My Cup Runneth Over Ch. 07

After we both freshened up gave me a tour of the chateau. It was impressive, a large salon, a dining room that could easily sit twenty for dinner and five guest rooms, all ensuite and then there were three separate suites, one for his mother, his brother's suite and Jean-Paul's He explained in as much as his brother's suite was next to ours he intended to make some modifications that would provide me with a sitting room and if I wanted, a separate office and incorporate the bathroom so when I had visitors I would not have to use the formal salon.

The staff each had accommodation on the third floor. Adjacent to the dining room was a Butler's pantry and an enormous kitchen with state of the art commercial appliances. Jean-Paul explained that when there were large dinner parties, the chef could call on the local restaurants for wait staff.

The chef had asked if we wanted something to eat as it was just turned 12:00. Jean-Paul said that since we had not eaten since about 7:00, yes, something not too heavy though. "Give me half an hour" said the chef.

Jean-Paul took me on a short tour of the gardens. They were absolutely elegant and immaculately maintained. Jean-Paul explained that the vineyard staff also looked after the gardens around the manoir. Somebody really knew what they were doing.

Returning to the manoir Jean-Paul took me to the kitchen off which was a small what he called the breakfast room where the staff eat. The dining room is far too large for the two of us. The chef arrived with a fine herb soufflé and white asparagus plus a small salad. A lovely Sauvignon Blanc from the cellar accompanied the meal. I said to Jean-Paul, "If this is what is like to live here, I can get used to it."

He responded, "Oh this is something that chef can put together at almost a moment's notice.

I settled in to life at Le Manoir de Duvall. Mama most days did not seem to know Jean-Paul and never could understand who I was despite her son's attempts to explain that I was his fiancé.

Much of Jean-Paul's time was spent on wrapping up the sale of the winery and vineyards and also the establishment and early works related to the Pierre Duvall Foundation. On weekends we either travelled so I could see the surrounding French countryside or entertaining. Jean-Paul wanted to introduce me to his friends especially those who lived nearby or were also members of what remained of the French aristocracy, he being now the Duc de Duvall. I was generally accepted enthusiastically and in fact three ladies who lived within a few kilometers invited me to visit them in the afternoon and soon this became a weekly event with one of the four of us hosting. This is when I started to really enjoy having my own sitting room rather than using the large formal salon. Jean-Paul offered to buy me a car or alternately said that the butler would drive me where ever I wanted to go. I opted for the latter.

Mama died about two months after my arrival. A blessing really as she had no idea where she was and she needed constant care and feeding. I am not sure if this triggered Jean-Paul a few weeks later to ask out of the blue how I felt I was fitting in and was I enjoying life in France. I assured him that I was very comfortable and that my love for him was deeper even than when I first arrived. With this assurance he suggested maybe it was time to start planning our wedding. Also, he said that know that the estate matters were settled we should think about purchasing an apartment on the Riviera where we would spend the winter months. I agreed and this conversation started a chain of events that were interesting to say the least. We went to France's southern coast centered on Nice. After much touring and visiting various alternatives we found two penthouse apartments on Chemin du Roy in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat which had a view of the Mediterranean without having to put up with the noise of being right on the beach. It was also a short drive to both Nice and Monaco. We bought the two and we will join them by opening a double door between the two so that we can use our living room plus the master suite on the one side and create a large dining room on the other along with a commercial kitchen plus two bedroom suites on the other. We also found a nice three bedroom apartment nearby that the chef and butler plus the maid will share.

One other thing that Jean Paul did after the estate matters were settled and the vineyard and winery sold was replace the current Mercedes with a Maybach, the Mercedes answer to the Rolls Royce. Then he also bought himself a Mercedes AMG GT convertible. Boys will be boys. I asked what he was going to do with Pierre's Ferrari and he said that it would go to St-Jean Cap-Ferrat and the Mercedes would stay here.

While we waited for the renovations to be completed in Cap-Ferrat we planned out wedding. We decided we wanted to be married locally so went to the Catholic Church as Jean-Paul was Catholic. The Priest new Jean-Paul from his brother's and mother's funeral. The conversation was much as I expected. When the priest asked if I was catholic I said no but that I professed to be a Christian. Well he thought for a moment and then with a smile said, "If you promise to bring the children up in the true faith, I will marry you." And then we all laughed. The date was set for May which was still about six months away. I called Cousin Molly and told her the good news. I asked if she would be my maid of honor and she said that she would love to but would need that amount of time to save up the money for the flight. "Molly, the invitation is for you and Mike and the air fare for the two of you and accommodation here during for a week before the wedding plus the use of our apartment on the Riviera for the week after will be all covered.

