"Fire!" Hercules shouted across the lines.
His shout was followed by the roar of fifteen cannons firing in tandem. Alexander glanced over his shoulder to take in the sight of a line of cannons expelling billows of smoke. Hercules' face was smudged with soot and gunpowder.
"Captain Hamilton!" One of Washington's commanders shouted, redirecting Alexander's attention. "The ammunition!"
Alexander let out a sigh and continued moving across the field towards the commander who had run out of ammunition. He was crawling on his hands and knees, risking being trampled, as well as mud and blood stains, in order to deliver the required ammunitions to the commander.
"Captain Hamilton, return to the line!" John rode over on his horse and positioned himself between Alexander and the commander. "General Washington has called for a retreat. You and Captain Mulligan must prepare the artillery for movement!"
"Yes, sir!" Alexander called back.
He crawled back to the artillery line, where Hercules was already assisting some of their men in loading the cannons onto carts. He set to work assisting where he could, and ordering the men in his company when there was nothing else he could do.
As Washington's forces began to retreat, Alexander looked to Hercules.
"Lead the front of the line." Alexander called to him. "I'll follow up at the rear."
Hercules paused for only a second. The rear was the most dangerous and consequently least desirable position during a retreat. It was the rear which was usually harassed and attacked by British forces. Alexander's odds of dying during this battle increased exponentially if he was placed at the rear.
"All right." There was no time for Hercules to argue.
They finished packing up the equipment and joined the line of soldiers retreating. They were among the last of the companies to join the line. Alexander would not only be bringing up the rear of his own company - he would be bringing up the rear of all of Washington's forces. Death was now a near certainty.
Alexander tried to ignore thoughts of death as he mounted his horse and followed up the line of retreating soldiers. The sound of hooves following behind him caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.
The sound of hooves began to die off as they neared camp. Alexander's posture relaxed somewhat. A few bullets had whistled past him throughout the retreat. Some had even caught the men in front of him.
I will not have to worry about that now. Not until the next battle, Alexander thought to himself.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard the sound of a gun firing in the distance. Seconds later, a searing pain erupted throughout his body. He looked to his shoulder, the source of the pain. There was a large hole in his jacket - a hole which had not been there a moment ago. Blood had already begun pouring out of the hole.
"Captain Hamilton!" Hercules shouted.
"It's all right, Captain Mulligan." Alexander called back through gritted teeth. "Carry on."
"Captain Hamilton…" Hercules protested. His voice was not that of a carefully controlled commander. He allowed his concern to seep into his voice.
"Carry on." Alexander insisted.
Hercules cast him a meaningful look before nodding. The procession carried on after Washington's forces. Alexander bunched up the handkerchief in his pocket and held it against his wound, hoping to slow the bleeding.
He hoped that he would live until they reached camp. If he did not, though, he hoped that Eliza would grieve for him.
Alexander survived long enough to arrive at camp. According to the physician, he might not have survived, had the journey been even ten minutes longer. He was quickly bandaged and given a bed in the makeshift infirmary.
Once it was clear that he would not die - at least, absent any infections or unexpected complications - Alexander was allowed to receive visitors. Washington was his first. Alexander did not even try to hide his surprise.
"Your Excellency." He said, struggling to his feet so that he might bow before Washington.
"At ease." Washington waved off his effort with a small smile. Alexander had never seen Washington smile before. "I wanted to thank you for the bravery that you demonstrated today. Captain Mulligan tells me that you volunteered to follow up my forces, knowing full well the dangers that your position would pose."
"Captain Mulligan is generous in his praises, sir." Alexander replied as modestly as he could.
"That may be, but he is correct to praise you in this instance. You could have assigned the task to any one of your men." Washington said.
"I would never ask a man to do a task which I would not do, myself." Alexander said.
He was not bragging; he was making a statement about leadership that he knew Washington would agree with. Washington was always placing himself in danger among his men. He respected men who behaved similarly.
Washington nodded.
"I am in need of another aide in my camp." He said. "As the war continues, I find that more and more people seek out my correspondence. Would you be interested in such a position?"
"It would be my honor to serve you in any capacity, Your Excellency." Alexander answered straight away.
