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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 27

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"They will sell lavender bags at outrageous prices. Kit will eat inventory.""We plan accordingly." He nodded. "Done.""Priced first.""Priced first."She turned off the final lamp. The room dimmed; only moonlight remained."Rowan?""Yes?""Spring has arrived."He went still. "Has it?""Mud and all."He did not ask there—not in the wash house after a long evening. He waited three more days: not because he lacked courage, but because waiting had become part of loving her correctly.On the third day, he asked the children for permission to take their mother walking.Pippa said, "For proposing?"Rowan looked at Evelyn; Evelyn looked at the ceiling.Milo said, "You should bring a handkerchief."Kit said, "And biscuits."Pippa said, "No biscuits! This is serious."Kit looked appalled. "Serious things need biscuits most!"Evelyn said, "I am still in the room."Pippa said, "Yes, but we are planning."Rowan brought a handkerchief; he did not bring biscuits. Kit called this a strategic weakness.Rowan took Evelyn to the lane beyond the east cottages, where the new drains had left the road dry after two days of rain. Mrs. Cobb waved from her door; Evelyn waved back."This is not a grand place," she said."No. Good."They walked until the house was hidden by hedges. Birds made reckless spring noises; the ditch ran clear beside the lane. Rowan stopped near a hawthorn just beginning to flower."Here.""Here? Because of the drains?""Because this is where work changed something."Evelyn looked at him then. He took her hand."I asked you once in my head a thousand times, and badly in my heart even more. I will ask plainly now: will you marry me? Not to repair the scandal, not to give the children a name, not to make the past look neater, but because we have built enough truth to keep building."Her fingers tightened. "That was poetry-adjacent.""I feared so. But acceptable?""Is that yes?""Yes."
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“Daddy, Don’t Marry Her!” — Three Triplets Crashed the Duke’s Wedding, and He Recognized Them

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