A Bordeaux Dynasty: A Novel by Françoise Bourdin

Robert could picture Jules feeling right at home in this world of hunters and horse riders.
    Still feeling lighthearted, he asked, “And what about a bridle? Can you buy that without a horse?”
    The saddler gave him a dirty look and said, “If you know what size and what kind of steel you want, no problem.”
    Robert, who hadn’t meant to aggravate the old fellow, complimented him on the quality of the boots, then added that he was going to get the information about the bridle and come back. He put his shoes back on and paid for the boots.
    If Alex and Louis-Marie haven’t thought of anything else , we could buy Jules some stuff for his horse. I could take Pauline with me tomorrow morning. She’d get a kick out of this shop.
    He knew he was looking for an excuse to be alone with her. He glanced at his watch and decided to head for his old high school. He’d always been a very good student, without having to work hard at all.
    He stopped in front of the school’s gates and watched a bunch of kids playing basketball. He remained there a long time, absorbed in his contemplation, without moving, Jules’s boots under his arm. He could still see his father waiting for him, behind those same gates. Robert’s academic achievements were always marred by a chronic lack of discipline that Aurélien wouldn’t tolerate.
    Robert pondered the past few years of his life.
    Wasted in pursuit of an ambitious career. … Thinking about Pauline for absolutely nothing. … I should get married. I’m sick of running around in circles.
    A bell rang and the students rushed back to school, the schoolyard emptying in just a few moments. Robert slowly walked away from the gates, not certain where he’d parked his car.
    Pauline is the only woman I would’ve placed above everyone and everything. …
    Completely disheartened, he almost forgot about Laurène. He remembered her just in time and picked her up, her arms filled with shopping bags. Since he was calmer, though just as sad as he’d been two hours earlier, he invited her for a drink in a bar nearby.
    Aurélien had a fiery meeting with Alexandre. In front of Jules and Lucas, who were in the middle of taking inventory of the cellar’s barrels, Aurélien tore into his son for his incompetence. Alex weathered the storm, unflappable, and then went back to his tasks. As they counted the barrels, he and Jules shared a look of complicity. Meanwhile, he’d detected, as always, Lucas’s muted disapproval.
    It was cool, almost cold, under the cellar’s vaults. Jules went from one room to the other, quickly but dutifully. Aurélien let him finish a row and then gestured for him to come over.
    “I need to talk to you, son. …”
    He led him to the stairs, and both stepped outside under the setting sun.
    “Let Alex count the barrels,” Aurélien said. “It’s one of the few things he can do right.”
    They raised their heads to the sky, by force of habit.
    “Not great,” said Aurélien.
    He then looked at Jules, wondering where to begin.
    “You didn’t ask me why I had Varin over.”
    “It’s about your business, I suppose,” Jules said.
    Aurélien, annoyed, shrugged.
    “The family’s business is your business! And more so than you imagine. …”
    Aurélien glanced at the driveway, where Robert’s car had just pulled in. He grabbed Jules by the arm, and they took a few steps in the opposite direction.
    “Varin is going to send me some documents later on this week. You’re going to have to sign them.”
    Jules turned his head to watch Robert and Laurène getting out of the Porsche in front of the house.
    “Are you listening to me?” Aurélien asked.
    Jules paid attention to his father again.
    “Yes.”
    “No, you’re not. You’re staring at that girl, and you’re not thinking about anything else.”
    There was enough belligerence in Aurélien’s tone to make Jules take a step back. Aurélien regretted having lost his composure.
    “What are you trying to tell me?”