Following the death of her parents, and having no way to feed herself or her younger sister Fanny , Jane prostituted herself to earn money. Jane meets William Ransom in a brothel in Philadelphia in June , shortly after he learns—to his horror—that Jamie Fraser is his father. William pays to spend a night with Jane, in order to save her from a repulsive client Captain Harkness.
Harkness comes back to the brothel a few days later, and pays twenty pounds for the maidenhead of Fanny , Jane's little sister. Jane asks her madam to be sent to the room together with Fanny. While Harkness is watching Fanny, Jane cuts his throat. Jane and Fanny run, and leave Philadelphia with the British army. They meet William, and Jane asks him for his protection. William agrees, under the condition that Jane won't be selling herself to anyone—including him—and that she will be William's laundress.
He is going to escort her and Fanny to New York, where they will part company. Jane and Fanny leave the British camp the morning after the Battle of Monmouth. William finds them, and they tell him the story of Captain Harkness's death, and that they want to go to New York, but not with the British army.
Rachel Hunter then takes the girls to a Quaker settlement, where they should be safe until William makes other arrangements. In January , a friend of Captain Harkness's recognizes Jane and denounces her for the murder. Jane is to be hanged. William tries to speak on her behalf to General Clinton, but futilely. As a last resort, William seeks Jamie Fraser's help. They break into the house where Jane is kept, and find that she has cut her wrists with a broken beer bottle.
Jane was a very pretty girl, quite tall, with soft chestnut hair, a lovely profile; straight-nosed and with a delicate, ripe mouth. Frances Pocock is Jane's younger sister and only living family member. Despite their age difference, the death of their parents forged an unbreakable bond between the sisters. Jane would do anything to keep her sister safe. It was in this line of thinking that Jane first became a prostitute. Her madam was willing to take them both in and take care of Frances as long as Jane worked for her.
