Claire is taken to meet the Laird. As suspicions about her grow, Claire befriends the mysterious Geillis Duncan. When the clan discover her medical skills, Claire goes from guest to prisoner.
Castle Leoch starts with the Highlanders and Claire riding into Castle Leoch’s bailey. Claire stands in the bailey taking in her surroundings while the people around her go about there business. Dougal is greeted by a man who then goes on to give one of the Highlanders, Rupert, grief over the state of Rupert’s horse. Claire notes the presence of a man in an upper window looking down on what is happening.
A woman comes out of the castle to greet the men and seems very fond of Rupert. She sends the men into the kitchen to eat. She calls the man who saved Claire from Black Jack Randall, Murtagh. Claire watches as this woman and Murtagh have a joking reunion.
The woman then turns her attentions on Claire. Jamie calls the woman Mistress FitzGibbons and tells Mrs. Fitz about discovering Claire. Mrs. Fitz and Claire discuss Jamie’s shoulder and wound and her ability to tend it. Jamie states his shoulder and wound will be fine but Mrs. Fitz puts her foot down and tells him to listen to the lady, Claire.
Mrs. Fitz takes both Claire and Jamie into the castle and Claire recalls walking the same halls with Frank.
Inside Claire’s room Mrs. Fitz tells Claire that she has set to boil garlic and witch hazel for the rags (to help prevent infection). Claire stirs this pot which Mrs. Fitz informs her also has comfrey and cherry bark for the pain. Mrs. Fitz tells Claire everyone calls her Mrs. Fitz (rather than Mistress FitzGibbons) and informs Claire she can as well. Clearly Mrs. Fitz likes Claire.
Claire goes to take care of Jamie’s wound and discovers a lash marked ravaged back. She seems a bit taken aback but says nothing about it. Jamie tells her the English flogged him twice in two days. Jamie indicates Black Jack Randall enjoyed flogging him. He tells Claire the reason he was flogged was first escaping Fort William and the second time for theft and he was originally being held for obstruction which basically meant whatever Randall thought to hold him on.
Jamie recalls that four years prior in October, Randall and a band of Englishmen came to his home (when his father was away at a funeral) he heard his sister Jenny’s screams while he was working in the field. Jamie comes to her rescue but is outnumbered. He surrenders hoping by honor Randall will leave his sister be only Randall decides he would rather see more of Jenny and rips her dress down the front baring her breasts.
Jamie is then whipped in their yard in front of Jenny. Randall asks her if she would like to see more or would she rather go into the house for better entertainment. Jamie tells her not to even if Randall kills him and Randall knock Jamie out.
Jamie tells Claire that Jenny went with Randall. When he woke he was in the wagon with chickens on his way to Fort William (I guess this is obstruction).
Claire proceeds to strap Jamie’s arm to his side and Jamie tells her she’s a kind woman with a good touch and that her husband is lucky.
Claire is taken aback and starts thinking about Frank.
We see the Reverend and Frank by the car searching for her.
Claire is clearly upset by the thought and gets emotional. Jamie asks her if her husband is not alive. Claire’s emotions get the better of her and she breaks down telling Jamie her husband isn’t alive because to her he hasn’t been born yet, though she doesn’t say that. Jamie comforts her for a moment until Claire gets her emotions under control.
Jamie tells her she’s safe as long as he’s with her and she asks him about when he is not with her. He reminders her she’s English and that isn’t always a good thing where she currently is. Jamie tells her to get some sleep because someone will likely want to speak to her before too long.
Claire wakes to Mrs. Fitz rushing about. She helps Claire to get dressed confused by Claire’s underclothing. Claire tells Mrs. Fitz that her “brassiere” is from France, which seems like a good explanation to Mrs. Fitz.
Murtagh comes to take Claire to “Himself.” Claire is left alone in Himself’s study where she goes looking for a date. She looks at a book for a publication date and then finds a letter on the desk with the date 1st November 1743. Himself enters the room to find her with one of her books. He clearly has some medical issue as his legs are severely bowed. Claire later tells us she knows he has Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome which she tells us shortens your life span.
Himself is Colum MacKenzie, Dougal’s brother, and Laird of Castle Leoch. Colum makes nice and asks after her well being before Claire asks for transport back to Inverness which Colum says they can arrange but he doesn’t sound like he means it.
He asks Claire how she came to be in the woods in her shift. Claire flashes back to a moment when Frank actually says the principal of lying is to stick to the truth as much as possible. Claire tells him she was on her way to visit family in France with her manservant when she was set upon by highwaymen and relieved of her property. She then goes on to tell Colum her lack of clothing was Randall’s doing. Not much of this seems like the truth.
Colum doesn’t look like he believes her much. He asks her if he is to believe that an officer, a gentleman would try to rape a stranded woman for no good reason. Claire indignantly says, “Is there ever a good reason for rape, Master MacKenzie?” Colum apologizes and Claire turns the subject back to transport to Inverness. Colum gives her the details of a transport in five days.
Claire is happy because she believes she will get home in five days. She goes up onto the castle walls and looks down in the bailey where she sees boys playing sword fighting with sticks. Dougal joins in and is disarmed by a boy he ends up looking at with pride.
