"You wanted him," murmurs Hamilton. Oh, but this one is much more difficult. He moves to his feet again, and paces, paces. Laurens is so many things that Hamilton is not. Steady -- kind -- rich -- tall, even. And Hamilton's virtues, such as they are, seem to have their match in Laurens: courage, and intelligence, and education.

And it is so difficult to have faith that Burr would want him still, if Laurens were an option. Marriage seems like a fragile guarantee, in the face of that.

"I cannot fault you for it -- I know what it is to want him desperately. But the thought has me anxious." This is not a refusal as much as it is a request for reassurance.