Chapter One
Angelica left her New York hotel room in favor of sitting in the lobby while she waited for a car to arrive. Sensing an oncoming cold she was dressed in a yellow raincoat and a pale pink scarf, not her most fashionable decision, but the lobby’s artificial heat gave off an allusion to the heavy chill that hung in the air outside, so it was not one she would regret. There was jazz playing from the hotel’s restaurant, too low to know the song, she wasn’t familiar with jazz music anyway, but enjoyed it enough to let herself follow the rhythm while she waited.
Dinner with her sister and her sister’s husband. God knows she’s in love with him, but Eliza loves him helplessly, and Angelica always put her younger sister first, even if it meant living out of state with the slightly ditzy rich boy her father set her up with. At least he paid for a nice hotel room, not that she couldn’t afford one on her own, successful in her own career pursuits, but as the oldest daughter of a sonless political figure she didn’t have time for sulking, Alexander Hamilton wasn’t an option from the start. But she would do dinner and visit them for her long weekend; she had a niece and nephew to visit as well, Phillip and Angie, and the way the two young children spoke, often stopping themselves in the middle of a story to avoid some great detail, suggested that the Hamilton household had some ulterior motive for their invitation than a simple visit. Angelica prayed for another pregnancy, Eliza was at her happiest when she had a baby to care for, and little Angelica just started school, so Eliza was spending her days alone, something that made Angelica wish she wasn’t always working and so far away, so she could visit and grant her sister some peace of mind.
Her train of thought is cut off by a young man tapping her shoulder and introducing himself as her driver for her stay; she avoided thoughts of her sister’s family during her ride, instead browsing through her phone pointlessly, dutifully liking the right people’s photos on Instagram and retweeting the kind word’s a reporter attached to an interview with her father. When she arrived Eliza ran out the door, Phillip close behind; Angelica was quickly bombarded with greetings and hugs and kisses, all of which she reciprocated with a grand smile, one that softened as Alex came to stand in the doorway with baby – not anymore, had that much time really passed? – Angelica in his arms, one who looked very put out to not be in the middle of the action.
Eliza caught her arm to get her attention and Phillip grabbed her hand, talking away about Angie’s difficulty with the cobblestone driveway and how Papa wouldn’t let her run to say hello but she was still very excited, something that Angelica got to learn for herself when the five year old practically jumped from her father’s arms to her aunt’s, “Hello!” She squealed, wrapping her arms tight around Angelica’s neck, cutting off the surprised laugh she received in response before directing a question at Eliza, “Mommy? Can I tell Aunt Angelica about Papa and Daddy yet?”
The question was definitely something to confuse, and both Angelicas watched as Eliza and Alex shared worried looks, “I suppose now will have to do, Phillip can you take your sister? Show her that new song I was teaching you on the piano.” Eliza urged softly, hushing her nine year old’s protests against not staying glued to his aunt’s side.
With the children gone there was an uncertain air that hung amongst the three of them, Alexander, ever eager to lay everything out even seemed hesitant when he spoke, “Angelica, we’ve both missed you so much,” She ignored the way her heart jumped, “so much has happened, we really wanted to tell you sooner, but you work so much and this wasn’t something I could throw in during a phone call. It’s complicated.” He rambled and Angelica began to grow anxious, Eliza interrupted.
“Let’s go inside, I have tea made and, well, I sense this isn’t a short conversation.” Her usually hospitable and gentle tone took a nervous edge that made Angelica terrified as to what was to come; Eliza was definitely not pregnant.
In the small living room the tea set Angelica got Eliza after a business trip to Japan is laid out on the coffee table which is boxed in by an arm chair and couch, sat on the couch is the biggest curveball Angelica has ever been thrown in her entire life.
John Laurens.
He stood, palms pressed to his sides and Angelica looked for clarification, it didn’t come. John stepped forward and offered a hand, which she shook automatically looking at the three in the greatest deal of confusion she’s ever felt, “What’s going on? Are you guys setting me up because this is weirdly tense and I’m flattered really but-”
“Ang, John has been living with us, we aren’t setting you up. Do you remember when he and I were in the military together? Before me and Eliza were married?” Alex cut her off and, oh, yes Angelica remembers how close they were, how drunk Laurens got at the wedding, how the French one, Lafayette she remembers, had taken him off to a dark corner and hushed him during Angelica’s speech, his eyes were puffy when he returned for the reception but he had the most genuine smile on his face when Alex took him to dance, the both were sloppy and drunk and Eliza simply laughed along with them when they got a little too handsy with each other.
“I remember you from the wedding, your speech was beautiful. But, before Alex met Eliza, me and him shared, a lot, and well, we sort of fell into this, um, it’s difficult to explain, you see my father was a very publically involved man, and he didn’t expect me to ever be less than a loyal husband and business successor with a good wife, and I didn’t really agree with him and so he cut me off so I joined the military to get my school paid for and that’s how I met Alex and we started to, we had a, uh.” He took a breath and frankly, Angelica wished he would just spit it out. “We were fucking. Basically, just also with feelings, ‘cause we were, we are, best friends so of course there was feelings. And like, I love him, I’m in love with him, and he loves me back, which is wild right?” Angelica didn’t like were this was going, she glanced to Eliza, expecting to see more of that discomfort, or hurt, or anything other than what she found, which was a gentle fondness that was intertwined with what could easily be mistaken for love. Eliza spoke before Angelica could form a question.
