A Bordeaux Dynasty: A Novel (4 page)

Hedonist, ladies’ man, with a passion for his vines and his many books, Aurélien was a Laverzac of a particular vintage. He’d always had original and very personal ideas that he’d applied to his family and business, with equal glee. He’d been an unpredictable father, capable of both tenderness and intolerance, which often left his family and friends baffled. The way he’d imposed Jules on his wife thirty years earlier had scandalized many people close to the family. But every day he congratulated himself for it. In hindsight, he considered Jules his biggest achievement. And only he knew to what extent.

During Aurélien’s nap—a daily ritual—the people of Fonteyne pursued their own interests. Jules, tireless, charged up and down the fields. Alexandre and Dominique took refuge for a while in their house. Laurène typed letters.

Louis-Marie and Pauline went to their room, the one Louis-Marie had occupied as a child. Like all the house’s rooms, it was large, with two windows and a fireplace. Pauline, kneeling on the carpet in front of the hearth, was looking at the fireplace’s log grate.

“Did you have fires in the wintertime?”

Louis-Marie burst out laughing. He loved his room, with its captain’s bed and all the memories it contained.

“No, not really,” he said. “You had to carry logs all the way up here. Besides, it was plenty hot in the house. … It’s not like it’s some old drafty castle out of a gothic novel. And Fernande thought it was dangerous. At least that’s what she said. In reality, she had so much to do in the house that she didn’t feel like picking up ashes on top of it all.”

“She must’ve pampered you boys.”

“In her own way, yes. Robert was always trying to get her attention, but Alex and I were pretty self-sufficient. We didn’t need a whole lot of coddling.”

“I don’t believe you.”

She let herself fall onto the bed next to him.

“You should,” Louis-Marie said. “But we did have our eyes stuck on all the young women that my father hired.”

He chuckled and she drew even closer to him. For a few moments, he admired his wife’s face, her feline eyes, her wild curls. He felt so overwhelmed by her, he turned away.

“And Jules?” she asked.

“Jules simply adored Fernande and was always giving her a hand with things. He never did anything like the others. But we didn’t mind it. Jules’s helpful and independent side made our lives easier. … He was an adorable kid, you can’t even begin to imagine …”

Pauline sat up to take off her blouse.

“What about Robert?” she asked. “How was he? Did you get along with him?”

She had no qualms about asking questions. Louis-Marie sighed.

“He was frivolous, charming … pretty funny … You’re still interested in him?”

With an amused expression, she tossed her bra toward the foot of the bed and snuggled against her husband.

“I really did like him, you know! He was creative and caring, very comfortable with his friends, but very clumsy with me. It’s nice that we … that we can talk about it and that you boys have buried the hatchet.”

He nodded, though not altogether convinced.

“Yeah, it’s nice … but I wish I was certain you’d completely forgotten about him.”

She put her arms around Louis-Marie’s neck and pressed herself against his body.

“You know he didn’t mean anything to me,” she whispered.

He put his hands on Pauline’s breasts and caressed them gently.

“No,” he said. “I don’t know anything for sure.”

She stretched like a cat under his fingers. She had no desire to think about Robert anymore.

“Dominique confided in me today,” she said. “Apparently your father and Jules are suffocating her. You think it’s true?”

Louis-Marie shrugged, annoyed with Pauline’s gossip.

“Someone has to be in charge,” he said. “And Alex doesn’t have the right temperament.”

He kissed his wife’s shoulder.

“Why doesn’t your father simply give Alexandre part of the estate? Each would have his own piece of land …”

Louis-Marie straightened.

“Divide up Fonteyne? My God, don’t you know them? Not a single vine, not one bunch of grapes, not even a rosebush at the end of the alley! Jules would go nuts if he heard you say that. As for dad …”

“So it’s true, nobody likes Alex. …”

“They all like him fine, but not to that extent! It’d be insane to sacrifice plants just for little Alex’s peace of mind.”

“First of all, Alex is not the ‘little’ one. Jules is the youngest son. Besides, everyone’s happiness should be more important than vineyards and property. That kind of reasoning is good for Aurélien, but not for you, for crying out loud! Could you put up with living like Alex, always the fifth wheel? ‘Sacrifice plants’? What an awful thing to say.”

