Everard also created the role of Little Buttercup in "H.M.S. Pinafore" when it opened in May 1878, playing the role for the duration of the long run, until February 1880. The character, described as a Bumboat woman, regretfully reveals a key secret that sets up the ending of the opera: as a wetnurse many years before the time of the opera, she had mixed up two babies, one who became the captain of the "Pinafore", and the other who became a sailor on board his ship, who is caught eloping with the captain's daughter. During a scuffle at the Opera Comique, early in the run of "Pinafore", when Carte's former backers tried to seize the scenery and properties during a performance and were repelled by the backstage crew, Everard earned admiration for carrying on bravely with the show.