The Inquisitors were alarmed, but didn’t want to risk the life of their guard, or to antagonize the dangerously unhinged man with a knife at his throat. They tried to talk Cotswold down, hands held in the air. Colin was shouting, and so was Audrina — but it was Ian, he claimed, who shoved Cotswold into the lake and dove in to retrieve Cora from the depths.

(Colin, later, clarified that shoving Cotswold had been an accident — that Ian had been so hell-bent on getting her out of the water he doubted the tanist had even noticed what was going on with the Lord and the guard.)

Either way, she came back to consciousness, dripping wet and freezing, spluttering and coughing up a storm. She was covered in mud, gasping on her hands and knees on the damp, muddy bank of the lake. The guard was rubbing his throat — Cotswold had nicked him with the knife — but was otherwise unharmed. The Inquisitors were both standing on the pier, staring down into the water with some interest at where Cotswold was splashing and struggling. Cora, still hacking and gasping, knowing she would probably never get the taste of lake water out of her mouth, staggered to her feet and stumbled onto the pier toward the Inquisitors, her voice hardly audible over the chattering of her teeth.

“D-d-did I p-pass the t-t-t-t-test?” she demanded, face screwed up against the biting wind.

“Yes,” said the first Inquisitor, and inclined his head solemnly to her. “You are free to go. May you be held in the palm of God’s hands, now and always.”

Something inside her chest felt like it unlocked, at that point. A huge wave of relief washed over her — not just her own personal relief to be free, but something that had been bound up so tightly that she hadn’t even known it was there. A dark ball of energy, of pain, of loss and sadness at the heart of her…with that declaration of innocence, it all let go with a kind of sigh that she felt, rather than heard. Something told her that Bellina, dead though she may be, had heard that Inquisitor’s declaration.

“He’s floating,” said the other Inquisitor in an undertone to the first one, nodding down at Cotswold. The man was shrieking blue murder — soaked through to the skin in all his regalia, clearly weighed down by the various ornamental weapons and pieces of armor he had worn for his own vanity, he was nevertheless floating quite easily on the surface of the water. Cora took a moment to stare down at him without pity — he stared back up at her, eyes wild, almost frothing at the mouth with the strength of his impotent rage and fury. Audrina joined her on the pier — she draped the coat she’d been wearing around Cora’s shoulders and wrapped it tightly around her to protect her freezing body from the elements. Grateful for the coat, the hug and the presence of her friend in her life in general, Cora flung her arms around her and planted a huge kiss on her cheek.

Cotswold howled in abject rage.

“Enjoy your swim, Lord Cotswold,” Audrina called to him, grinning widely. “Come on, Cora. Let’s get you back to the castle and into a hot bath.”

Cora groaned. “That dip in the lake was the first bath I’ve had in days. A proper one sounds absolutely heavenly.”

As they left the pier (and the Inquisitors, who were still gazing thoughtfully down at Cotswold as he struggled unsuccessfully in the water) they came upon Ian, who was still dripping wet. He was grinning like a madman as his cousin tried unsuccessfully to get him to remove some of his sodden clothes.

“Gimme your shirt before ye freeze to death, you madman,” Colin was growling, yanking at the sodden shirt on his back. Ian was capering wildly around in open defiance of his Laird’s orders, yelling and whooping in a way that reminded Cora strongly of Donal.

“Right in he went! Whoosh! We did it, Cora! You’re safe! You’re cleared of all charges, and safe!” He hurled himself at her and swept her bodily off the ground, and claimed her lips in a kiss that made even Audrina blush and turn away, laughing a little.

Colin put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek fondly.

“Now we can get married,” Ian was saying, shaking both of her hands in his like an excited child. “You can go to the village whenever you want with no fear! You can set up your midwifery practice and have patients come from far and wide — or you can travel to them!” But most of what he was saying was eclipsed by a high-pitched scream — from Audrina, who had almost tackled Cora back into the freezing lake.

“You daft cow, you didn’t tell me you were engaged!”

“We weren’t! We said — maybe, if I didn’t drown!”

“And you didn’t! Thanks to me!” Ian bellowed, almost falling over as he danced a ludicrous jig on the lake shore.

Laird Colin chuckled, clapping his cousin on the shoulder and turning his warm smile to Cora.

“Congratulations, lassie. On everything.”

“I knew you could do it, Cora,” Audrina whispered, hugging her close.

But suddenly, a hush fell over the little gathering by the lake. Ian fell silent and straightened. Cora and Audrina turned, frowning — to see Lord Weatherby approaching the lake at a brisk walk. His expression was thunderous.