Intention

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Foe

I CANNOT BELIEVE I STARTED ANOTHER GODDAMN FIC, PLEASE SOMEONE SLAP ME NOW.

FYI, I have given Fife a first name in this. I am a bit suprised by the love for this story but it warms my heart. Apparently there are a lot of Pefi? FiPen? Pefe? shippers out there..

***

"What the bloody hell, Fife?" shouted Colin as he approached Robert outside. It was a hot evening in May, and they were at his brother's ball, or no the ball of his brother and sister-in-law Kate. The annual event was held on Bruton street and was grand in several facets. Only the best appetisers were served, the best orchestra was hired, and the ball had a fitting theme of Spring and all that went with it.

Consequently, the house was lavishly decorated with branches, flowers, plants and had been turned into a small but impressive oasis of nature. It had been a fun evening so far, he had danced with Penelope among others but also with another lady called Melinda, a pretty brunette with twinkling, mischievous eyes who had been keen on him. As far as he knew, she and her family were new in town and had been invited by Kate to welcome them to society, since they had been old acquaintances, well their families had been according to Anthony. Kate did not know  the Carlyle family very well but that had not stopped her from inviting them.

The male guests were taken back by Melinda, who wore a dark blue dress that only accentuated her pale skin, her shapely curves, especially in the upper regions, her blue eyes, and the fact that she was well-mannered, friendly and intelligent. Many a man wanted to dance with her, and all women seemed to be jealous of her, given the avid users of fans and the gossip expressed behind said fans.

Yes, Melinda Carlyle would ruffle some feathers in London, Colin suspected.. Colin was also not untouched by her presence either so and he had danced very pleasantly with her, not noticing here the disappointed eyes of a girl standing in the corner, who was wearing a bright yellow dress, which, while fitting the theme, as she looked like a bee, still somehow stuck out like a sore thumb in comparison to the lush, pastel-like garments of her fellow guests.

After his dance with her, Colin felt a bit thirsty, literally, and figuratively, my God what a woman so he rushed to the table with refreshments. The music started again, another waltz, he heard. He stood with his back to the dance floor and feasted on several snacks before slowly turning around, taking in the dance hall. His eyes unintentionally searched for Penelope, his good friend, he wasn't really sure why either, perhaps because he knew she hated going to these functions but was pressured to go and perhaps by giving a sneaky wink or nod he could convey that it was 'all right' and that the evening was about to end. Colin could not find her at first glance. He supposed she had gone to the ladies' room, which was also possible of course. His eye then fell on Portia Featherington, who seemed to be pleased and was busily discussing with Lady Cowper. They both seemed fixated on the dance floor, apparently something had caught their attention there.

Curious to see what this might be Colin turned to the dancing crowd to look there and....

Penelope... was dancing with Fife and a shock went through him. He had always had a love-hate relationship with Fife if you could put it that way. The man was a scoundrel, a real womaniser and it was rumoured that he had fathered a few non-legitimate children here and there, however, those were rumours. The fact that he was now dancing with Penelope did not at all displease Colin, it brought out something in him that he did not like. He waited patiently until the dance was over and they both bowed politely to each other, Penelope with a somewhat uncertain, "what just happened now?" expression on her face. Fife had a smirk on his and Colin did not like this either.

The crowd dispersed and with it Penelope and the rest of the Featheringtons. Fife walked out, no doubt to light a cigar in the garden, and Colin followed him out.