The Chocolate Promise

by Josephine Moon

  ‘But I have a cooking lesson with Nate in a couple of days,’ she said.

  ‘He’ll understand. He’ll be excited. What little boy wouldn’t love to think his aunt was off to the jungle?’

  ‘My fairy godmother projects?’

  ‘Postpone them. Or delegate. Maybe Val would like to help.’

  ‘No, she’s too busy; she volunteered to organise the end-of-year concert at the boys’ school and she’s running around with a clipboard and a pen behind her ear at all hours.’

  ‘Or maybe Lien’s aunt . . . what’s her name again?’

  ‘Tu.’

  ‘Yes! Didn’t you say you wanted an assistant? Tu would be great, wouldn’t she, having had firsthand experience of what you do?’

  ‘Yes, she would actually . . .’ But Christmas thought of another objection. ‘What about the shop?’ she squeaked. ‘Abigail’s busy at uni this term and Cheyenne’s flat out organising the wedding.’

  ‘Close it! Think how much more famous you’ll be once we get some media attention for your jungle trek. Think about the next book we can write together. People will come flocking here from all over.’

  ‘Close the shop,’ she echoed, resolution settling in her mind. She looked at her research notes on the bench. All of that could wait two weeks. Nobody would die if the shop was closed for a fortnight. She’d feel guilty about letting the rest of the Evandale business owners down, but that would only last a day until she got on the plane. Then she’d be free.

  And she only had one rule now: there were no rules. She touched the bluebird brooch once more. Had Elsa’s gift already brought her and Lincoln luck? Really, there was no good reason not to go, snakes aside. It was too good a chance to miss.

  ‘Well, I guess if life hands you cacao beans you should make chocolate,’ she said, as calmly as she could. ‘So let’s do it. Let’s go find the Cacao Queen.’

  Acknowledgements

  My love and gratitude to my husband, Alwyn Blayse, and my son, Flynn, for your immense talent, love, good spirits and general hilarity. You make everything worth it.

  To my furry children who sat by my side with every word. The dogs: my gorgeous golden angel, Goldie, so fiercely loved and still so shockingly missed; Daisy dog, whose smile lights up the world; and the smallest of the canines, Molly (Cyrus), who came in like a wrecking ball and we’re all the better for it. The fantabulous felines: Princess Jasmine, whose drool has been the glue for my bum to my seat, and whose parting was somewhat expected yet still so very painful; Sapphina Ballerina, for dancing crazily across our keyboards and hearts; and Bucket Man, for being the hugest Bucket of Love in the universe. The horses for grounding me to the earth every day (and especially the dark and dashing Lincoln, after whom our hero is named). And the goats for drinking tea and sharing cupcakes and never once compromising standards by eating a single weed like you were supposed to.

  Clay Gordon, creator of The Chocolate Life, and all-round expert on everything to do with cacao and chocolate, for the inspiring podcasts, the wealth of written information, and infectious enthusiasm about the business of cacao from tree to mouth. Your knowledge and passion is so contagious I now wish to write ten books on cacao.

  Kate Smibert for being such an integral support and guiding force in my writing life—I am so blessed to have you as my friend. Kathleen Lamarque for your great friendship, sense of humour, photographs and style, for answering endless questions about Paris and Provence and packing relevant scenes into your bag for a quick trip to France (though I want to stress that any errors or letdowns are entirely my fault), and to Philippe, Hugo and Margot for the same.

  To my publisher, Annette Barlow, for your always-brilliant editing advice, Clara Finlay for adding so much value to the text (what a star!), Kate O’Donnell for guiding my words so carefully to the page, and the whole Allen & Unwin (Australia, NZ and UK) team for the hundreds of things I know you do (but generally don’t get to see) to get my books out into the world. And my agent, Fiona Inglis, and the whole Curtis Brown Australia team for your support.

  I was inspired by Chantal Coady’s book Rococo: Mastering the Art of Chocolate, and Shannon Bennett’s 28 Days in Provence. Impressions of your recipes are found in this book. Likewise, The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao, by Allen M. Young, is a now well-thumbed botany resource and helped me bring Lincoln van Luc to life. And A Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, by John Ashton and Suzy Ashton, was just too wonderful to read—I always knew chocolate was good for you!

  Thank you to Terese and Gerard Puglisi at Sweet Farm Tours in Cairns for so graciously allowing me to interrupt your cane harvest and ramble through your acres of cacao trees, cut open pods and taste the flesh and the seeds; and thank you Luis Felipe Valencia, Consul General of Ecuador in Sydney, for answering questions about Ecuador—I wrote so many scenes set in Ecuador that didn’t make it into the final draft but they’re there in the background; Phil Boyle for listening to my wild botany fantasy of an undiscovered miracle bean and finding a way to make it plausible; my dad, Brian, and my stepmother, Pamela, for sharing your gorgeous cottage and so much of Tasmania with me, and for willingly daydreaming about the Apple Isle with me at any other time; and Jane Shaw from Ingleside Bakery for sharing such vivid and funny anecdotes of what it’s like to run a business in the town of Evandale.

  To my mum, Geraldine, and my sister, Amanda, for accepting my shortfalls when my mind was elsewhere engaged; and Amanda, again, for suffering through the gruelling chocolate-making boot camp with me.

  Lastly, thank you to all my readers for joining my characters on these fun journeys. You’re the reason mine is the best job in the world.