almost faded from my memory. It was when I had cause to go down to Abinger on some business that I suddenly thought about her again.

I was staying with a diplomatic friend in a charming house on Abinger Common. One night he was busy with some urgent correspondence and I was left to my own devices. The weather was fine and the country inviting so I decided to take a walk.

I set off still oblivious to the fact that I was within a mile or so of Aunt Maria's house. Eventually I was within a few hundred yards of the place and the terraine became familiar. It was then that it all came back to me and I remembered Aunt Maria.

I decided to call on her. I thought it would be rather amusing to see what she was like and to see how she reacted to a call from me. One thing was certain and that was that she would be very unlikely to recognize me.

I made my way up the drive to the house and rang the bell. This was answered a few minutes later by an attractive young woman of about twenty-two. I told her I wanted to see 'Aunt Maria' and that I was Edward Hart.

Invited into the hall she asked me to wait while she went to fetch 'Madam Maria'. A moment or two later a well-built, majestic woman of about forty appeared.

'I don't believe it,' she said, extending

a large hand to me. 'Well, you have grown into

4

an attractive young man, she said, scrutinizing me carefully. 'Are you living in this area?'

'No, staying with a friend for a few days on the Common, was my reply as I looked at the still formidable woman in front of me.

'Well, come in and let's have a talk,' she said.

I was led into a sumptuously furnished lounge and invited to have a drink. Then we sat exchang ing news for the best part of an hour.

'Well, it seems a pity that you shouldn't be able to stay a little longer,' she said. 'then we might have had another meeting. You could come to dinner.'

'I'm in no hurry to leave Abinger,' I told her, 'but I am a guest and I can't outstay my welcome. In any case my friend is going abroad on Friday So, as I told you, I leave on Thursday.'

'Then if you are in no hurry to return, why not come and spend a few days here?' she asked me, carefully looking me up and down as she had already done on a few occasions.

It might seem a little strange that I accepted her invitation. What had I in common with this rather formidable woman of forty? The fact that she was some sort of aunt was of no significance as my family had had no contact with her for years. What could I possibly have in common with her? Why, indeed, had I called on her in the first place?

5.