Your Obedt. Servant,
William Tryon
I folded the rain-spotted letter neatly up, noticing remotely that my hands were shaking. Jamie took it from me, and held it between thumb and forefinger, as though it were some disagreeable objectas indeed it was. His mouth quirked wryly as he met my eyes.
I had hoped for a little more time, he said.
THE FACTOR
AFTER BRIANNA LEFT TO RETRIEVE Jemmy from Jocastas tent, Roger made his way slowly up the hill toward their own campsite. He exchanged greetings and accepted congratulations from people he passed, but scarcely heard what was said to him.
Therell be a next time, shed said. He held the words close, turning them over in his mind like a handful of coins in his pocket. She hadnt been just saying it. She meant it, and it was a promise that at the moment meant even more to him than the ones shed made on their first wedding night.
The thought of weddings reminded him, finally, that there was in fact another coming. He glanced down at himself, and saw that Bree hadnt been exaggerating about his appearance. Damn, and it was Jamies coat, too.
He began to brush off the pine needles and streaks of mud, but was interrupted by a halloo from the path above. He looked up, to see Duncan Innes making his way carefully down the steep slope, body canted to compensate for his missing arm. Duncan had put on his splendid coat, scarlet with blue facings and gold buttons, and his hair was plaited tight under a stylish new black hat. The transformation from Highland fisherman to prosperous landowner was startling; even Duncans attitude seemed changed, more confident by half.
Duncan was accompanied by a tall, thin, elderly gentleman, very neat but threadbare in appearance, his scanty white locks tied back from a high and balding brow. His mouth had collapsed from lack of teeth, but retained its humorous curve, and his eyes were blue and bright, set in a long face whose skin was stretched so tight across the bone as scarce to leave enough to wrinkle round the eyes, though deep lines carved the mouth and brow. With a long-beaked nose, and clad in rusty, tattered black, he looked like a genial vulture.
A Smeòraich, Duncan hailed Roger, looking pleased. The very man I hoped to find! And I trust youre weel-fettled against your marriage? he added, his eyes falling quizzically on Rogers stained coat and leaf-strewn hair.
Oh, aye. Roger cleared his throat, converting his coat-brushing to a brief thump of his chest, as though to loosen phlegm. Damp weather for a wedding, though, eh?
Happy the corpse the rain falls on, Duncan agreed, and laughed, a little nervously. Still, well hope not to die o the pleurisy before were wed, eh, lad? He settled the fine crimson coat more snugly on his shoulders, flicking an imaginary speck of dust from the cuff.
Youre very fine, Duncan, Roger said, hoping to distract attention from his own disreputable state with a bit of raillery. Quite like a bridegroom!
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Duncan flushed a little behind his drooping mustache, and his one hand twiddled with the crested buttons on his coat.
Ah, well, he said, seeming mildly embarrassed. Miss Jo did say as she didna wish to stand up wi a scarecrow. He coughed, and turned abruptly to his companion, as though the word had suddenly reminded him of the mans presence.
Mr. Bug, heres Himselfs good-son, Roger Mac, him I tellt ye of. He turned back toward Roger, waving vaguely at his companion, who stepped forward, extending his hand with a stiff but cordial bow. This will be Arch Bug, a Smeòraich.
Your servant, Mr. Bug, Roger said politely, slightly startled to observe that the large bony hand gripping his was missing its first two fingers.
Ump, Mr. Bug replied, his manner indicating that he reciprocated the sentiment sincerely. He might have intended to expand on the subject, but when he opened his mouth, a high-pitched feminine voice, a little cracked with age, seemed to emerge from it.
Its that kind, sir, of Mr. Fraser, and Im sure as hell have nay reason to regret it, indeed hell not, as I said to him myself. I canna tell ye what a blessing it is, and us not sure where our next bite was comin from or how to keep a roof above our heads! I said to Arch, I said, now we must just trust in Christ and Our Lady, and if we mun starve, we shall do it in a state of grace, and Arch, he says to me...
A small, round woman, threadbare and elderly as her husband, but likewise neatly mended, emerged into view, still talking. Short as she was, Roger hadnt seen her, hidden behind the voluminous skirts of her husbands ancient coat.
Mistress Bug, Duncan whispered to him, unnecessarily.
