Three hundred years ago during the French Revolution around seventeen ninety, the dissidents, the common man with little money, some merit and a few innovation's for the economy through politics, were finding it hard to get passed the birth and breeding of the nobles, who had four generations of aristocracy behind them. They were hard times for everyone affected by the overtaxing of the government, some Nobles and Commoners alike being affected, but life had to go on, regardless of vast estates being disrupted by rebel dissidents if the noble owner wasn't fair with his employees and sometimes even if he was; paid to rebel by those who coveted his lands.
Lord Anton Deveroux was very fair with his winery staff and his vine-grove employees, managing the whole estate himself with the aid of an overseer in both departments and at his home farm, where domestic cows supplied his house-hold and employees with milk and dairy products. His three son's who were now grown into strapping lads, were well able to take over from him should anything happen to him. His twin daughters were also nearing marriageable age and he knew he needed to find wives and husbands from decent families for them before the revolution turned one way or the other, to war or peace.
For his eldest and youngest son's he already had a proposition in mind with a neighbouring Earl, whose castle could be seen on a clear day from his battlements, across the deep valley to the next mountain's castle which belonged to Earl Jacques Dreux, who had two daughters of marriageable age but no son's. For that reaon there was a condition for his younger son, to take the brides name as his own, rather than she take his, which Lord Anton was still contemplating, even though his own heir was covered and his second son would carry the name on too, who, as yet he hadn't any plans for in marriage.
The Earl of Dreux had two nephews, of his sister's marriage to the Duke of Bordeaux who were financially sound, one was a banker and the other an hotelier, with good prospects and references. This would be an ideal arrangement for his daughters, but that too hinged on the name change of his younger son, who had agreed to it so there was only his own approval keeping the proposition from being carried out. He was hesitating, because he had heard rumours that the King was trying to get an army together to run the dissidents out of France, which would include their son's too. The question was, should he marry them off before the rumour was proved true or not, or should he wait it out and be sure? If it didn't happen, he would be feeling relieved but a little foolish, yet if it did and any of them died, the name issue would be a conflict against them, especially if it was more than one son who died.
The only other issue keeping him hovering, was the rivalry formerly between the two wineries, the Earl's wine was almost as fashionable as his own, a very close rival, which a family connection would ease. There were some of their Rieslings that could be amalgamated too, both of the finest in the country and very little difference between them, but he hadn't put that to the Earl yet.
One "for" was the amalgamation of their wines and another "for" was the banker and the hotelier for his daughters; he knew if he hesitated too long they would be married off to other available debutante's; so the only problem was the name change. His decision on that basis could only be the right one, knowing that when Phillip took on the Draux name it would cement the two families and even if there was a war, he could just send his second son, not all three, and possibly go with him to make sure he came back alive. He would keep that as a contingency plan in case the rumours were true, he decided, so he could go ahead with the marriages and safeguard his children's futures, now his decision was made.
This was what he did and Andre, his second son, was so resentful of being bypassed by Phillip; as Andre saw his father's action; pushing his younger brother into having the honour of being heir to the Draux estate instead of himself, that he left a year later; as soon as the last of the four weddings was over; and swore he would find his own way in the world and never bother them again, ever.
