For better or worse, John doesn't know Brianna's full story, and so he probably can't answer Claire's questions even if he wanted to. But he certainly knows enough. Certainly more than is polite, given some of the circumstances he has encountered with Brianna over the years.

"Claire," he says gently, squeezing her hand gently in an attempt to center her. How swiftly the roles are reversed, he thinks to himself, with a pang. "She is... A lovely woman. Clever. Beautiful. Terrifying, if I am being honest with you. A credit to her parents. Both of them."

Because of course he knows her parentage. He has raised Jamie's son as his own, after all. He would have to be blind in order not to see it for himself, all things considered.