The ballroom was stiflingly hot, even in the chill of winter. People mingled and dresses swished. Champagne glasses clinked and a band played on stage, the dancefloor a whirling mass of colored fabrics and thick perfumes.
Angelica was in the center of it all, soaking up the attention. Bowing to suitors and grinning widely, she twirled her way through the crowd to her sister’s side.
“Eliza! That was amazing! Oh my God, I…”
Angelica stopped to catch her breath, sweat dripping off her brow.
“I was dancing with this…”
The young woman’s speech was cut off by the large oaken doors opening with an echoing bang. The band played on, even though everyone turned to look.
A group of muscled young soldiers were marching into the room in velvet suits and shining shoes. Eliza turned her head towards the ruckus and as she did…
Her heart stopped
Her breath wheezed out.
Time seemed to slow down. The room was tilting.
A handsome man with the most intriguing blue eyes Eliza had ever seen was gazing at her, seemingly smitten.
She couldn’t breathe.
He smiled.
He smiled at her.
And then the soliders marched forward again and he was lost in the mass of bodies.
Eliza turned to her sister. She had to share this moment with her, she had to inform her of the man…
Angelica was gazing after him, blushing scarlet.
No.
Her sister.
Oh my God.
Eliza’s thoughts whirled. They had connected when he had glanced at her, he had smiled, and she had seen, and she knew he was hers.
He was not hers.
He would never truly be hers if Angelica mourned the loss of love.
Eliza swallowed a gulp of sickly sweet wine. It stung her throat.
She started walking briskly through the crowd. Half formed memories echoed in her mind, but she kept walking.
“Hello.”
“…hi”
When he spoke, his words glided from his tongue like silken language, and they coiled around her, and she smelled fresh parchment on him, and she very nearly wept right there.
“I noticed you walk in. Want a drink?”
He nodded, and a sheepish grin curled his lips, and she fell deeper in love.
“You know… that look on your face. Are you okay?”
“Me? Oh, yes… sir?”
“My name is Alexander Hamilton. For a second there, you looked lost, almost hopeless.”
“Ha. The only thing I’m hopeless about is marriage. You know, my father… wants me to marry some old rich guy.”
They laughed.
“What about your family?”
A shadow crossed Alexander’s face.
“Family. They.. died. Well, my mom did. Dad up and fucking left me as a kid.”
Eliza’s heart split. He was an orphan.
“Say, come meet my sister!”
Hamilton nimbly leapt to his feet, clutching his glass.
“Sister?”
They drew closer to a swooning Angelica.
“Yes, Angelica Schuyler.”
“Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Angelica was shaking, and if the situation had not been so sober, Eliza would have laughed at her cocky sister brought to her knees by a boy.
“If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it!”
He kissed Angelica’s hand.
Eliza knew it was over.
She should have known.
Hopeless.
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