The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

"Do not think you have such a hold on me that I won’t leave our home. I shall host the gathering, but once it’s over, I intend to leave and find some peace of my own. You were better off never speaking of what you do in private," said Camille.

It boiled her blood that Hayden had spoken so freely to Damien, as though it were nothing at all. Now Damien had yet another thing to laugh over concerning their marriage.

"There’s no reason for you to want to leave while I’m here. Once we’ve both settled our business, you may go your way, and I go my way. I’ll send the children to stay with my parents for a few weeks," Hayden decided.

Camille shut the door behind her, unwilling to let their raised voices carry beyond the chamber. "You wouldn’t stay behind to face the children yourself? Already you’re scheming another way to escape them. Why didn’t this brilliant idea occur to you while I was stuck here with them?"

"It isn’t good for you to speak of being stuck with your own children. I fear you may need some help, given how little motherly instinct you seem to possess. And to think you wanted another," Hayden said, shaking his head.

"Because your father asked, and I believed it was what you wanted. Frankly, I thought another child might keep you home more. Why does everyone assume I long to be surrounded by children simply because I’m a woman?" Camille asked, bothered by the assumptions.

She wanted peace just like everyone else did. Was that truly so difficult to understand?

"Our children are noisy and rarely listen. I struggle to keep maids at their side because the little ones keep striking them," Camille admitted.

"I told you to be firmer with them. They don’t behave this way when I’m home-"

"You are not home often enough to help break those habits in the first place. I am exhausted by all of it, and even more so now, learning you’ve been running from us this entire time," Camille said, her hands going to her hair. She was close to tugging out her hair.

Hayden approached Camille, eager to settle things so he might finally rest. "I’ll hire more maids to look after the children. A stricter governess, more tutors to occupy their time. That way you’ll have far more time to yourself."

Camille looked up just as he reached for her with arms spread for an embrace. She stepped away instead of hugging him.

"Rather than promise to simply be home more, you’ve found me a way to remain trapped here with the children instead. For my own sanity, I need distance from you. I must believe you’re drunk, for that’s the only explanation for speaking this way," Camille said, moving further from him.

"I am not drunk," said Hayden.

"Then you’re merely a fool who doesn’t appreciate what he already has, and cares nothing for my feelings. If you did, you’d never have devised such an awful plan," Camille said, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort.

"I apologise. I believed the choices I made were best for this family. I can spend more time at home, with you and the children," Hayden offered, giving in to what she wanted. "Let’s not take this so far that we ruin our marriage over it. That is precisely what Damien wants."

Camille cared little for Damien’s involvement in any of this, but she stayed silent.

"You know how much I love you. Are you not the least bit relieved I’m not hiding a lover?" Hayden asked.

"A lover, or being so bored of me that you hide instead. Both are equally awful in my eyes. I’d prefer neither. And you’ve made this worse still by telling Damien, so now he has something new to hold against us. It’s humiliating," Camille said, her voice breaking as tears spilt again.

"Oh, please. Damien has no right to speak on us, not given the state of his own marriage."

Camille took a deep breath to calm herself. "My opinion of Eloise may have shifted, but I cannot ignore how deeply he loves her. He travelled all this way just to confront me on her behalf."

"No," Hayden shook his head. "He came for Jane’s sake. Don’t mistake it again."

"I am certain now it was for both," Camille said, confident she was right.

"So now you’d compare our marriage to theirs? We’ve done everything properly, while they hide from the town. Is that truly the marriage you wish to hold ours against?" Hayden asked, stepping back from her.

"I would never compare ours to theirs. I am only saying I wish for you to be better," Camille argued.

Hayden let out a dry, humourless laugh. "So now you’d have me become like your nephew? Wouldn’t that be odd?"

"I don’t want you to be Damien. I want you to be a good husband. To stand at my side, to defend me, to protect me. Not to vanish to some other house because you crave peace. I want peace and support alongside it," Camille argued.

"I think you should let me rest, and perhaps pour myself another drink, before we take this further. I very nearly faced death after speaking with Damien-"

"I am putting a stop to all our plans. I see now you are not the man to stand against him. One brief conversation, and you were convinced he meant to kill you. I have no wish to become a widow at my age, so forget everything you’d planned," Camille advised Hayden.

"You’d have me forget that he tried to kill you?"

"You were rattled after a single conversation, Hayden. It isn’t that I wish to forget what he did. I simply see now that you aren’t suited for this fight. I’ll let my relatives deal with Damien instead, so you may stay well clear of it. You are afraid."

"He is a little boy-"

"Damien is a man," Camille corrected before he could finish. "Calling him a boy now is foolish, after you came home so shaken you laid hands on our coachman. This isn’t a fight you can face, and truthfully, neither can I. There’s no shame in admitting it."

"I am not ashamed," Hayden said, his fist clenching at his side. "Nor am I afraid. Watch closely, and you’ll see exactly how I deal with him."

Camille sighed. "When this all goes wrong, remember what I’ve said to you tonight. I am not in the mood to face you further, so I shall take myself elsewhere for now," she said, moving towards the door. "I wish you luck with Damien."