Blush - Jamie Brenner Page 0,59

her thoughts.

In the days that followed, Vivian thought long and hard about the way she was raised. She thought about her marriage vows. She thought about her children. She asked Leonard to go with her on a “date” to see the movie The Four Seasons.

By the time the holidays rolled around, she got her emotional equilibrium back. She could pretend the baron didn’t even exist. Until the day Leonard announced that the baron’s niece, Delphine Fabron, was coming to live with them.

“We are an ocean apart,” the baron said. “And I’m not inclined to spend much time in your country. This is a gift for my American wife, you understand. So having a member of my family on the ground will give me peace of mind. I’m sure you understand.”

Leonard did not understand. And he certainly did not want one of the baron’s representatives “on the ground” with him. But he knew it was a small price to pay; their association with the hundred-year-old Château de Villard gave their fledgling vineyard an instant boost in credibility. The request that they welcome his niece to Hollander was not irrational. And it would have to be accommodated. He would simply have to do his best to keep her from interfering with the way he managed Hollander.

When the baron’s chosen representative arrived on that freezing day in February, it became clear Leonard didn’t have anything to worry about: Delphine was twenty-one years old and, curiously, seemed to have absolutely no interest in the business of winemaking.

Delphine Fabron was a beautiful girl, with long, lustrous dark hair and big blue eyes that were unmistakably sad. The only thing that seemed to lighten her mood was spending time with nine-year-old Leah.

Leah, who was always squabbling with Asher and wanted a sister, was equally as delighted with their exotic new guest.

“She’s so pretty,” Leah kept saying to her mother. “And her accent! Do you think she could teach me French?”

That seemed doubtful; that girl appeared to struggle just to get through each day. Vivian felt badly that their guest was so unhappy, but she and Leonard had their own problems: while they were selling strong on-site and in liquor stores, they were still making very few inroads with New York City restaurants.

Their wholesale rep quit. He was burned out. The obstacles were insurmountable: Sommeliers didn’t know that New York State produced wine, and when they did learn, they were skeptical. Some buyers had tried early vintages and had not been impressed. Part of this was Leonard and Vivian’s fault: they had rushed to market in the early years, their learning curve creating a barrier to quality. Their first season, birds attacked the budding vines, so they picked early to preserve the fruit, but they didn’t allow the sugar content to get high enough.

They made errors with grape varietals: Zinfandel grew wonderfully in California—where Leonard had learned everything he knew—but it did not like the climate on the East Coast. Instead, they needed to focus on wines like Malbec.

Meanwhile, after a month of Delphine hiding in her room or listlessly wandering the house, Vivian finally insisted she accompany her on a trip to town to run errands. The girl slumped silently in the car’s passenger seat, staring out the window like a convict being transported to prison.

“I thought you’d like to see the market and main street,” Vivian said. “When we first moved here—”

“Did you invite me out today so you could break the news that you’re sending me away, too?”

“Sending you away? No. Why would you think that?”

It all came out with a burst of sobs: Delphine’s love affair with her father’s friend, a member of French Parliament. The newspaper article. The press camped out on her parents’ front lawn. Vivian realized Delphine had not been sent as the baron’s representative on the ground. She had been exiled.

Vivian immediately felt empathy for her. Since her marriage to Leonard, her parents had cut her off financially and barely been in touch except to see their grandchildren. It didn’t feel good to be punished by the people who were supposed to love you just because of your choices—good or bad.

“Delphine, we’re happy to have you here,” she said. “For as long as you’d like to stay.”

When Vivian relayed the information to Leonard, he just shook his head.

“We have to give her something productive to do,” Vivian said.

“She can help Joe out in the field,” Leonard said. “I don’t see what else she could possibly do except get in