Stolen At Heart

Brigham Family Lineage:

-James Brigham and Elizabeth Caddy, married 1852

-Mathew Brigham, born 1853, married Sophia Linden, father of Jonathon Brigham

-Mark Brigham, born 1854, married Anna Corvallis

-Luke Brigham, born 1856

-Eve Brigham, born 1857

Brigham family traits: Thick brown hair, hazel eyes, fair skin

Eve's traits: Smooth blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, fair yet sunned skin

The story is as follows:

James Brigham married Elizabeth Caddy in 1852 and they had their first child a year later. The child was a son, like all Brigham's before him, James liked to boast. The couple decided that they would have four sons, each one named after the first of the four Gospels. Another son was born a year later, named Mark, followed by another deemed Luke. The next son had been dead the moment he'd been born. Discouraged but not deflated of hope, James and Elizabeth tried again for another son, only to their shock Elizabeth bore a daughter. According to relatively accurate sources, James had drunkenly declared one night that if he were to ever have a witch of a daughter then his wife could name the girl, who could have no possible relation to any Brigham but rather a Caddy.

And so Elizabeth named the child, who looked nothing like either of them but the former Miss Caddy recalled a distant great aunt twice removed whom their daughter slightly resembled, for a biblical story as well, only it seemed to have been more of a curse for the girl than a blessing.

Despite both family's strong natural genetic preference for brown hair and hazel eyes, their daughter came into the light of the world with a dark blonde hank of uneven hair and a set of eerie crystal blue eyes, something neither parent could explain. They had never even met a gentleman or lady with shockingly blue eyes such as hers.

Because she was the failure and loss of a son to her father, he always held the intricate child in a different light than her siblings; a darker, perhaps more neglecting light. He loved her, of course, but nothing could stop him from knowing he had dishonored dozens, if not hundreds of Brigham men before him by bearing such a delicate daughter who never seemed to be aware of the bustling world around her most of the time, preferring to gaze at stationary things like flowers and the sky. The girl certainly favored nature over her family and home.

The years passed by as they often do until the daughter reached of age and the family decided it was high time to send her off for another family to deal with.

Yes, after the monsoon summer of 1874 Eve would be sent to England from her family's estate in Bombay to a rather large abode in the forested outskirts of Manchester. It mattered not whether she wanted to go; it was expected of a young woman to step into society and grace her ancestor's homeland with her presence. Hopefully a bumbling fool would find her fancy and then the Brigham family could be at ease. Their misfit of a charming young daughter would finally be taken care of.