Noelle was most definitely not the sort of name he would ever think to name a child so Philip thought it a perfect fit for the cat. He might be getting ahead of himself but it seemed a shame not to think about it at all purely because it had not happened yet. It would, they had probably just been unlucky. He would never say it to Della, because Merlin it sounded crude even in his head, but he knew from a lifetime of working with animals that sometimes things just had to be in the right season to take seed!

“Perfect!” He leaned in for a kiss, taking his time despite the wriggling creature still held in his wife’s arms, savouring this and once again coming to the conclusion that if this was all the family he was supposed to have then it would be enough. Della was enough. How could he tell her though? There was no way to bring it up without risking upsetting her further.

“I’m told there is to be snow later,” he told her with a warm smile. “And a little bird told me they’re running carriage rides around the park this afternoon. What do you say? I know it’s not Irvingly but I think I fell in love with you on that carriage ride and I’d very much like to see if I can fall more on another.”

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never ever changing this Soph set <3