The Frenchman (Lafayette Love Story)

Alexander Hamilton

About a month and a half after the men had left, I woke up to a sharp knock at my bedroom door.

"Mary?" Eliza's voice rang from the hallway. I sat up in bed, combing through my hair with my fingers and rubbing my eyes.

"Yes?" I answered, watching as the door swung open, Eliza slipped in, and closed it immediately.

"Look," she whispered, motioning down to her stomach. 

"What?" I asked. She rolled her eyes and turned to the side. I suppose it had been somewhat easily concealed by her dresses, but there was a small bump, she was finally past looking merely bloated or just as if she ate a large meal. "Eliza," I whispered, amazed.

"I've missed three periods," she confirmed.

"Congratulations," I squealed, standing and hugging her.

"What about you, any signs of pregnancy?" She asked after we let go.

"I'm late for a period," I answered, shrugging. "Only a few days though, no need to get overly excited."

"That is exciting though! We could be pregnant together, our kids could be best friends, or, if it's a boy and a girl, they could marry!" Eliza squealed. 

"Betsey, don't get ahead of yourself," I chuckled, my body freezing once I heard a knock at the door. I had known about Alexander's dismissal for about two weeks now, and I've been waiting for him to arrive at the door. It'd be killing me to have kept this a secret from Eliza, but I didn't want to give her false information, since Alexander was really the only one that knew what happened. Eliza immediately turned on her heel and walked to get the door, and I lazily followed her down the hallway and to the stairs, looking off of the top landing that overlooked the entrance way and the front door. I watched as she opened the door and saw Alexander, holding a bag of his belongings and wearing a sad look on his face.

"Alexander," Eliza whispered, walking forward into his arms. He hugged her tightly, the feeling of her pregnant stomach shocking him enough to grab her arms and hold her at arms' length, his gaze fixated on her belly.

"How long have you known?" He asked, his voice amazed.

"A month or so," she answered.

"Eliza, you should've told me," he pleaded.

"I wrote to the general a month ago, I begged him to send you home," she answered. This was new information to me, I had no idea that she wanted him home so badly. I wanted my husband home as well, but I knew that he had to be in the battlefield, you didn't see me writing to my father to send him home.

"No, you should've told me."

"I'm not sorry," she answered, Alexander looking slightly shocked. I decided to leave them to their conversation, walking back to my room and crawling into my bed, wishing that it was my husband who was home. It was so unfair, it seemed that Alexander was always here for Eliza, while my husband was out doing all he could. I let my hand come to rest on my stomach, which was slightly raised, and sighed softly. I knew I was pregnant, and I was overjoyed about it, but it saddened me that Lafayette would not be here to experience the pregnancy with me. I would see him soon enough though, I had arranged for my mother and I to go home to Mount Vernon in the coming months so that I could see Lafayette when he came back from France and my mother would see my father as he moved troops towards the Chesapeake Bay area. 

I snapped myself out of my thoughts as there was a knock at my door.

"Come in," I said, wiping at the tears that I didn't realize had fallen. It had been at least half an hour of me thinking about being pregnant and about Lafayette, although it felt like mere minutes. Alexander opened the door, peeking his head in and walking in, sitting at the foot of the bed.