Dominique’s expression hardened, and her entire body tightened. She tried to close her torn blouse. Sensing Louis-Marie’s silent presence behind him, Jules bit his lips in an attempt to control the rage that engulfed him. Then he turned to his brother, who was taking off his housecoat to drape it over Dominique’s shoulders.
“What’s the story for your boys?” he asked.
Dominique’s smile was pathetic.
“Whatever you want,” she said, sounding utterly exhausted.
“I’ll go to Mazion tomorrow morning,” Jules whispered to his brother.
“No way,” said Louis-Marie. “I’m going to take care of this.”
Anger was all over Jules’s face. But they didn’t have time to say any more about it, as Laurène, haggard, appeared in the library. She ran to her sister, dropped to her knees right in front of her, and began trying to console her. Jules and Louis-Marie tiptoed out of the room. In the entrance hall, the twins were sitting on the steps shoulder to shoulder, Botty at their feet. Jules gave them a big smile.
“So, I bet you guys are hungry. …”
“You take the one on the left,” Louis-Marie said, “and I’ll get the one on the right.” He could never tell which one was which, they were so much alike.
Jules and Louis-Marie picked up the kids and carried them to the kitchen on their shoulders.
Jules called Dr. Auber over and demanded a medical report when he stepped out of the room where Dominique had settled. The certificate for assault and battery was put away in the office safe. Jules’s anger wouldn’t go away. Louis-Marie came back from Mazion saying that Alex felt horrible for what happened and was ready to do whatever it took to make amends. He called their fight a “lovers’ quarrel” and, in order not to worry Marie too much, as she stood by listening, Louis-Marie didn’t disagree when he claimed that they’d just insulted each other and that he’d slapped her once or twice. Louis-Marie told Alex that Dominique was going to stay at Fonteyne with the kids for a while to relax. Before leaving Mazion, he’d been able to talk privately with Alex. He didn’t try to lecture him, but he did describe the way Dominique looked. Head low, Alex had promised not to drink any more.
“A drunk’s promise,” Jules said.
Revolted, exasperated, he could only think of one thing: his brother receiving the punishment he deserved. And Antoine certainly couldn’t be counted on to do it.
“You are not going to Mazion,” Louis-Marie insisted.
Until they knew what Dominique wanted, they mustn’t intervene, he said.
“The timing of some kind of physical attack on Alex would be very bad right now,” Louis-Marie said. “Just ask our attorney. …”
And because Louis-Marie had used the word our, Jules agreed to stay put. He tried to get over his rage by marching back and forth through his vineyards for several hours, losing an exhausted Lucas, who’d tried to keep up with him.
Fernande figured she’d take care of Dominique’s boys, but Laurène, suddenly emerging from her apathy, decided to take care of the twins herself. As school was starting two days later, she took them to a store so she could buy supplies and, more importantly, to entertain them. After she parked the Civic in the barn, Bernard helped the kids unload the trunk and carry everything inside the castle. As Laurène was about to leave the barn, she noticed Jules’s silhouette in the shadows, leaning against the back wall. She walked up to him determinedly.
“The twins are doing well,” she said. “They had lots of fun in town. …”
Jules smiled, grabbed her hand and pulled her to him.
“That Bernard kid,” he said, “I think he’s in love with you!”
Laurène burst out laughing at the thought of such a silly idea. Jules held her by the shoulder and guided her outside the barn.
“So,” he said in a soft voice, “you’re done with the afternoon-long naps?”
“Well, I was needed, wasn’t I?”
Jules liked his wife’s resolute look.
“Are you still mad at me?” he asked, almost timidly.
She stopped walking and looked straight at him.
“For neglecting me? Yes, I’m still mad at you about that. If you only knew how much I love you. … But I know I’m still not a good wife, that I’m blaming you for a lot of things, and that I don’t do much around here. … You’re overworked while I stay in bed. And …”
“No! No …”
He leaned toward her. He didn’t want her to be so hard on herself, knowing he had plenty more to feel guilty about than she did.
