A Bordeaux Dynasty: A Novel by Françoise Bourdin Page B

your territory, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
    “What about Louis-Marie’s territory?”
    Jules’s words had harshly sprung out of his mouth.
    Robert glared at his brother and said, “What’s with the attitude? That’s not like you.”
    They stared at each other for an instant, and then Jules relented.
    “I’m sorry,” he said. “We all have our problems. As for Laurène, there’s nothing going on there.”
    “Really?”
    “Really. She told me to get lost, so she’s fair game!”
    Jules was saddling his horse, his back to Robert. He slipped on the bridle and adjusted the stirrups before facing his brother again.
    “Would you like a beer?” he asked.
    Jules had asked nicely and Robert accepted. Jules exited the stall and fetched two bottles.
    “Fair warning,” he said, “it’s lukewarm.”
    They sat on the concrete floor and drank together.
    “So you got a horse. …” Robert said.
    “It’s a hobby,” Jules said with a smile. “His name is Bingo. He’s an Anglo-Arab, and I got him for a ridiculously low price. … The riding lessons Aurélien paid for when we were kids weren’t for nothing after all!”
    Jules, now relaxed, chuckled. Robert suddenly felt very comfortable beside his brother, in this small, isolated stable.
    “Jules … How can you stand being around dad all the time? Wouldn’t you prefer ten acres of your own instead of two hundred and fifty of his?”
    “I wouldn’t take a thousand elsewhere. It wouldn’t be Fonteyne! Besides, the old man isn’t that hard to deal with.”
    Robert was observing Jules and, at the sight of his brother so at peace and so solid, he didn’t hesitate to ask, “Did he ever tell you about your birth?”
    “That’s the last thing I’d ever ask him. Thirty years ago he adopted me. That’s where the story ends for me and I’m not curious about the rest.”
    Even though he wasn’t being completely honest, he thought it was the wisest answer to give Robert.
    “You have a nice life here,” Robert said. He meant it.
    They finished their beers but remained seated, glad to be together.
    “It was nice of you to write me all those years,” Robert said. “It’s because of you that I felt like coming—”
    “No,” Jules interrupted with a smile on his face. “You came back to see Pauline.”
    Robert didn’t feel like arguing so he shrugged. Jules glanced at him, intrigued.
    “You still haven’t forgotten about her after all this time?”
    “No. … I mean, it’s not like I was thinking about her nonstop. But nobody replaced her. And it’s not that I didn’t try. But each time, I make comparisons. I can’t help myself. My heart just isn’t into it.”
    “Yes, the heart …”
    Jules rolled the empty beer bottle in his hands, pondering.
    “And I had to forgive and forget eventually,” Robert said, decidedly.
    “Only if you were really ready to. Otherwise … what do you wish for, right now? You want to take her back from him, win her back?”
    Jules was speaking in a monotone, but Robert felt like he was being hounded. He was about to get on his feet, but Jules grabbed him by the arm.
    “I can see right through you! And Pauline is nuts. You two are going to create drama over nothing. Louis-Marie is … tolerant enough because he adores his wife and he wants to keep her. He has a lot of respect for you, and he’s really suffered over the situation. He’d talk to me about it for whole evenings. He thinks that you’re a victim, so don’t betray him. And, anyway, you’re always going to be on the losing end with her. Even if you ask Pauline every time you see her, she’s always going to choose Louis-Marie. …”
    Robert leaned against the wall and sighed.
    “Well, you sure have a way of telling the truth. I suppose you’re right. Only, it’s easy for you to say all this. You’re passionless.”
    “How would you know? What you mean to say is that I’m not complacent like you.”
    “Complacent?”
    “Yes, and