A Bordeaux Dynasty: A Novel Read Free Page B

sharply.
    “Yes, the Massey. Nothing major, though …”
    “Two weeks before harvest …”
    Aurélien stared down his son.
    “Maybe we’re just sitting around,” he said, “but you’re a month behind your planning!”
    Jules frowned and glared at his father.
    “I don’t think so …” he muttered.
    Pauline broke into laugher, and Aurélien turned to her.
    “I’m sorry,” she was able to say, “but I always forget, year after year, how you two are so …”
    She stopped herself.
    Aurélien waited for the rest, cold as ice.
    “So … what?” he asked.
    “So … Umm…”
    “Busy,” Jules suggested.
    Pauline managed to stop laughing and gave him a look of gratitude.
    “That’s it,” she said. “Busy.”
    “Well,” Aurélien barked, “unlike some people, we’re not on vacation.”
    He got up and left the terrace.
    “Your father,” said Pauline, “is touchy as ever …”
    “If you weren’t so charming,” Jules said calmly, “he’d have told you to go to hell a long time ago.”
    Pauline smiled, flattered in any case.
    “Thanks for the compliment, Jules,” she said.
    She reached for the straw hat that had been left on a chair. It was hot and a few wasps were buzzing above the pots of jam. Robert observed Pauline as she set the hat over her blonde curls. Eager to have the last word, she asked, in a very serious manner, “You guys get up early, you go to bed late, you walk up and down the vineyards nonstop, you try to balance the books … Do you ever find the time to just live?”
    Jules shrugged.
    Stubborn, Pauline kept at it.
    “It’s not like you actually have to watch the grapes grow. They ripen by themselves, right?”
    Jules started to laugh, heartily, that particular Laverzac laugh, short and light.
    “Pauline,” he said, “you’re too funny! One of these days I’m going to have to show you how things work around here, in detail. It’s very complex. … Louis-Marie’s never told you anything about it?”
    And then he spun around and scampered down the terrace’s steps, heading back to work. Pauline watched him go.
    “He’s superb,” she said with an air of innocent longing that amused her husband.
    Still feeling Robert’s gaze on her, Pauline turned to him and said, point blank, “It was so very nice of you to come …”
    He managed to produce a smile. She got to her feet, stretched in a brazen manner, and waved goodbye to everyone with the straw hat, announcing, “I’m going to have a shower now.”
    Louis-Marie followed her inside the house, and Robert poured himself a cup of coffee.
    “It must be cold by now,” Alexandre said softly.
    Robert’s distress was so obvious it made Alexandre feel bad. Dominique’s arrival freed them from the awkwardness of the situation. She hurried over to Robert and kissed him on the cheek.
    “Brother-in-law! It’s been so long! Much too long, if you ask me. Your father wouldn’t ever admit it, but you know he’s thrilled to see you.”
    She was so joyful and easygoing that Robert felt some relief. Dominique’s cheerfulness was contagious. She stacked the coffee mugs on a tray, talking all the while.
    “You’re going to tell us about life as a big shot in that hospital of yours, right? Fernande is planning a dinner that’s going to make you regret having stayed away from here all these years. I so wanted to drive that swanky automobile of yours to run some errands this morning, but Jules wouldn’t give me the keys! So you’re still spending a fortune on cars? By the way, Alex, Lucas is looking for you. It has to do with some barrels …”
    Alexandre took off right away and Robert lit a cigarette. Dominique’s presence was making his day. She sat for a moment and stared at Robert.
    “You seem a little down. … We’re going to take good take of you here.”
    “How are you doing?” Robert asked Dominique with a very serious look on his face.
    “Good! I love Alex, the twins are growing up nicely, and I manage to stand