Hamilton's face softens into an entirely different sort of astonishment.

"Really? Both of you?" he asks. "For me?" A bit of a smile, then, and he kisses Burr again, soft and brief. "You shouldn't have."

Hamilton considers, though -- "He has knowledge of the Hessian camps, and sketches." To Laurens: "Return quietly, I would say, so that you can ensure that Washington needs to weigh no considerations of broader morale or discipline. That is his first concern. And I'll write him a note -- containing neither trees nor roots -- to beg for his forbearance, at least until you and I should return.

"Does that satisfy?" He asks both Laurens and Burr. "I think he would be inclined to wait, and not take hasty action." It is Washington's character, after all.

"I would gladly risk it," says Laurens, "even without such assurances."