Black Diamonds (12 page)

“I hope you’re not truffled out.” Eve added another sugar cube to her coffee. “Imagine what it would be like to be in France during truffle season if you didn’t like the taste!”

“Or if you didn’t like the scent,” Jackie agreed, after another mouthful of her own
cafe au lait
. “It’s pretty powerful.”

“The smell can be quite overwhelming during the truffle service,” Eve admitted. “I discovered that last year. You’re used to it, of course, growing up on a truffle farm. You’re going to love the events today, Jackie.”

“I know I am. My pa told me about it. He wanted to come here all his life.” Her voice wavered and she steadied it before going on. Even as a little girl, she’d heard about the truffle mass they held in Richerenches, in celebration of the feast of St Antoine, the patron saint of truffle growers. In his office at Paradise Truffle Farm, her pa had kept a small postcard with St Antoine on it. “He would be thrilled I was here today.”

Eve gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. “It’s quite the tourist attraction these days.”

As they’d arrived, they’d seen eager crowds surging into the famous old walled village, with its stone buildings and coloured wooden shutters in mint and blue and lilac, and a distinctive bell tower with ornate ironwork like a birdcage on the top. The narrow streets were packed with people speaking not only French, but English and other languages too, even Japanese. Jackie hadn’t expected to see so many people, though she’d known that reservations for the lunch to follow the mass had to be made up to a year in advance.

“Oh, here are Bob and Xavier now,” Eve said.

Jackie’s heart thumped as Xavier entered the cafe. Dressed casually in jeans and a black leather jacket, the powerful combination of his style and masculinity hit her yet again as he smiled; an intimate smile that reminded her of the night before. After Eve and Bob had returned to the chateau full of high spirits from their dinner party, Xavier had kissed her, a long, last lingering kiss, before she’d gone up to bed, but it didn’t feel as though they’d been apart all night. Probably, she thought, fingering the roll neck of her heather coloured woollen jumper, because Xavier had starred once more in her wine and truffle induced dreams.

Eve pulled out a chair for her husband. “Did you manage to get good seats in the church?”

“Amazing what Xavier’s name will do where truffles are concerned. It works like a charm.” Bob smiled at Jackie as he sat down. “You look excited. How much do you know about what’s happening today? You know there is going to be a parade and a truffle auction after the church service this morning, I guess?”

“I’ve seen it on the Internet.” In addition to what her father had told her, she’d read countless articles, and watched a YouTube video. “People wear amazing costumes, black tunics and hats and big gold medallions and they march through the streets holding a yellow banner with truffles embroidered on it, don’t they?”

Bob nodded. “That’s right. Those costumes are the ceremonial robes of the Knights of the Black Diamond.”

“The Knights of the Black Diamond,” she repeated, savouring the words. Just saying the name aloud thrilled her. For her, it sounded as familiar as a name from a fairy tale; her pa had told her about them so often. “I’ve always wanted to meet one of those.”

Xavier loosened the scarf from around his neck as he sprawled into the seat opposite. “And there I was thinking I was your knight in shining armour, Jacaranda,” he drawled.

She didn’t dare meet his eyes. Luckily, Bob kept talking animatedly about the event they were about to see. “I guess you know the men and women who will lead the parade belong to a special order of knights. Richerenches was an old Templar fortress town once, like the Knights Templar in the book
The Da Vinci Code
.”

“I didn’t know that.” Jackie glanced out the window towards the wall of yellow coloured stone, plane trees with bare branches outlined against it. The town had even more history than she’d imagined.

Affectionately Eve patted her husband’s hand. “I know all about Richerenches and the Knights from Bob here. Don’t get him started, Jackie. He’s a Templar nut.” She turned to Xavier. “You’re not one of them, are you? One of the Knights of the Black Diamond, I mean?”

“I’m not from this region of France,” Xavier replied.

“Your family were knights though, weren’t they?” Eve persisted, and then added, “Oh, I’m sorry. I always ask too many questions. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said that. I know there’s no aristocracy in France anymore.”

“My family do have an aristocratic lineage. But that’s all in the past.” Xavier glanced almost imperceptibly at Jackie. “I prefer to focus on the future.”