When the invitations went out I sent one each to the members of My Cup Runneth Over plus a companion. I heard immediately from Joan accepting for herself along with John. Mary and Gwen responded that they too would love to come but their husbands would not be accompanying them. They let me know that they would only need one bedroom. Josephine responded that all was not good for her and her partner and she regretfully would not be coming. With that information knowing that the two bedrooms in the second half of the Cap--Ferrat penthouse would be available I offered them to Mary and Gwen plus Joan and John for the week following the wedding. As Jean-Paul and I planned to go to Lake Como in northern Italy for a short honeymoon we planned to send the chef to Cap-Ferrat with our guests.

Over the next six months in addition to planning the wedding we went to Cap-Ferrat monthly to oversee the renovations. At about the fourth month they were complete and we were totally satisfied. Then we started spending long weekends there it being a day's drive. Once we were settled in we were over the moon with our decision.

Jean-Paul had a phone call from an old colleague of his from the lingerie business, Robert (pronounced Row bare in French). He said that he had heard we had a place near Nice and he and his wife Suzette along with two friends were going to be in Nice and Monte Carlo the following weekend and wondered if they could stop by for a drink. Robert emphasized that they had dinner commitments but a drink about five would be superb. Jean-Paul told me that he would like to see Robert again and that he thought I might get enjoyment out of meeting him as it was through that connection he had obtained some of the more risqué lingerie items that he had obtained for my customers. I said "Why not? It is only cocktails and some horse oeuvres." By this time I had been in France for almost eight months and between being with Jean-Paul almost 24 hours of each day during which as much as possible we worked on my French language skills and having to deal with the staff and when in the local community I felt reasonably comfortable with my new language.

Robert and his entourage that included Suzette and two skinny younger French women, Fiffi and Jocelyne both maybe in their mid-twenties. There was no explanation of the relationship that existed between the foursome. Jean-Paul had chilled some champagne as well as offered Campari and Soda, Scotch and then said, "If none of those suit you, try me." The two younger women opted for champagne while Suzette said she would have Campari and Soda. Robert settled for Scotch when he heard that Jean-Paul had some 25 year old Lagavulin. Jean-Paul opted for the scotch as well and I joined Suzette in Campari and Soda. Chef had prepared a lovely accompaniment for our enjoyment, a variety of French cheeses plus cold shrimp and caviar.

Robert was quite a bit older than his wife. Actually I was a bit surprised by the fact that I thought that Suzette's breasts had benefited from enhancement surgery. To the contrary, Fiffi and Jocelyne were virtually flat chested. I am not sure why this amused me; Robert being a lingerie supplier. Jean-Paul asked as to where they were staying and Robert said they were staying at Cap d'Agde within walking distance of the beach.

Jean-Paul asked if they had found the clothing optional beach which exists there. "Why don't you show Jean-Paul and Joy." said Robert. It took not encouragement for the two young women to rise and quickly open there dresses dropping them to just above there pubes. There was no doubt they had been tanning in the nude. I was truly surprised that my belief they were flat chested was totally accurate; they had virtually no breasts, just very erect nipples. I must have shown my surprise as Fiffi said, "Would you like to see my poussie?" I laughed but declined. Robert mumbled something like 'bald pussy.'

The conversation otherwise was interesting but not really what I would call stimulating. As promised Robert and friends said about 6:30 that unfortunately they had a dinner engagement and must sad adieu but hoped that they would see us another time. I am not sure about Jean-Paul but I was not unhappy to see them leave. The chef came and asked what we might like for dinner. While it was early, we thought we had eaten a fair amount during the cocktail hour so asked for a Salad Nicoise and a baguette; oh the joys of being rich.

We sat and read our books after dinner on the deck overlooking the Mediterranean. Jean-Paul had an espresso, a cognac and a cigar. We discussed our day and the plans for the following one. As bed time approached Jean-Paul said, "Joy, do you think that Fiffi was coming on to you when she asked if you would like to see her pussy?"

I responded, "Really, do you think so? I am not sure if she wanted to show me her pussy or that she hoped I would show her what a real, not artificial set of tits looks like." We both laughed. Then I went on, "After Robert made the comment about it being bald did you want to have a look?"

"No I have no interest in young pussy whether bald or not. The only pussy I am attracted to is the one on my lover who is sitting right here next to me."

"And if that person was interested, what exactly would you do with that pussy?" I said.

Jean-Paul smiled and replied, "Well, I would take that person in my arms and kiss her passionately, then slowly undress her taking my time to caress those lovely parts of her body as they were unveiled. Finally, when I once again had discovered that mount of Joy, no pun intended, I would first explore that cleavage with my tongue seeking out that opening from which I know comes the nectar that I love to taste and then, moving up seek out that nub which I can stimulate with my lips and tongue using my fingers to enter her vagina. I know from experience that if I do everything right, I can bring her to multiple orgasms.

I smiled and then offered my hand, simply saying, "So what are you waiting for?" I will not write about the remainder of that evening but we both went off to dreamland well satiated.

