Silently Resigned

IV

"You should ask father to sew us all matching dressings," Angelica said. "I know we used to have some, but Peggy grew out."

"Good idea!" Elizabeth smiled, opening the door to the shoe shop. "What color do you think—"

"Betsy?" Angel said nervously, looking behind her. "Where is Peggy?"

Eliza turned around. "What do you mean?"

Angelica pointed down the empty street, which gave no sign of their grumpy younger sister. "See?"

"Where do you think she went?" Eliza asked. "She cannot have stopped far back."

"Perhaps she went home," Angel suggested. "And told father—"

"But we have blackmail," Elizabeth interrupted. "And she would never let father take away her candy stash, so—"

"She is somewhere else," Angel said, grabbing her sister by the hand and leading her back the way they came. "She can not be too far away. Let us hurry."

The two Schuylers walked at a stately pace down the street, trying as best as they could to walk quickly without drawing attention to themselves. A few times, Angelica broke into a nervous jog.

A bend in the road revealed a large crowd gathered about a podium, upon which stood a middle-aged preacher. The crowd seemed to be a strange mix of supporters and adversaries, all of them clearly riled up by his talking. As they neared the large crowd, a young man in a brown coat jumped up onto the podium and started yelling at the preacher.

"Heed not the rabble who scream revolution!" the preacher yelled over the younger man, who was ranting about Boston and Congress and some other words the two couldn't quite make out, but the Schuylers weren't paying too much attention. On the outskirts of the gathering, a short, somewhat plump girl in honey-wood skirts was watching the event play out.

Angelica ran forward and yanked her sister away from the crowd. Margaret scowled.

"What were you thinking?" Angel hissed as they pulled her sister back down the street. "I told you, stay close! You worry so much about getting hurt but gravitate to the most dangerous thing in downtown Manhattan. What is wrong with you?"

"I felt safe there!" Margarita protested. "He was speaking my ideals!"

"Your ideals," Angelica huffed. "So self important."

Margaret scowled again. "Well, it does not matter anyway. You did not even notice I was gone, so clearly you care little for my safety."

"Clearly I care little?" Angel asked incredulously. "You scared me half to death!"

"All you want me for is shopping and chores!" Peggy yelled. "What does it matter if I get hurt?"

"Father would kill me!" Angelica cried.

Margaret pouted. "Daddy is the only one who cares about me, other than Rosalind. What happens to me is only worried about in his eyes. You are just a caretaker."

Angel slapped Peggy across the face. The little girl's eyes widened. Then Peggy burst into tears and ran off down the street.

Eliza and Angelica locked eyes, both of them shocked. Peggy rarely cried, and when she did it lasted a while. At an unspoken agreement, the two raced after their sister.