Peggy Schuyler Van Rennselaer emerged from within the grove, wearing her favorite yellow dress, her curly brown hair blowing over her shoulders in the heavenly breeze. She smiled at Alexander and rested her head on his shoulder like a sister would.

"Alex," she said sweetly. "You've come home."

"Hey, Peggy," Alexander said, his hand on her back. "I - I'm so sorry you had to go before me."

"Don't be," Peggy said. "I had a good life. I loved my sisters, my son, my husband - the richest man in New York, by the way," she added, smiling. "And I enjoyed visiting the city, but I could never have lived there. I preferred the quiet country upstate, where I grew up." She sighed. "And I know it's selfish of me - I should have been there for you and Eliza - but I'm glad I went before Philip did. It was good for him to have one familiar face up here, at least."

"He loved you," Alexander said. "You were his favorite aunt."

"I should be angry at you," Peggy said. "I still can't believe what you did to Eliza. But if she can forgive you, so can I."

"What about your husband?" Alexander asked.

"What about him?"

"Aren't you mad at him for remarrying so soon after you died?"

Peggy shook her head. "Stephen had plenty of time to get used to the idea. He knew I wasn't going to make it, and our son needed a mother, so… No. I don't begrudge him happiness. I know he loved me, and he can love again."

"And Eliza?" Alexander asked. "Do you think she'll ever love again?"

Peggy turned to him sharply. "Would you want her to?"

"Yes," Alexander said, after a moment of hesitation. "I'd want her to have a husband who treated her like she deserved. And I'd want our children to have a father, even if it wasn't me."

Peggy smiled. "You were the love of her life," she said. "I remember how happy she was every time she got a letter from you. She'll never be that happy again. But if she were here, I think she'd say her life was better because you were in it."

"Thank you, Peggy," said Alexander wryly. "I think you were the wisest and happiest Schuyler sister, because you had the good sense not to fall in love with me."

Alexander and Peggy looked out over the horizon to see the expanding America, the garden that would grow from the seeds Alexander had planted during his lifetime. Neither of them new how long it would take for those seeds to sprout, or what they would grow into. But for once, Alexander had all the time in the world, and he was willing to wait for it.