"Very good." Washington approved. He nodded a second time before turning on his heels. "I expect you to report to my quarters the moment that you are able to write again. I look forward to seeing your work, Colonel Hamilton."
Colonel Hamilton.
The title was music to his ears.
"Congratulations, Colonel Hamilton." A nearby nurse said, fixing Alexander with a bright smile.
"Thank you." Alexander said, returning her smile. He then paused, considering her. "Do you know how to write?"
The nurse blushed. Alexander hoped that he had not embarrassed her. One could not assume, in this day and age, that a woman - especially a woman belonging to a lower class - knew how to read or write. Education was rarely afforded to women.
"Yes." She said, still blushing. "I know how to write."
"Could you do me a tremendous favor?" Alexander pressed. "You see, with my shoulder…I cannot write until it heals, but there is a letter I must write tonight."
The nurse, a woman named Maria Lewis, wrote a letter while Alexander dictated for two nights in a row before she asked any questions. When she did, it caught Alexander by surprise.
"You must really care about this Miss Schuyler." She remarked, looking down at the letter in her hands with a smile.
"I do." Alexander agreed.
"If you don't mind me asking…what did you do to anger her?" Maria asked, casting Alexander a shy look. "You apologize in every letter, but you never say what it is that you are apologizing for."
"I, uh, I lied to her." Alexander replied, looking down at his lap. "I told her that I belonged to a more prestigious family than I really do, in order to court her. I had hoped that she would grow to love me as I worked to attain the status required to marry her, but…once she found out, she was so angry. She is still so angry. I can only hope that my letters will change her mind."
"That doesn't sound so bad to me." Maria said, folding the letter in her hands. She looked Alexander over with big, blue eyes. Alexander had never noticed how blue her eyes were.
Alexander tried to shrug. He winced at the pain the act brought about.
Maria smiled as she adjusted his pillow beneath him.
"The paper has arrived, Colonel Hamilton." Maria plopped the aforementioned paper on Alexander's bed first thing in the morning.
Though Alexander had since recovered from his injury, he was forced to reside in the medic's tent. Washington had distributed all of the appropriate quarters when they first returned. Now, there was nowhere but the medic's tent for Alexander to sleep. He found that he did not mind. He enjoyed the company of his fellow injured soldiers, as well as the medic staff.
"Good." Alexander unfolded the newspaper, his brows furrowing. "I would like to hear how Congress is blaming the militia for the most recent lack of rations."
Maria smiled and shook her head. She laughed. She laughed at most of the things that Alexander said. Alexander was not accustomed to such treatment.
"I cannot understand why you read that thing if you know it's going to make you angry." She remarked.
"There is a certain pleasure in being outraged." Alexander replied, not looking up from the newspaper.
Maria laughed again.
From behind the newspaper, Alexander smiled.
"Hammie?" Hercules poked his head into the tent with a hesitant smile. "Do you mind if I come in?"
"Ask my warden." Alexander replied, gesturing towards Maria.
Maria laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she turned to look at Hercules. Alexander grinned. Hercules smiled indulgently, but was very obviously not so amused.
"May I?" He asked Maria.
Maria nodded deferentially. She may have been the nurse, but she was still lower ranking than both Alexander and Hercules. Despite their teasing, she was required to acquiesce to their requests.
"You may." She agreed.
"Thank you." Hercules said, sparing Maria a sardonic smile.
He walked across the infirmary towards Alexander, ignoring the other injured men that he passed. Alexander tried to maintain his smile as Hercules approached.
He had yet to tell Hercules that Washington had promoted him to an aide. He was ashamed to admit that he had not even considered Hercules when he had accepted the promotion. Hercules would be left alone in command of the company. He would have to work a lot harder, or find another captain that he tolerated enough to work with.
"Listen, Hammie. I've got to talk to you." Hercules said as he took a seat beside Alexander's cot.
"All right." Alexander said. He licked his lips and nodded his head. He tried to tamp down his own apprehension. "I've got to talk to you, too."
"Please permit me go first." Hercules implored him.
Alexander nodded. He would think about how to phrase his own news while Hercules spoke.
"I spoke with General Washington following your injury." Hercules began.
Alexander's nerves got the better of him. He assumed that Washington had told Hercules about Alexander's promotion; he might have told Hercules that Alexander did not think about dissolving their partnership before accepting the promotion.
