Saturday Snippet: He Felt Centipedes Crawl Up His Skin

The following snippet is taken from 

Mail Order Roslyn 

Book 9 in the series, 

Widows, Brides & Secret Babies

          When he turned to get a good look at the young man in the light shining through the door, he began to feel centipedes crawl up his skin. Ross had a faint layer of dirt on his face, as if using it to mimic the beginnings of facial hair. That caused the dirt smell he detected. Then Ross turned to face him. Elam took in the scraggly fringe of light reddish hair, the greenish-gray eyes barely peeking from beneath the brim of the battered slouch hat, and the fine bones of a face that had not thickened and broadened with maturity.

          Elam’s step halted, which threw him off-balance and threatened to send him tumbling to the ground. The realization hit him like a cannonball, the likes of which had killed many of his comrades during the war. What was off about Ross, was, he was not a young man. Elam was looking at a woman dressed like a young man.

          His heart pounding in his chest, Elam turned to face forward. During his time in the Army, he had heard of cases where women passed themselves off as men to fight in the war. Some followed their husbands into battle rather than endure separation. Others did so out of patriotic duty. Many were not discovered until after they died and were prepared for burial, or unless they became ill or injured and their gender was discovered while in a hospital. What he could not understand was, why did this woman try to pass herself off as male?

          The answer came to him immediately. There were many things men could do that were not considered proper for women to do. She wanted to be around the horses. She wanted to ride astride. She offered to curry the horses and muck stalls—all things women might do on family property but not in a public place such as a town livery.

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