Can’t think why someone as nice as Josie could be mates with someone as chippy as Di.’
‘Oh, Di’s okay,’ said Harry, ‘and she’s been a good friend to Josie; really helped her through some tough times. So do me a favour, mate, and be nice to her. Just for the weekend. If not for me, do it for Josie.’
‘All right,’ said Ant. ‘Anything you say.’
The sun was out and the walk was invigorating. Soon they’d reached the top of the cliffs, and could look out to sea. To their left, the green of the cliffs fell away to the sea, and the path led down towards the dip where the Standing Stones stood, hidden from sight from this angle. To their right, a path led to down to a little cove in the distance. Boats on their way back to Tresgothen bobbed on the turquoise-green sea below, and seagulls keened in the sea breeze. The sparkling blue-green waves, dancing in the sunshine, looked really inviting. Harry had the mad impulse to throw himself off the edge. Here, out in the fresh air on such a glorious sunny day, Harry had a sudden urge to get away from everything, to be free. He’d had the feeling for a while now: that life was becoming more constricted, constrained, even. Particularly since Ant had been back, and Harry had listened to his travelling tales with increasing envy. The lure of going abroad was rearing its head again. And today, the thought of diving out, getting
away
,
suddenly seemed irresistible. Particularly when they reached the famed Faerie Ring, which stood in a dip, a slight way from the cliff.
Approaching them, Harry, who wasn’t often given to fanciful notions, felt a shiver go down his spine. The stones were so old, and weathered; had stood here for generations, through wind and shine. It wasn’t hard to think somehow there was something deeply magical here.
‘Well, go on then,’ said Di, pushing Josie at Harry. ‘Time to plight your troth. It will bring you luck at your wedding.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Josie, ‘it’s only a silly superstition. And you have to do it at midnight on Midsummer’s Eve. Plus, you need love-in-idleness.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Ant.
‘A flower; a sort of wild pansy,’ said Josie. ‘The legend goes that if your true love picks love-in-idleness at midsummer, your love will be eternal.’
‘Oh, that is so romantic,’ Di clapped her hands together with glee. ‘I do love all these old tales.’
Harry could see they were both angling for him to say something, but he laughed it off and said, ‘I wouldn’t know a wild pansy from a geranium,’ till Di said lightly, ‘See, there are some growing here, by this stone.’
At that moment, he could have cheerfully strangled her. It had been the same, the day he’d proposed. That had been Di’s doing too. Would he even have thought about marriage without Di’s interference? Sometimes he wondered. To Josie’s evident dismay, he laughed it off, saying, ‘We’ve got two days to Midsummer’s Eve, I’d hate to get it wrong, and anyway, as Josie says, it’s all nonsense.’ He tried to ignore her hurt look as he strode through the Standing Stones and made his way to the path that led back to the town. It was just a silly local legend. She must see that. So why did he feel so guilty?
Ant’s bad mood had dissipated as the afternoon wore on. True, he still had to spend the weekend with Di, but despite moaning about it, he did enjoy a blow in the country, something he didn’t get to do very often now he was working back in the big smoke. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful summer’s day, and it was hard to stay cross for long. Besides, Peter had given him a great tip for an investment. He’d checked it out and it seemed sound. He was still reeling from the thrill of having had a chat with
the
Peter Hampton. It was the stuff that dreams were made of.
As they left the Standing Stones, Ant sidled up to Di. He was beginning to enjoy this weekend and he didn’t want her sour looks ruining
‘Oh, Di’s okay,’ said Harry, ‘and she’s been a good friend to Josie; really helped her through some tough times. So do me a favour, mate, and be nice to her. Just for the weekend. If not for me, do it for Josie.’
‘All right,’ said Ant. ‘Anything you say.’
The sun was out and the walk was invigorating. Soon they’d reached the top of the cliffs, and could look out to sea. To their left, the green of the cliffs fell away to the sea, and the path led down towards the dip where the Standing Stones stood, hidden from sight from this angle. To their right, a path led to down to a little cove in the distance. Boats on their way back to Tresgothen bobbed on the turquoise-green sea below, and seagulls keened in the sea breeze. The sparkling blue-green waves, dancing in the sunshine, looked really inviting. Harry had the mad impulse to throw himself off the edge. Here, out in the fresh air on such a glorious sunny day, Harry had a sudden urge to get away from everything, to be free. He’d had the feeling for a while now: that life was becoming more constricted, constrained, even. Particularly since Ant had been back, and Harry had listened to his travelling tales with increasing envy. The lure of going abroad was rearing its head again. And today, the thought of diving out, getting
away
,
suddenly seemed irresistible. Particularly when they reached the famed Faerie Ring, which stood in a dip, a slight way from the cliff.
Approaching them, Harry, who wasn’t often given to fanciful notions, felt a shiver go down his spine. The stones were so old, and weathered; had stood here for generations, through wind and shine. It wasn’t hard to think somehow there was something deeply magical here.
‘Well, go on then,’ said Di, pushing Josie at Harry. ‘Time to plight your troth. It will bring you luck at your wedding.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Josie, ‘it’s only a silly superstition. And you have to do it at midnight on Midsummer’s Eve. Plus, you need love-in-idleness.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Ant.
‘A flower; a sort of wild pansy,’ said Josie. ‘The legend goes that if your true love picks love-in-idleness at midsummer, your love will be eternal.’
‘Oh, that is so romantic,’ Di clapped her hands together with glee. ‘I do love all these old tales.’
Harry could see they were both angling for him to say something, but he laughed it off and said, ‘I wouldn’t know a wild pansy from a geranium,’ till Di said lightly, ‘See, there are some growing here, by this stone.’
At that moment, he could have cheerfully strangled her. It had been the same, the day he’d proposed. That had been Di’s doing too. Would he even have thought about marriage without Di’s interference? Sometimes he wondered. To Josie’s evident dismay, he laughed it off, saying, ‘We’ve got two days to Midsummer’s Eve, I’d hate to get it wrong, and anyway, as Josie says, it’s all nonsense.’ He tried to ignore her hurt look as he strode through the Standing Stones and made his way to the path that led back to the town. It was just a silly local legend. She must see that. So why did he feel so guilty?
Ant’s bad mood had dissipated as the afternoon wore on. True, he still had to spend the weekend with Di, but despite moaning about it, he did enjoy a blow in the country, something he didn’t get to do very often now he was working back in the big smoke. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful summer’s day, and it was hard to stay cross for long. Besides, Peter had given him a great tip for an investment. He’d checked it out and it seemed sound. He was still reeling from the thrill of having had a chat with
the
Peter Hampton. It was the stuff that dreams were made of.
As they left the Standing Stones, Ant sidled up to Di. He was beginning to enjoy this weekend and he didn’t want her sour looks ruining
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