Cousin Evelyn ~ Downton Abbey

2 ~ The Gala of 1910

Mary stared at her hands for a moment before looking into the mirror at Evelyn. "I do not know. And I do not say that to be dismissive or impertinent...but I do not know. I feel sad but I will honestly tell you I don't know if it is sadness for the loss of his life or the fact that now I will have to continue my search for a husband. Sounds awful I know."

Before Evelyn had a chance to respond, Anna walked into the room with a black dress in her arms. "I've found one of your black dresses, Lady Mary. It's the most recent one so it should still fit." Anna laid it out on the bed next to Evelyn.

Mary rose from her seat to look over the dress, she ran her hand over the dark fabric. "It will do for now."

Anna looked at Evelyn. "The only black dress I could find for you was the one you wore at the New Years Gala..."

Mary began to chuckle to herself at the mention of the Gala, Evelyn grimaced and grinned. "Oh yeah...I forgot that was black."

Anna grinned. "Yes, the color was the least memorable thing about that dress."

Mary leaned against her bed frame and stared at her. "Evelyn will you please tell us the story of the New Year's Gala? It's so romantic." She said in a dreamy and sarcastic tone. Anna laughed.

Evelyn sighed with a smile. "It was New Year's Eve in the year 1910...I was but a mere seventeen years of age." Both women smiled at Evelyn's suddenly dramatic tone.

----------------------

~ Yorkshire, England 1910 ~

The Crawley family, accompanied by Evelyn, mingled with various families of high society at the Jefferson's New Years Gala. The families that attended filled the entire mansion. The men smoked cigars and talked about money while the women sat around the couches and talked about the men. The younger attendees weaved through the house looking for either their friends or a bit of trouble. The Crawley girls and Evelyn gathered in the ballroom as the dancing began. The men and women of all ages gathered when the music signified it was time to dance. A few songs had played as the girls watched the couples gracefully strut on the ballroom floor. 

The girl's stood with their mother as they mapped out where they were to go. Cora looked over the girls and smiled. "You all look lovely!" Her eyes scanned Evelyn's beautiful black dress as her eyes zeroed in on something. "Oh no, Evelyn." She walked closer and gently grabbed her skirt. "There is a tear in the skirt dear, how did that happen?"

Evelyn looked at the tear she was referring to. It was a very small tear, midway up the skirt in the seam. "Oh...hm. I must have snagged it on the car door. I'm sorry, Aunt Cora."

Cora smiled amusedly. "Of course you did. Don't apologize. What should we do?"

Sybil rounded them to look for herself. "Oh, it's fine. It's barely noticeable! I don't want you to go home just because of a small tear."

Cora nodded. "I agree, I'd hate for you to leave for that." Mary just watched the interaction while Edith rolled her eyes.

"No Sybil's right, it's barely noticeable. I don't think I plan to dance anyway so I should be fine."

Sybil and Cora nodded. "Ok then, everyone's well. You four have fun, I'm going to find Mrs. Jefferson." They all nodded and parted ways.

Mary, of course, was asked to dance. Sybil spoke with some of her younger friends and a few boys her age. Edith watched longingly at the dancers, hoping to get asked. Evelyn simply watched as well; however, she mostly watched Edith sadly. Evelyn also hoped someone would ask Edith to dance. Her heart often felt for Edith as she knew she had low self-esteem on top of having a romantic mindset.