CHAPTER THREE
the beauty of scotland
　

April 1968　
Inverness, Scotland　
　

　EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, EVERYONE GOT DRESSED AND GATHERED TOGETHER IN THE KITCHEN FOR SOME BREAKFAST, both Brian and Roger seeming surprisingly well-rested considering they had spoken for another hour or so regarding their late fathers after Claire had left them alone last night. While his mother sat sipping some tea and glancing over the words on the morning paper, Brian conversed with his sister, and Roger worked at the stove, whipping up a traditional Scottish breakfast that he insisted the Randall twins needed to try considering this was their first time on his homeland.

　When Roger was finished up, he reached out to turn off the stove and began organizing the various foods on three plates before placing them in front of his house guests. He received a chorus of thank you's as he sat down to enjoy some breakfast with them.

　"This smells wonderful, Roger, thank you," Claire told him as she began eating the food he had been kind enough to prepare for them, despite her protests from earlier that he needn't trouble himself.

　"You're welcome," Roger replied. "I was happy to give Fiona a break from cooking since she had some errands to run this morning."

　Brianna raised a brow as she poked at something on her plate that vaguely resembled a pancake. Though, judging by the smell, she knew it wasn't anything of the sort. "So, what is all of this, anyway?"

　"Fried eggs and bacon, and toast, of course," Roger replied. He cut into his food and held up a piece for them to see as he explained what it was. "And this here is what we Scottish folk call a tattie scone."

　"Tattie scone?" Brian asked in confusion. He'd never heard of such a thing before. Not even his English parents had made them try a tattie scone on the rare occasion they'd make such breakfasts when they were growing up.

　"Aye," Roger nodded. "It's very similar to mashed potatoes. You can make it into a morning roll as well, though, this way was always my preference."

　"Mashed potatoes for breakfast?" Brianna mused with a smile. "Interesting tradition." She cut into her tattie scone and took a bite, and Roger watched her chew, waiting for her reaction. Eventually, her lips curved into a smile, and she nodded her head in approval. "Not bad."

　Roger grinned at her response, delighted to hear that she thought the traditional food of his homeland tasted good.

　Brian tried it next, and he gave a similar reaction to his sister. To him, it tasted almost like the hashbrowns he and his sister would get for breakfast at the local diner back in Boston, but with a bit of a twist. It wasn't half bad, though. He gave a nod of approval and kept eating as his mother asked what their plans were for the day.

　"I'd love to do some sightseeing today," Brianna replied, using her napkin to clean the corner of her mouth. Her eyes fluttered across the table toward Roger, who smiled at what she had to say next. "It's a beautiful, wild country, after all, and I want to see as much of it as I can while we're here."

　"I'd be happy to show you around," Roger offered without hesitation.

　"That's very kind of you," Claire said.

　Roger waved it off like it was no big deal. "Ah, please, it's my pleasure. I'd be more than happy to show you around." He glanced at his wrist watch. "In fact, if we leave before ten, we can visit some historical sites nearby and be back in time for supper."

　Brianna smiled. "That'd be nice."

　"Thank you, Roger," Brian told him.

　"Of course," Roger replied.

　Everyone began making conversation after that while eating their breakfasts, and Brian couldn't help but admit how the traditional Scottish foods were far better than a plate of pancakes back home. By the time everyone had finished eating and Claire had gotten up and was helping Roger putting everything in the sink, Brian looked at the clock hanging on the wall, and his eyes widened slightly. It was well past nine in the morning.

　Brian stood from the table. "Roger, would it be alright if I used your phone?"

　"Not at all," Roger replied. "Please, make yourself at home."

　"Thank you," Brian said before quickly leaving the room and making his way toward the parlor where he noticed there was a telephone. And as he did that, Roger looked at Brianna with a questionable stare.

　"It's almost nine-forty-five," Brianna explained with a knowing smirk pulling at her lips. "That's when he calls his girlfriend back home."

　"They have talked every morning since we left Boston," Claire added, a smile on her face that soon faded as her thoughts wandered. She can still remember how that felt. Loving someone so much that you can't go a day without talking to them. Without hearing their voice and those three words that everyone longs to hear. She'd give anything to be back in that time again.

　"Ah, I see," Roger nodded. Then his brow furrowed. "But, would it not be almost five in Boston?"

　"Well, his girlfriend isn't exactly in Boston," Brianna explained. "She's in North Carolina, which is where she's from. Someone in her family passed away a few days ago so she left Boston to go back home and spend some time with her family. They have a farm, and I guess they get up at like four in the morning there or something. Why someone would voluntarily wake up that early is beyond me."

　Out in the parlor, Brian had finished dialing Katherine's phone number and was waiting for it to connect. Soon enough, he heard that all too familiar voice that never ceases to make his heart soar.

　"Hello?"

　"Hey, Kath," Brian greeted.

