Disclaimer - see chapter 1)

This story slowly draws to a close, but I will have saved some Richard-rage for the last chapter... Want to find out more? Well, not now. For now: Have fun with chapter 7, in which the 'silverfox returns' ;o).


Chapter 7

The next few hours were pure delight and a little business, but Chad seemed to have disappeared.
Until now.
Now he had hunted her down, slowly circling her like any fox would do before dashing out of the forest and leaping upon his prey. Maybe he shouldn't have been so forward with her, but then, he knew he couldn't have charmed her into anything so he had chosen to bribe her into it.
Maybe even force her, if need be, though he was sure he wouldn't have to.
He watched her dancing with a man who had been introduced to him as Mike McCormick, laughing at something he had said. 'Have fun while you still can, lovely. Soon you will be moaning my name, one way or the other.'

Emily tried to ignore him, always keeping as much distance as possible between them. She didn't want to talk to him, or worse, have to dance with him again. Any kind of contact with this man was dangerous. She had seen it in his eyes. He meant trouble.
No matter what, she'd have to make sure that he wouldn't get her alone. The best option would be to stay close to Richard, but she couldn't possibly say no when someone asked her to dance, it would have been impolite.
So she tried to make the best of the situation and decided to enjoy herself, relying on her husband to keep an eye on her.

It had worked fine until now. Richard was dancing with Nora, mainly to keep her from falling down until her husband returned to put his arm around her again. It wasn't obvious to most of the crowd, but knowing Nora since elementary school, Emily read her friend like an open book and knew when the cheerfulness was caused by one too many eggnogs. Gladly, Richard had understood when she had told Mike she couldn't dance with him and left his wife standing alone, since Mike didn't seem to mind at all. She was beginning to wonder why, taking a mental note to have a word between friends with Nora sometime soon.
If she had been anyone else, Nora surely would have been the topic at the next DAR meeting but since she was a close friend of Emily, she would find a way to cover for her friend.
She only had to make sure that Doris van Aalderen, the little snake, wouldn't see her like this.

Deep in thought and conversation she had been too preoccupied to see him approaching, silently cursing when she suddenly saw him standing next to them, smiling that slick smile of his. Her stomach turned when he touched her shoulder.
"May I, Mike?"
Of course her dance partner stepped away, it was the polite procedure. Still, she had hoped he wouldn't.
Mentally preparing herself to have to dance with him again, she hoped Mike would follow her next advice. "Why don't you go and reclaim your wife for this dance?" She knew he didn't want to stop dancing and his nod brought a slight wave of relief. Now she only hoped he'd be quick about it.

Feeling Chad's hand on her back, the muscles in her stomach contracted while she tried hard not to show that she actually feared him a little.
Suddenly a picture of Richard on a white horse, wearing armor flashed through her mind as her body went into the dance routine.
This was silly.
Why should she fear him? Still, when she looked into his eyes, a cold shiver rain down her spine. Mentally scolding herself for acting the way she so proudly claimed she wouldn't, she braced herself for this new encounter.
"Did you miss me?" Chad grinned.

Emily bit her tongue, something in the back of her mind stopping her from telling him what she really thought of him. He held her closer than was appropriate but at least his hand didn't hold hers in a death grip this time. If it hadn't been for the look in his eyes, she might have almost enjoyed this dance.
"What do you really want, Chad?" She kept her voice low, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation, not sure what would follow next.
His smile widened, at least she called him by his given name now that was a first. "Oh, Emily, you know exactly what I want."
She furrowed her brow. "As a matter of fact, I don't."
Chad chuckled lowly, pulling her even closer to him, his cheek brushing hers as he whispered, "You."
The way he said it made her blood run cold. She felt as if she were about to faint, forcing herself to not lean into him as her knees went weak for a moment. "What would you want with me?"
His face was still dangerously close to hers as he answered. "Oh, there are several things I could come up with. If you're a good girl and give me what I want, I might consider not telling your husband what went on between us."
Emily pushed away, looking into his eyes. "But nothing happened."
Shrugging, he replied. "The way you reacted back then, one could think something did. And believe me, I could make it look as if we'd been having an affair. Your husband would believe me"
"You can't do that. Richard would never believe you. And besides, my daughter was right there with us, she would back me up if-"
"-So you do think you'd need backing up? Isn't that interesting."

Emily bit her tongue. Why did she say that? What had she been thinking? She couldn't let him get the upper hand at this. Under no circumstances could she allow him to talk to Richard. Of course, he wouldn't believe him. She had told him what had happened. But if he really said anything… she tried hard not to shiver at the thought of what her husband was capable of doing if this man succeeded in stirring his jealousy.
The worst thing about it was that she couldn't do anything to prevent him from following through on his plan. She couldn't warn him in any way or he might change his plan altogether and get to Richard. If he would provoke him, he could get their money and more. He could ruin their reputation. He could get Richard to the point where he would be blinded by his emotions and do God knows what. On the other hand, she couldn't possibly give in to him and do what he originally asked of her. How could she ever look into her husbands eyes again if she'd give in to this man? There was no way to react.

No matter how she twisted it, it always turned out badly.



Well, well, well... SIx reviews for chapter 6. #does her (in)famous happy dance# - I LIKE that. Thank you so much folks!!

Mrs.Scott323 - Ah yes, time zones. I think we're living in the same, aren't we? Might be one hour between us, I'm not sure. So, I hope this made your noon this time. ;o)

LorLukealways - You are right, it would definitely do their relationship with Lorelai good if they'd be their true selves around her as well. But you know them...

Emily-RichardFan - I'm so happy you liked it! So you liked reading the chapter as much as I liked writing it? ;o) Yes, jealous Emily is fun, but I think semi-jealous Richard is even more fun. The next chapter will be the last but he ... no, I won't tell.

Branda - Maybe you should just stay logged in. ;o). Thanks for both your new reviews! I enjoyed reading them and that story you told was interesting. I would really like to know more about that church thing. Did you write about it on MySpace? Then I could read it there.

Miss GoodManners - #big hug# Waking up to a rELLIeview is one of my fav ways to start the day! I don't mind the typos in your reviews. Don't bother re-reading & correcting them. It's just so great to get a review as detailed as yours are. :oD It's great that you had fun with this chapter and I am glad you think I kept her in character.

Mary - Yes, that 'strange encounter' was not of the 3rd kind this time. But close. ;o) And of course Chad is back... so... missed him? ;o)