Her roll neck jumper suddenly felt scratchy again. She took a sip of coffee, wishing she’d ordered Perrier water instead. With Xavier around, she could have drunk a whole bottle, even if it was near freezing outside.

Bob rubbed his hands together. “Are you both ready to go? We don’t want to keep St Antoine waiting.”

“St Antoine,” Jackie echoed, startled with a sudden realisation. “That’s your name,” she said to Xavier, as they stood up. She wondered how she’d never made the connection.

“
Oui.
” Making her heart beat faster, he watched as she pulled on her violet woollen gloves and scarf, before slipping on her long brown coat. “He’s the patron saint of truffle growers, so our name is considered fortunate for our family business. I always like to celebrate St Antoine’s feast day, his
fete
. But I can assure you,” he added in an undertone, as his breath fanned her ear in a way that made her knees go weak, “I’m no relation to a saint.”

Inside the old stone church, Jackie stared around in wonder. The building was ancient, from the 12
^th
century, Xavier had told her as they’d found their seats at the front. They’d been lucky to get them. The church was packed to the brim, with standing room only down the aisles, and all the way to the heavy wooden doors at the back of the church. A large viewing screen had been set up for visitors who couldn’t fit in. It was just a village church, after all, in spite of its truffle fame, yet for Jackie, it was magical, as she gazed at the pale walls and high arched ceilings. In a nearby alcove stood a beautiful golden clad statue of a saint, with flowers at her feet. Radiant light flooded through the windows, and up on the linen-clad altar—she smelt before she saw—were three huge black truffles. The earthy, pungent scent assailed her.

Xavier leant towards her and flashed a smile. “You’re ready for this, I hope? It isn’t to everyone’s taste. Rather like truffles, I suppose.”

“I knew it was a truffle mass, but I don’t think I really expected to see truffles in a church,” she confessed. Truffles weren’t usually seen on church altars, not in Australia, at any rate.

“It’s an ancient tradition,” he whispered as the choir began a hymn and the priest and serious-faced altar boys got ready for the service. “It’s not exactly truffle worship, but it’s close.”

His arms held out, the priest began what she assumed was a welcome, but Jackie couldn’t understand a word of it, though she heard Xavier’s deep voice making appropriate replies. She hadn’t thought her French was that bad.

He must have noticed her bewilderment. “It’s not the French you know,” he murmured to her in English. “Some of this service will be in Old French, Provencale.”

After that, she didn’t try to translate; she just let the beautiful language run over her like music. As it went on she tried to imagine how she would describe the service to Mia and Dean, back in Western Australia. The closest would be to explain that the famous truffle mass of St Antoine was like a harvest festival, or thanksgiving service, though the bounty being offered and given thanks for in this case was exclusively truffles. Spellbound, she hardly moved a muscle when baskets of truffles, along with money, were collected and taken up to the front of the church, as the choir sang an old hymn to St Antoine.

Her throat closed up. She hadn’t expected to be so moved by the simple service. There was something so grounding about the celebration of truffles being offered up as one of God’s gifts for blessing. Her eyes welled as she thought of her father, and his love for the same gift of creation. He’d always called it the food of paradise.

Xavier’s hand clasped hers. He didn’t say anything, but she knew he understood. For the first time since her father had died, she realised, as she curled her hand gratefully within his, she didn’t feel alone.

Only when the service finished did he release his grip, as the crowd began to file out of the church. “Come this way for the parade, Jacaranda. We follow the Knights of the Black Diamond to the Hotel de Ville. It’s the town’s main civic building,” he added.

“Wasn’t that something!” Bob enthused as together they surged through the street among the crowd, to bells pealing overhead. Ahead the yellow cloth banner of the Knights of the Black Diamond fluttered high and proud in the wind. Though the day was cold, the sun beamed bright. “The church will make a fortune this year with all the proceeds of the auction going to them.”

“They certainly will if prices go as high as the truffle auctions in New York,” Xavier responded drily to Bob. “Even I think they’re outrageous.”

Bob nodded with a rueful expression. “Don’t I know it! It’s hard to buy a kilo of truffles below the two thousand dollar mark at the moment.”

