*ON HOLD* Cora Crawley had another brother. Her brother married and had a beautiful daughter named Evelyn Levinson. When a mysterious fire burns the Levinson home, 6-year-old Evelyn was the only survivor. Cora takes in her orphaned niece - and this...
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A/N and update at the end. Enjoy :)
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"Evie...Evie, wake up. You're going to miss church." Anna gently shook the shivering lump under the green duvet.
A small hand flew out from under the blanket and swatted at Anna. "No..." Evelyn's voice cracked through the stuffiness.
Anna sighed. "You did catch a cold...never thought your stubbornness would allow that to happen."
The duvet suddenly flew down to Evelyn's waist as she stared at the ceiling angrily, her red nose and puffy eyes prominently sticking out against her light skin. She whipped her head to Anna after a minute. "I'm fine."
"Yes, obviously. You look terrible. I'll inform Lord Grantham - "
"No! I'm ok, Anna." She violently inhaled to free her nostril of pressure before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "And I look beautiful." She stood up, her legs slightly wobbly. "Do you have my dress?"
"Yes...you might get someone else sick, Evie."
"I'll be careful. The last thing I want to do is get in trouble with Lord Grantham." She dramatically emphasized her Uncle's name as she made her way to sit at her vanity.
"Why on Earth would you get in trouble with him for being sick?"
"Well, I feel like he's already upset with me for being around Ben. Now, I'm sick because I was out for so long with Ben. And, as result, I would miss the memorial and he would be madder. So...figure it out." She turned to Anna with an apologetic expression. "Forgive my bitterness my head is spinning. I just need to make it through the memorial and then I can come back home and sleep."
"Lord Grantham informed Mises Patmore that they will be having some guests over for luncheon..."
"Why!" Evelyn threw her head back dramatically and groaned. "Fine, then I'll have to get through luncheon." Her head remained craned back as she shorted a bit.
Anna couldn't help but snigger at the poor girl's situation. "Are you sure you're not going croak during the sermon?"
"Well, no better place to die than in a chapel...at a memorial." She whipped her head to look at Anna, her neck still laying on the back of her chair. "Remember me."
"We couldn't possibly forget you."
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The memorial lasted only an hour but, to Evelyn, it felt like seven hours. She had managed to not pass out or fall asleep through the sobbing around her. Evelyn's nose would occasionally make a whistling sound after she would aggressively sniff, resulting in a few glares - which she ignored. The occupants of the chapel began to file out with Robert and George Murray, the Grantham family lawyer, leading the way while they chatted. Evelyn walked out with Mary, Edith, and Sybil but stayed behind them a bit just in case.
