Aubrey/Biebe/Skinner/Thorne: Touching the Flame
By Atonia
Part 2
Max was doing some thinking of his own as he prowled around his study. Something John had said about letting go the past where his Uncle Henry and Aubrey Duncan were concerned. Aubrey was a businessman first and foremost, he’d seen an opportunity and took it, and it had made him rich. That was something Max understood. Personal feelings and conscience matters were put aside when money was the goal. He hadn’t liked it and had responded with an anger his uncle probably had never felt toward the man. It came to him that Duncan would have made a good trader.
“Are you ready to go, darling?”
“Um, yes I think so,” Max picked up his glasses and pocketed them, following Connie to the door.
“Toni and Terry are…”
“In the pool, probably swimming laps or something,” he smiled down at Connie; he’d looked down from their bedroom earlier when he’d gone to change his shirt. At that time Terry was giving mouth to mouth to Toni.
Max was standing on Aubrey’s bricked courtyard looking out over his vineyards. Unlike La Siroque with its extensive gardens, Aubrey had planted grapevines; only a narrow pebbled roadway separated his vineyard from the courtyard. His eye was drawn to two figures down the hillside amongst the vines, Penny and Jean Paul; they were standing much too close to one another to be discussing grapes, unless Jean Paul was hard of hearing, he smiled a little.
“Max,” Aubrey came outside and joined him, “come inside where it’s cooler. Did your brothers get off this morning?”
“Two of them, Terry is still with us at least until tomorrow.” Max followed him inside to his den where it was shaded and cool.
“Quite an arrival Terry made yesterday, I watched from the drive when they jumped from the plane.” Aubrey settled in his favorite leather chair. He was curious as to what brought Max over this morning, but he was a patient man.
“We had no idea he was in the plane I worried it might top off my trees, he won’t say who the pilot was.”
“Neither will his lieutenant. Connie’s out in the garden collecting vegetables, I’m glad she came over to do that the vines are heavy.”
“Um the uh, harvest is coming up and um, I’ve been thinking about it.”
“Yes it sits on the horizon, should be a good year for us, Max; the weather has been kind,” he narrowed his eyes wondering what was coming next.
“I’m afraid I’ve let my emotions get in the way of good business, the business of making wine. I’ve a lot more to think about now with Connie and my son on the way; it may not always be profitable for me to pop back over to London to keep my balance sheet in the black. I guess, Aubrey what I’m saying is…I’m ready to throw in with you if the offer is still open.”
Aubrey smiled a little but contained himself, “I’m glad to hear that, Max, yes this grandson is going to make a difference in our lives. You know since you and Connie have married I know she’s set for life, I trust you to take care of her and Penny…well I don’t know about her, she seems to have fallen head over heels in the space of twenty-four hours for this Parisian commando. You might be interested to know his father is a banker, he’s well set up in Paris and owns a house in the country all, of which Jean Paul is going to inherit some day; he is an only child. What I’m getting at, Max is this land here, Penny’s not going to make wine but I’m hoping my grandson will.”
“You’re the winemaker, Aubrey, I can only offer my grapes. I have neither the knowledge nor the taste buds for creating a sellable wine. I’m going to trust you to be fair with me and hopefully together we can produce something here worth inheriting some day. I find it very hard to trust anyone; it has not been easy for me to come to this decision.”
“You won’t regret it, Max, I think of you as my son and I would no more take advantage of you than I would my daughters. Well…this calls for a celebration of some sort how about we open a bottle of our wine and have a cigar.” He smiled broadly.
Connie straightened up and rubbed her back, her basket was nearly full but she didn’t think she could carry it. She shaded her eyes and looked toward the pebbled road and called out for Penny.
“I need a little help here, Penny.”
Jean Paul came to her rescue, “You should have called sooner, it is too warm out here for you.”
“Thanks, Jean Paul,” Connie wiped her brow with the sleeve of her loose tunic.
“Connie, I can do this and bring whatever you want over to the chateau, what are you doing out here in the sun anyway?”
“Max wanted to talk to Dad, I thought it would give them a little privacy.”
“Oh really, what about?”
“The vineyards, he’s caved in at last,” she smiled.
“Dad will be pleased about that. Don’t worry about it, Connie it’s really a good thing he wants to do. He’s not going to screw Max over you know.”
“I know…I’ll make sure of that I’m keeping his books.” She flashed a grin at her sister.
“Bells,” Jean Paul said, “I hear bells?”
“They’re coming from Bonnieux, sometimes when the wind is right it sounds like they’re right up the road.” Connie paused listening.
“I hear bells in Paris all the time. You will have to come, Penny, to Paris…I would like for you to.”
Penny smiled linking her arm in his, “I’d like to, I’d like that very much.”
Connie smiled thinking her sister had no shame, the bells again…the wind was strong today. She thought about Max. He was the wind, his element at the House of Four Seasons. None of that of course played any part of her relationship with Max, but he was what he was. Perhaps this was a good omen, the bells.
Penny was busy filling another basket for Max and Connie, homemade jams and jellies, some figs and plums, a loaf of bread.
“What’s all this, Penny?” Connie asked pouring out a glass of lemonade.
“Sharing, Connie, I don’t know what Ludivine makes, but you know Marietta makes good jams. I’m so happy, Connie.”
