A Bordeaux Dynasty: A Novel (25 page)

Silence fell between them. Jules buried his hands in his pockets. He knew there was nothing he could do about the situation at the moment.

In a neutral voice, he asked, “Want me to help you to your room?”

“First answer me,” Aurélien said.

Jules stifled a sigh of exasperation.

“Answer you what?” he said. “Alex will either do what you tell him or he’s going to decide for himself. I have no idea. …”

“What about you?”

Jules forced a smile. The accusation was loud and clear.

“Me?” he said. “I’m always on your side, whatever happens. But I think that everything can be done correctly both here and at Mazion at the right time. You had a fight with Antoine? So what? You’re not going to let his grapes rot on their vines, are you?”

His dark eyes were riveted on his father’s. Aurélien finally lowered his head.

“Can I give you a hand now?” Jules said.

Aurélien got up. As he was staggering, Jules grabbed him by the arm.

“Things will end up badly between us one day,” Aurélien said.

“Why do you say that?”

Aurélien shrugged and held onto Jules. They both walked out of the bedroom and crossed the hallway to the staircase.

“Do you know why I forced you to go away to school? Because I figured that as soon as you began taking care of Fonteyne, it would be the beginning of the end for me. You’d be going up, while I’d be coming down. And we’d meet up at some point. Oh yes! And on top of that, you’re always so … You make my blood run cold. That’s it! That’s what you do to me.”

They were now in front of Aurélien’s bedroom door. Jules opened it and guided his father to his bed, then took a few steps back without looking at him.

“You’re not saying anything? You let me speak because I’m drunk? Because you’re finally finding out some of the things that are on my mind?”

Jules wanted to leave. Aurélien’s underlying aggression was unbearable.

“I’m out of here,” he managed to say.

“Yeah, go ahead. Leave. …”

In the hallway, Jules leaned against a wall for a second. He wondered whether his father would be able to get undressed and into bed by himself. But he went straight for the library, where he turned on a bouillotte lamp and poured himself a drink. He remained still for a long time, glass in hand, deep in thought.

Aurélien’s comments, though uttered while drunk, didn’t completely surprise Jules. The timing of the fight with Antoine seemed too perfect to be innocent. Did Aurélien know that Jules and Laurène had made up? Was he trying to protect himself by creating chaos between the families? He was cunning enough for that. Breaking ties with Antoine would force Jules to keep quiet about Laurène.

I wanted to keep quiet anyway! Why? Why …

Had he been a coconspirator without knowing it? Jules shivered. He was still in his jeans, bare-chested, and the air in the library was cold. He poured a bit more cognac in his glass and leaned against the sliding ladder. The antique lamp shed just a bit of light in the large room.

I didn’t want to force Laurène on him. To rub his nose in it. To go back on my word. … I gave him time. … Time to find someone else. …

The sound of rainfall took him out of his meditation.

Again! We can’t catch a single break this year.

He set his glass down hard, saw a drop of cognac on the table, and made it disappear with his fingertip. He then turned off the lamp and left the library. Once upstairs, he hesitated in front of Laurène’s door but decided to go sleep in his own bed.

She angrily stuffed her things into two suitcases. She wasn’t doing it right and her clothes were overflowing. Jules was looking at her, feeling awful. He’d come to her bedroom early and told her the latest news.

“Your father, my father, wine, inflated egos—I’m so fed up!” is all she’d said about it.

He tried to calm her, swore that the feud would only be temporary, that he’d go see her each day in Mazion until he was able to talk to Aurélien.

She shrugged and said, “You? In Mazion? During harvest? You won’t have the time, and you know that full well. Fonteyne above everything else! And Alex is going to do just like you: what he’s told. No chance of getting away from the vines for even five minutes.”

Then Jules started to shout, too.

“What, you want me to just leave here and harvest over at your father’s?”

Then he regretted his outburst and took her in his arms. He cajoled her for a long time.

“All right,” she wound up saying, “we’ll go into hiding and wait until our fathers make up. …”

She lacked conviction, and he felt obligated to ask, “You’d feel better if we had a bigger crisis on our hands? If you really want to, let’s go to Aurélien right now together. I mean it, I don’t want to lose you for so little.”

But she grabbed him by the arm.