... and no but a silver hapenny to bless ourselves with, and me a-wondering whatever was to become of us, and then that Sally McBride was sayin as how shed heard that Jamie Fraser had need of a good
Mr. Bug smiled above his wifes head. She halted in mid-sentence, eyes widening in shock at the state of Rogers coat.
Why, look at that! Whatever have ye been up to, lad? Have ye had an accident? It looks as though someones knocked ye down and dragged ye by your heels through the dung heap!
Not waiting for answers, she whipped a clean kerchief from the bulging pocket tied at her waist, spat liberally on it, and began industriously cleaning the muddy smears from the breast of his coat.
Oh, you neednt... I mean... er... thanks. Roger felt as though hed been caught in some kind of machinery. He glanced at Duncan, hoping for rescue.
Jamie Roys asked Mr. Bug to come and be factor at the Ridge. Duncan seized the momentary lull afforded by Mrs. Bugs preoccupation to give a word of explanation.
Factor? Roger felt a small jolt at the word, as though someone had punched him just beneath the breastbone.
Aye, for times when Himself must be abroad or occupied with other business. For its true enoughfields and tenants dinna tend themselves.
Duncan spoke with a certain note of ruefulness; once a simple fisherman from Coigach, he frequently found the responsibilities of running a large plantation onerous, and he glanced now at Mr. Bug with a small gleam of covetousness, as though he thought momentarily of tucking this useful person into his pocket and taking him home to River Run. Of course, Roger reflected, that would have meant taking Mrs. Bug, too.
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And just the thing it is, too, such good fortune, and me telling Arch just yesterday that the best we might hope for was to find work in Edenton or Cross Creek, with Arch maybe takin to the boats, but thats such a perilous living, is it no? Wet to the skin half the time and deadly agues risin up from the swamps like ghoulies and the air sae thick wi the miasma as its not fit to breathe, and me perhaps to be takin in laundry in the toon whilst he was gone abroad on the water, though Im sure I should hate that, for we havena been apart one night since we married, have we, my dearie?
She cast a glance of devotion upward at her tall husband, who smiled gently down at her. Perhaps Mr. Bug was deaf, Roger thought. Or perhaps they had only been married a week?
Without his needing to inquire, though, he was informed that the Bugs had been husband and wife for more than forty years. Arch Bug had been a minor tacksman to Malcolm Grant of Glenmoriston, but the years after the Rising had been hard. The estate he had held for Grant having been confiscated by the English Crown, Bug had made do for some years as a crofter, but then had been obliged by hardship and starvation to take his wife and their little remaining money and seek a new life in America.
We had thought to try in Edinburgh the old gentleman said, his speech slow and courtly, with a soft Highland lilt. So he wasnt deaf, Roger thought. Yet.
for I had a cousin there as was to do wi one of the banking houses, and we thought that perhaps it would be that he could speak a word in someones ear
But I was far too ancient and lacked sufficient skill
and lucky they would have been to have him, too! But nay, such fools as they were, they wouldna think of it, and so we had to come awa and try if we might...
Duncan met Rogers eye and hid a smile beneath his drooping mustache as the tale of the Bugs adventures poured out in this syncopated fashion. Roger returned the smile, trying privately to dismiss a niggling sense of discomfort.
Factor. Someone to oversee matters on the Ridge, to mind the planting, tend the harvest, deal with the concerns of tenants when Jamie Fraser was away or busy. An obvious necessity, with the recent influx of new tenants and the knowledge of what the next few years would bring.
It wasnt until this moment, though, that Roger realized that he had subconsciously assumed that he would be Jamies right hand in such affairs. Or the left, at least.
Fergus assisted Jamie to some extent, riding on errands and fetching back information. Ferguss lack of a hand limited what he could do physically, though, and he couldnt be dealing with the paperwork or accounts; Jenny Murray had taught the French orphan her brother had adopted to readafter a fashionbut had failed utterly to give him a grasp of numbers.
Roger stole a glance at Mr. Bugs hand, resting now in affection on his wifes plump shoulder. It was broad, work-worn, and strong-looking despite the mutilation, but the remaining fingers were badly twisted with arthritis, the joints knobby and painful in appearance.
