Jamie races towards Wilmington to rescue Claire from the gallows, only to discover that the American Revolution has well and truly reached North Carolina.
A Life Well Lost opens on Jamie’s fear of Claire being hanged and not making it in time to save her. In reality, Jamie and Ian are working on getting to Claire before anything bad happens. Jamie refuses to let his deepest fear cripple him.
Meanwhile, Claire is in jail in Wilmington. Her cellmate is Sadie Ferguson who hopes she has money so they can send away for a dram.
Roger accompanies Rev. MacMillian to an army camp to pray for a group of soldiers. One asks Roger for some advice to which he replies, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” a famous quote by Muhammad Ali; something he said before entering the ring with Cassius Clay, Jr in 1964.
A conscript into the British Army, who is chained nearby says, “Ali.” Roger immediately recognizes the man as a fellow traveler. Donner proceeds to tell Roger he has a gemstone but needs help getting away so he can try to return home.
Back in Wilmington, Redcoats arrive at the jail looking for the midwife. The men want to know who the murderess is. Sadie says she is the murderess and Claire is a forger. Claire thinks this is to help her. They take Claire with them shortly before Jamie and Ian show up looking for her. Jamie’s not happy with Tom Christie who tells them Claire is not there. They find out what Sadie did from another prisoner who tells them that you can be forgiven for murder, but forgery is a hanging offence. Jamie and Ian are off to Fort Johnston where the sheriff has gone to find out more about where Claire has been taken.
On the HMS Cruizer, Claire is taken to see Mrs. Martin, the colonial Governor Josiah Martin’s wife. They have been exiled to the ship because the county is clearly rebelling against his rule. Claire questions Mrs. Martin about her symptoms and diagnoses her with bad tonics (she’s been taking a bunch of different things to hopefully prevent losing another child). Mrs. Martin comes to the realization that Claire is the accused murderess and seems to be overjoyed to have a “murderess” in her company. Claire gives her some ginger tea to help and is asked to swear not to harm her baby, which Claire does. Mrs. Martin tells Claire about their lost children and Claire tries to reassure her.
Brianna wonders why Roger has a bunch of food and a shoeing hammer. She realizes he’s going to try to free Donner. She’s not inclined to help him because he didn’t help Claire when others attacked her in Brown’s gang. Brianna doesn’t believe Roger would stand by when a woman needs help. Roger tries to convey that Donner was trying to survive recounted watching Bonnet toss a child overboard on the Glorianna and then watching the mother jump to her death. “And though desperate to intervene, I was frozen.” He chose his own survival and doesn’t feel it right to judge another man for the same.
On the Cruizer, Claire goes in to talk to Governor Martin about going ashore for supplies, but he refuses. Instead, she should make a list and he’ll see it filled. Major MacDonald appears, recognizing Claire. The Major makes Martin aware of who Claire is and that there is doubt about Jamie’s loyalty to the crown. Martin grows suspicious. As Major MacDonald goes to leave Claire calls him a “manipulative bastard.”
Back in Wilmington, Tom Christie is approached by a Redcoat with a letter from Claire with a list of items she requires:
– Camphor
– Potassium Nitrate
– Vir Meus (Latin for my husband)
Tom is happy to be of service to Mistress Fraser and the Crown. Is Tom a Tory or a Colonist?
Back on the Cruizer, Claire and Gov. Martin are not having a pleasant conversation when he realizes she’s the one accused of murder. She assures him of her innocent and tells him she understands losing a child, “There is no greater pain.”
Back in Wilmington, Tom goes to Jamie with Claire’s note and Jamie takes off for the Cruizer.
On the deck of the Cruizer, Claire watches as Jamie comes aboard. The two embrace and kiss. Jamie goes to speak with Martin about releasing Claire, but he’ll only do so if Jamie supplies 200 troops to the Crown. Clearly Jamie isn’t going to do that so he returns to shore looking for another way.
On the Beach, Brianna is watching Jemmy play when Roger approaches and tells her he has changed his mind about helping Donner. He is going to pray for Donner.
