*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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Evelyn sang quietly to herself as she neared the library where she heard Robert and Mary talking. She had looked through most of the house for her Aunt, but could not find her, assuming she was in the library. She leaned against the archway of the room and saw Mary with a semi-distressed expression.
"Does this mean I'll have to go into full mourning?"
Rober stared at her in shock. "My first cousin and his son are almost certainly dead. We will all be in mourning."
Mary's face softened. "No. I mean, with the other thing. After all, it wasn't official."
"If you're saying you do not wish to mourn Patrick as a fiance, that is up to you."
"Well, no one knew about it outside of the family."
"I repeat, it is up to you."
"Well, that's a relief." Mary quickly realized how hateful that sounded by her father's hurt face, but instead of apologizing and making it worse, she dropped the issue. Turning her attention to the doorway, she saw Evelyn waiting patiently. "Oh...hello Evie. I apologize for your wait." She smiled sadly as she passed by her and left the library.
Robert regained his composure and turned to Evelyn. "Did you need me, dear?"
Evelyn's eyes looked sadly at him. "I was looking for Aunt Cora, William told me she was looking for me...I am so sorry about your cousin."
"Thank you...it was quite a shock. But, we will get through it. And yes Cora wanted to inform you of the...current situation. She and I agreed that you will not have to go into mourning if you do not wish since he was of no blood relation to you."
"No, I will join you all. I did not know him, though I did meet Patrick. I do mourn for your loss as you are still my family."
Robert nodded with a sad smile. "Thank you, dear. I'll let Cora know we spoke."
Evelyn nodded and went to her room to begin going through her closet. She couldn't find anything black, the darkest thing she had was a gray dress. She figured the other girls would have the same problem considering black was not a frequently used color in their fashion. She strolled down the hall to Mary's room to ask her if she knew what they were to do about clothing.
Knocking gently on her door, she heard a faint 'come in' so she pushed the door open and closed it behind her. Mary sat at her vanity as she fixed a few pieces of hair that had fallen from her updo. She smiled dolefully at her cousin. "Can't find anything to wear?"
"No, the last time I wore black for mourning was when I was six." She sat on Mary's bed, looking in the mirror.
"You know you do not have to mourn with us. Did you even know them?" She did not speak harshly, only curiously.
"I met Patrick a few years ago at the fundraising event I believe, but not his father." Mary nodded as she remembered that event. "But you all are my family and I will mourn your losses with you. Besides, it would look a bit silly if you all are in black and I am in bright yellow." Mary smiled and looked down at her hands with a gentle sigh. "It is probably not my place to ask, but did you want to marry Patrick? I mean...no disrespect for the dead, or the presumed dead, and he seemed lovely, but was he special to you?"