So Jamie thought that even an elderly, half-crippled man would be better equipped than Roger to handle the affairs of Frasers Ridge? That was an unexpectedly bitter thought.
He knew his father-in-law had doubts of his ability, beyond any fathers natural mistrust of the man bedding his daughter. Totally tone-deaf himself, Jamie would naturally not value Rogers musical gift. And while Roger was decently sized and hardworking, it was unfortunately true that he had little practical knowledge of animal husbandry, hunting, or the use of deadly weapons. And granted, he had no great experience in farming or in running a large estatewhich Mr. Bug plainly did. Roger would be the first to admit these things.
But he was Jamies son-in-law, or about to be. Damn it, Duncan had just introduced him that way! He might have been raised in another timebut he was a Highland Scot, for all that, and he was well aware that blood and kinship counted for more than anything.
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The husband of an only daughter would normally be considered as the son of the house, coming only second to the head of the household in authority and respect. Unless there was something drastically wrong with him. If he were commonly known to be a drunkard, for instanceor criminally dissolute. Or feeble-minded... Christ, was that what Jamie thought of him? A hopeless numpty?
Sit ye doon, young man, and Ill attend to this fine boorachie, Mrs. Bug interrupted these dark musings. She pulled on his sleeve, making clicking noises of disapproval as she viewed the leaves and twigs in his hair.
Look at ye, all gluthered and blashed about! Fightin, was it? Och, weel, I hope the other fellow looks worse, thats all I can say.
Before he could protest, she had him seated on a rock, had whipped a wooden comb from her pocket and the thong from his hair, and was dealing with his disordered locks in a brisk manner that felt calculated to rip several strands from his scalp.
Thrush, is it, they call ye? Mrs. Bug paused in her tonsorial activity, holding up a strand of glossy black and squinting suspiciously at it, as though in search of vermin.
Oh, aye, but its no for the color of his bonnie black locks, Duncan put in, grinning at Rogers obvious discomfiture. Its for the singin. Honey-throated as a wee nightingale, is Roger Mac.
Singing? cried Mrs. Bug. She dropped the lock of hair, enchanted. Was it you we heard last night, then? Singin Ceann-ràra, and Loch Ruadhainn? And playin on the bodhran with it?
Well, it might have been, Roger murmured modestly. The ladys unbounded admirationexpressed at great lengthflattered him, and made him ashamed of his momentary resentment of her husband. After all, he thought, seeing the shabbiness of her much-mended apron, and the lines in her face, the old people had clearly had a hard time of it. Perhaps Jamie had hired them as much from charity as from his own need of help.
That made him feel somewhat better, and he thanked Mrs. Bug very graciously for her assistance.
Will ye come along to our fire now? he asked, with an inquiring glance at Mr. Bug. Yell not have met Mrs. Fraser yet, I suppose, or
He was interrupted by a noise like a fire engines siren, distant but obviously coming closer. Quite familiar with this particular racket, he was not surprised to see his father-in-law emerge from one of the trails that crisscrossed the mountain, Jem squirming and squalling like a scalded cat in his arms.
Jamie, looking mildly harried, handed the child across to Roger. Roger took him andfor lack of any other inspirationstuck his thumb in the wide-open mouth. The noise ceased abruptly, and everyone relaxed.
What a sweet laddie! Mrs. Bug stood a-tiptoe to coo over Jem, while Jamie, looking highly relieved, turned to greet Mr. Bug and Duncan.
Sweet was not the adjective Roger himself would have chosen. Berserk seemed more like it. The baby was bright red in the face, the tracks of tears staining his cheeks, and he sucked furiously on the sustaining thumb, eyes squashed shut in an effort to escape a patently unsatisfactory world. What hair he had was sticking up in sweaty spikes and whorls, and he had come out of his wrappings, which hung in disreputable folds and draggles. He also smelled like a neglected privy, for reasons which were all too obvious.
An experienced father, Roger at once instituted emergency measures.
Wheres Bree?
God knows, and Hes no telling, Jamie said briefly. Ive been searchin the mountainside for her since the wean woke in my arms and decided he wasna satisfied wi my company. He sniffed suspiciously at the hand which had been holding his grandson, then wiped it on the skirts of his coat.