“For so little? Fonteyne? Your father? You think I’m that stupid? Things between us already had a rough start, let’s not add any more difficulties. You’re the one who’s right.”

She finished packing in silence, but as he was heading for the door, she asked him, in a tiny little voice, “If I’d gone along with it earlier, would you really have gone to your father?”

She waited in vain for an answer, and he stepped out of the room without turning around. Holding back her tears, she closed her suitcases. Her place right now was with her mother in Mazion, she was certain of that, but the idea of leaving Fonteyne tore her apart inside.

Lucas had parked the Mercedes in front of the terrace and loaded Laurène’s suitcases in the trunk. The entire family was outside, with Fernande standing in the background, sorry to see the young woman go. Robert kissed Laurène with obvious embarrassment, as he wondered to what extent he was responsible for all these upheavals. Jules, sitting on the stone balustrade, seemed detached.

Aurélien, emerging from his office, came out last. He went over to Laurène with a smile on his face and grabbed her by the shoulders affectionately. He looked emotional.

“Kiddo,” he began, “old men’s quarrels have nothing to do with you. …”

Jules strained his ears but stayed where he was.

“I’ve been very happy with you,” Aurélien continued. “I’ve gotten used to the way you work, and I’ll miss you.”

He paused, and Jules, from his vantage point, could tell that he really was sad.

“I hope you’re as hardworking once you’re home,” Aurélien added. “And please come back to see me once in a while.”

He’d lowered his voice while uttering those last words. His hands were heavy on the young woman’s shoulders.

He leaned toward her and whispered, “Young people do silly things. … Listen, Fonteyne will always be here for you. You have my word. …”

She smiled at him. She liked him, in spite of everything, and he could tell that. He let her go, and she went down the stairs.

Behind her, Jules suddenly said, “I’m going with her.”

“Don’t be too long,” Aurélien said. “I need you!”

Laurène got into the car, angry with herself for being so moved. Jules couldn’t come up with anything to say to her on their way to Mazion and contented himself with holding her hand.

As soon as they arrived in the yard, Marie came out of the house to greet them. She was still a bit uncomfortable in Jules’s presence after her daughter’s confessions. She was stuck on the painful episode with Robert and felt sorry for Jules. They entered the kitchen, and Marie made some coffee as Laurène went up to say hello to her father. When Jules sat behind Marie, she got even busier and began to chatter so that there would be no silence between them.

“To think they wound up fighting like that,” she said. “Such old friends. It’s a shame. But, you know, to be stuck in bed during harvest this way. … You have to understand Antoine’s position. …”

She wouldn’t look at Jules while she poured a cup of coffee. Jules interrupted her.

“I like Antoine, and I know how difficult Aurélien can be. … Is Alex around?”

“Yes, with the laborers.”

He noticed her embarrassment and wanted to make her feel better.

“Marie,” he said, “I have something very serious to tell you.”

Seeing her become rigid, he added right away, “I’d like to ask you for your daughter’s hand. We’d get married next spring. …”

Marie finally met Jules’s gaze. She looked stunned.

“She told you about Bob, right?” he said. “Forget about it. It’s nothing. …”

Astonished by what she’d just heard, Marie clutched the back of a chair.

“She drove me crazy, you know. …” Jules continued. “When it comes to her, I’m not myself anymore. But we dealt with things, she and I, and I think we’re on the same page. … Only now, there are certain hurdles in the way. …”

Marie got ahold of herself. She gave Jules a huge smile and spared him the rest of the painful story by interrupting him, “Nothing in this world would make me happier than you and Laurène getting married. Does Aurélien know about this? No? So he’s going to be furious. … He was so angry when he left the house the other day!”

“They won’t remain mad at each other forever. You keep this news to yourself until they make up, okay?”

“You can count on me,” Marie said.

She was still smiling, her eyes bright. On a sudden impulse, she went over to Jules and hugged him.

“I’m so happy for you. I like you a lot, kiddo. …”

Jules was moved by her outburst of affection. He said, his voice low, “Until then, Marie, try to convince your daughter to be a little patient. …”

He didn’t have to elaborate, as Marie gave Jules a knowing look. She knew Laurène well enough to figure out Jules’s worries.