Connie hugged her sister, “I’m happy for you, but this is awfully sudden, Penny. How can you know for sure?”
“I’ve known for a long time what I wanted, Connie,” she smiled a little, “You got to him first, and then there was Terry. I think there’s a little of both in Jean Paul and he’s absolutely yummy!” she displayed her dimples.
“Are we ready to go, love?” Max walked through the kitchen.
“If you are, did everything go…?”
“I think so,” he smiled and picked up the baskets, “I feel much better now about it all.”
“I’ll bring Jean Paul over in the morning, Max I’d like him to stay another night.” Penny bounced from foot to foot.
Max met her eyes, “Terry thought he might stay. Bye, Pen,” Max kissed her cheek.
Out on the courtyard Connie stopped, “Max listen, you can hear the bells echoing though the valley, I thought they were coming just from Bonnieux but they seem to be bouncing from hillside to hillside.”
“Hmm, it is Sunday, Connie…the churches and cathedrals.”
“I know, but you don’t often hear them, the wind has taken a different direction.”
“I wish it would come through here and cool things down, are you coming?” he waited at the narrow opening to the drive.
“Yes, I’m coming.” She smiled and followed him to the car. She hoped she got an opportunity to talk to Toni about the bells, somehow she felt they were important, and Toni might know the significance of them.
Toni quietly eased herself off the bed where Terry lay asleep with Jacky curled up against him. The two most precious things in her life. She closed the door gently and met Anna in the hallway; she was doing Jacky’s laundry today getting ready to pack up for the trip home tomorrow. She told her they were asleep and went downstairs to the kitchen for a cup of tea.
She took her cup outside to the shaded patio and sat down, a breeze blew through the tops of the trees and rattled the leaves, it would be nice she thought if it dipped down; it was a warm day. She was soon joined by Max.
“I didn’t know you were back.”
“We just came in, Connie’s gone to take a shower and cool down I think she got a little too much sun in the garden at Chambord. Where’s Terry?”
“Napping with his son,” she smiled and sipped her tea.
“I think I may have secured my son’s future this afternoon. I’ve joined forces with Aubrey Duncan.”
Toni put her cup down, “That was a big step, Max, I’m glad.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t easy you know I don’t trust very many people.”
“I know you don’t, but he’s family; he’s your family, Max. My, my you might have reached twelve years old today there is hope for you after all.”
Max smiled a crooked grin, “Do you think so? I’ve been doing some deep thinking…now don’t make a joke of that,” he smiled, “I have…really. Do you remember when you were here in February and I told you about that flashback I had, well…I could have opened my eyes, Toni and I would have been with you at the House. I didn’t open them…and when it was over I touched the stone table in the cellar and knew that was real, this here is my reality, this place and Connie.
“I’ve not behaved very well toward you while you’ve been here waiting for Terry. Sometimes it’s almost like a desperation; I was caught between two worlds I wanted you and I wanted Connie.”
“Max, I know that feeling, I’ve been there many times. I think being separated from Terry this last time has opened up something in me, or maybe I’ve removed the blinders. I think I know what you’re trying to say, Max and I understand, I’m there myself right now…today. We’ve come a long way and it’s not just us anymore, we have spouses and children, or you will have. Connie is giving you a son, Max.”
“I know and I love her for it. I’m thinking ahead and I think the decision I made this morning to talk to Aubrey and settle our differences has made a big difference for Connie and me. He’s going to leave his property to our son, so you see it’s all going to be one vineyard after all. I’ve made a commitment, Toni.”
Toni smiled and reached over and squeezed his hands, “I’m proud of you, Max. You know what…I think we might just become friends after all.”
“I hope so, I don’t want to lose you entirely.”
“You’ll never lose me, Max. Oh, finally that breeze that’s been teasing the treetops,” she closed her eyes as the wind lifted her hair.
Connie didn’t bother drying her hair she pulled it back with a clip and went down stairs in a cool cotton shift. “I feel much better now.” She took a seat.
“There’s a breeze now,” Toni said, “it’s hard being pregnant in summer, you’ve got your own little heating element with you.”
“I feel it too, you were lucky going through winter with yours. Where’s Terry and Jacky?”
“Napping together in our bed.”
“Would you like something to drink, Connie?” Max got up feeling the conversation was going to pregnant issues.
“Yes, actually Toni’s tea looks good, if you don’t mind, darling. Yes this breeze is nice. I wanted to talk about the bells. Maybe I’m silly, but when we were at Chambord we could hear the bells from Bonnieux and other villages around echoing from the hillsides, you don’t often hear that, only when the wind changes or a change in the atmosphere, it just struck me as odd and somehow I wanted to connect it to Max; am I crazy?”
Toni smiled, “No, Connie you’re not crazy, the wind changed direction today and you know that is Max. He’s found something called maturity, now he may have lapses because he’s…well he’s Max, but we talked a little while you were showering. He’s committed and he’s going forward not looking back. We’ve decided we can be friends after all. You have a very special man there, Connie.”
“Yes…I know what I have…oh thank you, darling.” She took a cup from Max.
“What do you have?” he sat down next to her.
“A special man, you.” She kissed him. “Not because of where you came from, Max but where you’re going.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her.