As Aaron Burr walked me over to the three men in the bar, I got nervous. I knew first impressions can be tough. The men radiated confidence as they walked over and introduced themselves. There was Lafayette, a Frenchman who was loud and proud. There was Hercules Mulligan, who was a big man but who's personality did not match his build. He appeared quite gentle to me.
And then there was John Laurens. He was roughly the same size as me, and his brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He had a splash of freckles across his nose and he had deep brown eyes, which were difficult not to stare into. He smiled at me when we first met in that bar. After I was introduced to all of them, I was invited to sit down. Lafayette and Mulligan sat across from me and John sat right next to me, barely a centimetre between us. From the very first time I saw his face, he caught my attention.
After that first night of meeting the men they were who I considered my closest friends. In 1780, we all went to a ball and Burr spoke to me about the Schuyler Sisters. They were known widely for their looks and for their fathers money. Burr had his eye on them the whole night. This is how I came to meet Angelica Schuyler. A beautiful woman inside and out. We spoke for a considerable amount of time, being both funny and a bit flirty. She eventually told me that I must meet her sister. Eliza was different to her sister in many ways. She was just as beautiful, but she was quiet and refined. I liked Angelica as soon as she opened her mouth, and I started to like Eliza as we danced. I noticed across the room Angelica was dancing with John. I caught Angelicas eye first, and she grinned at me. I then caught Johns eye, and he half-heartedly smiled and looked to the floor.
By the end of the night, my friends were shitfaced and could barely walk. Lafayette and Mulligan stumbled ahead, drunkenly singing a song I couldn't make out. John and I walked behind them , admiring the sunrise and occasionally grinning at each other. He asked me about Eliza and if I was going to see her again. I wasn't sure at the time but as the months went on I wrote letters to her frequently.
Eliza and I wrote letters to each other so much, I might even say we were quickly falling in love. Every time I wrote to her, I asked for Angelica because after I spoke to her at the ball, it was hard to keep her off my mind. No matter how deeply I was falling for Eliza, it just kept getting more difficult to keep Angelica out of my thoughts.