E is for Excerpt

Today, E is for an excerpt from my current wip. I'm taking a bit of a break writing about the history surrounding my story, Rivers of Stone, about Catriona's continent wide search for her husband, Dougal. 

Set in the 1840s, Cat, disguised as a boy, has just traveled west with Canadian artist Paul Kane to Fort Vancouver where she hopes to find Dougal. 

The excerpt below is also part of Wednesday's WIPpet (a snippet from a work in progress, somehow based on the date) and is 10 paragraphs (April = 4 + today's date = 6). Key to this snippet is the fact that Cat remains disguised as a boy.


"I didn't recognize you," said Colin, peering at Cat in the dim light of the Company store.

"I'm not surprised. It's been a long time, almost three years." Cat straightened her shoulders.

Colin was taller than she remembered, with a ruddy face, new lines around his eyes, and a full beard. He no longer was scrawny, and his hands were work-scarred. A knife protruded from the red woven Metis belt wrapped tightly around his waist.

Colin squinted in the dim light of the trading post. "I see you still dress as . . ."

"Yes. No need to mention that."

"How did you come here?" asked Colin.

"I came out from York with the brigade." She searched for a welcome, but she couldn't read his face. "Paul Kane, a painter, hired me to be his assistant. He's with the Chief Factor just now.”

At Colin's nod, she continued. "We got in this morning."

"You look like you’ve been on the road. Yer pants are ready to fall apart. Does he know about you?"

"No, and I plan to keep it that way." Cat stared for a moment. She hadn’t expected to find her brother-in-law at Fort Vancouver. “Do you know where Dougal is? Is he well?”

And so revision continues. I'll be back tomorrow with a post on Fort Vancouver  for the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Meanwhile, the plot thickens.  Consider stopping by either of these challenges (links above) to see what other writers are up to.

Fort Vancouver, 1846 (Wikipedia)