As Laurène came back downstairs, Jules got up, set on saying goodbye to Antoine before leaving. He wanted to get an idea of his state of mind and the rancor he had for Aurélien. Marie accompanied him to the bedroom but didn’t enter. Not only did she prefer leaving the men by themselves, she was in a hurry to meet up with Laurène.

Antoine gave Jules a lukewarm greeting.

“So,” he said, “you’re giving me back one of my daughters? You Laverzacs are so kind. I heard Alex arriving this morning, and I’m still stunned. He’s come over to take care of my land? Aurélien didn’t impose his veto? I thought that’s what he told me he was going to do. …”

Jules smiled and didn’t think he should respond directly to all of it.

“I didn’t want to leave your house without shaking your hand, Antoine,” he said.

“For now, you’re not as big a jerk as your father,” Antoine said, “but I don’t know if that’s going to last.”

Jules burst into his light laugh.

“Well, I’ve got to go. I have a lot of work to do. You’re ten times less sick than you think.”

He left Antoine, a smile on his face. His resemblance to Aurélien was too striking not to amuse Jules. He went back to the Mercedes, looking for Laurène. He finally spotted her, on the other side of the yard, standing still. He lit a cigarette, without moving and without trying to walk toward her. After a moment, she was the one who came over to him.

“You’re going back to Fonteyne,” she said, pouting. “When will you be back?”

Jules sighed and said, in a soft voice, “All I can do is invite you over for dinner once in a while. …”

“If you like. … But it’s going to be even worse after the harvest. The vinification will keep you even busier.”

She threw herself into his arms and cried.

“If I hadn’t been so stupid,” she said, “we wouldn’t be in this spot. Everything would’ve gone smoothly, without a hitch. … You have no idea how I regret the way I behaved, Jules.”

He softly caressed her hair and asked, “Will you have the patience to wait, Laurène?”

“Yes,” she said with a strong voice, in spite of her tears.

He slowly kissed Laurène and then stepped away from her. He glanced her way one more time and then climbed into the car. Reassured, he was now in a hurry to leave, to get back to Fonteyne and Aurélien, who was waiting for him.

She hated him for a second, but then he gave her a disarming smile before speeding away.

Aurélien had no difficulty convincing his notary. The Laverzacs couldn’t possibly do without a secretary at this time of year, and so Varin agreed to send Frédérique to Fonteyne with little fuss. Aurélien, just like Jules, always wound up getting what he wanted. Since his adopted son had suggested this young woman as a replacement for Laurène, Aurélien had no doubt that this was the right choice. Frédérique made an excellent impression on Aurélien as soon as he saw her. First and foremost because she was pretty, and also because she was eager to find out about the tasks she was going to be performing. Aurélien suggested that she stay at Fonteyne for the duration of the harvest, and she accepted with obvious glee. Living at the Laverzacs’ very much appealed to her, especially since she’d be on the same floor as Jules. The memory of their lovely night together was still fresh in her mind, and she’d waited in vain for him to give her a call. She was convinced that the fact that she’d gone to bed with him so quickly didn’t play in her favor, though she had been honest when she told Jules that it was the first time she’d ever gone to a hotel with a man. When Mr. Varin first talked to her about Aurélien’s request, she immediately imagined all kinds of scenarios. She tried not to appear too thrilled when she first got to Fonteyne and realized, after just a few hours, that she needed to be liked by the father in order to get close to the son.

Robert and Pauline, for their part, had little-by-little abandoned their Bordeaux hotel and limited themselves to long walks in the woods. During those September afternoons, Robert hated himself for coming back to Fonteyne to see Pauline again. She granted him only fleeting moments, ignored his feelings, and treated their rendezvous as little escapades that were only just for laughs. She took advantage of a situation that served and flattered her, that she enjoyed, but she kept Robert at bay and made sure that things between them didn’t become serious.

The official proclamation of the date for the beginning of the harvest was finally made. Traditionally, an opening banquet was organized each year before harvesting began. Aurélien suggested that Laurène be added to the guest list. Jules advised him against doing so, arguing that they couldn’t invite the daughter without the father, that it should be either the entire family or no one. Aurélien was displeased but didn’t insist. He would miss Laurène’s presence, but he wasn’t ready to make amends with Antoine. Not yet.