“That child that Frédérique had, there’s nothing I can do about that now. … I didn’t know about it. But I can’t stand you being so unhappy. It’s killing me. …”
“Yes. What’s done is done. …”
They hadn’t talked so openly to each other in a very long time.
“It’s okay,” Laurène said, snuggling up against him.
Jules took in her sweet smell.
“Am I invited to join you tonight?” he whispered. “That’s only if Botty’s willing to give up his spot in bed, of course.”
She laughed, overjoyed, and got on her tiptoes so she could kiss him. They began walking back to the castle, slowly, side by side. The sun was setting and the air was getting slightly cooler.
“Make sure Dominique comes down to eat with us tonight,” said Jules. “And tell her that we’re keeping her, that Fonteyne is her home.”
Laurène nodded.
The judge’s first ruling was exactly what Jules had hoped for. There was nothing to prevent Jules from continuing to administer Fonteyne as he saw fit. No argument presented by Valérie Samson invalidated Aurélien’s will. Aurélien was considered sound in body and mind, so the judge concluded that the will’s dispositions were aimed at protecting the company’s future. Minor petitions still needed to be assessed, but most of Alexandre’s claims were rejected. Though pleased, Mr. Vernon predicted that Alex and his lawyer would appeal.
Dominique had rested for a couple of days and then decided to forget about her boxer’s face and live normally. She went down to the office to talk to Jules. Sitting in a chair across from him, she felt as though she were dealing with Aurélien, as in days gone by. Jules had the same attitude as his father, the same aura of authority, the same rigor, but also the same generosity.
“You look like your dad,” she said, first thing.
He knew what she meant. His three brothers all had Aurélien’s light eyes and blond hair. Jules was the only one with that superb Gypsy look of his, but he was also the one who’d taken, quite naturally, Aurélien’s place.
He scrutinized Dominique. One of her eyes, terribly discolored, was half-shut and her upper lip was swollen and purple.
Jules lowered his gaze and said, “I can’t bear seeing you this way.”
“It’s all going to be fine in a few days,” Dominique said.
After a long moment of silence, Jules raised his head again.
“What have you decided?” he asked, calmly.
“I’d like to stay here for a while. If it’s okay with you.”
“Me? But this is your home, honey. You’re here, and that can only make me happy.”
He was so sincere, she felt herself melting with gratitude.
“Would you like me to fix up the Little House or do you prefer the two guest rooms on the west wing?”
“I think I’d rather stay in the castle for now. We’ll see later.”
“That’s completely fine. What about school?”
He was smiling at her, feeling like a big brother.
“Laurène has an appointment with the teacher in Margaux later today. She adored the twins, and no doubt she’ll take them back into her classroom. But I don’t want her to see me in this state. She’s got a big mouth, and the entire region would know about me … Louis-Marie offered to take the boys to school and back until I’m presentable.”
“Of course. Louis-Marie or me or Laurène. Or even Bernard or Lucas. The
re are plenty of people here to help and support you.”
She laughed and was moved by his exuberance.
“There is one thing, though, Jules. … Two, actually. First is that I have no money. None at all. The second is that Alex won’t be too thrilled about me being here. You can imagine …”
She saw Jules bend the pen he was holding. She heard a snap and ink spilled on the desktop. Surprised, Jules looked down at the stain, tried to soak it up with tissues, and dropped the pieces of the pen in the ashtray.
“Money is not an issue. You and Laurène can talk about that. As for Alex …”
Unable to remain seated, he walked around the desk and planted himself in front of Dominique.
“He’s your husband,” he said. “I prefer not to know what you think about him or if you can forgive him for what he did. He’s the boys’ father and he’s my brother … but I would love nothing better than to beat the daylights out of him.” Red with anger, he added, very quickly. “I’d give anything for him to be right here in this room right now. I do hope he’s upset with you being here and that he shows up here. God, would I ever like that!”
Dominique shrugged. She was beyond feeling resentment at this point in time.
“Alex has turned into someone else,” she said. “A man I have no love for. One of these days he’s … Maybe he’s going to be himself again.”
