A Bordeaux Dynasty: A Novel (50 page)

“As far as brothers go,” he said, “you guys aren’t too bad.”

“You’d realize that more often if you came off you’re pedestal once in a blue moon,” Robert said. “Everyone knows your worth, you don’t have to prove yourself from morning to night.”

“But …”

“Bob is right,” Louis-Marie said.

Jules looked at them both.

“It’s not that I’m trying to prove anything,” he said. “I have this estate to run, and that means I can’t be slacking off. As for the rest, I have just as many flaws as you guys, which is saying a lot!”

There was a moment of silence, and then Louis-Marie muttered, “Plus one: touchiness.”

Jules left his armchair and stretched. He was tall, slim, extraordinarily handsome.

“Are we going to bed or do we keep drinking?” he asked, pointing at the empty glasses.

The other two just looked at him with the same smile on their faces.

“Okay,” Jules said. “I’ll get another bottle.”

Pauline took charge. She picked a wedding date and took Laurène to the Margaux city hall to fill out the paperwork. Then she drove the young woman to Bordeaux to buy a dress. She even took her to a gynecologist. At the end of the day, she went looking for Jules and found him in the cellar, on the second level. He was inspecting the two-year-old wine barrels, with Lucas on his heels. The unexpected arrival of the young woman, dressed in a pleated short skirt and a pink T-shirt, brought a smile to the two men’s faces. Jules took his sister-in-law by the arm, told her she was going to freeze in there, and guided her back to the spiral staircase. Once out of the cellar, they were blinded by the sun. It was a spectacular May afternoon. Pauline sat on a stone bench, set on tackling all the issues relating to the ceremony, including the most important problem: Alex.

“You understand,” she told Jules, “that it’s unthinkable not to invite Dominique, right? On the other hand, you probably don’t want to hear about Alex these days. …”

She gave him that charming look of hers. Jules sighed.

“Antoine and Marie,” he admitted. “And Dominique. … We have to invite them, you’re right.”

“But what about Alex?”

“How do you want me to invite Alex to my wedding when he’s dragging me to court?”

“I know! That’s why I thought … Don’t take what I’m going to say badly, okay?”

Jules nodded.

“Why don’t you go over to talk to Alex, Jules?”

He stared at her, genuinely bewildered.

“Why? You know, if he were right here in front of me, I’d punch him in the face. Do you realize that?”

Jules’s dark look and metallic voice were eloquent, but Pauline kept at it.

“How are you going to explain Alex’s absence to your guests?”

“But, Pauline, everybody already knows what’s going on! You think that we could keep something that huge a secret? Alex’s legal proceedings against Aurélien’s will, me, and Fonteyne is something everyone in the entire Médoc region knows about. Don’t be so naïve. And as the trial goes on, people are going to have a fun time trying to figure who’s going to win and who’s going to lose, who’s going to get what … And so there are only two solutions, my dear sister-in-law: either a very intimate wedding or an all-out affair that’s going to publicly display our family’s conflict.”

Pauline’s eyes remained planted on Jules’s.

“Which one do you want?” she asked.

He gave Pauline an enigmatic smile and sat beside her.

“We’re going to need you, Pauline. Laurène won’t be able to handle all this by herself. I’m going to write up a guest list and you take care of the rest, okay?”

She immediately looked delighted. She knew that Jules would go for provocation.

“Something really grandiose, then?” she said.

“You have carte blanche.”

He seemed very resolute but not cheerful at all.

“What’s up, Jules?” she asked.

He vaguely gestured at the castle.

“Well, I have a bit of a cash flow problem these days. But I don’t want anyone to see that. And, you know, Laurène … She wouldn’t be happy with some quickie wedding. For people around here, pomp and circumstance is still so important. … You have to do what you have to do sometimes, even if it means showing off. … Aurélien isn’t there anymore to maintain his rank, but we can take care of that, can’t we?”

In a spontaneous gesture, Pauline put her hand on Jules’s.

“You can count on me,” she said.

“Oh, I know! If anyone loves society life, it’s you!”

