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“Daddy, Don’t Marry Her!” — Three Triplets Crashed the Duke’s Wedding, and He Recognized Them

“Daddy, Don’t Marry Her!” — Three Triplets Crashed the Duke’s Wedding, and He Recognized Them

Chapter 25

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Afterward, one of the girls, Sarah, asked whether she might keep working after marriage. Her mother looked shocked.Evelyn answered before the shock grew teeth: "That depends on the marriage. Choose one with room for your hands."Rowan heard that, too.Later, when the courtyard emptied, he found Evelyn folding unsold aprons. "Does our future have room for your hands?"She looked at him. "That depends on whether you keep moving furniture out of my way.""I can do that.""Not all furniture is wooden.""I know. Some wears titles.""I know that, too." She studied him. "You do?"The words warmed him more than praise.The final test before spring's promise came from London. An invitation arrived from Lady Alston, who hosted the sort of musical evening where people listened only when someone important watched them. The invitation was addressed to Duke Rowan Vale and family. Family: no names, no Evelyn, no children—just a smooth word covering sharp uncertainty.Rowan handed the card to Evelyn. "We need not go."She read it once. "Do you want to?""No.""Then why did your face become ducal?""Because refusing lets them imagine shame, and accepting gives them us as entertainment.""Yes."Pippa, reading from the sofa, looked up. "Are we entertainment?"Rowan said, "Not for people who do not earn it."Kit asked, "Will there be biscuits?"Milo said, "London biscuits are probably thin."Evelyn placed the invitation on the table. "We will not go."Rowan exhaled.Then she added, "But we will host our own evening."Aunt Lavinia, who had entered at the fatal moment, said, "Pardon?"Evelyn smiled. "Here. For people who already know how to look at us properly."Clarabel received her invitation and came at once. So did Dr. Penrose, Mrs. Bell from Evelyn's old neighborhood, Mr. Graine, the sewing girls with two mothers, and three tenants from the East Farms. Aunt Lavinia objected to the guest list until Mrs. Bell complimented her lace cap; then Lavinia forgave several social sins.The evening had no music at first: it had food, noisy children, and Clarabel describing Bath society with the tenderness of a butcher sharpening knives.Mrs. Bell met Rowan and looked him over from boots to brow. "You are taller than expected."Rowan bowed. "I apologize.""Do not. Height is useful for shelves. Are you useful?"Kit shouted, "Sometimes!"Pippa said, "He is learning."Milo added, "He counts thunder."
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“Daddy, Don’t Marry Her!” — Three Triplets Crashed the Duke’s Wedding, and He Recognized Them

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