Price to Be Paid

"Faith." A warm hand caressed my face. It was smooth, not like Kaeden's. John's maybe. I opened my eyes, seeing my savior above me. "Faith, wake up." He smiled. My hand gripped his before fear took over.

"Stop, you're safe, my dear." His tone was calm and collected. I glanced around the room. We were in someone's home. Not mine or my mother's.

"Be still. You were injured." John stated.

"Annabelle and Henry." I mumbled. The pain in my back returned. But my stomach was still plump which meant I was still pregnant.

"They are safe too. I have them set up below. My lawyer is drawing up papers for them to be free." He chuckled, "Now, lie back and take a moment. You're in no condition to argue."

"My family?"

"They are on their way. I sent word the moment we left Greenbriar." He stated, patting my hand lightly.

"I killed Iverson." I muttered, sitting up slowly.

"I know. They caught someone this morning. They believe it was his son." John sighed. "For now, let's get you dressed into something clean and a proper meal in you." His smile was kind. He offered his hands to help me up. "Maybe a bath as well." I flicked my eyes to him, annoyed.

"What do you expect from me? I was held captive for a while." I rolled my eyes.

"At least you haven't lost your attitude." He laughed. I allowed him to help me off the bed. Without another thought, I hugged him tightly.

"Thank you. You didn't have to." His hand brushed over my hair again.

"I'd do anything for you." He smiled, releasing me from the hug. John exited the room, calling the servant to come help me. A woman appeared to help me undress and bath me.

After the bath and a new set of clothes, the servant redressed my wounds, making no comment on the scars but had a few wide eyed glances. She handed me the necklace with Kaeden's ring on it but I stared at it in my hand. He surely wouldn't take me back after all this. Hugh's hands that searched me. His body against mine. His lips that wondered the parts of my body that only loved Kaeden's touch. He'd cast me out like a whore in a brothel. I wanted to cast myself out.

I glanced in the mirror at my appearance. I looked physically unchanged from the night I got married. My face was finally clean and had returned to its pale and freckled tone. But the light, the spark of my eyes was gone. It evaporated with the burn for life that once resided in my heart.

The servant helped me down the stairs to the parlor where John sat close to the fire with a whiskey in one hand and a book in the other. My hair hung across my shoulders, damp from the bath. My skirts hung right above my shoes. The servant did me the service of not tightening the corset all the way, allowing my wounds and growing stomach room to breathe.

"Much better." He stated, peaking over his book. He cleared his hands of items before hurrying to my side. He offered his arm to me, guiding me towards the dining table.

"How'd you find me?" I asked finally, sitting in one of the chairs.

"Your family found Bonnet when he took your sister. He didn't give you up though. They found me and I used my sources. Bonnet didn't keep the sale completely hidden. I tracked the payment to a slave trader. After some threats, he confessed to selling you to Iverson. After some persuasion, Iverson allowed me to visit. Kaeden and Jamie told me you were pregnant so I didn't waste any time." He started explaining as he sat in a chair at the other end of the table.

"How long?" I asked, placing my hands in my lap, rubbing my stomach. I'd lost track of time on the estate.

"Two months." John's face lost all trace of happiness.

"Is he dead?" My eyes shifted to the table between us.

"Yes. He was executed."

"Good."

"Faith, I-"

"Don't. I don't want pity. I don't want apologies."

"Still the girl I first met." He sounded elated to know I wasn't gone. But I was. Those two months changed me. My body felt dirty. My mind felt dead. There was no one there to rescue me. My family had left me for two months. They didn't even know who had taken me until they found Bree with Bonnet. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hasty to jump to conclusions but two months I was gone. No one saved me. No one came for me. Except John.

"You know you can tell me anything. I'd never judge you. You have looked past my sorted history." He was right. I knew his love for men. But I didn't let that get between the friendship, the bond we had. Everyone had a story. It wasn't my place to condemn their actions or what was inflicted on them.

"You know what happens to female slaves." I stated, unwavering from my view of the intricate wood carvings on the table. "Iverson wanted revenge on Kaeden and I, so he used the one thing he had over me. For two months, I knew every inch of his bedroom."

"Faith, are you ok?" I didn't respond. He knew the answer. He asked out of obligation.

"Let's just eat. You look like you could use a warm meal." Positive as ever. John had a way of doing that. Sure, he was cruel when he needed to be but for the most part he was kind, generous. Probably because of the fact that I was related to Jamie and then the fact that he loved me.

We sat in silence, eating whatever the servants had prepared and placed in front of me. The meal was nice. It softened the hunger I'd felt at the estate. But it didn't quell the anger in my chest or the exhaustion in my body.

"Sir, the Frasers have arrived." The butler stated from the doorway. John looked at me, gauging for a reaction. I tossed my napkin onto the table before rising from the chair. His arm was offered quickly, which I took.

"You don't have to go with them if you need time. My home is open to you for however long you need." He whispered, keeping us in the dining room still.

"How did you know?"

"I know you, Faith." He smiled. It was the same smile he gave me those months Kaeden was gone. The one that made me smile in return. The one that wrapped me in warmth. I only nodded, allowing him to guide me to the front of the home. Jamie, Claire, Ian and Kaeden hopped off their horses. Claire was practically sprinting towards me. I didn't move from John's side. I just watched as they all swarmed towards me.

