Thurston House (61 page)

What happened? Did he say anything to you? Sabrina pounced on Andr+! as soon as father and son had their first talk.

Yes. That she's in love with Jon.

But she can't be. She looked crazy about Antoine when she was here.

Jon's been making a fuss over her since then, and she even thinks they might get engaged. She didn't think it was fair not to tell Antoine. And she didn't even kiss him this time, but don't you dare tell him I told you that.

Of course not. She looked as depressed as Antoine. Shit. That little manipulative son of a bitch.

That's a nice thing to say about your son. Look, stay out of it. It's between the three of them. If Antoine wants her badly enough, he'll fight for her. If Jon is playing games, he'll drop out eventually. And if she has any brains at all, she'll pick the one she wants. The best thing you can do is leave diem alone.

I can't stand the suspense. She laughed with him. But she knew that he was right.

Antoine didn't mention her again for months, and Sabrina saw no letters coming in from her, although they might have come while she was in town. And when they talked to Jon at Christmas she could have wrung his neck.

How's Arden, dear?

Who?

Arden Blake. The girl you were so busy keeping from Antoine, you ass. But she kept her cool. Bill's sister, your friend.

Oh ' of course. She's fine. I'm seeing a girl called Christine now.

Where'd she come from?

He laughed. Manchester, I think. She's a model here in New York, and she's English, and very tall and sexy and blond. As dark as he was, he definitely had a thing for blondes.

Is she a nice girl? Andr+! laughed as he waited to say hello, and Sabrina laughed too. Never mind. She was pleased to hear that he had dropped Arden again, and she was planning to pass the information along. Do you see Arden at all?

Once in a while. I'm seeing her when I stay with them in Palm Beach this week.

When are you coming out?

Next summer probably. Maybe I'll bring Christine. That sounded even more promising for Antoine's romance, and she was thrilled.

That sounds great. Give her my love.

Andr+! was outraged when she hung up. Whose side are you on anyway?

Who do you think? She smiled. She wanted to see Antoine get what he wanted this time. He seldom did, and Jon always had. It was time he learned, and she knew that deep down he wouldn't care. She didn't want him to be hurt, but she also didn't want him to hurt someone else, and she knew that he would hurt Arden Blake, given the chance. The next day she mentioned to Antoine that Jon was seeing someone new.

That's nice. He seemed not to hear.

Antoine. She looked for a delicate way to tell him Arden was free and then cast caution to the winds. He's not seeing Arden anymore.

That's nice too. He smiled at her, but there was no sign of elation on his face.

Don't you care about her anymore? Kids, she couldn't understand any of them. She looked blankly at Antoine and he kissed her cheek.

I care about her very much, Mother dear. He called her Mother often now. But she's a very young girl, and she doesn't know her mind. And I don't want to get in the middle of this.

Why not?

He looked at her honestly. Because I'll get hurt.

So what? She was shocked. That's what life's all about. At least fight for what you want. She was suddenly furious at him, but he wouldn't be moved.

No. I can't win this one. Believe me, I know. She is so blind to his faults. He looked apologetically at Sabrina but she didn't seem to mind. She knew what Jon was, better than anyone. The more I would seek her out, the more she would run to him. He was right, but Sabrina couldn't bear the thought.

How dumb can she be?

Very. It's called youth. She'll grow up.

And then?

He was philosophical as he shrugged. She'll probably marry Jon. That's how it goes sometimes.

Don't you care?

Of course I do. But there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I saw that when I went to New York. That's why I was so depressed and moped around for weeks after that. He smiled sheepishly and she was touched that he would admit the truth so openly to her. But there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. I'm beaten in this. He's a very convincing, insidious young man, and she believes every word he says, superficially at least. Deep down, I think she has tremendous misgivings and suspicions about him, even now, he lies to her constantly about his other girls, and she pretends to herself that she believes what he says. But I think there's a part of her that is never convinced. She's not old enough to trust her instincts and listen to those voices yet. She will one day. He looked sadly down at Sabrina. Probably long after they're married and have two kids. That's just the way life is sometimes.

And what about you? That was her main concern. If Arden was that dumb, as far as she was concerned she deserved what she got. And Jon could take care of himself. But Antoine ' What do you wind up with in all this?

A small scar, he smiled, and a valuable lesson learned. Besides, I have other fish to fry. We have a business to run here, and I want to go back to Europe this spring.

But when he did, he was even more depressed. He was absolutely certain that there was going to be a war. Hitler was growing far too powerful and there was unrest everywhere. He and Andr+! discussed it for weeks when he came back, and for once even Andr+! was afraid.

And do you know what I most fear? he admitted to her late one night. I fear for him. He's young enough to go rushing off to war, convinced that he's doing the noble thing, for patriotism and all that crap, and get himself killed. ' He felt a tremor in his heart just thinking about it.

Do you really think he'd go?

I have absolutely no doubt. He told me as much himself.

God, no ' She thought of Jon then. She couldn't even imagine him in a war. But when she talked to Antoine herself, he put none of her fears to rest.

It's still my country ' it always will be ' no matter how long I live here. If she is attacked ' I go. It's as simple as that. But nothing was that simple, and now each time they listened to the news, Sabrina and Andr+! felt the threat. She almost wished he would pursue Arden Blake. Maybe if he married her, he would be less liable to run off. And what he said was beginning to seem true. It seemed almost impossible that there wouldn't be war over there. They just prayed it wouldn't be soon, and that Antoine would have changed his mind about it by then. Maybe they could convince him that they absolutely needed him here. But Sabrina suspected he would go anyway, and Andr+! agreed with her.

