something I need to tell you. The reason Leah is back here is that she found a letter. It was folded in one of the books she took from the library. The letter was from the baron to me. Thirty-five years ago.”
“What do you mean, to you? To you about what?”
As difficult as it was, Vivian looked at her husband, wanted to imprint in her mind the way he looked at her before she lost all of his respect. Possibly his love. She gripped the arm of the chair.
“Remember when the baron came to visit after you fired Delphine, and I took him for a tour of the stables?”
“No,” Leonard said.
“He wanted to see them even though I told him we didn’t have any horses. While we were there . . . he kissed me. And I kissed him back.”
“This is crazy talk, Vivian.”
“I didn’t sleep with him,” she said quickly. “And it never happened again. It was a moment of insanity, and I put a halt to it the second I came to my senses. But he kept calling and writing me letters. He refused to take no for an answer. I know he told you he was ending the partnership because you fired Delphine. But I believe the real reason is that I spurned his advances. And now that he’s back, he’s made it clear his expectations haven’t changed.”
“No. That can’t be.” Leonard jumped up.
“I’m sorry. It was so long ago . . . I never meant to hurt you.” He held up his hand to stop her from talking.
“I can’t hear any more right now.”
He paced back and forth for a minute while she watched him, feeling helpless. She just prayed he wouldn’t leave. It felt like a long time before he looked at her. When he did, his eyes were cold.
“I can’t go through with the sale. I’d sooner watch it all turn to dust than sell to him.”
She nodded. “I understand. But maybe it’s for the best. We can—”
“No sale. No money. A tax debt. We’re in big trouble, Vivian.” He stood and walked to the bedroom door, turning back one more time. “You might not have screwed him, but you screwed us.”
With that, he walked out of the room.
Forty-eight
Leah stood in a secluded stretch of grass behind the barn, angling her phone to avoid the glare of the sun. Steven, on the other end of the video call, stood behind the counter at the cheese shop. She could see the shelves filled with jars of olives and packages of crackers.
“So your mother didn’t have an affair?” he said.
“No. But enough of a line was crossed that my dad is going to have a real problem.” She hadn’t heard from Vivian since their conversation the day before and didn’t know when—or if—she was going to talk to Leonard. Either way, Leah’s conscience was clear now that she’d said her piece.
“So what’s your plan?” Steven said, clearly impatient.
“You mean, as far as coming home?”
“Leah, I don’t want to be the bad guy here. But one minute we’re about to make an offer on a new space, and the next you’re gone again.”
“I know, I know. But this was a conversation I had to have in person.”
“I understand that. And you did. So are you coming back now?”
“I mean, if there’s nothing for me to do here, then yes, I’ll leave . . .” Leah averted her eyes from the screen and saw her father a few yards away. It seemed he was just doing his routine inspection of the grapes, but then it became clear he was headed toward her. “Let me call you back. My dad’s here.”
Leonard’s face was half-hidden by his black Hollander Estates baseball cap, but as he drew closer she could see the white stubble along his jaw. His gait was slow; it was as if he had aged overnight. She knew, in that moment, that her mother had told him about her history with the baron. Her heart ached for both of them.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” he asked, his breathing labored.
“Just taking a walk,” she said, reaching into her bag for her water bottle. “Drink something, Dad. You look . . . tired.”
He waved it away.
“Remember all the times I brought you out here as a little girl?” he said.
“Of course.”
“When I used to thin the crops you’d insist on collecting all the fruit off the ground.”
Leah smiled. As a girl, seeing the discarded grapes on