OF DREAMS AND CEREMONIES by Julie Bozza

bit shaky. "Sounds like a plan."
    "It is a plan. Nothing and nobody is going to bother us there. Everyone knows a blanket will protect you against anything, ghosts or otherwise."
    Nicholas laughed. They had already left the stone circle, and were ambling back down the hill. "Will you let me have one afternoon out of bed, though? Just one?"
    "Dunno. Depends."
    "I just want to - " Nicholas looked about him. "The coastal path must run round the back of the hill behind the cottage. If we pick that up and head north and then west for a mile or so, there's this place called Kynance Cove. It's meant to be really gorgeous. All dramatic rocks and pale sand and green sea water."
    "All right," Dave agreed with a great show of reluctance. "As long as it's just one afternoon."
    "They say it's very Famous Five , you know? That's- "
    "Enid Blyton, yeah. Read the books as a kid."
    Nicholas was back to glowing happily and walking freely, rather than being hunched and spooked. "This is just the place for an adventure, isn't it? All smugglers and spies, and great long hikes with bars of chocolate in our backpacks."

    Dave laughed. They were almost back at the cottage. "I've got the perfect adventure in mind right now."
    Nicholas's grin grew broader still. "Does it take place in bed?"
    "It does."
    "Will there be chocolate?"
    "Yeah, I think we can manage some chocolate. You'll need your sustenance, after all."
    Nicholas laughed, like a joyous peal of bells. "Then lead the way!"

    The following morning Nicholas and Dave ambled into the village to say hello to the woman who acted as housekeeper and caretaker for the cottage when the owners weren't in Cornwall. Along with her mother and daughter, she also ran a small grocery store and news agency. Nicholas and Dave introduced themselves, and she shook their hands with a pleasant smile. "Margaret Widgery. This is my mother Joan, and my daughter Maeve."
    The older woman smiled on them benignly from her comfortable chair placed directly in the sun pouring through the front windows. The younger woman said "Hiya" and finished tapping out a message on her smartphone before slipping it away into a pocket and returning to the task of shelving new stock. She had a flower - a white daisy - tucked into her abundant curly red hair.
    "I hope you found everything shipshape at the cottage," Margaret was continuing. "It's just as Mrs Brett and her family like it, but you must say if there's anything you want done differently."
    "No, it's great," Nicholas said. "I'm sure we'll be very comfortable there."
    "I stocked the fridge, of course, but I wasn't sure whether you'd be wanting to eat dinner out, or cook for yourselves …" She paused, and confided with a hint of a blush. "I understand this is your honeymoon, but other than an extra bottle or two of champagne I didn't know - "

    "We'll be fine," Nicholas assured her. "We can fend for ourselves, if need be!"
    "And may I offer my congratulations, as I should have done before." She shook their hands again, and Dave saw that the daughter was grinning at them, while the grandmother seemed mostly oblivious.
    "Thanks," Dave said. He was starting to wonder when he'd encounter someone who didn't approve. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd handle it.
    "Thank you very much, Mrs Widgery. We're very happy about it, I must say. It's been a marvellous few days …"
    Before Nicholas could launch into a detailed account of exactly what he was so very happy about, Dave smoothly cut in. "We were wondering if you knew anything about the circle of standing stones near the cottage. Like, the history, maybe."
    Margaret looked rather taken aback. "I can't say that I do. It's local stone, as you've probably seen, and they say it dates back well over two thousand years. But more than that - I don't know."
    "Any stories, then?" he tried. "Like, what happens if you count the stones? Nicholas said I shouldn't."
    "Ah!" Maeve put in rather cheerfully. "If you manage to correctly count the