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?" Colin shouted 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.

Fife only heard him approaching at the last moment and thus also turned around rather late. He was a bit suprised by how rude and forward Colin had been , and also slightly irritated but the Bridgertons were an influentual lot, especially the Viscount so in order to keep things civil he pretended he hadn't heard what Colin just had stated.

"Ah Colin! Welcome... Would you like one too?" asked and having said that, he reached for his pocket, but Colin shook no.

"No thank you but I do need to ask you a question Fife,."

"Proceed" said Fife, putting the cigar back in his pocket for a moment.

"What the bloody hell?" cried Colin. Fife looked at him in surprise and tssked afterwards, shaking his head.

"Language, Colin. There are ladies near" he admonished.

"What were you doing with Penelope?" asked Colin accusingly.

"What did I do with Penelope? I was just dancing with her" Fife replied nonchalantly.

"Exactly. You danced with her, but you only do that with ladies you are interested in... and I know you don't have any in Penelope so... stop it yes. She's a sweet girl, not what you're normally accustomed to ".

"That it is quite hurtful Colin. I find that quite insulting to me and the ladies in question I keep in company. I would like, for the sake of our friendship, for you to apologise," Fife stated dryly.

"Fine. I apologise but you know what I mean" added Colin.

Colin frowned for a moment and looked not a little surprised at the young man facing him. Another handsome Bridgerton he thought, why were they all so so goodlooking? It was annoying moreover because they were so popular too and to top that off, they were more wealthy than his family.

Robert didn't really like them, the male offspring at least. The girls were exquisite especially Daphne and Francesca, but Eloise was also okay. However,... there was something about Penelope that intrigued him, she often stood there in the corner and everyone ignored her but she herself... She seemed to be watching everyone. He had seen her smile briefly several times, he wasn't really sure why, but it seemed like she was taking in information, summarising and archiving it... for later.

It didn't make sense, but he got that feeling and he couldn't think it away. He found himself getting increasingly involved with Penelope at balls. Robert, as he was called but everyone he called by his surname rather than his first name wanted to know more about her and tonight, to her shock and an even greater surprise of her mother, he had asked her to dance.

Robert had briefly asked her some questions which she had answered politely and before he knew it, the dance was over. It had not been enough. Robert had hoped that dancing with her would cause interest to wane, instead he became even more interested in knowing more about her. He knew after today. He had to have her... placing his hand on her back had sparked something in him he hadn't seen coming.

Robert once again wanted to feel her curves against him, while counting her steps he suspected she had miscalculated causing her to fall full into his arms. With a red head, she had owed herself several times, but Robert hadn't mind at all.

It had been nice having her against him, experiencing her reddish hair that smelled of lilacs, having her shapely breasts pressed against him.

He wanted nothing more than to take her 'innocence' from her and have Penelope in his bed, repeatedly, throwing himself full into her, kissing her breasts, licking and sucking and not to stop thrusting into her until he had had his fill.

Tonight, had been step one of his plan. The next would be visiting the Featheringtons one of these days but there was a roadblock he hadn't counted on in the form of Colin Bridgerton.

"What exactly do you want from me, Colin?" he asked, therefore, irritated.

"That you leave Penelope alone," Colin stated firmly.

"And why should I?" asked Fife with raised eyebrows.

Colin sighed deeply and shook his head.

"You're not really interested in her, Fife. I know it".

"Do you now? "Fife asked in turn.

"How do you know who I'm interested in or not?", he followed up with me.

Colin's mouth fell open in surprise... He wasn't actually thinking of pursuing Penelope but it most certainly seemed like it.

"So... you are really interested in her?", he asked with suprise in his voice.

"And if so? What is it to you if I am?", Robert said irritated.

"Weren't you the one who said, 'Not in your wildest dreams, Fife'. That you would never court Miss Featherington?"

"Yes... I said that but... I... meant .. I uhm..-'

"Your words were very clear to everyone standing with you at the time, Colin so I find it strange that you're suddenly getting so involved... And let me make myself clear" Robert said as he took a few steps towards Colin.

"I might pursue Miss Featherington and if I do there is nothing... absolutely nothing you will do or can do about it. Is that clear?", Fife asked sweetly.

Colin wasn't quite sure what to say. This was a surreal situation. Fife? Interested in Penelope. It was strange well that was a mean thought, of course it could happen that a man would show interest in Penelope only he honestly did not expect it. Penelope was not exactly popular, and it had been a while since she had debuted. But then again... she could of course marry whoever she wanted; she obviously had every right to do so but then why did the idea feel so... 'wrong' to him?

Colin, however, knew nothing more to say.

"Well I believe we are done here. If you'll excuse me... I'd like to light my cigar" and with that he walked away, leaving a shocked Colin behind.