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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 29

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Evelyn laughed through tears. The children stared, because mothers were mysterious when crying at paper. Pippa came first. "Is it a good paper?""Yes," Evelyn said."Then why cry?""Because sometimes good paper arrives late and still matters."Pippa accepted this after consideration. "Put it somewhere dry.""I will."Rowan looked at his daughter. "Excellent legal advice."Pippa nodded. "I have been watching."The family tea continued past sunset. People who had no reason to remain stayed anyway: the sewing girls played with the triplets on the lawn; Aunt Lavinia and Mrs. Bell discovered a shared hatred of weak tea; Clarabel received three invitations from neighbors who had previously pitied her, and declined all of them with increasing cheer.Evelyn stepped outside near sunset and found Rowan by the hawthorn. For once, no child interrupted immediately.He looked over his shoulder. "Too much?""Yes.""Bad?""No."He held out one hand; she took it.Across the lawn, the tiny suitcase sat open on the bench: Kit had added a cake wrapped in cloth, Pippa had added a pencil, Milo had added one smooth stone because every journey required weight.Evelyn looked at the case. "They are still packing.""Yes. But not to run.""No."She leaned against Rowan's shoulder for the length of one breath. He did not move; that was how he showed gratitude now, by not trying to turn one breath into a claim.Then Pippa spotted them from the lawn. She did not run over; that was new. She looked first at Evelyn, then at Rowan, then at the open suitcase on the bench. After a moment, she added something to the case and shut the lid.Evelyn saw the movement. "What did she put in?"Rowan shook his head. "I do not know.""You are not going to inspect?""No.""Progress."Later, when the children were upstairs, Evelyn opened the case. Inside, on top of the map and biscuits, lay Pippa's first question paper. The corners had gone soft from being folded and unfolded. Under Rowan's written promise, Pippa had added one new line:Answered enough for now.Evelyn read it aloud. Rowan sat very still."'For now,'" he said. "That is a child's mercy. I will take it wisely." He touched the paper with one finger. "May I keep a copy?""Ask her tomorrow.""I will."And he did. Pippa made him write the request properly. She granted permission after breakfast, subject to good behavior and no sudden nursery rearrangements. Rowan accepted all terms.That evening, Pippa's copy went into Rowan's desk: not with estate papers, not with Duke's seals—in the top drawer, beside Kit's emergency key and Milo's first thunder chart.
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“Daddy, Don’t Marry Her!” — Three Triplets Crashed the Duke’s Wedding, and He Recognized Them

30 Part