Requested by: bethbop
OC: Rose Hamilton

"Margarita, good heavens. Do you wish for the attention of a gentleman tonight or not?"

Stifling a groan of conflicted feelings, the youngest sister of the most well known in all of the colonies, avoided the question. She instead answered with a blush and silence. Her hand reached out for the brush on the table before her, but one of her sisters grabbed it quicker.

"You're bothered by the question," her sister, Eliza, commented. The younger one held her tongue to the roof of her mouth at those words of simplicity. She finally gained the courage to snatch the brush out of her hand.

"Indeed," she remarked, brushing the tangle strands of her brown locks one more time. The gazes from her siblings dug into the back of her dress, where the corset tightened around her figure with every sudden movement.

Peggy sighed dramatically, praying that the two would be on their way to the ball. Each had the guarantee to leave with an arm wrapped in the embrace of a handsome man.

"Hush, you're worrying too much." With a reluctant noise of approval, Peggy allowed her sisters to pull her from the depths and comfort of her room to the cold reality outside.

Here comes another night of insecurities and being only the younger sister, she tiredly thought as the doors to the ball opened.

Shuffling behind her sisters, skirts clutched up in her hands, Peggy kept her gaze low. Every once in a while she'd look up, only to see no one looking back. Tears filled the corners of her eyes and threatened to spill.

The darling sister that had snatched a lover long ago greeted the guests with the usual flirtatious, but sincere words. Peggy refrained from giving her well wishes to her brother in law, knowing of the burden that he still brought to their family.

Off to the side of the ballroom, Eliza poised herself across from a man, who seemed to be quite mesmerized in her eyes. Muffled sounds of fury escaped the younger sister's lips.

"Disheartening, isn't it?"

Who could possibly be talking to her? Peggy fixated her attention on the female voice from behind, and she started to speak, but cut herself short. The other woman interjected.

"Seeing someone you know fall in love," she finished, clarifying the confusion that had come to the sister's head. Lips pale and formed into a heart, hair cascading over her shoulders, this woman could be a blessing in disguise.

"Y-yes, it's my sister but," Peggy started, crossing her arms, and tilting her head, "I'm afraid of loneliness and seeing her heart get broken by some fool."

"Well, with great certainty, I know my brother is far from a fool. He'd be a great fit for that little dove of a girl." She twisted a piece of hair through her index and middle finger.

Brother? Peggy felt her mouth almost drop open, but she managed to halt any further action. If her father noticed, he'd consider it unladylike to gawk in such a manner.

What he would think of his daughter conversing with a woman in a scenario of a ball would be a different story.

"You're siblings? Oh, excuse my nonsense, I mean nothing against him or the-" Peggy let out a deep breath, exhausting herself with the sudden chatter.

Clearly amused, the woman chuckled. "We are, dear. In case you didn't know, that's Alexander." She nodded to her brother, just to make it definite, before sipping from her nearby wine glass. "I'm Rose."

Peggy grabbed a wine glass of her own, delicately sipping the contents, and showing the lady how respectable she could be. "Ah, it's a pleasure. You probably don't know of me-"

"Margarita, yes. The overlooked, but charming daughter of a talented politician. How could I not know of you? Every man here surely has laid eyes below your waistline this evening, and it can't help but make a lady wonder."

The flirty compliment flushed her heart with feelings she'd never experienced. Peggy brushed her hair from her face, observing some men nearby, and truly wondering if they had been looking at her this whole night.

"I'm flattered, miss. But one could argue on that last statement." She clinked the edge of her glass, letting sound echo across the room.

"I would confess to looking where their eyes wandered to as well. The men all gush of the beautiful sisters and it's upsetting to think they're overlooking the best one," Rose stated calmly, staring at her brother across the way.

Peggy opened her mouth to say something, anything, but all that came out was a gasp.

She hadn't flirted with anyone much before, only men, and didn't know how to formulate a thing that would be attracting. Instead of humiliating herself in front of the one person who ever took a notice to her, she looked into her wine glass.

"Snug fit that dress of yours is," Rose said, barely giving signal to the fact that she had looked at. "It must be a pain to be the one that has to take it off every night on your own."

One of her elegant hands reached forward and touched a shoulder. Peggy breathed nervously, feeling the pulse in her wrist rise, and all the worry slip away.

"Those lips look they've been yearning for touch for a long time," Rose continued, only igniting more feelings in the younger girl.

About to deliver something flirtatious of her own, liking the way this evening was turning out to be, Peggy sensed a tap on her other shoulder. She turned in a hurry, expecting to see her father, ready to drag her off.

Thankfully it was her other sister. Eliza beamed as she gushed, "Oh, it seems you've meet Alexander's sister already. We've been talking the whole evening and I'm quite touched by his words."

For once in her life, Peggy didn't feel as concerned of her sister's love life. Maybe it was because of the sudden attraction of her own and not feeling quite as alone. Or it could have been pure joy for their connection.

"You must share the charming trait in your genes, correct?" Receiving a laugh from both siblings, Peggy could feel her anxiety crumbling to the ground finally. A whole different person had stepped out and she was certainly stealing the evening.

Whether or not she stayed there the rest of the night would only be told by time and a whole lot of those sensual, but plain temptations.

. . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Thank you bethbop for the request! I always enjoy writing Peggy, so hope you liked how this turned out! Thank you for being patient as I wrote it.