"General Washington promoted me to an aide." He blurted out before Hercules could finish his own news.
Hercules let out a sigh and shook his head.
"I knew that you wouldn't allow me to share my news first." He mumbled without much malice. He met Alexander's eyes and quirked a small smile. "I know that General Washington promoted you. He promoted me, too. Before he extended the offer of an aide to you, he pulled me aside and warned me of his intentions. He felt compelled to tell me, as it would put me in an uncomfortable position as the only captain of our company. He offered me a promotion, as well. I will return to New York to join a spy ring that he is organizing. The company that we have created will be absorbed into Washington's troops. He intended to advise you of my promotion when you protested your own promotion, but it seems that you did not protest your promotion in the slightest."
Hercules cast Alexander a pointed look. Alexander frowned regretfully. He could feel his ears reddening with embarrassment.
"Herc, I'm sorry." He said. "I did not take the time to consider -"
"I was only trying to make you feel guilty." Hercules waved off Alexander's apology, a grin blooming on his face. "To tell you the truth, Hammie, I'm glad to be returning to New York. I fear I do not possess the proper disposition for war. Spying will suit me much better."
Alexander smiled, relieved. He had been dreading this conversation for days, now.
"I stopped by to tell you that I have been instructed to return to New York in two days' time." Hercules said, his smile fading somewhat.
"So soon?" Alexander wondered at Washington's efficiency.
He felt a strange pang in his stomach. Hercules had been his first friend when he arrived in New York for the first time. Hercules had been around for all of Alexander's triumphs and failures in America since then. Moving forward as an aide de camp would be the first time that Alexander would be without Hercules' reluctant guidance.
Hercules shrugged.
"I go where I am told." He replied, ending any sort of debate about his departure date. He then leaned closer to Alexander, lowering his voice a bit. "But hey, before I go - do yourself a favor and stop writing those stupid letters to Eliza Schuyler, will you? Now that you are an aide, you can make yourself an advantageous match in your own right. Look for a lady with whom you do not have the history you have with Miss Schuyler."
"Herc." Alexander protested, shaking his head.
"Miss Lewis has not stopped looking at you since I first arrived. Perhaps she would not object to a match with one Colonel Hamilton." Hercules suggested, disregarding Alexander's protests. He glanced over his shoulder at Maria, who was, in fact, looking in their direction. Her face reddened when she realized that she had been caught. She busied herself with changing a man's bandages.
"She is likely ensuring that you do not injure me further." Alexander said, rolling his eyes.
Hercules shook his head.
"You deserve to be happy, Hammie." He said solemnly. "Do not allow Miss Schuyler to make you feel otherwise."
Having said that, Hercules rose to his feet. He tipped a slight bow in Alexander's direction - Alexander realized with a start that it was now necessary for Hercules to do so, as Alexander outranked him - then nodded in Maria's direction. She curtsied back.
"I'll see you around, Alex." Hercules said without much conviction.
It occurred to Alexander that he might never see Hercules again. The war had created an uncertainty that Alexander had not anticipated.
"Yeah." He agreed, despite the uncertainty. "I'll see you around."
He watched as Hercules strode out of the tent. Once Hercules disappeared from sight, he sat in a puzzled sort of silence.
"Are you all right, Colonel Hamilton?" Maria asked him after a while.
"I will be." Alexander assured her.
They were both quiet for a moment. Alexander took a moment to assess Maria. She was pretty; it was not the first time that he had noticed her looks. He liked how easily smiling came to her. She was intelligent, too. Perhaps she was not intelligent in the well-bred, sophisticated way that Eliza was, but she was knowledgeable on the subject of medicine and she spoke her mind well enough. She would be a suitable match for any officer, no matter the dowry that she might or might not bring with her.
"Colonel Hamilton?" Maria fidgeted uncomfortably under Alexander's stare.
Alexander cleared his throat uncomfortably and forced a smile that was meant to placate her.
"Would you like to start your letter to Miss Schuyler for the day?" Maria asked.
"No," Alexander replied slowly. "No, I think that I had better take a break from writing to Miss Schuyler."
It would be the first time in six months that he did not send a letter.