　"Brian?" He could hear the smile in her voice, and it brought a smile of his own to his face. "I was wondering if you were going to call. It's nearly five o'clock here, and my grandfather and I were just heading out to milk the cows."

　"As if I'm going to miss the opportunity to hear your voice again."

　Katherine laughed softly, and the sound made his heart skip a beat. "How are you?"

　"I'm okay," Brian replied. "I miss you like crazy, though."

　"I miss you, too," Katherine admitted with a small sigh. "When will you be back in Boston?"

　"Honestly, I'm not sure," Brian told her. "We're in Scotland now."

　"Scotland?" Katherine asked, confused. "I thought you were visiting some distant family in London?"

　"We were, but my mother found out someone she and my father knew died in Scotland, so we came here so that she could pay her respects," Brian explained. "Now we're staying at the place my parents stayed at when they vacationed here before I was born. We're actually leaving soon to go do some sightseeing."

　"Oh, that sounds nice," Katherine commented. "I'm sorry to hear that your mother her old friend, though. Give her my condolences?"

　"Of course."

　"Where will you be going?"

　"Uh, I'm not sure, actually," Brian replied. "The Reverend, the man my parents knew from their time here in Scotland, has an adoptive son, Roger. He mentioned taking us to see some of the historical sites nearby."

　"I'm jealous. I've always wanted to travel to Scotland one day."

　"I suppose I'll have to take you here myself one day," Brian said without hesitation. He would take Katherine anywhere she wanted to go. All she had to do was say the word and he'd drop everything. "I know you'd like it here."

　"I suppose you will."

　Brianna came out of the kitchen then, closely followed by his mother and Roger, who carried a lunch box. They crossed the room, stopping at the coat rack by the front door and began pulling on their coats. His sister turned to face him and tapped her wrist, as if to tell him to hurry up so they could leave before ten like Roger wanted. He held up a finger in her direction, silently telling her to give him a moment so he could say goodbye.

　"Hey, Kath, I have to go."

　"Already?" He could hear the frown in her voice and it made him sad.

　"I wish I could talk with you some more, but we have to hit the road before ten," Brian said. "I'll talk to you again tomorrow, though, okay?"

　"Sounds like a plan to me," Katherine replied. "Stay safe out there in Scotland. I love you, Bry."

　"I love you, too," Brian replied, and behind him near the front door, he could hear his sister making gagging noises and his mother shushing her.

　"Give your mother and Bree my love."

　"I will. Goodbye, Kath."

　"Bye."

　Brian hung up the phone with a small sigh. He wished more than anything he could hold her in his arms right now. The distance between them was breaking his heart. But he put on a brave face and joined the others, grabbing his coat.

　"Katherine says hi," Brian told them as he pulled on his coat.

　"How is she holding up?" Claire asked, concerned.

　Claire knew how much Katherine loved her grandmother, as the girl spoke often of her whenever she asked how her family was doing. She knew that Katherine must be in a great deal of pain with her grandmother having passed. If they had been in Boston when Katherine had received the news, she knew Brian would have made the trip to North Carolina with his girlfriend so she wouldn't have to be alone. Sadly, Katherine's grandmother passed away while they were in London, so Brian wasn't able to be there for her. Claire could tell it pained her son to be so far away from her.

　"The best she can," Brian replied. "She's heading out to milk the cows with her grandfather now. That will be good for them, I think."

　They all headed outside after that, and while Brianna followed Roger toward his car, Brian noticed that his mother wasn't joining them, as she drifted off toward their rental car by her lonesome.

　"You aren't going with us?" Brian asked with furrowed brows.

　"Not today," Claire said. "I was going to head into town and visit some of the places I'd gone to with your father. But you two have fun with Roger. I'll see you for supper tonight."

　"Are you sure?" Brian asked.

　"Positive," Claire said.

　"I can come with you . . ."

　Claire shook her head. "There will be plenty of time for us to see Scotland together. For now, go and enjoy the day with your sister and Roger. I'll be alright on my own."

　Brian stared at her for a moment, before nodding in understanding. It was obvious that his mother wanted to be alone, and he couldn't blame her. If he had lost his wife, he'd no doubt want to visit all the places they had once visited together alone as well.

　"Okay. I'll see you later."

　"See you tonight, my darling."

　
━━━━━━━
　

　BRIAN RANDALL COULDN'T HELP BUT ADMIRE THE BEAUTY OF COUNTRYSIDE as Roger Wakefield drove down the long and winding roads of Scotland. It was a truly breathtaking sight, something that Brian would never soon forget. Everything around them reminded him of something you'd see in an art gallery, and he knew for a fact that is one of two reasons why his sister hadn't stopped smiling since they left the Wakefield estate.

