Searching for a way to occupy my bored mind, I scan the people around me for someone interesting to observe. Soon my eyes rest upon a tall stranger standing not six feet away from me.

His feet, shod in tall black boots, are planted in the stance of a soldier. The hem of a long dark coat falls almost to his ankles. The greatcoat seems tailored to fit his broad shoulders, and a high collar rises to brush his sharp jawline.

Before I can observe anything else, a movement catches my attention: he folds his arms in front of his chest, and I can see his hands, which had previously been hidden inside the coat pockets. Two silver rings on each large, manly hand flash in the flickering candlelight of the chandeliers above us.

My eyes finally travel back up to his shapely face with its fairly prominent cheekbones. A few waves of chestnut brown hair curve around one side of his pale, smooth-skinned face which is tinged slightly pink from the warmth of the room.

Over deep-set eyes rimmed with thick, long lashes, dark brows arch gracefully from the high bridge of a beautifully carven nose.

Suddenly he looks at me; his irises are a mysterious greenish hazel flecked with gold. After a moment, his lush lips twitch into a friendly smile at the expression of guilt on my face --- for he had caught me in the act of staring.