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Bishop rolled his and her smile vanished at the NO.
“Meh, roll the Judgement Dice,” the Grand Oratrice said.
Beth rolled hers. “TWO!” she exclaimed. Then quickly added, “Geeze, my luck sucks.”
Bishop let out a sigh then rolled his, getting a round of laughs from the women while Beth stared in shock at the roll. A ONE.
“The Fate Dice and the Judgement Dice have spoken,” the Grand Oratrice kindly announced like she’d known all along. “The Right Hand rules remain the same and the Gauntlet Trials will be conducted immediately after marriages.”
Her hope returned at that announcement. Marriages could take a while. Especially if she saw to creating enough complications.
After long and painful introductions followed by goodbyes and Gauntlet Trial whisperings among The Twelve, Bishop finally took her hand and led her to their boat. It wasn’t until they arrived that she dared to voice her suggestion, not wanting to seem like she was trying to coddle him.
His initial response was a single dry laugh followed by, “My Petite, marriage in the swamp meansfucking. And I made sure that was taken care of immediately for the protection of the women. And you and I are asmarriedas we can get.” He climbed in the boat and reached for her hand.
She settled in the seat just before him, putting her back to him. She glanced over her shoulder then turned more fully. “I’m sorry, Bishop. I messed everything up.”
“No, you didn’t. Everything happened the way it needed to.”
She eyed him, using her hand to block the sun from her eyes. “It did?”
“If one has faith in the Fate Dice, yes,” he muttered. “And I agreed to have that. No matter the outcome.”
She faced forward, nodding then wondered over her shoulder. “Why didn’t you do a third request?” She decided to turn and face him, realizing he wasn’t too pissed.
“The message Fate had was obvious.”
She considered that, staring at her hands in her lap then taking in the bayou scenery. “I tried to help without….”
“Making it look like you were rescuing your leader?”
Shame burned her cheeks and she lowered her head with a nod.
“Ma Petite gets a gold halo for angelic effort.”
Hearing the familiar warmth in his tone brought her gaze up. His eyes were on her, and his smile. It brought more heat to her face, and she couldn’t stop her own grin. “They called you Little Bishop,” she remembered. “Did they all change your diapers at one time?”
He let out one of his sexy laughs. “Mah-Mah had me potty trained at six months but I’m sure they saw my little white ass running naked whenever I could. I took strong issue with any manner of clothing.”
She laughed at hearing it. “You were a little streaker?”
“I was. She made me some underwear with an alligator-hide skirt over it. Said it was Viking clothes. I never wanted to take them off, so she made me three more just like it.”
Beth couldn’t smile any bigger at imagining it. She eyed his strong, veiny hand hanging on his knee and reached for it, bringing it to her mouth for soft kisses. “You were such an adorable boy. I memorized Mah-Mah’s family photo album. Imagining what our kids will look like.” She sucked in a breath, remembering. “Where on Earth was Mah-Mah when you called her?”
“Ohhhh, thatwoman,” he muttered. “She was at the grocery store shopping. Forgot about the whole thing and wanted me try and get it tossed out.”
Beth gasped at hearing that. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because I had already committed to trusting the Fate Dice. Plus, it saved me a little humiliation from hearing a resounding NO. Those Auditors may seem sweet, but they serve their positions and uphold the laws with the conviction and dedication of God’s most elite angels.”
She raised her brows. “Wow. But that’s good, I think?”
He nodded. “It is.”
She thought about Mah-Mah. “How could she have forgotten?” she wondered, or worried.
“She didn’t, Ma Petite. My guess is she was having second thoughts too late.”