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Hes not so very pleased with mine, either, seems like. Jem was champing on the thumb, drool running down his chin and over Rogers wrist, uttering squeals of frustration. Have ye seen Marsali, then? He knew Brianna didnt like anyone to feed Jemmy but herself, but this was plainly an emergency. He cast an eye about, hoping to spot a nursing mother somewhere nearby who might take pity on the child, if not on him.
Let me have the poor wee bairnie, said Mrs. Bug, reaching for the baby and immediately altering her status from chattering busybody to angel of light, so far as Roger was concerned.
There, now, a leannan, there, there. Recognizing a higher authority when he saw it, Jemmy promptly shut up, his eyes rounded with awe as he regarded Mrs. Bug. She sat down with the little boy on her lap and began to deal with him in the same firm and efficient manner with which she had just dealt with his father. Roger thought that perhaps Jamie had hired the wrong Bug to be factor.
Arch, though, was exhibiting both intelligence and competence, asking sensible questions of Jamie regarding stock, crops, tenants, and so forth. But I could do that, Roger thought, following the conversation closely. Some of it, he amended honestly, as the talk suddenly veered into a discussion of bag-rot. Perhaps Jamie was right to seek someone more knowledgeable... but Roger could learn, after all....
And whos the bonnie laddie, noo? Mrs. Bug had risen to her feet, cooing over Jemmy, now respectably transformed into a tightly swaddled cocoon. She traced the line of a round cheek with one stubby finger, then glanced at Roger. Aye, aye, hes eyes just like his father, then, hasnt he?
Roger flushed, forgetting about bag-rot.
Oh? I should say he favors his mother, mostly.
Mrs. Bug pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at Roger, then shook her head decidedly, and patted Jem on the top of his head.
Not the hair, maybe, but the shape of him, aye, thats yours, lad. Those fine broad shoulders! She gave Roger a brief nod of approval, and kissed Jem on the brow. Why, I shouldna be surprised but what his een will turn green as he ages, either. Mark me, lad, hell be the spit of you by the time hes grown! Wont ye, wee mannie? She nuzzled Jemmy. Yell be a big, braw lad like your Da, wont ye, then?
Its the usual thing folk say, he reminded himself, trying to quell the absurd rush of pleasure he felt at her words. The old wifies, they always say how a bairn resembles this one or that one. He discovered suddenly that he was afraid even to admit the possibility that Jemmy could really be hishe wanted it so badly. He told himself firmly that it didnt matter; whether the boy was his by blood or not, he would love and care for him as his son. He would, of course. But it did matter, he foundoh, it did.
Before he could say anything further to Mrs. Bug, though, Mr. Bug turned toward him, to include him courteously in the mens conversation.
MacKenzie, is it? he asked. And will ye be one of the MacKenzies of Torridon, then, or maybe from Kilmarnock?
Roger had been fielding similar questions all through the Gathering; exploring a persons antecedents was the normal beginning of any Scottish conversationsomething that wouldnt change a bit in the next two hundred years, he thought, wariness tempered by the comfortable familiarity of the process. Before he could answer, though, Jamies hand squeezed his shoulder.
Roger Macs kin to me on my mothers side, he said casually. It will be MacKenzie of Leoch, aye?
Oh, aye? Arch Bug looked impressed. Youre far afield, then, lad!
Och, no more than yourself, sir, surelyor anyone here, for that matter. Roger waved briefly at the mountainside above, from which the sounds of Gaelic shouts and the music of bagpipes drifted on the damp air.
No, no, lad! Mrs. Bug, Jemmy propped against her shoulder, rejoined the conversation. Thats no what Arch is meanin, she explained. Its that youre a good long way from the others.
Others? Roger exchanged a look with Jamie, who shrugged, equally puzzled.
From Leoch, Arch got in, before his wife seized the thread of talk between her teeth.
We did hear it on the ship, aye? There were a gaggle of them, all MacKenzies, all from the lands south of the auld castle. Theyd stayed on after the laird left, him and the first lot, but now they meant to go and join what was left o the clan, and see could they mend their fortunes, because
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The laird? Jamie interrupted her sharply. That would be Hamish mac Callum? Hamish, son of Colum, Roger translated to himself, and paused. Or rather, Hamish mac Dougalbut there were only five people in the world who knew that. Perhaps only four, now.
