Dear, Hamilton

A Walk in the Past

Hamilton and Eliza ^ :D

With New York being newly taken by the British, we're forced to stay at General Lee's house for the night. A few of the other guests have to do the same, as well, including Kitty Livingstone and her family.

"Well, my father is the governor of New Jersey, so we don't live in New York City, but we travel through there," Kitty explains to Angelica, Peggy, and me as we sit on the living room couches before a roaring fire. "We're going to wait till the fighting dies down a little before going back."

Angelica nods in understanding as she takes a sip of warm tea. I hold my own cup of tea in my hands, but I don't drink any. I only have the tea to keep my hands warm.

After Hamilton had told us the news, we'd all stood out there in silence for a good five minutes as we processed the news. My hands had already lost their warmth when finally Mrs. Washington had seen to it that we headed inside.

For tonight, Angelica, Peggy, Kitty, and I are all sharing a room, since there aren't enough rooms for all the guests to have two per room. Hamilton is staying with Lafayette, Laurens, and Tench Tilghman.

I can only imagine how awkward it will be for Hamilton with Tench in his room what with the events tonight at the ball. That ball feels like it happened years ago.

"Eliza, why don't you clean up before bed?" Angelica suggests, silently telling me that I need to clean up.

I nod, if not a bit absentmindedly, as I stand up from the couch. "I'll do that now." I make to walk away before pausing. I turn around slowly and ask the three women, "Do you know where the showers are?"

They look at me with confused looks on their faces. "Showers?" Peggy voices with a frown. "What are you talking about?"

I almost slap myself at my loose tongue. "Oh, it's another word for baths," I say with a laugh. "I heard it from someone at the ball."

Angelica and Peggy's frowns remain, but Kitty's vanishes. "Oh, how wonderful," she says delightedly. "Well, the baths- or showers- are upstairs. Just knock and open a few doors and you'll find them."

Great, how helpful. Yeah, I'll knock and open a few doors, no problem. Who cares if I walk in on someone half naked or something.

With a huff, I climb the stairs and walk absently through the hallway. I come across a door and knock before waiting. When there's silence, I knock again. When there's still no sound, I creak open the door and peek inside only to find it's a closet.

The same thing happens for the next three doors, only the first two rooms are empty bedrooms, and the third room is a storage closet.

It's the fourth door that I try where I finally come across a bathroom. I let out a breath of relief at the sight of the porcelain tub, and I quickly throw myself inside the room. I strip and soak in a cold bath, too tired to deal with hauling hot buckets of water. By the time I'm all clean, I'm shivering with the cold.

I change into a more casual dress that's a light blue color. Though I'm slightly more warm with the new clothes, my dripping hair makes me cold. I walk out of the bathroom and head down the hallway to my new room.

I pull my hair up into a ponytail, using my one and only ponytail holder from the twenty-first century. And that's when I finally bump into Hamilton in the darkened hallway. I'm so busy pulling my hair up that I don't notice him there until I nearly run into him.

"Oh, hi," I greet with a tinge of embarrassment at him seeing me so unpresentable.

He grins at me as he says, "A pleasure to see you, Eliza. I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to say good night." He eyes my hair before commenting offhandedly, "I like your hair up."