Louis-Marie grabbed Pauline’s shoulders and forced her to lie down on the bed.

“My family’s affairs are complicated enough as it is,” he said. “Don’t get involved. Besides, I have enough on my mind these days…”

Pauline was looking at him, a bit surprised by the brisk tone he’d used.

He gave her a sheepish smile and said, “Pauline … I’m sorry …”

He got up and began undressing as he spoke.

“That’s part of the reason that I left the house once I became an adult. Dad doesn’t let go of things for a long time, and he’s a complete despot. Only Jules is comfortable around here, and that’s because he’s a rock. Bob did the same as me, but Alex didn’t have the courage to leave. Or the ambition … He never wants to compete, to confront anyone. He stayed here because he didn’t have anything better to do. But he knew that Jules was going to crush him. He knew it all along. Too bad he’s not happy with the situation. What has he done to be the top dog? Nothing. And so why would you expect the others to respect him? He’s useful and nobody scorns him, but he’s always going to be second fiddle. Even as a kid he was like that—nice and a bit of a straggler …”

Louis-Marie was back in bed. His hand slid down Pauline’s tanned thighs.

“How about we move on to something else right now?” he whispered, still caressing his wife.

Pauline shut her eyes.

Behind Jules, Robert came to a stop.

“I’m beat,” he said. “How about a break?”

He’d had enough of walking with long strides, following his brother crisscrossing the vineyards. He’d been happy to see the village once again, then they’d made their way to the plateau, and on through the southern fields before reaching the woods. Robert sat on a tree stump and took out a pack of cigarettes.

“You want one?”

Jules said yes, but stayed on his feet as he smoked, staring into the distance. Robert watched him with curiosity.

“You’re happy, aren’t you?” he asked, to break the silence.

“Of course I am,” Jules replied. “How about you?”

Robert shook his head.

“I always have a hard time talking to you, Jules. …” he said. “What I wanted to tell you is that I’m happy for dad and for Fonteyne … and for you. Everything here seems to be in such great shape.”

Jules sat down and, absentmindedly, tugged at the top of his boots.

“In great shape? Yes. … But you know, Robert, Aurélien is no fool. …”

For a long time now, Jules had called his adoptive father by his Christian name. This began after a fight with Robert and Alexandre, way back when. The two brothers, carried away by the fighting and the cruelty of kids that age, had told him that he’d been an abandoned child. Jules, who was only six, cried a lot at first, and then came up with a way to get even. Aurélien was angry at his sons for the fight and punished them all without trying to find out who’d been at fault. But Jules never relented, even after making up with his brothers, and he’d never again called Aurélien “Father” or “Dad.”

“The way you look at Pauline,” he continued. “You better be careful.”

Robert was about to say something back, but Jules was already on his feet.

“Let’s go,” he said. “It’s getting late and I’ve got work to do.”

They headed back toward Fonteyne and remained quiet for about a mile. Finally, out of breath and peeved by his brother’s infernal cadence, Robert said, “What about Laurène?”

Jules stopped in his tracks and Robert bumped into him.

“What about her?”

“When are you going to marry her?”

Jules burst into his light laughter.

“You laugh just like Louis-Marie,” Robert said.

“And like you!”

Both brothers shared an amused look.

“I like Laurène a lot,” Jules admitted.

“I can see that. … I remember when her hair was still in pigtails. She’s become very pretty.”

Jules pushed a pebble with the tip of his boot. Talking about Laurène made him uncomfortable.

“And, naturally,” Robert said, “Dad took her under his wing.”

Robert glanced at Jules and decided to be more specific.

“It’s not surprising, since you two like the same people, the same things and, above all, the same women. …”

Jules said nothing. He waited a few seconds before taking off toward Fonteyne. Tired of following him, Robert let him walk away.

I hope he does marry her
, Robert thought.
He’s going to be thirty soon.

His brother took a bend in the road and disappeared behind a tree. Robert sighed.

His hair is too long, he always wears the same turtleneck and those boots he had six years ago, and he still behaves like a college kid most of the time, but the son of a gun is good-looking. … If only because of him, I’m glad I came. … And he’s right, I have to be careful and not stare at Pauline so much when I’m around her and the others …

“Jules tire you out?”

