The Gloaming
An Outlander/Jane Eyre crossover
Catch up on chapters 1-9 here
Chapter 10: From Afar
Head full of thoughts of Claire, Jamie wound his way along darkened corridors towards his bedchamber. Within him there was a lightness; the weightless and floating kind that made his feet feel as though they were barely touching the ground as he walked. At the same time there was a heaviness; pressure on his chest like he could scarcely draw breath from how all-encompassing his feelings were. Having never been in love before, he had no idea if it was normal to feel so jumbled up inside, so instead settled for replaying the evening he had just spent with Claire and recalling with pleasure just how beautiful sheād looked in the light of the fading fire.
Having not paid much heed to the direction he was taking, Jamie unexpectedly found himself at the foot of the stairs where Claire had fallen. Despite bone aching tiredness, a niggling feeling propelled him to crouch down and take a closer look; something about a graceful and surefooted woman stumbling on steps sheād descended hundreds of times just wasnāt adding up. Sweeping his hands over the smooth wood he anticipated finding a loose board or nail to account for it, but squinting at the dimly lit staircase he detected nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly his fingertips slid into a cold liquid. Startled by the unpleasant sensation, he yanked his hands back, hurriedly glancing around for the source. With nothing appearing out of place, all he could think to account for it was rain, perhaps from a window blowing open during the storm, however a quick check showed all those nearby fastened shut. There was probably a perfectly logical explanation for the wet stairs but a feeling in Jamieās wame told him otherwise, and with a shiver he pulled the shawl he wore a little tighter around himself. He was still wracking his brains to determine the cause of the dampness when the smell hit him; such distinctive odour he wondered how he could have missed it earlier. Spicy, fruity and not quite sweet, it was unmistakably brandy.
He rubbed his eyes trying to think, Claireās voice floating into his head āThe smell alone makes me gagāā¦āI mustāve misjudged a stepā⦠āNo need to wake anyone elseā⦠It was all connected he knew, only he couldnāt see through the fog in his brain to work out how. As the questions swirled, Jamie felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, as though he was being watched. Standing to his full height he cast his eyes out into the semi-darkness; searching but not entirely sure he wanted to find anything. From behind him a floorboard creaked and he whirled around, body tensing. The scape of feet followedā¦
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