Colin had dressed up for this feast but not of his own choosing. Lydia had fussed over him for an hour. He wore a black silk tunic with a silver lining and matching accents. It buttoned up the front and the neck of it laced over his chest. She tried to talk him out of wearing the gauntlets but his glare alone had made her back down from the whole proposition. He wasn't comfortable with anyone suspecting anything wrong, let alone seeing it. It had a tendency to make people recoil like he was leprous or something and he didn't like the feeling at all.
It turned out that the feast being hosted by his house was not just ANY hunting feast. It was the betrothal feast of Robbie and Juliana, which just made Colin's mood dark and sullen. He'd never liked big get-togethers anyway. Knowing he would be seeing Juliana with Robbie only made matters worse. These were the thoughts that haunted him as he stood alone in the great hall, watching the festivities unfold.
Juliana felt like she was being torn in two different directions when she found out where the dinner was going to be held that evening. "Where?? The Mackenzie's??? But we've never had dealings with them before!" she had protested, her only concern at that point being both Colin and the possibility of another encounter between he and her betrothed.
To make matters worse, here she was, dressed in her finest and looking every inch the way a well-bred Scottish lady should and on the arm of a man who she could barely speak two words to without spitting out of anger instead of the one man that she wanted to be with who was now forced to watch. This had to be hell in its purest form!
Her mother had sensed that something had been terribly wrong, especially after the lecture her father had given her this morning when she finally had returned home and the announcement of where her engagement feast would be held. At the moment, she was doing the best she could to avoid Robbie at all costs and do as little damage as possible to Colin's pride.
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Colin Mackenzie stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were narrowed almost dangerously upon Robbie's back but the young man had yet to notice him. He had seen the beautiful Juliana earlier in the evening. She had looked like a princess in all her finery, which suited him just fine. He rather liked women who were easy on the eyes and Juliana was easier than most.
Robbie Kincaid was in high spirits, not to mention well on his way to a hang-over in the morning with all his drinking and celebrating. Not only would he inherit one of the greatest fortunes in the Scotland highlands but he had been promised the hand of the one woman that he knew would rather spit nails at him than be held in his arms. That was fine with him ... he rather liked a challenge and looked forward to the night that he could tame the wild rebellious side of the beautiful Scottish maiden.
Tearing his attention from his friends, he began to turn about looking for Juliana now. She had made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with him, even on their betrothal feast but he had ever intention of taking just a little taste from her lips tonight. When he turned, what he found instead were the piercing eyes of a man that seemed vaguely familiar but Robbie couldn't quite place him ... yet.
Colin's gaze met Robbie's and he just smirked a bit. The man was positively impossible. He hadn't had more than perhaps a few ales but liquor did him no good it seemed.
Pretending to take no heed of the young man, Colin turned his attention to his sisters who were flirting shamelessly with some of the guests. Lydia had always been a tease. She now had a young man completely wrapped around her finger and was dangling him joyously. The man didn't seem at all abashed by the idea either
Robbie shrugged off the man, whoever he was and began to walk through the crowd mingling in search of his bride to be.
Meanwhile, Juliana was sticking to the outskirts of the crowd, keeping her distance with the help of a few select friends, including Lucinda. "I saw Colin earlier," Lucinda whispered, leaning close to Juliana's ear as she kept a close lookout for the whereabouts of Robbie. "He is devastatingly handsome, I must say," she teased with a giggle.
Juliana glanced to her friend, wanting to tell her exactly how handsome she knew him to be but ducked behind a pillar on the outskirts of the dance floor as Robbie sauntered up towards Lucinda, demanding to know Juliana's whereabouts.
"I know you know where she is," he slurred slightly, his dark eyes narrowing some. "She can not hide from me all night," he growled, slightly pushing the girl out of his way as if he half expected to find Juliana hiding behind her skirts. Glaring at the girl, he added before striding off, "You tell her that the more she runs, the harder it will be."
"You know, threatening your bride-to-be is no way to win the woman's heart."
Colin stood behind Robbie. He'd followed the pattern the man was making toward Juliana. "And it's distasteful for a man to use a messenger for such threats. Or are you too much of a coward to speak to her yourself?"
Robbie turned towards the voice, a slow rage spreading over his face as Lucinda backed away, turning her head to see Juliana peeking out from behind a pillar. At that point Robbie suddenly realized who the man was and straightened his stance as he glowered at Colin.
"Thinking of coming to her rescue again, are you Mackenzie? She is mine ... and I'll do with her what I will and there's not one damn thing you can do about it," he added with a smirk and took a long swig of the ale in his tankard.
"She's not yours until the knots are tied about your wrists and the contract is signed. Until then, she's a free woman. You can't do a thing with her except the common thing we civilized folk like to call courting. You should try it sometime," Colin almost sneered. "It can prove to be worth your time and effort. The ladies swoon at the idea."
He knew by now that Robbie was far too drunk to really know what he was saying. The whole idea of getting the man riled up seemed pretty fun.
Robbie slammed his tankard down on the table next to him, startling a few of the guests close to them. "She's mine, by god and she will learn her place. There's no rescuing her from what will happen, Mackenzie. You'd do best to mind your own business," he warned, not really caring that his voice was getting louder and more slurred.
Colin just grinned as he watched the bigger man approach him. Instinctively he took a defensive stance; he'd dealt with countless drunken guards in the Tower. It had become a sport to see just how many he could take on at once when he was healthy enough to do so. One drunken Scotsman would be no problem for him.
"Apparently it IS my business as the announcement is being done in my home. And, as I said ... she's not yours until your wedding day." And then he added, with a wry grin on his face, knowing that the following words would sting a bit, "When is that, by the way? Set any date yet?"
Robbie's face darkened immediately at the man's words mostly because of the fact that Juliana didn't want a thing to do with the betrothal or setting a date and he was eager to "seal the deal" and get her in the marriage bed. Tonight was just the icing on the cake with her practically ignoring him all night and it seemed as if this smug Mackenzie knew exactly what buttons to push.