Alexandre had fled into the vineyards and was sitting in the sun. Dominique’s speech had made him think, but it hadn’t convinced him. He was set on going all out. Even if he wasn’t able to answer his wife when she asked him what his ultimate goal was. Recovering Fonteyne to then kick out Jules was pure fantasy, he realized that much. Alex knew that his brother would never let go of Fonteyne. And he couldn’t imagine himself at the head of the estate anyway. What he wished for, deep down, was much simpler: He wanted Jules to bow to him and recognize that he truly had a place at Fonteyne.

That bastard is going to have to pull the door wide open for me and apologize to boot!

Still, he felt anxious. Jules, apologize? That was hard to imagine. Alexandre let go of a heavy sigh. He caught sight of a black sports car driving down the road, heading for Antoine Billot’s house. He was suddenly worried. The only person he knew that would drive such an expensive automobile was his brother. He jumped to his feet and shaded his eyes with his hand. Yes, it was Robert and Louis-Marie who were stepping out of the car in front of the porch. Alexandre wished he could take cover, but he could be seen clearly above the stalks. Robert waved at him.

Alarmed, he saw his brothers coming his way. Louis-Marie, as the oldest, had always impressed Alexandre. He forced a smile and put out his hand.

“Hey, the Parisians are here!” he said, with fake enthusiasm.

Robert shook his hand, but Louis-Marie hugged him.

“Let’s go inside and have some wine,” Alexandre said, as he desperately needed a drink.

“No,” Robert said, calmly. “Let’s stay out here to talk. This is between you and us, and Antoine doesn’t need to hear any of it.”

“He’s part of the family,” Alexandre said, meekly.

“Yes, but this is very personal.”

They went over to sit on the half wall that lined the field.

Nervous, Alexandre decided to speak first.

“Jules is sending you guys, right? What does he want? What did he tell you about me, exactly? Because when it comes to telling his own side of the story, he does a pretty good job …”

The other two traded glances, something Alexandre noticed.

“You’re challenging Dad’s will or did Jules invent that?” Louis-Marie asked, his voice deep.

“I am. But give me time to explain why, okay?”

“We have all the time in the world,” Robert said. “That’s why we came to see you. So you can explain to us where you’re coming from.”

Unable to stay put, Alexandre began to pace.

His brothers watched him patiently.

“What do you think I’m doing here, in my father-in-law’s house?” Alex asked.

“If I remember correctly,” Louis-Marie said, “you’ve wanted to be here for a long time.”

“Yes,” Alexandre admitted, “but that was before Dad died! It was his tyranny I wanted to get away from, not Fonteyne!”

Louis-Marie smiled and Alexandre hurried to add, “After Dad’s death, if Jules had asked me to stay, I would’ve.”

“That’s not true,” Robert said in a low voice.

“What do you mean? We could’ve run the estate together. Only, you know Jules … He can’t stand anyone contradicting him, he’s always so freaking high and mighty …”

“We didn’t come here to talk about Jules’s personality,” Louis-Marie said, “but the reasons that made you challenge the will.”

“Dad favored him so much it’s obscene!”

“Seems to me,” Robert said, “that the shares were actually divvied up equally.”

“The company’s shares? Maybe. But we’re never going to get a cent from it. Jules keeps investing the profits, wheeling and dealing however he wants to. He’s manager for life and does what he feels like with no opposition whatsoever.”

Alexandre was getting worked up, and Louis-Marie raised a hand.

“I don’t think that Jules is ‘wheeling and dealing,’ and his reports are very clear. He was administering the estate even before Dad died, and you won’t convince anyone that he’s not a good manager.”

“That’s it! So according to you guys, he’s perfect? Aren’t you sick of him? For years and years it’s been the same tune: Jules is the best. What about us three? What are we, chumps? You can put up with that crap if you want, but I’m not taking it anymore!”

“Calm down,” Louis-Marie said.

A strained silence followed. Louis-Marie still had some authority over Alexandre as the oldest brother, but not enough to make him change his mind, he knew that.

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to gain by taking this to court,” he said, slowly. “It’s going to cost you a lot of money. Same for Jules and us! And all for what, exactly?”

Alexandre stared at his brother. He looked pathetic all of a sudden.

“And so you guys also …” he said. “You’ve already decided who you’re with, right? Of course Jules is right, and so you’re behind him?”

“What choice do we have?” Robert exploded. “You’re not telling us anything concrete or intelligent!”

