Page 21 of The Trouble With Her Duke
“How?” Mary asked.
“Well, they studied very hard, and they practiced from when they were very little. And do you know how they practiced?”
The triplets shook their heads in unison.
“With these!” She opened the large canister and poured out a pile of colorful wooden blocks. “Just like Great-Grandfather’s team of architects, you too can start practicing. And when you’re finished, we’ll have chocolate and cinnamon rolls. But before you begin, I must tell you the secret key to completing this important project.”
“You can wusper it to us,” Marley whispered loudly.
“We won’t tell. Promise,” Mark added in an even louder whisper.
“You must work together as a team using quiet voices.”
The triplets regarded each other for a moment, communicating silently before turning back to her and nodding.
“Excellent. I cannot wait to see what you build.” She kissed each boy on the head and then returned to her brothers and sisters-in-law, who were watching her with rapt attention.
“Did I hear my daughter’s voice?” Benjamin Hammond said, entering the parlor.
“Papa!” Lydia quickly closed the distance between them and hugged him. “I’m so glad to see you.”
He chuckled. “I was in my study—lately, it’s the quietest place in the house.” Her father glanced around the room. “What happened here? You can hear a pin drop.”
“Lydia,” her sisters-in-law said in unison.
“What did you do?” her father asked.
“Oh, nothing special. I couldn’t hear myself think, so I whistled.”
Her father roared with laughter. “I’ve missed hearing that whistle around here, several times a day as I recall.”
“Are you suggesting we were loud and boisterous growing up, Papa?” Miles asked.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”
“Lydia may be the baby of the family, but no one could wrangle us boys better than she could,” Preston said with a chuckle.
“She’ll make a fine mother one day,” Blake added, joining the group.
Their father shot a warning look at Blake and her brothers.
“You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not in the room,” Lydia said in a wry voice. She walked up to her eldest brother and hugged him.
“It’s good to see you, little sis,” he said, with that familiar crooked grin.
“It’s good to see you too, big brother.”
“I see you’ve brought a friend along with you, Lydia,” her father said with a smile in Annabelle’s direction.
“I completely forgot my manners! I apologize, Annabelle. Sometimes I get distracted,” she said, touching the younger girl’s arm. “This is Annabelle Andrews. I thought it might be nice to share the holidays with her. The duchess wanted to make sure I had a companion for my trip, Papa.”
“A considerate woman, to be sure,” he said.
Annabelle curtsied. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hammond.”
“We are pleased to have you, Annabelle,” her father replied.
“If it’s all right, I’d like Annabelle to have the room next to mine—if it’s still vacant,” Lydia said.