　The other reason obviously being Roger Wakefield himself. Brian had insisted that he sit in the backseat, allowing his sister to sit beside Roger in the front. Which was, perhaps, a grave mistake, for throughout the entirety of the trip, his sister and Roger hadn't stopped shamelessly flirting with each other. The two laughed together and smiled at each other, even stealing glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. Brian couldn't help but find it amusing. After all the relentless teasing from his sister regarding Katherine, he could finally do the same to her with Roger.

　Oh, how he couldn't wait.

　Eventually, after a couple hours of driving and getting to know each other, they finally reached their destination. As the three of them stepped out of the vehicle and made their way up the long, winding path toward a black iron gate, which Roger opened with a loud creak, they made their way inside the ruins of what Brian could only assume was a fort or, perhaps, a castle of some kind.

　As they ventured further through the tunnel and deeper into the ruins, Roger acted as their tour guide. "Fort William. Built in the 1600s." They emerged from the tunnel and came upon a more open area of the structure, where there were plaques staked into ground, inscribed with information that neither of the Randall twins bothered to read as Roger continued to guide them. "The Gaelic name for it is An Gearastan Dubh, The Black Garrison. It was used by the British as a command post and prison, intended to control the 'savage clans and the roving barbarians'."

　"Military history isn't really my specialty," Brianna said.

　"It was your father's, though, right?" Roger asked.

　Brian nodded. "It was. Our father loved history as much as he loved us. But, military history was his passion. I can't even tell you how many times he'd tell us stories about the battles he researched."

　"The Reverend has a couple of his books in the library," Roger said, which brought a smile to their faces.

　The twins smiled at that, and Brian began wondering how their father and the Reverend had become friends. It was obvious they shared similar interests in historical research. But just how close were they? Surely, it must have been a deeply rooted friendship if the two of them had kept in contact even when their parents moved to Boston. Not to mention how their mother wanted to come all the way from London to pay her respects to a man she hadn't seen since before they were born.

　"One of my earliest memories is dropping an ice cream cone off the ramparts of Fort Ticonderoga," Brianna recalled, the memory bringing a smile to her face, "while he held forth on the heroics of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys."

　"Ethan Allen." Roger pondered the name. "I regret I have but one life to give . . ."

　"Nathan Hale," Brianna was quick to correct him. "Common mistake." With a smirk on her face, she began walking out ahead of them.

　Brian shook his head while glancing at Roger, the two of them a few steps behind his sister as she ventured deeper into Fort William. "Don't worry, she tends to make us all look like fools when we get our history wrong," he assured Roger. "I can't even tell you the amount of times she's corrected me over the years."

　Roger laughed as they caught up to Brianna. Still somewhat embarrassed, he sighed, "Never quote American history to an American."

　"The Revolutionary war is practically a religious text in Boston," Brianna told him, and Brian nodded in confirmation.

　"With George Washington as the Messiah and, uh, Benedict Arnold as Judas, no doubt."

　Almost as passionately as their father, Brianna turned to face Roger and said, "Benedict Arnold is a deeply misunderstood historical figure."

　"I thought you didn't like military history," Roger said, watching her with an impressed gleam in his eye.

　"We Randalls are a verra complicated clan, laddie," Brianna replied, speaking in a fake Scottish accent that left her brother and Roger laughing.

　"That is absolutely the worst accent I have ever heard."

　"Seriously, Bree, never do that again," Brian said, receiving a playful nudge from his sister as his chest continued to rumble with laughter.

　Their laughter soon died out, and Brianna asked a more serious question as they came to a standstill in what seemed to be the center of Fort William. "Do you remember our father very well?"

　Brian looked at Roger with a curious expression, waiting for his response.

　"Bits and pieces," Roger replied, his words shocking them. They had learned already that Roger had been a young boy at the time their parents visited Scotland. In all honesty, they expected to hear the opposite. That Roger was too young to remember anything. But, in fact, he did. "He was a snappy dresser." Brianna smiled. "Wore his hat down over one eye, very dashing, and, um . . . seemed very kind."

　"He was," Brianna confirmed with a sad smile as she thought about him. "The kindest man in the world."

　As if he could feel the sadness radiating from his sister, Brian reached over and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She looked at him and smiled, and he smiled back. An exchange Roger hadn't noticed as he walked ahead of them, approaching what appeared to be a flogging post.

　"Your mother seems very kind as well," Roger noted. He stopped near the plaque to the right of the flogging post, head lowered so he could see the inscription.

　Brianna dropped her brother's hand as they followed after Roger. "My mother . . . lives in another world." They stopped in front of the flogging post and Brianna reached up, wrapping her arms around herself. "This place gives me the chills."

　"With good reason," Roger said. "Many Scottish prisoners were flogged here. A lot of blood was spilled on this ground."

　Even from where he stood, Brian could see the blood stained into the planks of wood. The sight alone caused his stomach to churn and goosebumps to rise on his skin. He wondered just how much blood had in fact been spilled on these grounds. Shivering at the thought, he moved away, and they continued exploring Fort William together.

