simply, kissing both of her cheeks before he let her go. She stepped back, now in line with Ian, and grinned.

"I didna think to see ye before September, at least!"

"August in Paris is terribly boring," he replied teasingly, all of us knowing full well that he had never experienced an August in France, let alone Paris specifically.

"And how is cousin Jared?"
"He is well," Jamie told her. The look between the two of them was very clear; they were so thrilled to be back together after almost a year apart.

I swallowed, "Ian, shall we go down to the kitchen and ask the cook for some tea?"

Ian, catching my drift, nodded.

"Aye." He smiled.

He walked past Jamie and reached me before Jamie said, "Ian can manage, Eira, come sit by me." I didn't object as Jamie took one of my wrists in his hand and led me over to the chaise longue in the living room, to the side of the fire. He sat and pulled me down beside him. Jenny went to retrieve the blanket that she had dropped from the bannister, and then she came to sit in Jamie's armchair. Ian had gone to the kitchen as I had proposed, and it was just the three of us.