And to take their minds off all of it, Andr+! gave her a magnificent fiftieth birthday party at Thurston House. There were four hundred people there. People she loved, people she cared about, some she barely knew, but it was an absolutely exquisite night, and the nurse even brought Dominique in, toddling along in a pink organdy dress, her blond hair in curls with a little pink satin ribbon, and her cherubic smile and big blue eyes. She was the joy of their life, and Sabrina and Andr+! loved her more every day. And Antoine was as crazy about her as they were. He brought a very nice girl to Sabrina's birthday party too. An English girl who was studying in San Francisco for a year. She was a medical student, and a very serious girl, but she lacked the warmth and the spirit and the ingenuousness of Arden Blake, and Sabrina couldn't help wondering what was happening to her. Jon didn't come out, but he mentioned her that summer when he did. He just said he was seeing her again, and Christine too, and there was a new French girl now, another model, and an absolutely fabulous-looking German Jewish girl he had just met. She had gotten out of Germany before things got too hot, and he and Antoine had had a heated argument about politics the night before he left. He insisted that Hitler was great for the German economy and would probably do Europe a lot of good, if everyone else behaved themselves, which made Antoine so irate that he broke two glasses and a cup and Sabrina cringed as she heard the abuse they hurled.

Leave them alone. Andr+! kept her from going into the living room. It's good for them. They're both grown men. Sometimes it was hard to remember that.

They're drunk for chrissake. They'll kill each other.

No they won't.

In the end, Antoine walked out in a huff, Jon went to sleep on the couch, and the next day they parted friends, actually more than they usually did. Antoine even said he'd call Jon at the bank if he came to New York again, and he had never suggested that before. Sabrina was amazed and admitted to Andr+! he was right.

You know, men are really very strange. She was still stunned when they came back from seeing Jon off at the train. I really thought they'd kill each other last night.

Hopefully, they'll never do that.

It was a busy summer after that. The grapes were growing beautifully, and Antoine and Andr+! were busy overseeing the picking of the grapes in the fall. Dominique had her second birthday shortly after that. Then Christmas came, and Jon was in Palm Beach with the Blakes again. Antoine never mentioned Arden anymore, and suddenly it was spring, and then summer again, and Jon called in July and said he'd be out in another month. He was planning to arrive around August eighteenth and he hemmed and hawed, and Sabrina couldn't understand why, until he stepped off the train, and the most beautiful blond girl she'd ever seen stepped out after him. And as she walked toward them, she got another shock. It was Arden Blake, all grown up. She was twenty-one now, and Sabrina hadn't seen her in two years. And what a difference they had made. She was breathtakingly beautiful now, her hair arranged in a sophisticated style, her makeup perfectly done, her body leaner than it had been, more like Jon's, and side by side they were a truly spectacular pair. And Arden was as sweet as she had been before.

Do you approve of my surprise? He glanced from his mother to Arden with a smile as they all had dinner that night at Thurston House. Antoine had even come in. And Sabrina had seen him look searchingly at Arden more than once, but he seemed very reserved now, and she was sure the dinner wasn't easy for him.

I certainly do approve of your surprise. We haven't seen enough of Arden out here. She looked at her with a warm smile and she blushed, in counterpoint to a very sexy black dress she wore that revealed just the appropriate amount of her creamy breasts. Antoine had had a hard time with that too, although Jon didn't seem to notice it at all, and Sabrina silently hoped that he wasn't sleeping with her, though she didn't know why.

Well, we have another surprise for you, Mom. He grinned and Arden looked at him breathlessly as Sabrina almost felt her heart stop. Suddenly she knew, and without thinking, she glanced at Antoine, desperately wanting to protect him. Jon saw her look and he went on. We're getting married next June. We just got engaged. Sabrina looked instinctively at her left hand, as Arden quietly turned a very pretty sapphire and diamond ring from out of the inside of her hand. She had been hiding it until Jon told them and now she beamed. Do you approve?

Sabrina was silent for just an instant too long, she wasn't sure what to say. and Andr+!stepped into the gap. Of course we do. We're delighted for you both. She would be twenty-two when she married Jon, he would be twenty-six, and Antoine would be out of luck. But nothing at all showed on his face as he toasted them and it was he who went to get a very fine bottle of champagne made from their own grapes.

I congratulate you both, and wish you long life, long love ' good years '

Hear hear! andr+!seconded his son's elegant toast, and Sabrina tried to make up for her initial shock, but the evening was a terrible strain for her, and she was relieved when finally everyone went to their respective rooms and she could be alone with Andr+! to tell him what she thought of it.

Antoine was right. He had predicted exactly that. But he had also predicted divorce in another five years, and she thought he would be right again. No matter how beautiful they looked with each other, Sabrina instinctively knew that it was wrong and she said just that to Andr+!. He doesn't love her. I know it. I can see it in his eyes.

Sabrina, Andr+! looked firmly at his wife, there is nothing you can do. And your wisest course will be to go along with them. If it's a mistake, let them find out. They're not getting married for another ten months. That's what engagements are all about. You can pave a road from here to Siam with returned engagement rings.

I hope she opens her eyes and does just that. And she hoped it more fervently later on in their stay, when a rumor reached her that Jon had been out with two chorus girls again the night before. She said nothing to him. He had just said that he was going out with some old friends, and he had left Arden at home. But Sabrina did not approve. He was no different than he had ever been. Nor was Antoine, or his feelings for Jon's fiancee. There was a smoldering look in his eyes each time he looked at her, and it was as though she knew. Their eyes would meet and hold, and she had to tear herself away. But the real shock came on September third, the day before they were to return to New York, and Antoine came home, having heard the news. He had had a meeting in town, and on his way home, he had heard the radio. His predictions had been right again. Europe was at war. He walked into Thurston House and Sabrina stood transfixed. She had just heard it too.