Original Publishing Date: 12-04-19 (Just past midnight of 12/03)
Author Note: Today I give you a drabble, as I am technically posting this late because school and procrastination and about a million other things are lowkey consuming me. I hope you enjoy my Day Three entry regardless! :w:
Henry Eagleton had run his wood crafting business for nearly thirty-four years in tandem with his commissioned paintings projects. He took great, painstaking pride in his products, and due to his careful saving and notoriety throughout the colonies, he could typically afford to experiment and redo his creations at a somewhat leisurely pace. Thanks to the demand for supplies and hope alike throughout the Revolution, he'd both seen a rise in demand for his products- particularly his decorative coffins- as well as been forced to crank out his things more rapidly to keep up with peoples' finnicky demands and tight budgets.
When it he received commissions for something other than casing for the deceased or memorabilia for broken families, then, he was eager to settle back into it. This commission was from a member of the significant Schuyler family, and requested that he make a carved and painted letter box to store a magnitude of parchment within. The young woman- one 'Elizabeth Schuyler'- only requested specifics in that the initials 'A' and 'E' were engraved somewhere within the cherry wood, which left him as much creative freedom as he truly preferred.
"Excuse me, sir? Mister Eagleton?" A young male voice carried through his story, bringing the old man's gaze upward from his realm of concentration. "And a good day to you, sir. I am here to see about having a sealing stamp created with my familial heirloom."
"A stamp for seals, you say?" Henry mused, a small smile hinting on his lips. "I have not crafted many of those, but I am nevertheless intrigued by your decision to pursue my services with such a request. Have you no other recommendations of other gentlemen who specialize more in that particular craft?"
"I have," the young man, who was terribly skinny and small in his Patriotic uniform, replied indignantly. "But I do insist on paying you. If you must know my reasoning, it is for my dearest maiden, the most beloved and stunning lady in the world, has spoken very highly of you. If she hath enough trust within you to craft a container to properly hold my meticulously crafted words, then I put my good faith within you in a similar interest."
"I see. And what is this maiden's name, pray tell?" Henry asked, his eyes sparkling as ideas danced round his head at the possibility of having been employed by both parties of a courtship.
"Elizabeth Schuyler, sir."
Henry's half-smile grew into a more significant one as he carefully rose to his feet, making his way over to the passionate young man with his hand extended with a bit of parchment in order to copy or create this symbol of his. "I am indeed familiar with Miss Schuyler, and I have the utmost faith that you could have not chosen more wisely on this matter."
"Oh, this is positively marvelous!" Eliza gasped as the handmade letterbox was presented to her. "How beautiful!"
It had taken Mister Eagleton nearly a full month's time to complete this project. In this time, she and her beau, her dear Hamilton, had exchanged letters as often as possible, and her collection was already too hefty to contain loosely within a hidden area of one of her dressers. This box was practically perfect in every single way; the wood was cherry colored, a deep stain that looked and felt polished as she cradled it against her hands. The initials 'A' and 'E' were carved into the very front, and all across the sides, there were neat drawings of flowers, birds, trees, fruit, desserts, and animals. The most endearing parts, however, were atop the thick, sturdy lid that was able to be lifted by opening a golden clasp. A familial symbol, one that she did not recognize but figured had to pertain to her suitor in some way, adorned the very center as an engraving. All around this emblem and above the painted artwork, there were words, all of them resembling the kind of speech and even the handwriting that her darling wrote to her within.
"I cannot express to you how absolutely perfect this is," she breathed out in contented bliss. "Thank you, Mister Eagleton. Thank you so very, very much!"
The two of them exchanged currency, and he carefully repackaged her item so that she was able to slip it into one of her sturdy, thickly made pockets. Before she was able to leave this shop, her mind already racing with all that she would tell and ask Alexander about this incredibly personalized letterbox, the old man gently put a hand on her arm and gave her a kind smile.
"That suitor of yours is certainly something, Miss Schuyler," he noted, not unkindly. "I do wonder if he is always as decisive and confrontational with the most mundane of matters as he has been in my encounters with him. Tell me, if you would, Miss Elizabeth…What is that beau really like to capture your heart so tightly?"
With a smile of her own, Eliza simply placed one of her hands over his while pulling her arm back to rest on her chest, just over her fluttering heart. "Sir, all I can say is that he is, and he is mine."