Next we see Claire going into dinner with all inhabitants of the castle looking at her like the stranger she is. Claire is given a seat at the head table where Colum, his wife Letitia and Dougal are seated. She is questioned again and has to come up with answers about the family she was supposed to be visiting all while Colum plies her with drink. From the conversation we also learn it is unlikely that Jamie’s last name is really McTavish. Dougal apparently sent Jamie to the stables to help Old Alec with the horse rather than having him at dinner. Dougal is concerned that Colum won’t agree with his decision but Colum agrees. Colum then serves Claire Rhenish which Claire seems to think is stronger than the other drink.
Claire then introduces herself to the boy who was in the bailey and assumes his father is Dougal only to be told by the boy that his father is Colum. Colum, Letitia, and Dougal all look rather shocked.
Claire excuses herself and then chides herself for falling for the oldest interrogation trick that Frank taught her which is to ply her with food and drink and continue to interrogate her.
The next day, Claire comes into the kitchen to ask Mrs. Fitz where she would find the stables so she can change Jamie’s bandage. Claire takes some food and supplies out to the stables but is being followed by Rupert.
Claire watches Jamie as he trains a horse but ends up startling the horse and nearly getting Jamie trampled. She apologizes but Jamie blows it off.
Claire and Jamie eat together and Claire notices Jamie can pack away the food, remarking that he’d eat the grass if there was nothing else. Jamie tells her he has once when living rough with some lads while raiding cattle.
Claire wonders why he was raiding cattle rather than tending his own farm. Jamie tells her there is a price on his head, 10 pounds sterling. He tells her he is wanted for murder though he didn’t actually kill the person he is accused of killing because he was being rescued from Fort William after being flogged and could barely ride a horse at the time. Jamie confirms his name isn’t McTavish. Claire asks him if Colum knows he’s wanted and Jamie tell her both Colum and Dougal know because they are his uncles on his mothers side. Jamie tells Claire he trusts her.
Claire starts back to the castle and realizes Rupert is following her. Rupert confirms Dougal is having her followed. Claire goes and confronts Dougal who tells her he thinks she a spy. She tells him he can follow her all she wants because she will be doing nothing of interest in the next four days. Dougal seems confused by the time constraint and she tells him she’ll be leaving going to Inverness when Mr. Petrie comes by on Saturday. Claire tells Dougal, Colum knows of her departure and would have thought Colum would have told him.
Claire tells us for the next few days she maintained a routine to keep her mind occupied and give Dougal’s men nothing to report. Meanwhile, Mrs. Fitz has put her to work gathering food for the kitchen. She is gathering medicinals when she encounters Geillis Duncan. Claire gives us another tidbit about a mushroom that is poisonous when consumed but can be made into a powder and applied topically to stop bleeding.
Geillis tells Claire everyone is talking about her being a spy. Geillis then tells Claire about a plant that will abort a child and that girls from the village come to her for such things. Geillis tells Claire people call her a witch and jokingly says she knows how to turn toads into pigeons.
Geillis and Claire are at Hall where Colum does his duty as Laird and listens to disputes and renders verdicts. Most of this is happening in Gallic so Geillis translates some but Claire is mostly bored by it all. That is until a girl is brought before Colum by her father who wishes her punished for loose behavior (she’s be whipped, spanked). Jamie steps forward and says he will take the girls punishment which upsets Claire, as he’s not yet healed. The girl runs into Mrs. Fitz’s arms when Colum agrees to let Jamie take her punishment.
Jamie chooses fists which Geillis says usually means Jamie will be punched until he bleeds. Murtagh tells Jamie to watch himself because his uncle is up to something. Jamie proceeds to take the punishment but when blood is drawn Dougal lets the punishment continue. Rupert hits Jamie in his wounded shoulder (low blow if I ever saw one) and hits him again until Dougal signals that it is over.
Claire goes to tend to Jamie’s wounds with Mrs. Fitz’s help, who is very thankful as Laoghaire is her granddaughter. Jamie tells Claire he did it because to be beaten in Hall would have shamed the lass and it would have been a long time in getting over it. He actually makes it sound like he knows something about it.
Claire informs Jamie that she is leave the next day and Jamie seems rather upset and bids her goodbye while calling her Claire rather than Sassenach. Laoghaire comes to speak with Jamie though we don’t see what is said.
Mrs. Fitz is seeing Claire off when Dougal comes and retrieves Claire from the bailey telling her Colum wishes to see her.
She finds Colum in the “trolls den” she discovered with Frank. Colum tells her it was their last healers surgery though he died. Apparently the clan Beaton are famous for their healing abilities. Davey Beaton being Leoch’s deceased healer. Colum asks her if she knows the uses of the potions and thing and she tells him she knows of some. She tries to leave saying she should be going but Colum stops her and tells her he wants her to be Leoch’s healer as they don’t have one.
Colum tells Claire she is staying and she asks if one of Dougal’s men has made up lies about her. Apparently, Dougal hasn’t been telling Colum about following Claire. But Colum has decided until he knows the truth he is keeping her at Leoch as his guest, to which she says, “You mean as your prisoner.” Claire follows Colum to the door and finds Dougal and Colum together shutting her in, though I don’t think they locked her in though it must have felt like it.
