Dear, Hamilton

Angelica, Eliza... and Peggy

When I awake the morning, buttery sunlight streams through the white curtain drawn over my windows, marking the time as late morning if not the afternoon. 

I jump up from my plush bed, only vaguely remembering Hamilton putting me there last night, before hurriedly dressing into the first dress I see; an elegant red dress with a low neckline. A red knot adorns the neckline, drawing attention to it. 

But I don't notice any of that as I rush downstairs. Have Lafayette and Hamilton left already? That's all I can think about as I half run, half fast walk through the house in search of Angelica or either of the two young men. 

I finally run into Angelica as she's entering the house from the backyard, her back turned towards me as she closes the door behind her. "Angelica!" I nearly shout in my relief to see her. 

She jumps and turns around to see me flying towards her. "Eliza, calm yourself," she says in a soothing tone as I stop before her. "What's wrong?"

I grasp her hands in mine as I ask in a frantic voice, "Have Lafayette and Colonel Hamilton left yet?"

Angelica gives me an apologetic look as she replies, "They left an hour ago." She must've seen my face fall at this because she loops her arm through mine and says, "They'll be back in two days, and with all the fun we're going to have, it'll seem like no time at all." 

I attempt at a smile, but it's feeble and shaky. Since when did I care so much about Lafayette and Hamilton? I shouldn't care this much. 

So with that thought in mind, I force a bright smile on my face and ask, "What fun are we going to have?"

Angelica pats my hand as she replies, "We're going to visit Saratoga."

***

Saratoga, it turns out, is where Angelica stays in the summer. It's about three hours outside New York City in a secluded, peaceful area surrounded by trees and ponds. 

We decide to ride by horseback there instead of taking a carriage. "Here," Angelica says as she hands me the reins of a white horse. "And here," she adds, giving me a pair of riding gloves that I easily slip on. They're slightly worn, but comfortable, and they fit me just right. 

I fiddle with the riding gloves as I discreetly watch her mount her brown horse to see what the etiquette is for ladies in this time period. Angelica swings herself up and sits upon the horse like a man. At my questioning look, she explains, "It's just the two of us. Nobody will see. Besides," she adds with a smirk, "it's easier to ride this way. We can go faster."

So, I swing myself up and sit as I normally would on a horse if I were in the twenty-first century. 

We ride for an hour, spending the time by occasionally racing each other to a tree branch a hundred yards away or simply talking to each other. 

"My sister, Peggy, is waiting for us at Saratoga," Angelica informs me at one point on our ride. "She's seventeen, coming on eighteen."

I smile across the way at Angelica. "And your parents are going to be there, too?"

"They're staying in Saratoga, too, but they'll both be away for a festival about three towns over today," Angelica explains with a slash of a smile. 

"And Peggy decided to stay behind?" I ask, confused

Angelica laughs, "Oh, she would have loved to go, but she knew we were coming, so she decided to stay behind."

"Did your parents know you were coming?"

Angelica gives me a conspiratorial grin. "No, we wanted the time to ourselves without our parents fretting over us."

About twenty minutes later, I spot the large, white-painted house that is the Saratoga summer home. I see some farmland on the opposite side of the house, but on our side, it's just a clearing with a few tall trees scattered around like sprinkles on a cake. We take our horses into the stable behind the house before rounding the home to the front door.