*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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~ Yorkshire, England 1900 ~
The bellowing whistle of the train caused the girl to jolt from her sleep. Her heart raced from the scare as she looked around wide-eyed. She had no slept well on her nearly two-week journey to England. She constantly experienced nightmares of fires...and sharks. She never thought she would be so appreciative to be on land in her whole then when she stepped off of the ferry alive. Evelyn loved automotive and motorized transportation - like trains - ever since she could remember her dad's fascination with them.
Evelyn saw the passengers on the train rising from their seats to deboard the train, she figured she needed to get off too. She slid off of the train seat and picked up her little bags next to her. She had a bag in each hand while tucking her teddy under her arm. She decided to wait until most of the passengers were off the train before trying to weave through the tall adults. Once the coast was clear, Evelyn lifted her bags and shuffled down the aisle to the door where the conductor stood making sure the passengers departed safely.
"Let me help ye there, little miss." He took her bags from her as she smiled at him.
"Thank you."
"Is someone here to meet you?" She leaned down to speak to her as she looked around the station to see if anyone had noticed her.
"I'm supposed to be meeting my uncle, Lord Grantham."
"Ah! Yes, Lord Grantham passed by a moment ago and I don't know where he - Oh! Here he comes."
Evelyn looked in the direction the conductor was referring as she saw her uncle quickly approaching. He wore a sympathetic smile as he kneeled in front of his niece and took her little hands. A tear fell down Evelyn's cheek as she released her hands from his and wrapped her arms around her neck tightly. The conductor sighed sadly at the sight of the poor child. Word travels fast when it comes to the Crawley family, so news of Lady Cora's niece blazed through Downton in a matter of hours.
Evelyn sniffed and pulled herself away, wiping her nose a bit before looking to the conductor for her bags. "I'll get them, dear." Lord Grantham spoke as she took them. "Thank you, sir." He smiled at the conductor before leading Evelyn away from the station and out to the car.
The two weaved through the living stirs of people who waited for loved ones: some seemed anxious, some seemed overjoyed, some seemed quite sad. Evelyn felt sympathy for the ones that looked sad, she felt their sorrows in a way. She heard her uncle speak to her but her mind was elsewhere.
"Sorry, Uncle. What did you say?"
Lord Grantham smiled a bit, picking up her Boston accent that had developed over the years. "I asked if your trip went well. A two-week boat ride does not sound like something you would enjoy if I remember correctly."
"It was tolerable. And you do remember correctly, I never cared much for the ocean...or boats."
Finally exiting the station, Robert handed her bags to the chauffeur who placed them gently in the back of their car. Evelyn admired the beautiful car. She recognized it as a Humber, she assumed it was the earliest 1900 model. It was a sleek deep black with gray interior in both the front and back seats. The roof of the car was retractable and folded in the back, now it was retracted back - she figured it was for the best considering it was a hot June afternoon.