In front of the Hotel de Ville—a square, two storey building in the same limestone as the church, with a wrought iron balcony jutting out of the second floor—they came to a stop. Weaving their way through the throng, the Knights of the Black Diamond began to hand out complimentary aperitifs of sweet wine and bread, some topped with truffle. There were women her age among them, Jackie noticed. The Knights weren’t all men, as she’d imagined they would be.

Stretching up on her toes, Eve tried to peer past a tall woman in a fur coat who stood in front of them. “There are even more people here than last year. The auctioneer’s standing on a bench but I can hardly see him.”

“Come over here, you’ll get a better view.” Xavier pushed Jackie and Eve in front of him and Bob. Sensing Xavier behind her, as strong and sturdy as one of the oak trees at his chateau, she resisted the urge to lean back into him.
Get a grip
, she ordered herself as the auction began.

The speed of the auction was even more bewildering than the church service. She’d never heard French spoken so rapidly. His black cloak swirling, the truffles were sold off, one by one, by a Knight of the Black Diamond, to the laughs and cheers of the people gathered.

“Around seven kilos got donated this year,” she heard Bob tell Xavier behind her.

“
Bon
,” Xavier replied. “That’s good for the church.”

Suddenly the crowd hushed.

“What is it?” Eve asked in a whisper. “I missed what the auctioneer said. What’s happened?”

Craning her neck to see what had created the silence, Jackie gasped aloud.

“It’s a white truffle,” she whispered back, awed. Rich man’s truffles, ivory princesses, white diamonds … there were many names for the pale, gourmet rarity. “It must be from Italy. They’re the rarest truffles in the world, but it’s right at the end of their season. Someone must have donated it during the service.”

“I thought white truffles stopped being found before Christmas! It must be worth a fortune!”

Jackie nodded as the bidding for the white truffle began in earnest. Around them the crowd grew more and more enthusiastic as the price for it went higher and higher.

“This one is going to sell for more than they do in New York! Can you see who’s doing the bidding?” Eve asked.

Almost jumping up and down with excitement, Jackie tried to see. “I can’t tell! It’s happening too fast.”

Up and up the bidding went, into numbers she couldn’t comprehend, but the reaction of the crowd told her that the final price was going to be astronomical.

A massive cheer rang out as the hammer finally came down.

“Sold!” Eve clapped her hands. “Who bought it?”

“
Moi
.” A familiar French voice drawled behind them.

Stunned, Jackie stared in amazement as Xavier sauntered to the front of the crowd.

“Antoine! Antoine!” Members of the crowd called out his name as one of the Knights of the Black Diamond shook him by the hand with a beaming smile. To the sounds of more applause, he handed over a wad of euros.

“Xavier!” Jackie gasped as he came back holding a simple white paper bag. “You didn’t!”

“I did.” Lifting her hand, he dropped the bag into it and closed her fingers around it. “A gift for you. A white diamond.”

Her jaw dropped even further. “You’re … you’re giving it to me? But … you can’t give me a white truffle!”

He shrugged. “I just have.”

“Oh, let’s see it!” Eve was almost jumping up and down.

Inside her gloves Jackie’s fingers shook as she opened the bag to reveal a pale, yellowish truffle, the size of a small rubber ball. It appeared smoother than the black truffles she knew in Australia. The scent of it rose up, pungent and wild, reminiscent of a black truffle, but not quite the same. She stared at Xavier, speechless.

“It pains me to give you something Italian.” He gave another Gallic shrug. “We French pride ourselves on the best truffles being found in our own country. But the white truffles of Alba are worth tasting.”

“I’ve never eaten a white truffle,” she stuttered. “I’ve never even seen one before.”

“I guessed as much. I wanted to be the one to give it to you.”

No other man would have known that she would appreciate such a gift more than any other, more than chocolates, or flowers, or perfume. But Xavier knew.

Still she protested. “I can’t accept this as a gift! It’s far too expensive.”

“It’s for charity,” he reminded her, the edge of his mouth curved. “You can’t refuse.”

“But I … I don’t know how to thank you.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Xavier’s smile was that intimate flash that went straight to her core, turning her liquid. Her mouth watered as he leant down and whispered in her ear, so that only she could hear, “Perhaps you’ll allow me to taste it with you.”