by Kate Smith

"Ummm…no," said Antonia. Then she moaned

Holly H took a step back from the door. "Right. Michael, any objections?"

"I'll get back to you." He sounded breathless.

"On to stage two of the cunning plan," Zac said, turning towards the stairs.

"There had better be only tickling going on in there." Holly H scowled at the door one last time and followed.

"We've got the bride, we've got the groom." Zac paused at the landing. "Would you like to be a witness, Hol?"

"Holly H Kincaid, witness to society wedding of the decade. It'll look mighty fine on the CV."

"That's the witnesses taken care of. I wonder where they keep the paperwork?"

"I wonder where they keep the priesty person."

"That's Archbishop, Hol."

"Glad we cleared that up." Holly H rolled up the sleeves of the black shirt she now wore over her dress and knotted the tails at her midriff. "I'd hate to abduct the wrong official."

"We're not going to abduct him. We're going to borrow him, just like you borrowed that shirt from Michael's wardrobe. We'll return him as soon as possible."

"Correct terminology makes all the difference."

*6:15 AM

The Archbishop turned out to be a her, not a him.

"Enlightened," said Zac. "And those robes look much better on her than they would on a guy."
Holly H twisted her head to the side and squinted. "Really?"

"They will when she's conscious and standing up at least. Trust me."

"Did you have to say that?"

"Sorry. Couldn't resist."

Holly H punched him in the shoulder. "Just get the paperwork while I find something to tie her up with."

"Nicely, Hol. No cutting off her circulation."

Holly H growled and ripped a curtain complete with tasseled tiebacks away from the window.

Zac rammed a desk drawer shut and started on the next down.

"Forget the drawers," Holly H said. "The documents should be right on top."

"Already found them." Zac absently patted a beribboned scroll and a massive locked leather bound tome in the middle of the blotter. "I was just seeing if there's anything else interesting here."

"The clock is ticking."

"Yeah, yeah." Zac picked the knotted ribbon apart, stripped the protective casing away and unrolled the document. He held it directly under the goose-necked desk light and scanned the wording. His eyebrows twitched as he translated the formal terminology into ordinary phrases. "Aha. It specifies today's date all right, but no mention is made of the time. So all we're really doing is anticipating the scheduled ceremony."

"Zac. Are you sure about this?"

"Now that we've 'borrowed' an archbishop we have to be sure."

Holly H glowered.

"This is a fine time for you to explore the doubt phenomenon," Zac pointed out. "What's happened to the Holly H signature characteristics of recklessness, audacity, and boldness?"

"I keep hearing this voice pointing out that gods get persnickety when their chief representatives are kidnapped. And then it points out that gods ascribe to the lightning bolt first, ask questions later theory."

"Your voice must be channeling Amanda." Their long-time friend and voice of doom-and-gloom, Amanda Lawrence had a flair for sensing danger.

Holly H's glower upgraded to a thermonuclear glare.

Zac turned and met her gaze. "It's a risk, but I think Antonia and Michael can make it work if they want to. They have a similar background which helps, a shared goal to work towards, they're age and height compatible -- "

"Point," Holly H acknowledged with a wince.

"And they both have a penchant for throwing things when they're upset, which should make their first domestic dispute interesting. Plus, if I'm interpreting those giggles correctly, there's a bit of a spark there. This way we at least give them a chance." Zac released his grip on the bottom of the document and it rescrolled with a snap that nearly took his fingers off.

"All right," Holly H said. "But let's make Milady proud and do this with flair."

*7:20 AM

"Devon is getting panicky." Zac gently draped the suit bag over the back seat. "I had to talk fast to get out of the suite."

Holly H snorted like a hippo. "So much for you're the most amazing person I've ever known."

"Oh, ye of little faith," the archbishop said.

"Absolutely right, your grace," Zac said, letting the sarcasm slide by. He figured she was entitled. "And it's nice to have you with us in spirit as well as body."

Holly H hit the accelerator. "How's Roxy holding up?"

"Thriving. She was endearingly enthusiastic about drugging Antonia's attendants as they arrived. I got the feeling they, ah . . . hadn't had a lot of time for the public school girl."

"Let's hope she doesn't OD them. I raided the pantry while you were upstairs and liberated three bottles of their best bubbly. And their best is superb."

Zac felt in his pockets and removed six long white candles. He stashed them in the glove box and noticed a parcel wrapped in butcher's paper. "What's in the package?"

"Rings."

"I'm impressed."

"You should be."

Zac rested his head against the back of the seat and yawned until his jaw cracked. "Now all we need is the flowers."