Here in My Heart [jeffmads] || DISCONTINUED

Monticello

Thomas's legs were stiff as wooden planks after the long carriage ride from the bay. His eyes were greeted with the familiar sight of fresh, rolling green hills along the road that led to his home: Monticello. The excitement of being home was something he could hardly contain, so when his carriage reached the base of the mountain that Monticello sat atop, and he heard the coachman groan about the lengthy journey, he laughed merrily. They moved onwards, the coachman grumbling about the 867-foot journey to ascend up the winding, steep terrain.

Though the voyage from France had been arduous, he was finally home.

Thomas stared up at the large pillars before him, approaching the entrance. Even the smallest of cracks in the marble stairs were familiar to the soles of his shoes. The front door flew open before he even lifted his hand to the door handle. Standing in the doorway was a young woman, no older than fifteen years, a grand smile lighting up her face.

"Sally! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Mr. Jefferson,"

She shuffled to the side so he could enter the house. "It certainly has."

"I trust that everything has been in perfect functioning order?"

Sally nodded sharply, and Thomas continued to stroll towards his office, unconcerned with his bags; he knew that the coachman had been paid to deal with his surplus of luggage.

How much did that cost? Thomas couldn't recall exactly, deciding not to dampen his cheerful mood with thoughts of money. It didn't matter, he would be fine.

He threw open the door to his study, making a beeline for his desk. A part of him fluttered at the thought of finding a letter from James Madison laying there, welcoming him home as if Madison himself stood behind the regal leather chair, his arms open pulling meaning to greet Thomas with a welcoming embrace.

He hoped James wouldn't be upset with him. Sure, his initial arrival time of one and a half months had been thrown off by the storm, but only three more weeks wasn't too bad. At least it hadn't doubled.

Instead, he found a letter from President George Washington placed meticulously on the wooden surface. The President's name was scribbled with fresh dark ink over the cover. It could not have arrived much later than today.

At that moment, the coachman entered the room with some of his smaller cases, Sally trailing behind the fatigued man with Thomas's largest trunk mounted onto her shoulders. Unlike the breathless coachman, she had barely broken into a sweat, and set the suitcase down much more gracefully than the man.

As soon as the carriage driver had left the room, Thomas snatched up his briefcase and began to attend to James Madison's letters. Once he was assured of their safety, he remembered the letter on his desk.

"Sally, be a lamb, won't you open that letter for me?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas saw as Sally broke the wax seal on the letter and cautiously removed the parchment from the envelope. Her eyes browsed the writing. Her eyes expanded, piquing Thomas's interest.

"What? What does it say?"

"It says the President's assembling a cabinet–" Sally hesitated "–and that you are to be the Secretary of State."

"Great!" Thomas exclaimed. Maybe he would finally get to do some real work in the political field with James, not just theoretical banter.

"You're already Senate approved."

Sally handed the letter to a beaming Thomas Jefferson, and he accepted the letter before reading it over. It was true, and he would be leaving for New York City the next day.