Claire grabbed me first, attempting to hug me but I didn't relent from the grasp I held on John's arm. I clung to him, my safety in that moment. His judgement was absent. I knew my family would judge me based on what had unfolded once they knew. It's what everyone else would do in this situation. Her face twisted in confusion at my hesitation but then softened. Jamie and Kaeden approached next. My eyes didn't dare meet theirs.

"Why don't we go inside? It's getting late. I'm sure, Miss Campbell is tired from our journey as you might be." John interrupted, sensing my tenseness.

John guided us inside. Kaeden's eyes examined the back of me. I could feel his eyes washing over me. It hurt my heart. John let go of me by one of the sofas, taking his place at the mantle of the fireplace.

"Anyone?" He offered, motioning to the dark liquor. The boys quickly took it but Claire sat beside me on the sofa, keeping a safe distance between us. Her eyes examined me closely, like she was hunting for an injury that would've made me act this way.

John recounted the story of how he found me. Explaining that Iverson was dead. He didn't tell them what I had said or that I killed Iverson.

"Aye, I thank ye for finding her. We were at a loss." Jamie stated, eyeing me from his position next to John.

"Anything for the Frasers." John responded, also eyeing me. Ian sat across from me, inspecting me. Kaeden stood at the window, looking out at the land around the home like I wasn't there. I wasn't though, my mind and my body were two separate entities at that moment. They functioned in opposite directions. My body burned for Kaeden to hold me. But my mind told me he wouldn't love me anymore.

"I think I will retire." I mumbled, standing from my place. I brushed my skirts down, feeling like it might make me cleaner. Claire attempted to offer me assistance but I ignored the offer. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, watching me like a hawk. I needed out. I felt like I was suffocating under their examining eyes. I pushed out of the parlor, shutting the doors behind me before pausing on the other side to listen.

"What happened, John?" Jamie asked.

"I'm not sure. She's been rather quiet." John stated, keeping my secrets to himself. A kind service to me. "She had been beaten before I arrived. One of the servants says the wounds were cleaned and bandaged. I believe Annabelle and Henry, the two others I picked up from Greenbriar, were the ones taking care of her. The wounds are beginning to heal. The maid also thinks the baby is healthy."

"How far along?" Claire interrupted.

"She guessed two to three months but couldn't be certain."

"So it might be Bonnet's." Claire gasped. "Not again." She sobbed. Jamie's heavy footsteps crossed the floor to Claire.

"Or someone at Greenbriar." Kaeden grunted.

"Ye don't know that. It could be yers." Ian chimed in.

"I do. I ken what happens there to the slaves. I ken what man Iverson is. He would do anything to get revenge." Kaeden explained. His voice was emotionless, drained.

My ears couldn't bear to hear anymore. My footsteps echoed through the hall. I needed a way out. It's what I always did in these situations. Fight. Flight. Freeze. I almost never fought.

After a few minutes down several hallways, I found a door to the back of the home. That's where I made my escape from the suffocating building. The cool fall air ran through my hair, drying it the rest of the way. I pulled the top layer of my skirt up, wrapping it around myself before sitting on a step that led down to the ground. For awhile, I sat there, mindlessly watching the trees blow with the wind, listening to bugs around.

At some point, Jamie creaked out the back door, finding a spot next to me. We sat silently, watching the world around us. I laid my head against his shoulder. I didn't want it, but I felt like I needed it. That little girl inside me needed her dad.

"I miss Murtagh." I mumbled.

"Aye. Me too." He grunted back. After a small pause, he laid his head on mine. "He used to tell me as a bairn, ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine."

"Under the shelter of each other, people survive." I responded, seeming to astonish Jamie. "I don't know Gaelic well enough to speak it. But I can translate mostly. I can speak all the crude words, thanks to Murtagh and his clumsiness." I responde, earning a small laugh from Jamie.

"I know ye feel like we left ye." He sighed, "but I promise ye, we dinna. I searched for days, weeks, trying to find ye. Then Bree was taken and we found out Bonnet had taken ye too." His accent floated over each word. It gave me comfort. Two of the most important men in my life had the same accent, the same language. It made me feel safe. "With everything in my being, in my soul, I searched. I tore through cities looking for ye."

"I know."

"I am sorry, mo sholas." (My light.) "I vow that I willna stop until I have killed anyone who has wronged ye."

"I killed Iverson. There's no one left who wronged me." I explained. "Do you think Kaeden will forgive me?"

"Forgive ye for?"

"I'm dirty now. Iverson, he..." I trailed off, feeling the tears catch in my throat. Jamie's arms wrapped around me. His lips kissed the top of my head.

"Hush now, ye willna speak of such things. Ye are perfect. If he is a smart man, he willna shun ye." This was when Jamie told me everything. How he and Claire met. Where she was from. The adventures they'd had. Where Bree and Roger were from. Where I was meant to be. He told me the tales of their history, the battles won and lost.

There we sat, talking about it all, until the moon came to it's apex. There I fell asleep in his arms. Safe.