Time flew by and it was not long until Molly and Mike arrived at the manoir a week before the wedding. She was an enormous help in getting all of those small details finally settled and accomplished. Two days before the wedding she asked why I was packing my suitcases for our honeymoon so early. I explained that we were going to drive the Mercedes AMX to Lake Como and it had limited luggage space. The following day DHL would pick them up and deliver them to the resort we had chosen awaiting our arrival.

Mary and Gwen plus Joan and John arrived the following day and this gave rise to what normally would have been the rehearsal dinner. However, Jean-Paul and I as well as his friend Francois had met the priest the previous week and gone over the order of service. I only had to inform Molly of her part. The wedding went off without a hitch and the wedding dinner with 50 guests was superbly done. I would have expected nothing less given the expertise that I had learned the butler and the chef had. I won't say that the wedding night was uneventful but after sleeping together for six months and had a busy week, neither of us were too demanding.

There was a buffet breakfast the following day for us and our house guests. We had let it be known that we wanted to get off by 10:00 as it was a six hour drive to our resort. As we were all mature most if not all had not over imbibed the night before. Mary and Gwen were the only ones who were not there sharp at 9 as promised but they straggled in about 9:30 looking a little worse for wear. I did not want to think whether this was alcohol related or not.

Jean-Paul and I said or adieus about 10 as planned and began our honeymoon driving to Lake Como and the lovely boutique hotel, Vista Pelazzo . For the next week we enjoyed our time in this lovely setting and also went to Milan for lunch one day and to Liechtenstein another.

Over the next 25 years Jean-Paul and I enjoyed a magical life together, Burgundy in the spring and summer and up to harvest time and then the Riviera in the winter. Joan and John when they retired came often, usually at harvest time and spent a week and then the four of us would go to Cap-Ferrat for at least another week together. We had French friends from Burgundy who also would visit us there. Mike and Molly came almost yearly, normally in the winter and spend a couple of weeks in the south.

Mary and Gwen came, not every year but at least every other year. There was never any mention of their husbands coming. They always wanted to go to Cap-Ferrat and sometimes when we were not available they would go by themselves. When Jean-Paul asked them how they occupied their time they would respond, "We rent a car and visit interesting place such as Avignon and Marseilles as well as Monte Carlo. Sometimes we will go to the beaches and spend the day."

"Have you found the clothing optional beach at d'Agde?" he asked.

"Mai Oui! We find it very interesting coming from a society where nudity is uncommon. At first we wondered if it was a means to hook up with someone and have sex but obviously that is not the case, or at least generally."

Jean-Paul replied, "Yes, generally it is not so and it is considered impolite to stare or ogle especially someone of the opposite sex. Did anyone come on to you fine looking ladies?"

"Yes we had two young men proposition us but we think they were maybe more interested in money than sex with two senior citizens. Also we had a French woman who stopped and talked to us saying how she really appreciated our large breasts that did not hang down to our waist as many older women's did."

"So no dalliances? I would have thought that two beauties such as you would have had some offers, discrete to be sure."

Gwen replied, "None that we are prepared to talk about. But let's just say we did not go back year after year just for the fine French food and wine." Jean-Paul and I had many a laugh about what we thought those two had been up to besides pleasuring each other.

We all age and Jean-Paul and I were no different. As the years went on sex may not have been what it once was but we always enjoyed each other's company and were intimate enough to satisfy each other's needs. We found we were spending more time in Burgundy where we had more friends of our age. Dinner parties and soireés became our entertainment. With some regularity I would humor Jean-Paul and we would take the Benz AMX and drive to Bordeaux at harvest time or to Alsace; he could not get the wine business out of his blood.

In my 86^th year one night having kissed Jean-Paul good night and telling him how much I loved him, I had a heart attack and quietly slipped away. No regrets. It had been a marvelous life.

EPILOGUE

When Joy's will was read and the details obtained by the Canadian lawyer it was found that she had investments totaling almost $1,500,000 stemming from the sale of her home and her business.. Jean-Paul topped it up so that along with memorial gifts from her friends there was an endowment in her name in the amount of Two Million dollars for breast cancer research.

Jean-Paul was heart-broken at the loss of his true love. Twenty five years did not seem to be enough. While he did not become a complete recluse his joie d 'vie was missing. He at first seldom went to Cap-Ferrat and after about six months rented the penthouse on a one year lease but kept the small apartment for the use of his staff when they had vacations but he never returned again. Almost two years to the day he too died of heart problems. His friends in Burgundy came out on mass to celebrate the life of a marvelous man.

Le Manoir was sold along with the penthouse on the Riviera. His Benz AMX was given to the chef who had secretly always loved it. The butler/chauffer got the Maybach. The apartment on the Riviera which had used by the staff was sold and the proceeds split between the butler, the chef and the maid. Each was also left sufficient monies to top up their pensions so that they would not have to work again.

The remainder of Jean-Paul's estate went to the Pierre Duvall Foundation and its name changed to simply be The Duvall Foundation.