Page 44 of Blush
Yes, the book brought her back. She’d read it on the flight to France to see Natasha de Villard’s grand cru vineyard.
She could envision the Bordeaux countryside like it was yesterday even though it had been nearly forty years since her visit. Natasha sent a car to pick them up from the airport, and it had been from the back seat of that sleek Mercedes that she first caught sight of Château de Villard, rising in the distance like something out of a dream. When Vivian had embarked on renovating their own home, she had imaginedsomething grand in French Renaissance tradition. But Château de Villard was the real deal, and her wildest imagination had failed to equal it. The château’s steeply pitched roof seemed to go on forever. With its gables and spires and turrets, it was like the skyline of a small city.
The driver whisked them up through an allée of linden trees, and closer proximity to the house only heightened its grandeur. The limestone building featured an entrance tower and several prominent wings. To the right of the entrance, an open loggia with pillars and topped with stone gargoyles.
Staff emerged from the house to take their luggage, and they were shown into a marble entrance hall. Glasses of champagne were pressed into their hands before a uniformed housekeeper led them up a spiral staircase. Vivian’s jaw dropped as she realized the stairs wrapped around a four-story chandelier.
The third-floor hallway was lined with paintings by Sargent and Boldini. They passed several rooms before the woman stopped and opened a door to a baroque extravaganza.
“Please, make yourself at home. The baron and baroness look forward to seeing you at dinner. I will return to bring you to the dining room at eight.”
Alone in the bedroom, Leonard walked around, silently admiring the walnut paneling, sixteenth-century tapestry, and Louis XV–style furniture. He finally turned to her and said, “What do you think all of this is about?”
“I have no idea,” Vivian said. “But I can’t wait for our luggage to get here so I can figure out what to wear when we find out.”
The housekeeper returned, as promised, to escort them down to the dining hall, a cavernous room with a seventy-foot-high ceiling and an oak table that could seat over sixty people. A triple fireplace spanned one end of the room, more antique tapestries on the walls.
Natasha de Villard rose to greet them. She was even prettier than Vivian remembered, the grand surroundings serving to heighten her beauty instead of dwarfing it. Dressed in a Chantilly lace suit withribbon appliqué, she looked like she belonged in the pages ofVogue. She greeted Leonard and Vivian with a kiss on both cheeks.
“This is so much fun!” she said.
The baron rose from his seat at the head of the table. He was tall and lean, with sandy-colored hair, slate blue eyes under thick brows, and a long nose.
“Welcome, welcome,” he said, approaching them. His smile was tight, but his voice was warm. He opened his arms to Vivian, and she dutifully stepped in for an embrace. As he kissed her once on each cheek, she felt an odd shiver.
“Thank you for the generous invitation,” Leonard said.
“My pleasure,” the baron replied. “I’m only sorry it took this long. We travel all summer, but as soon as we were back in residence, we were delighted to reach out.”
He wasn’t necessarily handsome—not with those cold eyes. But he had undeniable charisma, a sort of palpable energy that signaled he had power and ambition running through his veins.
It felt strange to sit at one end of a long, mostly empty table. Leah was certain they must have had a dining room that was more appropriately scaled. Later, Leonard would point out that it had been a power move. As if summoning them to the château weren’t enough of one.
The truth was, they could have dined in the stables. The wine was so extraordinary, it rendered the backdrop for the meal irrelevant. The highlight was a grand cru white Burgundy Montrachet that made Vivian gasp.
The conversation was surprisingly easy. The baron’s English was flawless, and although Natasha had lived in France for several years, she remained obsessed with American pop culture, leaving her eager to discussDallasand the new TV phenomenonDynasty. Vivian glanced at Leonard from time to time, and his exchange with the baron seemed equally congenial.
“Your husband tells me you’re a rider,” the baron said.
“Well, not for quite some time,” Vivian said.
“Tomorrow I’ll show you our stables.”
After dessert, the baron stood. “If you ladies will excuse us, we’re going to the billiards room to have a few cigars.”
Natasha took her on a tour of the formal gardens, all five of them, breathtakingly lovely even in the dark of night. But the travel and the wine caught up with Vivian, and she had to sit on one of the stone benches for a break.
“I’m sorry! Of course you must be exhausted. I’m just so excited to have a new friend. Come—let’s get you back to your room.”
Vivian was disappointed to find Leonard was still downstairs. She changed into her nightgown and waited for him.
By the time he showed up, reeking of cognac and cigars, she’d fallen asleep. The click of the bedroom door woke her.
“What on earth have you two been doing all this time?” she asked, propping herself up on her elbows.
“Celebrating,” he told her. “We’re going into business with the baron.”
Natasha, the baron had apparently informed Leonard, “is very sentimental about her home state. Now that she has seen the wine country there, it seems a New York winery is simply not something she can live without. And I like to make sure my wife is happy.”