Mrs. Bug was nodding emphatically. Aye, aye, it is himself they were calling so. Hamish mac Callum MacKenzie, laird of Leoch. The third laird. They said it, just so. And
Jamie had evidently caught the knack of dealing with Mrs. Bug; by dint of ruthless interruption, he succeeded in extracting the story in less time than Roger would have thought possible. Castle Leoch had been destroyed by the English, in the purge of the Highlands following Culloden. So much Jamie had known, but, imprisoned himself, had had no word of the fate of those who lived there.
And no great heart to ask, he added, with a rueful tilt of the head. The Bugs glanced at each other and sighed in unison, the same hint of melancholy shadowing their eyes that shaded Jamies voice. It was a look Roger was well accustomed to by now.
But if Hamish mac Callum still lives... Jamie had not taken his hand from Rogers shoulder, and at this it squeezed tight. Thats news to gladden the heart, no? He smiled at Roger, with such obvious joy that Roger felt an unexpected grin break out on his own face in answer.
Aye, he said, the weight on his heart lightening. Aye, it is! The fact that he would not know Hamish mac Callum MacKenzie from a hole in the ground was unimportant; the man was indeed kin to himblood kinand that was a glad thought.
Where have they gone, then? Jamie demanded, dropping his hand. Hamish and his followers?
To Acadiato Canada, the Bugs agreed. To Nova Scotia? To Maine? Noto an island, they decided, after a convoluted conference. Or was it perhaps
Jemmy interrupted the proceedings with a yowl indicating imminent starvation, and Mrs. Bug started as though poked with a stick.
We mun be takin this puir lad to his Mam, she said rebukingly, dividing a glare impartially among the four men, as though accusing them collectively of conspiracy to murder the child. Where does your camp lie, Mr. Fraser?
Ill guide ye, maam, Duncan said hastily. Come wi me.
Roger started after the Bugs, but Jamie kept him with a hand on his arm.
Nay, let Duncan take them, he said, dismissing the Bugs with a nod. Ill speak wi Arch later. Ive a thing I must say to you, a chliamhuinn.
Roger felt himself tense a bit at the formal term of address. So, was this where Jamie told him just what defects of character and background made him unsuitable to take responsibility for things at Frasers Ridge?
But no, Jamie was bringing out a crumpled paper from his sporran. He handed it to Roger with a slight grimace, as though the paper burned his hand. Roger scanned it quickly, then glanced up from the Governors brief message.
Militia. How soon?
Jamie lifted one shoulder.
No one can say, but sooner than any of us should like, I think. He gave Roger a faint, unhappy smile. Yell have heard the talk round the fires?
Roger nodded soberly. He had heard the talk in the intervals of the singing, around the edges of the stone-throwing contests, among the men drinking in small groups under the trees the day before. There had been a fistfight at the caber-tossingquickly stopped, and with no damage donebut anger hung in the air of the Gathering, like a bad smell.
Jamie rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, and shrugged, sighing.
Twas luck I should have come across auld Arch Bug and his wife today. If it comes to the fightingand it will, I suppose, later, if not nowthen Claire will ride with us. I shouldna like to leave Brianna to manage on her own, and it can be helped.
Roger felt the small nagging weight of doubt drop away, as all became suddenly clear.
On her own. You meanye want me to come? To help raise men for the militia?
Jamie gave him a puzzled look.
Aye, who else?
He pulled the edges of his plaid higher about his shoulders, hunched against the rising wind. Come along, then, Captain MacKenzie, he said, a wry note in his voice. Weve work to do before youre wed.
GERM OF DISSENT
I PEERED UP THE NOSE of one of Farquard Campbells slaves, half my mind on the nasal polyp obstructing the nostril, the other half on Governor Tryon. Of the two, I felt more charitably toward the polyp, and I intended to cauterize that out of existence with a hot iron.
It seemed so bloody unfair, I thought, frowning as I sterilized my scalpel and set the smallest cauterizing iron in a dish of hot coals.
Was this the beginning? Or one of them? It was the end of 1770; in five years more, all of the thirteen Colonies would be at war. But each colony would come to that point by a different process. Having lived in Boston for so long, I knew from Brees school lessons what the process had beenor would befor Massachusetts. Tax, Boston Massacre, Harbor, Hancock, Adams, Tea Party, all that. But North Carolina? How had it happenedhow would it happenhere?
