Alexander cannot help but be susceptible to sentiment, in matters of the heart. He is weak to it.
"Mine," he says. "It's mine. And why climb, when the fall is so hard? Why should I rise, only to be slapped down? I could eviscerate every mediocre lawyer in my path, but in the end his prospects are greater than mine, as I can't even be admitted to the federal bar."
And why is he talking about this, when Burr, in his own, sideways way, told Alexander I love you?
"My heart died with Phillip," he says. "My body took some time to follow suit. And yet, here I am, body and heart, the one animated, the other beating." He admits, painfully: "I want the child."
A shake of his head.
"But there is such heartache in welcoming it -- what happens to me, Burr? What happens when you're gone?" His voice breaks, on the last word, and he takes Burr's hand in both of his, turns his face towards the palm, kisses it, eyes closing.
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"Mine," he says. "It's mine. And why climb, when the fall is so hard? Why should I rise, only to be slapped down? I could eviscerate every mediocre lawyer in my path, but in the end his prospects are greater than mine, as I can't even be admitted to the federal bar."
And why is he talking about this, when Burr, in his own, sideways way, told Alexander I love you?
"My heart died with Phillip," he says. "My body took some time to follow suit. And yet, here I am, body and heart, the one animated, the other beating." He admits, painfully: "I want the child."
A shake of his head.
"But there is such heartache in welcoming it -- what happens to me, Burr? What happens when you're gone?" His voice breaks, on the last word, and he takes Burr's hand in both of his, turns his face towards the palm, kisses it, eyes closing.