Chapter 312: Paranoid [2]
When Hayden returned home, he was still lying on the floor of the carriage, though he had calmed somewhat from the fright.
Once the carriage rolled to a stop, he sat up quickly, unwilling to let anyone glimpse the position he’d been in.
Hayden rose and threw open the carriage door without waiting for it to be opened for him. He stormed out, marching straight towards the coachman. The very man who could have spared him the whole ordeal had he simply answered.
Hayden seized the coachman by the shirt and shoved him back against the carriage. "Are you working with that bastard Damien? Is that why you didn’t answer me, why you let me believe I was under attack?"
"I didn’t hear you-"
Hayden shoved him again, silencing him mid-sentence. "I’m sure you heard me perfectly well, but since you’re working with that bastard, you acted as though you hadn’t. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand."
Hayden was entirely convinced by now that his coachman was part of the scheme. Why else would the man have ignored him and refused to ride faster?
"I didn’t hear you. It was far too loud for me to hear," the coachman said, his voice shaking as he pleaded his innocence.
The front door opened, and Camille, catching sight of the carriage from inside, stepped out, only to be met with the shock of Hayden gripping the coachman by the collar.
"Hayden!" Camille called, hurrying down the steps. "What are you doing? There are servants all around."
She had no wish for word to spread that they mistreated their staff.
"He’s a traitor, working with Damien to harm me," Hayden accused, not loosening his grip.
Camille turned to the coachman, startled that he would betray them after being paid so generously all these years.
"I didn’t do it. I swear it."
"First things first," Camille said, resting her hand on Hayden’s arm. "Let go of him and speak with me about this properly. This isn’t a good look for either of us. We are better than this."
Hayden held on a moment longer before finally releasing the man. "This isn’t finished. I don’t want him leaving our grounds until we’re certain of his innocence."
"We shall return to speak with you shortly," Camille assured the coachman. "I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding, and once it’s been sorted, my husband will apologise properly. For now, please move the carriage from the front."
She took hold of Hayden’s arm and guided him towards the front door, her mind already turning over why he’d turned on their servant so suddenly.
"I-"
"Not a word until we’re safely in our chamber," Camille hushed him. "I don’t care for how you behaved just now."
Hayden fell silent, using the walk to calm himself.
Only once they’d reached the privacy of their bedchamber did Camille finally allow him to speak.
"Damien came to me at the pub and threatened that I might not make it home safely. I thought I was under attack and wanted the coachman to go faster, but he didn’t listen. I’m certain he’s working with Damien," Hayden said, clinging stubbornly to his assumption.
"Or perhaps he simply didn’t hear you. Don’t you think it would have been wiser to gather proof before leaping to such a conclusion? You made it home perfectly safe, so our coachman is clearly not against you," said Camille.
"To be safe, I want him gone," Hayden said.
Camille frowned, her arms crossing over her chest. "He has been with us three years. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find someone who suits us as well as he does?"
"Camille, it cannot be so difficult to find a man who can guide a carriage. I’d take up the reins myself if it came to it," Hayden offered.
"I am not going to have my husband playing coachman, and without proof, I am not going to dismiss a man our children have grown close to. You have let Damien toy with you completely," Camille said, quite certain there had never been any real danger. "You told me yourself you didn’t fear him."
A flicker of doubt crept into her.
Could Hayden truly stand against Damien and still keep her safe?
"I do not fear him. Damien is still a little boy in my eyes. I was only troubled because I didn’t have my gun in the carriage to defend myself. This is precisely why you shouldn’t have moved it!" Hayden snapped, taking his frustration out on her.
"I apologise that your gun wasn’t there, but if our children are to ride in your carriage, I’d rather they not be able to reach beneath the seats and find a weapon. I was thinking of their safety, but forgive me for that error," Camille said.
She continued, "Do you not think some of the blame lies with you, for speaking to Damien without a guard at your side? With everything we’re planning concerning him, it would only be sensible to travel with one or two guards. It isn’t as though we cannot afford it."
Hayden set his hands on his hips and began pacing the chamber. "I didn’t expect to see him today. I believe he’s been following me. He’s shown a keen interest in why I stay away from town so often and thought I was carrying on an affair."
"Why would he think that?" Camille asked, genuinely curious now as to why Hayden was so often absent. "Did you tell him it was for work?"
"I did, and I told him the truth besides. I’m sure he’ll try to twist my words regardless. There is no other woman," Hayden promised.
"I never thought there was," Camille replied. She knew well enough that Hayden loved no one but her. "Then what did you tell him that he might twist?"
"I told him I stay away from home so often because I need a break. Caring for the children takes its toll on me. Playing both father and husband becomes a bit much, so I need time to myself. That’s all there is to it," Hayden admitted.
His confession caught Camille entirely off guard as it was nothing close to what she’d braced herself to hear.
She walked to the bed and sat, needing a moment simply to let his words settle.
Her first response was to laugh.
"All this time, you’ve left me alone with the children because you needed time for yourself? I believed you were away for work. Did it never once cross your mind that I might want a break as well?" Camille asked, her frustration finally breaking free.
She took no pleasure in having the children constantly beside her with their voices never far from her ears.
"It’s different for you. You’re a woman," Hayden answered.