Outlander -- Castle Leoch

We pick up where we left off with Claire arriving at Castle Leoch. Claire is watching the housekeeper, Mrs. Fitzgibbons, greet the returning men. When she gets a gander at the scantily clad [for this time] Claire, Jamie explains that Dougal wanted them to bring Claire here. Mrs. Fitz says she'll fix Claire up and Jamie decides to take himself off. Not so fast, Red. Claire tells Mrs. Fitz that Jamie was shot and she needs to look at his wound so it won't get infected. Jamie quickly says he's fine as he tries to make a quick getaway. However, Mrs. Fitz tells Jamie to come with them and he obeys.

Jamie sits before the fireplace with his shirt off and his plaid draped across his back to conceal it. You can see the look of dread on his face when Claire pulls back his plaid and sees his back is covered with scars. Jamie tells her that four years ago he was working in the field while his father was away and he heard his sister screaming. He ran back to find redcoats on the farm. Jamie tried to fight them off and told his sister, Jenny, to run, but she was caught by Black Jack, who ripped her dress open revealing her breasts.

Black Jack had Jamie flogged and made Jenny an indecent proposal. If she came into the house with him he'd spare her brother. Jamie told her not to do it even if he killed him, but Black Jack knocked Jamie out and took Jenny into the house. Jamie awoke a prisoner of the crown and Black Jack flogged him twice while he was there, leaving permanent scars on his back.

When Jamie tells Claire her husband is a lucky man, she breaks down and starts crying. She says her husband isn't alive. Jamie takes her in his arms to comfort her and it looks like they might share a kiss for a moment before Claire pulls away. Jamie tells Claire not to be scared of him or anyone there while he's with her, and when he isn't she should remember she's English and that's not a popular thing to be there. In short, she should watch her back.

The next day after totally zonking out from all the trauma of the previous day and night, Claire wakes up to Mrs. Fitz rousing her from sleep, ready to kit her up to fit in with her new environment. It seems Himself, Colum Mackenzie, wishes to have a chat with Claire. While alone in his private domicile she looks for something with today's day on it and sees she's back in the year 1743. Colum catches her and she claims she was just looking for a book.

Claire notices Colum's malformed legs as he enters the room. She diagnoses him as having the same degenerative disease as Toulouse Lautrec had. She calculates that the man is living on borrowed time and doesn't have much longer to live.

Claire begins her song and dance for why she was found in Scotland when she's English. She claims she was traveling to France to visit relatives of her husband when she was waylaid. She lost her clothes when she ran into Black Jack and he tried to force himself on her. I don't know, but the way she says, “King George the second,” makes her sound suspicious. Wouldn't a real native just call him King George? And maybe she should have left the part out about a highwayman out and just said there was a carriage accident or something like that.

Colum seems to buy her story and says he'll arrange transport for her in five days time. Claire goes on the roof of the castle and watches below as Dougal plays with Young Hamish, thinking he's his son. At dinner that night, however, she realizes her mistake, as she imbibes of too much of Colum's liquor and refers to Hamish as Dougal's son and she realizes she just stepped in a hornet's nest as everyone stares daggers at her. While Claire is right that Dougal is Hamish's father, everyone is going along with the lie that Colum is his father and that when Colum dies he'll be the new laird. After that, she hastily excuses herself from dinner and realizes Colum was still questioning her while she kept downing his liquor. She also realizes Jamie is going by a fake name when she asks where he is and there's some tension between Dougal and Colum about Jamie when Dougal says he sent Jamie down to the stables and Colum doesn't seem too pleased about it.

The next day she goes down to the stable in search of Jamie to bring him a snack and to change the bandage of his shoulder. While they eat, Jamie reveals he's wanted for murder, but he's innocent. He could hardly move from his flogging and he had a fever and some friends helped him escape. There was some ruckus after they left and a redcoat was shot. He was too weak to do anything but hang on to his horse, not shoot a redcoat. He also reveals that Colum and Dougal are his uncles. She has such a nice lunch with him, she forgets to change his bandage.

When she's leaving, she realizes Rupert is following her. She realizes Dougal is having her followed. She goes and confronts Dougal, which is probably not a good idea. Dougal says he thinks she's an English spy. That's when she announces Colum is letting her leave in four days. And that was an even bigger mistake. Had she kept her trap shut, she might have actually been able to leave as planned.

While she's out foraging she meets up with Geillis Duncan. Geillis points out a herb that will make you bleed when your pregnant to have a miscarriage. She then announces that people think she's a witch. That might have been a good clue she should stay away from Geillis.

Later, Geillis and Claire attend the hall as people come forward to address their grievances against each other. Mrs. Fitz's granddaughter is brought forward to be punished for loose behavior. Her father wants her punished for disobedience. When Jamie hears what the punishment is [to be strapped in public like he was] he steps forward to take her punishment for her. And Dougal decides to take advantage of the situation to have the wounded Jamie beaten a little too much than the punishment requires. Rupert [I think it is] even wonders when Dougal will tell him to stop punching Jamie.

Claire wants to go to Jamie, but Geillis holds him back. Murtagh helps Jamie walk away afterwards. And Claire goes to tend his wounds. Mrs. Fitz thanks Jamie for what he did. He tells Claire he didn't want Laoghaire [pronounced Leery and the perfect name for her] shamed. Then Claier tells Jamie she's leaving in the morning, and he doesn't seem to happy about it. Then he goes off to speak with Laoghaire while Claire makes her exit.

Just as Claire is about to leave, Dougal asks her to come with him. He says Colum wishes to see her. And this is why I say she should have kept her trap shut. She's taken down to the room she and Frank had seen in the present and where she'd gotten him to give her oral sex on the table in the room. Colum arrives and informs her she's not leaving, after all, and will be the clan's new healer. And what part of that did Dougal have a hand in, I wonder? Colum claims it's his decision and Dougal had nothing to do with it. Colum says he believes she has secrets and until he knows for sure it's no threat to his castle or clan, she'll remain there as his guest. Of course she has to mouth off to Colum, as well. She just can't keep her mouth shut when silence would be the best choice.

I firmly believe Dougal was behind Colum not letting Claire go. We saw Colum was not happy about Dougal putting Jamie in the stables, but he went along with it. And I think Dougal whispered in Colum's ear so he wouldn't let Claire leave. If Claire had kept her trap shut, she might have been able get away. But she had to mouth off to the guy who insisted she be brought with them to the castle. Sometimes silence is golden, especially when you're trapped in a situation like that.