“I just know that I’m not going to leave Fonteyne to that bastard!” Alexandre screamed.

Robert jumped to his feet and Louis-Marie held him back. Robert managed to get ahold of himself. He buried his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Alex,” he said, “Jules was legally adopted. He has the same rights as us. I’m not going to put up with you calling him a bastard. I don’t know anything about wine producing and neither does Louis-Marie, but the only thing we’re certain of, when we’re in Paris, is that Fonteyne is doing just fine. Jules is a genius when it comes to the business. Even if it makes you sick to your stomach, it’s the truth, and any idiot can see that. Fonteyne is doing better financially every year, and even when Dad was alive that was thanks to Jules. I wouldn’t want any manager other than him.”

He glared at Alexandre, turned on his heels, and marched toward Antoine’s house.

Louis-Marie sighed.

“What do you want, Alex?” he asked, his voice devoid of hostility.

Alexandre was pale.

“I want to come home,” he said. “But I don’t want to be looked down on, left on the sidelines, or treated like a child.”

“And all you could come up with was a trial?”

Alex’s dour expression was the same one he’d had as a kid every time he got upset. Louis-Marie thought he should’ve guessed earlier that all that jealousy would one day overcome Alexandre. Their father always talked about Robert with admiration, but Paris was far from Bordeaux and medicine and wine producing were two different worlds. Louis-Marie had benefited from the prestige of being the oldest brother, and he also lived in Paris, completely absorbed in the literary scene, in which he had status. And then there was Jules, who had increasingly pushed Alexandre into the background, who’d won Aurélien over to the point where he was appointed his successor at Fonteyne. Jules, who’d been up against Alexandre on his own turf and effortlessly proven himself superior day after day.

“I would’ve liked for us to stand together against him,” Alex said in a plaintive voice, “because we’re true brothers, the three of us. The Laverzacs, that’s us! Take a look at Jules! His hair, his eyes. His adoption is legal, fine, but he’s still a damn bastard, and everyone can see that. But you and Robert are just like Dad, under his spell. He’s always had everyone in his back pocket. Remember that he’s the one who introduced Frédérique to Dad. He basically put her in his bed. At that age, it’s no surprise that the relationship killed him! You don’t think that it was all planned out? He was already manager for life, and the last obstacle was ‘Aurélien,’ as he called him just to be different from us all. …”

“Stop it!” Louis-Marie shouted. “If you keep this up, everybody is going to be against you, me included. There are lines you can’t cross. What you just said is a bunch of garbage. I don’t know how your lawyer could agree to take on this case. How much money has she gotten out of you already?”

Alexandre turned away from his brother.

“It’s one or the other,” Louis-Marie continued. “Either your case is thrown out of court and you lose your shirt—all while earning Jules’s hatred for the rest of time—or you win, but where does that lead you? Robert and I won’t let you run Fonteyne by yourself. As for Jules, he’s never going to leave. He’d kill you before doing that. No matter how you look at this, Alex, the outcome is bad for you. On the other hand, we came to propose something reasonable …”

“What?” Alexandre said. “Go back to being a minion, taking orders from the Great Leader? Pretend like nothing ever happened? Go back to the Little House so he can have all the room he wants in the castle?”

Louis-Marie understood that this was going nowhere, and he felt completely discouraged.

“You could cohabitate and get along,” he said, without conviction. “Things have to end up that way, Alex! There’s no other solution. … Here, you’re following Antoine’s orders. You like that better?”

Louis-Marie noticed that his brother’s hands were shaking. Wanting to make them stop, Alexandre folded his arms.

“Go away,” he muttered. “You guys shouldn’t have come here. The courts will decide everything.”

Louis-Marie put a hand around Alexandre’s shoulders, but the younger brother freed himself right away. “Get the hell away from me!” he shouted.

Louis-Marie hesitated for a second, and then he decided to head for the house.

While he was waiting for his brother, Antoine and Marie offered Robert a drink. Though everyone made sure to chat about insignificant things, the atmosphere was tense. Dominique deliberately remained in the background, as she didn’t want to turn her back on her husband, while not approving of his behavior. She’d spent hours trying to convince him, but he held on to his obsession with the trial and getting even with Jules with the stubbornness of an alcoholic.