Outlander Page #4

Season #1 Episode #1 - 'Sassenach'

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Claire rouses herself from the chair and makes her way

through the debris to where the two men are excitedly

spreading out scraps of paper.

CLAIRE:

Him...? You mean... “Walter” was

it?

(CONTINUED)

16.

CONTINUED:

FRANK:

Jonathan, you remember, surely?

CLAIRE:

Remind me, dear.

FRANK:

(patient)

Jonathan Wolverton Randall. A

captain of dragoons -- mounted

infantry -- in the Royal Army.

CLAIRE:

Right. “Black Jack” Randall, I’ve

heard you call him.

FRANK:

A rather dashing nickname he

acquired in the army, probably when

he was stationed here in the

1740’s. What the Reverend has

discovered is a whole series of

army dispatches that mention

Captain Randall by name!

CLAIRE:

Fascinating.

REV. WAKEFIELD

Isn’t it? It appears he was in

command of the garrison at Fort

William for four years or so.

Seems to have spent quite a bit of

his time harassing the Scottish

countryside above the Border on

behalf of the Crown.

FRANK:

He was hardly alone in that

endeavor. The English were rather

notably unpopular throughout the

Highlands in the 18th century.

CLAIRE:

And well into the 20th, it would

seem. I distinctly heard the

barman at that pub last night refer

to us as Sassenachs.

REV. WAKEFIELD

I do hope you didn’t take offense.

It only means “Englishman,” after

all, or at worst, “Outlander.”

(CONTINUED)

17.

CONTINUED:
(2)

The housekeeper, MRS. GRAHAM (60’s) ENTERS, carrying a tray

of tea and biscuits.

MRS. GRAHAM

I’ve brought ye a wee bit of

refreshment, gentlemen. I’ve

brought but the two cups, for I

thought perhaps Mrs. Randall would

care to join me in the kitchen for

a bit of -

CLAIRE:

Yes! Yes, absolutely. Thank you.

Grateful for the reprieve from history lessons and moldering

scraps of paper, Claire gives Frank a quick kiss and then is

out the door with the housekeeper.

INT. VICAR’S KITCHEN - DAY

A few minutes later, Claire sits at the table sipping tea.

CLAIRE:

Mmm. It’s been quite a while since

I’ve tasted Oolong.

MRS. GRAHAM

Aye, I couldna get it during the

war. It’s the best for the

readings, though. Had a terrible

time with that Earl Grey. The

leaves fall apart so fast, it’s

hard to tell anything at all.

CLAIRE:

You read tea leaves, then?

MRS. GRAHAM

Why, certainly I do, my dear. Just

as my grandmother taught me, and

her grandmother before her. Drink

up your cup, and I’ll see what you

have there.

Moments later, Mrs. Graham is examining the leaves at the

bottom of Claire’s cup with a serious expression. Finally,

she sets it down carefully, as if it might explode.

CLAIRE:

(amused)

Am I going to meet a tall dark

stranger or take a journey across

the sea?

(CONTINUED)

18.

CONTINUED:

MRS. GRAHAM

Could be. Or could not.

Everything in it’s contradictory.

There’s the curved leaf for a

journey, but it’s crossed by the

broken one that means staying put.

And strangers there are, to be

sure, several of them. And one of

them’s your husband, if I read the

leaves aright.

(beat)

Let me see your hand, child.

Claire’s amusement fades somewhat at Mrs. Graham’s serious

expression as she examines Claire’s hand closely. A long

quiet moment before she speaks again.

MRS. GRAHAM (cont’d)

Odd. Most hands have a likeness to

them. Mind, I’d no just say that

it’s, “See one, you’ve seen them

all,” but it’s often like that.

There are patterns, you know? But

this is not a pattern I’ve seen

before. The large thumb, now?

Means you’re strong-minded, and

have a will not easily crossed.

Reckon your husband could have told

ye that.

(re:
base of Claire’s

thumb)

Here’s the Mount of Venus. In a

man, ye’d say it means he likes the

lasses. For a woman, ‘tis a bit

different. To be polite about it,

I’d say your husband isna like to

stray far from your bed.

The elderly woman gives a bawdy chuckle and Claire blushes

slightly. Mrs. Graham goes back to her examination.

MRS. GRAHAM (cont’d)

The lifeline’s interrupted. A bit

more chopped-up, than I usually

see; all bits and pieces. Marriage-

line is divided... means two

marriages.

(off Claire’s look)

Doesna mean anything’s like to

happen to your good man. It’s only

that if it did, you’d not be one to

pine away and waste the rest of

your life in mourning.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

19.

CONTINUED:
(2)

MRS. GRAHAM (cont’d)

You’d marry again.

(puzzled)

But most divided lines are broken.

Yours is... forked.

There’s something in the way she says it, something hushed

and disquieting that raises the hairs on Claire’s neck. But

before she can pursue the matter -

-- Rev. Wakefield and Frank come BASHING INTO THE KITCHEN

carrying the tea tray and cups with a great clatter.

REV. WAKEFIELD

... I suspect your ancestor had a

patron. A prominent and powerful

man who could protect him from the

censure of his superiors.

FRANK:

Possibly. It would have to have

been someone high up in the

hierarchy of the time to exert that

kind of influence -

(snaps his fingers)

The Duke of Sandringham!

REV. WAKEFIELD

(of course)

The Duke of Sandringham!

Mrs. Graham is up on her feet and seizing the tea tray and

cups from danger.

MRS. GRAHAM

None of that, none of that -- stand

clear before ye do some permanent

damage!

REV. WAKEFIELD

Yes, yes -- my apologies, Mrs.

Graham. I completely forgot myself

in the excitement.

FRANK:

Claire, I think we’re onto

something at last!

CLAIRE:

I’m so glad to hear it. But I

think I shall take my leave.

REV. WAKEFIELD

So soon?

(CONTINUED)

20.

CONTINUED:
(3)

CLAIRE:

Yes, I think a good bath is well in

order.

REV. WAKEFIELD

Of course. I hope you will join us

for the feast of Beltane tomorrow

night?

CLAIRE:

(amused)

The pagan festival? Why Reverend

Wakefield, you do astonish me.

REV. WAKEFIELD

I love a good ghost story as much

as the next fellow.

(with relish)

And the Old Feast Days are rife

with tales of ghosts and spirits

suddenly freed to roam about the

mortal realm as they will.

CLAIRE:

You make it sound positively

spooky. In that case, I look

forward to sharing the warmth of

your table while hordes of Scottish

spectres roam the land outside.

(to Frank)

Take your time, but do try to make

it back before the storm breaks.

Frank’s lost searching through the papers in his hands, and

barely registers that she’s leaving.

FRANK:

Hmmm. Yes. Right.

She gives him a quick peck on the cheek, then EXITS.

EXT. VILLAGE STREET - DUSK

Claire walks along the street as the weather turns nasty and

an icy wind blows her hair into shambles.

CLAIRE (V.O.)

I never, for an instant, considered

leaving Frank. I loved him still

and I knew he loved me.

(CONTINUED)

21.

CONTINUED:

She stops in front of a SHOP WINDOW and we realize that we’ve

returned to that moment of Claire standing in front of that

shop window staring at the VASES.

CLAIRE (V.O.)

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