And So It Begins - Chapter Three

New York, NY 1803

It was Sebastien that had become ill first. That summer in the city had been particularly warm and wet, restricting much of their usual outdoor entertainments. Sebastien managed the family’s wine imports and exports from the office on the docks in New York harbor. Their father, Etienne Arnault, Baron de St. Auban of Arnoux, had brought his family from France in 1789 to avoid the French Revolution. He’d continued in the family’s hereditary business by setting up a shipping and distribution company in New York city. His wife, Cassandra Vanderbilt, a cousin of the Vanderbilt family, used her connections to get them set up and the business prospered.

Etienne worked in the offices in the city with his son, Guillaume, while Sebastien handled the business on the docks. They were doing very well for themselves, so it was no trouble to call in a physician when Sebastien complained of a fever.