I understand why Brianna and even Claire wouldn’t want to help Donner. I mean Jamie would have just killed him but I think here Roger let’s Brianna just roll right over his convictions. Roger is a person who is burdened with the will to help but also with the burden of always trying to make the redheads in his life happy. But if Donner is a possible threat or just someone they want out of their lives, help him back to the future. Poof no more problem because I guarantee he’s not coming back.
In Wilmington, Jamie and Ian run into Tom Christie who is drinking whisky in a tavern which is very much not like him. Tom is clearly making hard decisions. Tom asks that Jamie let him go and tell the Governor, “what I’ve done.” He doesn’t make it clear what that is but Jamie doesn’t want his help. Tom essentially tells Jamie he’s a nobody with no family or clan, implying Jamie and Claire both have people who rely on them. Jamie says, “I can say nothing to dissuade ye?” but honestly he didn’t really try. It felt a lot like Jamie seeing the perfect solution.
Jamie tells Tom to send Claire back to him. Tom asks Jamie what he would have said about him at his funeral. Jamie says, “Tom Christie was an honorable Scot, a leader of men in his own way, though he dinna ken quite where to lead them. Stubborn as a dame mule, but despite our differences, a man I respected and who’s respect I had in return.” Tom seems pleased.
Back on the Cruizer, Claire watches Tom comes aboard. They go into the surgery and Tom tells Claire that he’s come to confess. She doesn’t believe it did it. He says he will swear to it by the Holy Scriptures.
Tom tells Claire that Malva was a witch and not his daughter. Claire thinks his just disowning her, but he explains that Malva was his brothers. When he went to fight his wife, Mona was a witch. She did charms etc. She was eventually hanged for his brother’s murder. Malva had that same darkness of soul. She tells Claire Malva poisoned them and he figured it out because Claire told him that they had the same illness but different from everyone else. She made a love potion from the bones of the sin eater. Tom said he was responsible for her actions as her “father.” Claire still doesn’t believe him.
Tom tells her he has searched his whole life for a thing he couldn’t name love. He found it when he met Claire. She seems uncomfortable. Tom gives her his confession. When she goes to destroy it, he tells her he made a copy that is with the newspaper in Wilmington.
“I have yearned always,” he said softly, “for love given and returned; have spent my life in the attempt to give my love to those who were not worthy of it. Allow me this: to give my life for the sake of one who is.”
(From A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 97, “For the Sake of One Who Is”. Copyright © 2005 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)
Jamie stands on the shore and watches as a boat with Claire comes in from the HMS Cruizer. We then see them lying in bed. Claire wants to know if Jamie made Tom confess. Jamie understands Tom’s actions because Jamie also loves Claire and he’d give up his life also. Jamie tells Claire to rest before getting up and leaving.
Next, we see Richard Brown enter his room only to find Jamie sitting in the corner lying in wait. Brown clumsily offers Jamie a drink but Jamie turns it down. Brown tells Jamie, “You harm a hair on my head and my kin will hunt you down, kill everyone you hold dear.” Jamie assures him his nephew the Indian is paying his men a visit along with his friends.
Brown is clearly freaked out offering, “You are a good man, a moral man.” To which Jamie says, “I’m also a violent man. Any goodness that prevails in me is because of my wife. You tried to take her from me.”
Jamie tells Brown to make his piece with God and then goes after him.
Some Thoughts
I think many are surprised by Jamie’s action here but I’m really not. Jamie is the man that had all of Lionel Brown’s men killed. He didn’t know then who had raped Claire so he killed them all. Richard Brown is a threat to Claire and leaving him breathing just means he can come back to hurt them. Jamie is willing to go scorched Earth to prevent it. I don’t condone murder but here there is no law to stop Brown. And Jamie is the lawman where he lives. I fully support his actions because Brown is a stalker that will wait to strike and instead of saying there is nothing we can do until he actually harms someone; Jamie’s just removing him from play.
