The room didn't have to hold its breath waiting for Eliza's answer, because everyone knew what it was going to be. She jumped up and down, waving a hand in front of her face in a way that would have been annoying to Peggy on anyone but Eliza.
"Yes! Yes! Oh my god," she exclaimed, and Alexander got off his knee to embrace her. There were loud awwws ,catcalls, and applause when they kissed. Peggy was cheering and clapping, Lafayette was beaming. Somewhere nearby, John had opened a bottle of champagne excitedly.
Peggy saw her dad smiling, which she knew was the best they would get from him. Phillip Schuyler was a very traditional man who liked a simple life and wanted the best for his daughters. He hadn't been to keen on Alexander seeing Eliza at first, but eventually gave in (with much pleading from Eliza). When Alexander had asked for Eliza's hand, Phillip gave in again, with much more reluctance.
Now, anyone could see that Alexander and Eliza were the happiest couple in the room. It was like they were in their own little world, even with all the chaos around them. Peggy hoped that her father wouldn't have to regret the decision to give them his blessing.
She would congratulate them when things had died down a bit, Peggy decided. Right now, she wanted some champagne. She walked over to Laurens to get some.
Might as well get some for the whole table, she thought, and grabbed four glasses carefully. She got back and set them down, and they all thanked her politely. Then they sat and watched the events unfold.
Music began playing, and Eliza dragged a giggly looking Alexander to dance. Peggy identified the song as Forever by Chris Brown. She smirked, remembering an episode of The Office. Eliza loved that show; Peggy should've known she would play this song.
"You'd think they would have save some of this for the wedding", said Lafayette. Peggy smiled.
"They don't like waiting very much." shrugged Peggy. "Besides, the wedding will be much more expensive." She watched as more people went to dance. She looked back to Lafayette.
"I'm not gonna sit here all night," she proclaimed. "Want to go dance?" She watched as Lafayette had a small coughing fit.
"Dance?" he said, almost critically. She nodded, trying not to look amused at his expression. She got up and grabbed his arm. He stood up, but practically dug his feet into the ground.
"Come on, it'll be fun."
"Peggy, I'm not nearly drunk enough to dance." she laughed, but he looked pretty serious. She arched an eyebrow.
"Seriously? You need to be drunk to have a good time?" he held up his hands in mock defense.
"That's not what I meant. I'm just forewarning you that I'm going to look like an absolute dork." He got out of his chair all the same. Peggy smiled.
"Well, that makes two of us."
They made their way over to the floor and inserted themselves into the crowd. Peggy felt it easy to let herself loosen up enough to dance. The champagne helped a little; the room felt brighter. Lafayette, however, wasn't feeling the same ease.
He looked, in Peggy's professional opinion, like an absolute dork.
Not that she was about to tell him that.
As they continued, dancing, Lafayette started loosening up and really got into it. Peggy couldn't help but laugh at some of his moves. She tried to stop because she didn't want to scare him away, but he just laughed along with her. Eventually, Eliza spotted her and made her way over, beaming.
"Having fun?" she asked. "Of course." said Peggy, twirling her sister.
"Aren't you?" she asked Eliza sarcastically. Eliza, who was jumping up and down with the rhythm of the song, laughed. "Always."
They continued dancing together for a while, and Peggy realized how much she would miss her sister. She knew nothing would really change because Eliza had already moved in with Alexander, but felt that she would see her sister less and less from now on, like Angelica.
She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She still had today with Eliza.
Lafayette took that opportunity to go and down some more champagne, not because he needed it any more, but because he was thirsty; dancing is hard work. When he got back, a slow song was playing. The main lights were dimmed and replaced with a florescent purple glow.
Peggy had instinctively went back to her seat and sat down. She was used to getting out of the way at this point in the evening. She watched as her sisters twirled around; they were dazzling. They moved through the sea of people with their respective partners with grace in a whirl of peach and turquoise.
Lafayette saw Peggy watching and frowned. From what short time he had spent with the girl, he knew she wasn't a watcher; she was a doer. Even though he knew that he would try juggling chainsaws before he tried slow dancing, he knew that he didn't want her to have to sit there.
Peggy felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and Lafayette cleared his throat.
"Voulez-vous dansez?" he asked.
"Oui." smiled Peggy. Lafayette then realized that he had spoken in French rather than English.
"You speak French?" he asked.
"Barely. I took a few classes in high school." she said, getting to her feet. "Were you hoping I wouldn't know what that meant?" she teased.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"No, truthfully I didn't really mean to speak in French. It just came out that way." he confessed. Peggy smiled warmly. She knew he must have been nervous, and was greatful that he was being this kind to her. She offered him her hand. He took it.
He followed behind her as she led him back to the floor. She placed one of his hands on her waist and took the other in her other hand. Lafayette assumed that they would be swaying along with the song, like the others, but Peggy had other plans.
She took the lead and turned their dance into a sort of waltz. They moved more than any other people on the floor; Lafayette feared he would trip over his own feet. They literally danced circles around everyone. People were starting to stare, but Lafayette could care less.
He felt like he was floating. He wanted to keep dancing with Peggy until Alexander shut the party down. He watched as her apron twirled gracefully behind her movements and stray bits of hair fell out of her messy ponytail. She had a wild smile on her face that reminded him of the ocean. He couldn't tear his eyes away if he wanted to.
Peggy couldn't help but feel noticed for once. Not by the people in the crowd that were beginning to stare, but by the Frenchman who was beaming at her. It was an exhilarating feeling that she didn't want to go away. He stepped on her feet multiple times, but neither of them really took notice.
Eventually, the music stopped. Peggy suddenly realized how close she was to Lafayette and backed up a little. He almost looked unhappy when she did. Alexander's voice came over a microphone again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here! I hope you all enjoyed yourself. It means a lot to Eliza and I that you could be here to see our engagement. Now get out." he finished with laughter from the crowd.
Peggy looked at the clock on the wall, which read 12:30. She hadn't realized how late it had gotten. She turned back to Lafayette, whose nervous persona had returned.
"Thanks for dancing with me." said Peggy. "I had fun." Lafayette couldn't fathom that she was thanking him.
"No, thank you for putting up with me stepping on your feet all night." he said. She giggled.
They made their way out of the room and outside into the night air. Lafayette wanted to ask if they would ever see one another again, but couldn't bring himself to do it out of fear that the answer would be no. He settled for asking for her number instead.
Before he could, though, a drunk looking John Laurens came up to the two of them.
"Laf, where have you been? Hercules and Megan and I have been waiting for forever for you to leave. If you don't hurry, I'm pretty sure Herc and Meg are gonna have sex in the car." he said in a rush.
Lafayette groaned in exasperation. Before he could apologize or even register what was happening, he was being dragged away by John Laurens. Peggy waved goodbye to him ruefully.
She said her goodbyes and congratulations to Eliza and Alexander, then made her way down the driveway. She fished her keys out of her purse again and got into her car.
She was halfway to her house when she realized she had no way to talk to Lafayette.
AN: Thank you thank you thank you to people who reviewed or followed or faved. Also, the translation for the French line is: would you like to dance? I am honestly just using google translate, so if anyone who speaks French knows that that is wrong, feel free to let me know.
