Chapter Twenty-Four

Tessa pressed her hand against Eagan's arm where warm blood wet her palm, staining his tunic bright red. "You're shot, Eagan. Let me up." She pushed against his chest. The man was heavy. Had he lost consciousness?

"They're still shooting."

She yanked the sash he wore on his belt. "Lie flat. Now!" She put all the authority she could muster into her voice.

The tight circle of Macquaries had dispersed, and Tessa saw Hubert on the wall throwing a musket to Callum on the ground before running along the wall to a crewman leaning over it, dead. Had Hubert shot him? Surprising his crewmates and picking them off as they fired down into the bailey?

Tessa yanked Eagan's tunic up, but she couldn't reach the source of the blood because it was in his upper shoulder. "We have to stop the bleeding right now."

He lay back, his eyes closed. The look made it hard for her to swallow, but the medical training she'd learned from her mother helped her keep moving.

"'Tis just a graze," Eagan said, but his face had paled.

"If by graze, you mean a lead ball lodged in your upper arm, then oui, 'tis just grazed." Her words shot out with sarcasm, and she saw him smile. "Shot in both shoulders. Mon Dieu."

Eagan watched the red of the sun behind his closed eyes. "Not the best way to start a marriage."

She tied the rag as tightly around his arm as she could while his jaw tightened, but he never cried out. The gunfire had ceased, and Tessa stood, yelling. "Eagan's been shot. Again."

Lark and Anna ran toward her as well as Ida.

"Lady Claudette," Hubert yelled, his hands raised as Beck and Drostan came toward him along the wall. "Tell them I'm for you, milady. I shot me own men to save you."

"We know," Beck said.

Drostan carried a musket as he came toward Hubert on the other side. "Put yer bloody hands down."

"He helped me on the Bourreau ," she said and turned back to Eagan. Adam had come over, lifting him off the ground with a grunt. Callum quickly helped by pushing upward under Eagan's arse as they carried him.

"'Tis in the other shoulder, above the heart. No organs hit there," Eagan said, but all the blood made Tessa worry.

The cluster of women and children trotted after Adam and Callum as they carried their brother into the castle, laying him down on the long wooden table. "Are you hurt, Tessa?" Anna asked, inspecting her light blue gown.

Tessa glanced down at the red smeared across it. "No. 'Tis Eagan's blood."

"I have a lot," he said softly. "Enough to spare."

"Ye already lost enough yesterday," Drostan said.

Tessa looked at a wide-eyed maid who stood in the archway. "We need hot water, whisky, pliers, needle, thread, rags, and a lit candle." She leaned into him. "I might have been nearly unconscious on the ship when you were shot the first time, but I'm fully awake now. And I know what to do."

"Lark and I will help her," Anna said. "Come along, Jane." The two ran off to fetch supplies.

Eagan opened his eyes. "I love ye, Tessa." The truth of his love shone in his blue eyes.

"I love you, too." She leaned in to kiss him gently. "Just stay alive."

He held her gaze. "That's my plan."

With Adam's help, they cut his tunic off. The musket ball was fished out of Eagan's shoulder, and Lark quickly stitched it internally when Tessa's hands were shaking too much. It hadn't hit a major blood vessel. The wound was cleaned and packed like the one in the other shoulder.

Callum, Beck, and Drostan jogged back into the hall, carrying muskets. "Eagan?" Callum asked, his face tight.

"All sewn up," Dora said from the cluster of little children near the hearth.

"Thank God," Drostan murmured as the brothers surrounded the table.

"We moved the dead outside the wall," Callum said.

Beck spoke to the room. "That sturdy little man, Hubert, is planning the Bourreau takeover with Eliza's men from the village. They used to battle Jandeau and buried one of their own this past week when Jandeau abducted Tessa and the children."

Eagan's eyes were fastened to Tessa's bright gaze. Adam cleared his throat. "Tessa is ready to beat Death off with a stick if it comes near ye, brother."

"I know every tincture, poultice, and tonic to keep the grave away," she said, touching his face, although her hand still shook slightly.

Eagan closed his eyes but kept his smile. "I'm bloody tired."

Callum let out a breath. "Ye deserve a rest. Ye saved yer bride and broke the curse by loving her."

"Where is Grissell?" Tessa asked.

"Left when we opened the gates." Rabbie's voice came from the entryway. "She walked off with the six-toed cat and her two white cats. But she handed me this." He held the dagger between his thumb and finger as if it was tainted. Even out of the tree, the ancient weapon still sent a shiver through Tessa.

Drostan nodded to the dagger. "Do ye think Grissell could have pulled it out at any time?"

"Nay," Adam said and laid his hand over Eagan's uninjured forearm. "It took the breaking of the curse to release it from the willow. Good job, little brother."

Eagan frowned, his eyes still closed. "Ye know I'm taller than all of ye."

Callum snorted. "Not right now, ye aren't."

Rabbie released the dagger. It clanked onto the wooden floor, and he picked up a tankard, raising it. "Here's to the end of the Macquarie curse!"

The sound of steel sliding filled the room as the four brothers unsheathed their long swords, holding them high into the air. Eagan opened his eyes to see them raised on all sides.

"Here's to the end of that bastard, Jandeau!" Callum yelled, and the whole room roared, including Bann, Grace, and Charlotte who had come downstairs.

The noise echoed in the room from all those mouths, and Eagan smiled up at Tessa. Charlotte, Grace, and a much healthier Bann ran over to hug her there next to Eagan, unaware of the deadly nightmare that could have befallen them. The two wolfhounds loped beside them, having been trapped above and safe with the three.

"Here's to Eagan finally falling in love!" Beck yelled out, and another roar rose and fell like a ferocious wave followed by giggles from the children even though some of them covered their ears. Lark and Anna's other sisters from the village ran into the room from outside. The gathering was quickly growing into a celebration.

Tessa broke free of the children to lean over her Highland love. His pallor was subsiding, and his eyes were clear. He smiled up at her. Placing a palm on his cheek, she leaned down, her words only for him. "No matter what storms come our way…" She kissed his lips. "No matter what, we will ride the tempest out together."

"Aye, Tessa lass." His smile turned into a seductive leer. "I will ride my Tempest all night long."

Her smiling mouth dropped open before turning wicked. She kissed him before leaning into his ear. "We will see who does the riding and who does the groaning on his back while you heal both arms, husband."

They were nose to nose. "Creativity is the key," he said, and she leaned back in for a kiss full of promise, passion, and most definitely love.