Catherine Harcourt

Character Profile

Name:	Catherine Harcourt
Date of Birth:	c.1785
Service:	Aerial Corps
Rank:	Captain
Nationality:	British
Billets:	Loch Laggan covert, captain to Lily

Biography

Harcourt was a tall young woman with long red hair, which she usually wore in a braid. She was one of the few females in the Aerial Corps; their presence was due to the fact that Longwings preferred women captains.

Initially, she was too young and inexperienced to be leader of Lily's formation even though her dragon was in the lead. She proved to be an excellent aviator; Lily was one of the few dragons that remain in the air throughout the Battle of Dover. Shortly after the Battle of Dover, she earned her place as formation leader.

Harcourt believed that there was nothing special about what she did as an aviator, as it was no more than the men did, which was a shockingly progressive attitude for her time, though she was conscious of the impropriety of her position in the eyes of society. Jeremy Rankin, in particular, constantly reminded her of this. When she had occassion to meet people outside of the Corps, she hid her uniform with a long, hooded coat.

The one mistake that reflected her youth and inexperience was allowing herself to become involved with Jean-Paul Choiseul, who attempted to kidnap she and Lily.