“Himself. That in itself isn’t much.”
“You have no right to say that, Jules,” Dominique said with a sigh. “You weren’t doing it on purpose, but he was suffocating in your shadow.”
“And he’s doing better now that he’s not here anymore?” Jules exploded. “He’s doing so great in Mazion?”
She preferred not to respond. Jules wasn’t wrong. Maybe Alexandre did need an iron fist, either his father’s or his brother’s, to remain on the straight and narrow.
“What’s certain,” Dominique said, “is that I’m not going back to Mazion. Any reconciliation with Alex is going to have to come with a reconciliation with Fonteyne. It’s going to be up to him. Both of you will have to sit down and talk things over one day. …”
She gave Jules a pleading look. She wanted to give Alex one more chance. Jules grabbed her by the arm, yanked her out of her chair, and dragged her in front of the mirror on the mantelpiece.
“Look at yourself,” he said harshly, forcing her to remain in front of the mirror. “The day when I talk things over with Alex, as you say, there’s going to be hell to pay.”
Dominique lowered her head, and Jules took her in his arms, sorry for his outburst.
Fernande finally got her breath back, exhausted by the coughing fit she’d just had. It didn’t feel like she had a cold and she wasn’t feverish, so she thought perhaps some dust had started her coughing this way. Glancing around, she made sure everything was in order. Jules hadn’t slept here, which meant that—thank God—he’d spent the night in his bed with his wife.
This way he worships his father isn’t healthy, she thought. He takes refuge down here and he suffers. It’s not right. I’m going to have to talk to him one of these days. There are things he still doesn’t know about. …
She set her eyes on Lucie’s portrait and examined the picture.
Poor Mrs. Laverzac … She also didn’t know everything. Instinctively she didn’t much like that child he imposed on her … but she took care of him. She was a woman of duty. … But if she’d known the truth, she would’ve hated both of them.
Fernande was young back then, and Lucie intimidated her. She walked around the house looking for traces of dirt, stains on the silverware, smudges in the windows, and the smallest of spots on the tablecloths. The ultimate homemaker. She never said anything about Jules, but her face tightened as soon as he walked into the room.
And yet, he was a hoot! An adorable little thing. A bit wild at the same time. … From the very beginning he clung to Mr. Aurélien. He was both his savior and his tormentor.
Fernande sighed. Every family has its secrets, its tragedies. She began coughing again and had to lean on her broom.
Pauline listened to Esther with half an ear. She’d helped her empty her backpack and threw all her summer camp clothes into the washing machine. Her daughter’s return made Pauline happy, but it also meant the end of her freedom. It was fine for them to see Uncle Robert once in a while, but nothing more than that.
The little girl was very impressed with the changes made to the apartment, the yellow paint in the living room, and her brand-new bedroom with the pink silk drapes in the windows. Pauline had used the renovations as an excuse to remain in Paris, but she was sincerely happy to see Esther react so enthusiastically to her “new” home. Now Pauline had to decide when she and her daughter would go back to Fonteyne. Esther was dying to see her dad and her cousins since, as luck would have it, they were living at the castle again.
Pauline called Robert, who invited them both to an expensive restaurant that very evening. He didn’t much care for Esther’s company. She annoyed him, and it made him feel guilty. Children possessed an infallible instinct, and Esther often looked at her uncle with a sour expression and misbehaved in his presence. And so their evening wasn’t exactly a success. Pauline and Robert agreed to see each other two days later, as Robert agreed to drive them to Fonteyne and spend the weekend there. When he dropped them off in front of Pauline’s apartment building, he was in a rotten mood. He went back to his place, both saddened and irritated by this dead-end situation. Everything was his fault, he realized that all too well. He’d endured his misery with a complex combination of remorse and regret, without ever being able to see a way out of it. Though he’d recently begun to sense that Pauline wasn’t as attached to Louis-Marie as she had once been, Robert couldn’t picture her going through a divorce. Besides, if only for Esther’s sake, a real relationship between mother and uncle was simply unacceptable. That’s unless the little girl lived with her dad.
