For the Honeydukes challenge on the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry Forum.
"When you said you were destroying everything, I didn't realise…" Angelica trails off, unable to find the words.
She stares at the fireplace, burning bright, and makes an indistinguishable gesture. Eliza's bedroom, usually immaculate, is a mess. Any paper that didn't make it to the fire—mostly scraps of sketches and emptied envelopes—is scattered on the floor. Her drawers are open, her clothes hanging over the edges. An open suitcase sits abandoned in the corner.
"You thought I was lying?"
"I thought you were being metaphorical," Angelica corrects. "Dramatic, perhaps."
Eliza frowns. "You disapprove."
"No." Angelica shakes her head emphatically. But her sister knows her too well to be fooled by such over-acting, and Angelica feels compelled to continue. "I'm just surprised, Eliza. History will remember Alexander. His writing… It's important. One day, historians will pour over it."
"Historians will have his essays and reports and pamphlets," Eliza says. "They'll have his letters to Washington, Lafayette and Jefferson. And I suppose they'll have his letters to you, won't they?"
Angelica flinches. "Eliza…"
"Then they don't need his letters to me. They don't need to know how he tricked me. How he lied! How poor Eliza loves him more than he ever loved her." Her eyes are fierce when she meets her sister's gaze. "History will know so much of him. So much of me. Is it so selfish to want just one moment to be forgotten?"
Angelica immediately softens. She pulls her sister towards her, enveloping her in her arms and rubbing comforting circles into her back. With each passing moment, she can feel the stiffness begin to leave her sister's body.
"Of course not," she says quietly. "Most wives have the dignity of privacy in these situations—husbands who understand the value of discretion. It's only right that you claim what you can."
And that's all it takes for Eliza to crumble into herself and begin to wail. Angelica's hold on her tightens.
"Hush now," she soothes. "I'm here now. Hush, hush. We'll burn it all, Eliza. Every last bit. We'll burn it all."