“After the wedding, before we left for the honeymoon Dad got us, John showed up, he was, really, really wasted and he told me about all of this and so, I asked Alexander if he still loved Mr. Laurens and he would never lie to me, so he said yes. I told them to meet me upstairs and, well, I'll just say that we both kissed John goodbye while he was sleeping before we left the next morning, after that he was nearly impossible to reach, and when we found out I was pregnant we figured it would be better to just let it go, and then Phillip was born and now that he’s getting older, well you must see it, the resemblance can’t be a coincidence, the timeline matches up. And so about two weeks after your last visit I noticed John was at an event with his father, so we contacted Henry and finally, finally got in contact with John and told him about Phillip, sent him a picture and he called Alex crying. He wanted to apologize to me Angie, he loves my husband and he loves the children, and he and I can definitely agree that we share a deep affection for each other, so it made the most sense to me, to us, that he come stay for a bit, a trial period. So he stayed for a month, and then we all agreed that we really didn’t want him to leave, even the kids loved him. He’s so good for us.” She took a breath and Angelica took a long moment to take it all in, Eliza let the silence pass by taking John’s hand and standing beside him; Alex was antsy, fidgeting and John laughed, pulling him over to join the pair by his waist. Admittedly they looked beautiful together and my god how she didn’t see how much Phillip looked like John she’ll never know, she was trying desperately to find words, Eliza seemed desperate for approval, the way she spoke was just like when she had first met Alex, blushing and anxious and overwhelmed, Angelica was feeling the same as she did then as well; the pang of hurt when she took in the sight of her Alexander loving not one, but two people that weren’t her was nearly too much.
“You’re happy?” It was all she could think to say, and Eliza crumbled with relief, coming forward to pull her sister into an embrace.
“I’ve never been happier.”
After dinner, which was spent in silence between the four adults merely because the two children talked through the whole thing, taking turns telling stories they couldn’t share before and eating their food at their mother’s demand. Angelica was invited to stay for a drink, but she kissed each of the three once on the cheek and took her leave with promise of her return the next day, feigning exhaustion. Alex’s first words to her swum around in her head, talk about his lack of satisfaction, how he always had to have more, she wondered if he was just being greedy, if two would be enough from here on out, maybe they’ll have a grand reveal of his love for Hercules Mulligan she thought to herself bitterly, quickly shushing the thought as her driver arrived. In reality she could very much use a drink, but not in her sister’s company, she asked her driver to take her to the bar nearest to her hotel, one look at her face and he complied without a comment.
The bar was high end, she could tell when she walked in that in the earlier hours of the evening it’s the kind of place she would take a colleague for post meeting cocktails, but at this time of night the business crowd was flowing more out than in, anyone who remained was more red in the face, ties loose, maybe leaning in a little too close to the people they’re sitting with. There was a more suggestive air to the room, not entirely unwelcome; John Church was about as interested in a relationship with Angelica Schuyler as she was with him, and they both knew this, they were only together because it made their parents happy and they both had social appearances to keep up, so their arrangement was strictly need to know. However, the young girl in the red dress was the last person Angelica expected to catch her eye.
The description was unfair, almost an insult to this woman’s stunning demeanor. Her skin was glowing, flawless, her eyes a deep brown and full lips that were painted such a striking red she shouldn’t have been able to carry it off as well as she did, said lips pulled into a gentle smile as the girl caught Angelica taking in the soft but far from subtle curves her dress highlighted, cinched at the waist, low, low cut neckline and a skirt that seemed to drape over her hips. Now to the best of her knowledge Angelica was not gay, but this woman was-
“Beautiful isn’t she?” She is pulled from the distraction by a man blocking her view, he was the very opposite of what Angelica had been taking in seconds before, his voice sounded sleazy, and he stood like he owned the town, but his clothes suggested otherwise, “I’m James Reynolds and, aha, lucky for you my whore wife is just that, and for a price you could bring her home for the night.” He grabbed a napkin and wrote down a number, Angelica glanced to see the young woman pretending not to watch with a distinct look of humiliation. It made her stomach turn; she didn’t read the number, instead picked up her drink and took a slow sip letting her best look of disgust take on her features as she looked James up and down.
“I’m hardly interested. You should respect your wife more than that.” She scoffed, taking her eyes from him to scan over the bar, not letting herself linger on the girl, she wasn’t gay, and there should be no attachment here other than how repulsed she felt at the way this woman was being prostituted out by her own husband, she couldn’t have been more than twenty-two.
James shrugged and looked across the bar, she followed his eyes to a man who was well into his years and watching James’ wife with an intensity that set dread into Angelica’s bones, “Looks like I have a more interested party.” He shrugged ready to go before the eldest Schuyler grabbed his shoulder and made a decision she would most likely regret, only following her instinct to help this girl.
“How much for the whole weekend? I worry about meals, she stays with me, and I send her home bright and early Monday morning.” It was out of her mouth before she had a chance to think about it, and the grin that spread across his face was revolting as he jotted down a new number, considerably larger, and Angelica swallowed before excusing herself to go find an ATM. She was still wearing that awful yellow raincoat and pink scarf.