It could be happening now. Dissension had been simmering for several years between the planters of the eastern seaboard and the hardscrabble homesteaders of the western backcountry. The Regulators were mostly drawn from the latter class; the former were wholeheartedly in Tryons campon the side of the Crown, that was to say.
All right now? I had given the slave a good slug of medicinal whisky, by way of fortification. I smiled encouragingly, and he nodded, looking uncertain but resigned.
I had never heard of Regulators, but here they were, nonethelessand I had seen enough by now to know just how much the history books left out. Were the seeds of revolution being sown directly under my own nose?
Murmuring soothingly, I wrapped a linen napkin round my left hand, took firm hold of the slaves chin with it, poked the scalpel up his nostril and severed the polyp with a deft flick of the blade. It bled profusely, of course, the blood gushing warmly through the cloth round my hand, but evidently was not very painful. The slave looked surprised, but not distressed.
The cautery iron was shaped like a tiny spade, a bit of square, flattened metal on the end of a slender rod with a wooden handle. The flat bit was smoking in the fire, the edges glowing red. I pressed the cloth hard against the mans nose to blot the blood, took it away, and in the split second before the blood spurted out again, pressed the hot iron up his nose against the septum, hoping against hope that Id got the proper spot.
The slave made a strangled noise in his throat, but didnt move, though tears poured down his cheeks, wet and warm on my fingers. The smell of searing blood and flesh was just the same as the scent that rose from the barbecue pits. My stomach growled loudly; the slaves bulging, bloodshot eye met mine, astonished. My mouth twitched, and he giggled faintly through the tears and snot.
I took the iron away, cloth poised. No fresh blood flowed. I tilted the mans head far back, squinting to see, and was pleased to find the small, clean mark, high on the mucosa. The burn would be a vivid red, I knew, but without the light of a scope, it looked black, a small scab hidden like a tick in the hairy shadows of the nostril.
The man spoke no English; I smiled at him, but addressed his companion, a young woman who had clutched his hand throughout the ordeal.
Hell be quite all right. Tell him, please, not to pick at the scab. If there should be swelling, pus or feverI paused, for the next line should bego to your doctor at once, and that was not an option.
Go to your mistress, I said, instead, reluctantly. Or find an herb-woman. The present Mrs. Campbell was young, and rather muddleheaded, from the little I knew of her. Still, any plantation mistress should have the knowledge and wherewithal to treat a fever. And if it should go past simple infection and into septicemia... well, there was not much anyone could do, in that case.
I patted the slaves shoulder and sent him off, beckoning to the next in line.
Infection. That was what was brewing. Things seemed quiet overallafter all, the Crown was withdrawing all its troops! But dozens, hundreds, thousands of tiny germs of dissent must linger, forming pockets of conflict throughout the Colonies. The Regulation was only one.
A small bucket of distilled alcohol stood by my feet, for disinfecting instruments. I dipped the cautery iron in this, then thrust it back in the fire; the alcohol ignited with a brief, lightless piff!
I had the unpleasant feeling that the note presently burning a hole in Jamies sporran was a similar flame, touched to one of a million small fuses. Some might be stamped out, some would fizzle on their ownbut enough would burn, and go on burning, searing their destructive way through homes and families. The end of it would be a clean excision, but a great deal of blood would flow before the hot iron of guns should sear the open wound.
Were we never to have a little peace, Jamie and I?
THERES DUNCAN MACLEOD, hes got three hundred acres near the Yadkin River, but no one on it save himself and his brother. Jamie rubbed a sleeve over his face, wiping off the sheen of moisture that clung to his bones. He blinked to clear his vision, and shook himself like a dog, spattering drops that had condensed in his hair.
But, he went on, gesturing toward the plume of smoke that marked MacLeods fire, hes kin to auld Rabbie Cochrane. Rabbies not come to the Gatheringill wi the dropsy, I hearbut hes got eleven grown bairns, scattered over the mountains like seed corn. So, take your time wi MacLeod, make sure hes pleased to come, then tell him to send word to Rabbie. Well muster at Frasers Ridge in a fortnight, tell him.