Lost in his thoughts, Robert was startled by Laurène’s voice behind him.

“It’s impossible to keep up with him,” she added with a smile. “I guess you don’t charge up and down your hospital’s hallways like that, huh?”

Robert, disconcerted, smiled back at her. Once again he was reminded of how attractive she was. But, distracted, he did not pay her any particular attention. He was still too affected by Pauline’s presence to be receptive to anyone else. Just the same, his experience with women being what it was, he noted that Laurène was looking elsewhere as she talked to him, seemingly uneasy. The observation annoyed him.

“He’s in great shape,” he said, dryly. “Just like my father. …”

The young woman turned to Robert and set her pale eyes on him.

“It’s too hot out,” Robert said. “I’m going back to the house.”

And he headed for Fonteyne with the kind of energetic strides that would’ve killed him an hour earlier. A pace, in fact, just like Jules’s.

Dominique was watching Alexandre as he slept. As always, she felt a great deal of love and tenderness for him. She could hear the children playing outside, shouting with excitement. She reached for the bowl of candy on her nightstand. She could never resist sweets. Also on the nightstand, the photo of her father proudly standing between his daughters seemed to taunt her more and more every day.

That’s where Alex and I should be, she thought. In Mazion, at Daddy’s …

How many times had she made that suggestion to her husband … to absolutely no avail? On that point, at least, he stood his ground. “A Laverzac doesn’t produce wine outside Fonteyne!” he replied every time she brought up the topic. Louis-Marie and Bob, that was different. They’d gone to Paris to start a career. But Alex being a wine producer thirty miles away from his father? That was unimaginable. At least for him. …

When Laurène came to work at Fonteyne, Dominique had feared that Jules would fall for her and that an additional wedding would leave her father alone for good in Mazion. It was bad enough she’d preferred to work for Aurélien. But the decision could be explained as a girl’s whim, as well as a temporary need for independence. Though Dominique loved her sister, she didn’t understand her. Laurène seemed to have adapted to Aurélien’s temper and Jules’s indifference. She did seem to find Jules attractive. Or at least she had. Dominique no longer knew.

There are too many people around here, she thought, while in Mazion, Dad has to do basically everything by himself. … It’s ridiculous. … Those darn Laverzacs think the world revolves around them. …

She knew she was being unfair, having been the first to abandon her father in a way. She sighed, and in his sleep Alexandre reached out for her.

If only Aurélien would let Alexandre go … We’d be so much happier there. … I’d have to talk to Jules about it first. …

The idea of taking up the issue with her brother-in-law scared her. Jules was always polite to her, sometimes even quite kind, but Dominique knew him to be inflexible with everything having to do with Fonteyne.

If only Alex wasn’t so spineless, if he rocked the boat now and then, maybe Jules would be more inclined to get rid of him. …

She snuggled against Alexandre, depressed at not having a solution. From up close she could see her husband’s face, its fine and regular features. She caressed his silky blond hair, and he slowly awakened.

“What time is it?” he asked, yawning.

She didn’t answer. Soon enough, it would be time to return to her tasks, the vineyard, the family …

Aurélien was already at his desk when Laurène came in.

“Well,” he said curtly, “should I run these numbers or are you going to do it?”

She smiled, and he felt like he was melting.

“Did you go for a walk, honey?” he asked, in an altogether different tone of voice.

“I went down to the woods. I needed some fresh air. It’s so hot today.”

Aurélien laughed benevolently.

“You sound like a tourist,” he joked. “Like a Parisian. You know as well as I do that we need all the sun we can get. … Here, these are the things I need you to do for me.”

He pointed at a stack of paperwork on the corner of the desk. She bent over to pick it up and he looked aside, embarrassed that he still found her so pretty.

“Alex is going to Bordeaux tomorrow, to negotiate with Amel. Prepare an outline for him, will you? He’s not used to it.”

“Alex?”

As Laurène’s eyes grew wide, Aurélien explained.

“He won’t do as well as Jules, I know, but he’s going to be fine. He needs a little encouragement.”