*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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~ Boston, Massachusets 1900 ~
Six-year-old Evelyn Levinson tip-toed down the elegant staircase of her family home. Her interest was taken from her toys when she heard her father's laugh from downstairs - she liked to be involved in everything. Nearing the bottom of the stairs, the family butler, Louis, tilted his head at her teasingly as he knew she was not supposed to be downstairs while her father did business. She grinned and inched closer to test her boundaries, Louis looked away for the time being as his gaze set in front of him into the foyer. Arthur Levinson's voice boomed through the foyer, he was known for his joyful, strong voice.
Evelyn dared to get closer as she could now lean forward from the stair to peek into the foyer to see to whom her father was speaking. A man stood by the large window, holding a glass of whiskey as he chuckled at her father. The man's brown eyes caught sight of the little girl as he turned to look at her.
"Seems we have an interested party, Arthur." The man spoke with a grin, using his whiskey glass to motion towards the stairs.
The sound of footsteps nearing the doorway of the foyer caused Evelyn to stand straight up and clasp her hands in front of her. A tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed man peeked out at her and smiled, extending his hand to her as to beckon her to him. She happily skipped to her father as he led her into the foyer. "This is my daughter, Evelyn. Evelyn, this is Mister Oswald Boring, an old friend of mine."
"Hello," Evelyn spoke politely with a goofy grin. She observed the man closely: he was not very tall with a hefty build, his hair was bright red with a mustache to match.
Oswald beamed at the child. "Well hello, Miss Evelyn. It is lovely to meet you indeed. Your father had told me much about you." He looked back at Arthur. "She's just as beautiful as her mother!" Arthur nodded in agreement.
"She is, yes. She inherited Marie's beauty but, unfortunately, she has my 'mischievous' personality. As my mother likes to point out." Arthur chuckled as he lovingly squeezed his daughter's shoulder. Evelyn grinned, proud of her personality.
"While I would love to see you two in your mischievous antics, I must be going. I've got a meeting with another detective on the West End that I cannot be late for!" He sat down his whiskey glass and made his way out of the foyer.
The three made their way into the hall as Louis already held the door open; however, it was not for them. Marie Levinson walked into her home as a lady's maid took her hat and gloves from her, two footmen carried in shopping boxes behind her. Marie turned to see the three bodies behind her and she jumped.
"Oh, goodness. You scared me!" She smiled brightly with her hand on her chest. "Hello, Oswald. I heard you were in town."
"Yes, I am! Here on another case. Some petty crimes have gone south it would seem, so, of course, they called in the best they had!" Oswald stated cockily with a laugh.
Marie smiled. "Well, I am so sorry I was not here to hear all about it. Will you be joining us for dinner?"
"Oh, I'm afraid not this evening I'll be dining with the Roses. But! I plan to drop by tomorrow if I am welcome."
