Angelica was still dancing with Laurens when she looked across the room and locked eyes with a young man in a blue coat. Her first thought was to blink. I'm dreaming, she thought to herself, but the sister was smart enough to know that was a lie.

She stumbled a bit, accidentally stepping on John's feet. "S-sorry," Angel stuttered.

"It is alright," Laurens said. He was clearly confused. Angelica had appeared to him as a calm and collected young woman who rarely stumbled over her words like that. He looked around for an answer before his eyes fell on Alexander Hamilton, a man who, over the past year, John had been trying to suppress his feelings for. Laurens wasn't surprised by the blush that spread over her cheeks. "Is it Hamilton?"

Angelica blinked. "Hamilton?"

"The man in the corner with the blue coat and auburn hair," Laurens explained. "Alexander Hamilton."

"Oh," Angelica breathed, blushing. "Then...um...I suppose."

"Ask him for a dance," Laurens suggested.

"Alright," Angelica replied.

The eldest Schuyler smoothed her rust-colored skirts. Breathe, she thought. Do not be scared. He is just another dance. He may be the rudest person you will ever meet.

But just as Angelica was getting up the courage, she noticed that someone else had approached Mr. Hamilton. A girl in blue. Her dark hair was tied back, she was wearing a pearl necklace, and Angelica was hit suddenly by a wave of disappointment.

Shit.

***

Elizabeth Schuyler, on the other hand, was having the time of her life.

She had never spoken to someone so handsome. His eyes were beautiful, almost violet blue, and his hair was blond-red. He told her he was from the Caribbean. How romantic, Eliza thought to herself. An island nation!

He was well-spoken and charismatic, to such an extent that every time he opened his mouth Betsey wondered if he had simply memorized Common Sense.

That thought made Eliza wonder where Angelica was. She glanced behind her and her eyes widened.

Angelica had never looked so forlorn. 'Helpless' wasn't the right word for it, but it was something like that, some kind of strange resignation that came after 'helpless.' She was staring at...

Oh, no.

It did not take long for Elizabeth Schuyler, bright and logical, to determine the problem. She looked back at Hamilton, who seemed concerned.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes!" Elizabeth replied. Then she made a reckless choice that she figured her father would later deem either sensible or incredibly stupid. "Yes, everything is alright. Come with me, I want you to meet someone."

Then she took him by the arm and tried to appear graceful, poised and confident as she led him across the ballroom to her sister.