Louis-Marie’s choice not to leave Fonteyne worried Robert. If his brother decided to settle there, Pauline might be more inclined to leave him. But then he would never be able to set foot at Fonteyne ever again.
Robert spent a long time on his apartment’s balcony where, two weeks before, Pauline had put two chairs and a small table. They sat there and drank chilled champagne in the hot August night, gazing at Paris’s lights down below. Pauline said she adored this spot. Robert’s apartment was huge, luxurious with its marble floors and velour wallpaper. But he’d never given it much thought before bringing the love of his life there. Now he enjoyed the place, wondering if she’d like living there, imagining her settling in with him for good.
He decided to go back inside and take a look at his mail. A letter from Frédérique caught his attention. Too proud to thank him for anything, the young woman still expressed her satisfaction at having found an apartment near the hospital. She’d contacted Mr. Varin, as agreed upon, to take care of the ownership issue. She liked her work, and she’d found an excellent nanny for Julien.
Robert took a long look at Frédérique’s elegant handwriting. Julien … Who was that baby, really? He had a hard time imagining that he might be his brother. Frédérique had been categorical—she’d never accept a paternity test. Which was just as well, Robert figured. Would a fifth son from Aurélien have rights to Fonteyne?
He folded the letter carefully and put it in an envelope for Jules. He was the one most involved in this, he’d know where to stash the letter, along with the other mysteries surrounding Fonteyne.
Robert thought of that day when, right after their father’s death, Jules had gone over to Delgas, the retired cop. He’d come back from the meeting completely overwhelmed. He’d told Robert that there was a chance that they were real brothers. And then he’d told him just a few things about the story that had gone untold for thirty years, that he was the son of a Hungarian woman who’d been here only during harvest, some sort of bitch who’d slept with so many men she didn’t know who was her baby’s father
. And that Aurélien had been one of her lovers, and she’d died under strange circumstances. Once the case had been settled—or rather, swept under the rug—by the authorities, Aurélien had legally adopted the child. And now, in a way, the story repeated itself with Frédérique.
Jules hadn’t expressed any desire to follow his mother’s trail back to Hungary. He hadn’t even gone to the Bordeaux cemetery where this woman—his mother—had been quietly buried. He’d clung to Delgas’s version of events, which at least gave him a chance of being Aurélien Laverzac’s son. Robert realized that this was the only thing that counted for Jules.
For the thousandth time in his life, Robert wondered about that stormy and exclusive passion between his father and Jules. Their connection was Fonteyne, which they both loved beyond reason.
And Alex thinks he can stand up to him, the fool, he thought.
What Robert felt for his brother Alexandre was utter contempt. Jules had briefly told him on the phone why Dominique and the twins were back at Fonteyne. Maybe they should consider, before it was too late, a forced alcohol detox treatment. As a physician and Alex’s family member, he could set it up.
I’ll go to Mazion and check up on him next weekend. …
Robert poured himself a glass of gin and went back to the balcony. He loved his family. He loved Fonteyne, his childhood memories. Above everything else, he loved Jules. But he was ready to sacrifice it all for Pauline because he was nothing without her. He’d done everything he could to show her a good time during this marvelous summer that was unfortunately coming to an end. Now that this blissful period was almost over, she’d have to choose. The idea of seeing her in Louis-Marie’s arms in two days was unbearable for Robert. And yet there was no way out of the situation.
Alexandre finally phoned. Laurène answered and, in a plaintive voice, he asked to speak to Dominique. But Dominique had no intention of talking to him and refused to come to the phone. Two hours later he called again. This time, Jules picked up and told Alexandre to stop pestering his wife.
The twins gladly went back to their old school in Margaux. And they felt safe in the company of their mother, their aunt, and their uncles at Fonteyne. They knew the castle well, and now that there was no danger of running into their grumpy grandfather, Aurélien, they had the run of the place, getting a kick out of sneaking up on Clothilde to startle her.
A Bordeaux Dynasty: A Novel Page 49