　
━━━━━━━
　

　AFTER LEAVING FORT WILLIAM BEHIND THEM, Roger had decided to take the twins to a lake that the Reverend had taken to him as a boy. He knew that it would be a peaceful place for them to take in more of the countryside and to finally sit down and eat the lunch they had packed together.

　"Do you have any memory of an incident that happened with our parents when they were here?" Brianna asked as they ventured down to the edge of the lake.

　Brian looked at her with an incredulous expression. "Bree, what . . ."

　"You can't tell me you haven't been curious ever since we found that letter when we were kids," Brianna whispered to him.

　"Now isn't the time for this," Brian whispered back.

　"Now is as perfect a time as any, especially since momma isn't here right now." She turned to face Roger again, asking, "So, do you?"

　"How do you mean, 'incident'?"

　"Something big that happened between them when they were here staying with your father," Briann clarified as the three of them sat down on the blanket Roger had laid out on the ground for them.

　"I was just a wee lad," Roger replied. "I don't remember all the details, but . . . I do recall finding Mrs. Graham crying out in the tool shed. There were a lot of broken things lying about, and I think she said your father had lost his temper and smashed everything up."

　"My father smashed . . ."

　Brian was just as shocked as his sister was. "That doesn't sound like something he'd do," he frowned. His father had a temper, and his parents argued frequently, sure, but smashing things? That didn't seem right to him.

　"Yes," Roger nodded, "but that wasn't the reason why she was crying, I'm certain of that."

　"Our father definitely had a temper, but he kept it tightly under wraps," Brianna said. "When did this happen? What year?"

　Roger thought for a moment. "Your mother said I was seven or eight when she last saw me, so it must have been . . . 1947 or '48."

　The twins shared a knowing look with each other, their thoughts seemingly on the same wavelength. Both of them knew that whatever had happened that caused their father to lash out the way that he did occurred at the same time that their mother discovered she was pregnant with them. That couldn't be a coincidence.

　Brianna took a long, deep breath in preparation for what she was about to say, and Brian stiffened next to her, knowing just by the look on her face what she was going to tell Roger.

　"Our father kept this . . . lockbox on the top shelf of his closet," Brianna began. She paused, licking her lips and taking another deep breath before continuing. "I knew where he hid the key, so one day, I opened it, and Brian helped me. We were both curious kids, you know?"

　"There were letters inside the lockbox," Brian chimed in, causing Roger to look at him as the Oxford man sipped on his drink. "All of them were from your father. Most of it was academic stuff. Historical research they had been working on together at the time. But . . ." He glanced at his sister. "There was this one letter that we found inside . . ."

　"The Reverend mentioned an incident involving our parents," Brianna explained, "and the way he phrased it made me feel like it was something big, maybe something terrible. Definitely something he didn't want to spell out on paper. It scared me for some reason. Brian, too." Her brother nodded along with her words while picking at the crust on his sandwich. "We put the letter back in the box, locked it, and never looked at it again."

　"We never asked our parents about it either," Brian said. "Honestly, I think the both of us were too scared to know the truth back then. But, we've ignored that letter for long enough. Please, Roger, if you know anything, tell us."

　Roger glanced between the twins sympathetically, and then something must have crossed his mind, for a look of realization soon brightened his features. "My father kept a journal," he told them. "He wrote in it every night after supper. There's boxes of them in the storage room, if you wouldn't mind getting a bit grubby."

　"Grubby doesn't bother me," Brianna shrugged. "You should see my bedroom."

　Brian raised a brow, staring at his sister with an amused expression. He smirked as her cheeks flushed at the realization of what she had just said.

　They all laughed simultaneously as Brianna shook her head, "That didn't come out right."

　"No, no," Roger shook his head and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "but I . . . I, uh, I get your meaning."

a/n: gosh this chapter took soooo long to finish 😩 but i thankfully got it done, and just in time for world outlander day, too, so yay! i hope you all enjoyed it and are ready for the twins to discover the truth of their parentage! and yes, you did read that correctly earlier in the chapter, katherine is indeed from north carolina. mayhaps, i plan to do something with that later on, or mayhaps not 👀

also, i'd like to give a big shout-out to nelly! her unwavering support toward this book has given me so much inspiration, and i've gotten loads more writing done since she started reading this book. so thank you, lovely 🖤

oh, and i got some exciting news for you all! liz posted one of the books she is writing for this collab, so please go and check it out labour of love so you can learn all about aoife and ciaran! her fic starts in season one, but that doesn't mean aoife and ciaran won't be featured heavily throughout this book, and that brian and moira won't be in labour of love. eventually, our characters will meet and we are so excited for that moment! but for now, brian and brianna will just have to learn about aoife and ciaran through stories their mother tells them