"He's writing a speech."
"When isn't he writing a speech though? Really, it's nothing new. I've only known him a year and even I know that all of my father's essays may as well be speeches. Not that it's a particularly bad thing." Rachel curled her hand around the spine of the book, not looking over her shoulder as she spoke. She didn't need to see Eliza's face to know what expressions she was making, so she tried to avoid it all together. Eliza wasn't her mother but she was her husband's daughter and everything about that relationship made Rachel cautious. She caused enough trouble by moving in with them after Hamilton bothered her about it for nearly a month.
He's your father. Call him Alexander, Rachel, she scolded. He hates it when you get distant.
"You have a point," Eliza said with a soft laugh. "But this one is meant to be spoken, not read. That makes it feel just a little more special, don't you think?"
Rachel paused, considering this, and cracked the book open. An actual speech would be special but it would all feel the same to her anyways. He always wrote politics and politics always made her tired. It was important but it was also extremely boring. If she wanted to fall asleep in an uncomfortable chair, she would just curl up in the dining room. She didn't need to have her father reading out a million plus reasons that Jefferson was wrong to do it.
"I suppose. I just… Don't get much enjoyment from hearing them. His words are easier on paper than coming directly from him. I can't keep up otherwise and I don't think father knows how to slow down."
Rachel heard Eliza's heels start to click across the floor and she froze. She was in the corner of her eyes now, skirts brushing against Rachel's own. Her face was behind a wall of her hair, which made Rachel relax just a bit, but she could still see the woman wringing her hands.
"Is there… Something you need to say, Mrs. Hamilton?" Rachel asked softly, feeling the beginnings of full anxiety settling into her. She could think of a million ways this could go and each one was worse than the last. She hoped that she was just misreading her, that nothing was actually wrong, but Alexander was right when he said she could be read like a book. Eliza was very open about anything and she only hesitated if it was sensitive.
"Has… Has Alexander talked to you about becoming a part of the family…?"
Rachel's heart stopped. She didn't consider this. She didn't think this was somewhere this could go. It made her happy, in a confused sort of way, that she would hear it from Eliza but it wasn't something Rachel thought she would bring up. That really was more of her father's territory.
"N-No. He's never brought anything like that up. I think we both assumed I'd just… Exist? I'm not sure. He's never really said anything about me in regards to the larger family… Or rather past immediate bloodlines. It's like he regards me as his child in full but he doesn't do anything beyond that? It's too complicated for me to understand. I don't even know where to begin with-"
"I mean as part of my family, Rachel," Eliza said quietly, cutting off her rambling. Rachel turned her head, finally looking at her. "You are already a part of his family. You were the moment you were born, whether he knew it or not. It's the sort of man Alexander is. But you aren't part of mine yet. I would like for you to be."
Silence settled over them as Rachel tried to process what was happening. It was good to have it confirmed that she was a Hamilton, at least in her father's eyes, and that made her bubble with joy. Knowing how much he cared was something she never realized she needed. Eliza wanting to be a part of her family was new, though. She never thought that Eliza would want the result of her husband's affair in her life, her family. As she thought it over, a smile broke over her face.
"Does this mean I get to call you mom now?"