ing to discuss the matter further.

And then things really did begin to develop, for after ensless discussion and the exam- ination of all the proofs that Ian could supply, the lawyer indicated cautiously that he personally was satisfied that he, Ian, was the teue great-nephew of Millicent Mary McGregor deceased and that he, the lawyer, would return to Edin- burgh forthwith to set things in motion eith a view to formally recognizing the fact and arrang- ing to disclose to him, Ian, the contents of the will.

With what petience he man- aged to muster, Ian waited in London for the summons to Edinburgh. Finances being what they were, he reckoned he'd have to go north by coach, which took an awfully long time and was rather uncomfortable, to say the least, but had the distinct advantage of being much cheaper than rail or air. Finally, the letter did arrive and the carefully planned economies van- ished for, enclosed with the let- ter was a first-class air ticket for the next day, together with the information that a car would meet him ar Edinburgh airport. Things were obviously looking up! And they looked even bet- ter, much, much better, in the lawyer's office later on when the will was read with the in- teresting result which was noted at the beginning of this account.

see

Some weeks later, Ian was on his way to Braefoot House in the hills some twenty miles south of Edinburgh, to what had been Great Aunt Millie's home for all the eighty years of her life and which now belonged to him. It was the first opportunity he'd had to see it and he looked forward to learning more of his elderly relative's background.

In the back of hss mind was some idea that he might

sell the house he wasn't sure that he wanted to live so far north of London - but any such idea vanished when at length it came into view for, even at a distance, it seemed to him to be quite perfect. It wasn't large or ostentatious, just a small Georgian jewel set on the green velvet cushion of the hills, and Ian fell in love with it before he'd even set foot inside.

But it was when he did set foot inside - or, at least, in the doorway that he found that events were beginning to get out of control. The lawyer had told him that Great Aunt Millie's housekeeper, Margaret, was still living in the house and had been warned of his habit. Ian had assumed that she was of the same generation as his great aunt old and bent, with arthritic joints and shuf- fling step and he was unpre- pared for the handsome woman, who looked to be in her fifties, who came to the door to wel- come him. But, if her lack of years surprised him, his appear- ance more than startled her. Turning white as a sheet, hand to mouth in something like fear, she gasped, "Miss Millie

an' her young!" and swayed so wildly that Ian had hurriedly to step forward and help her to a chair before she collapsed.

At length, having assured himself that she was in no danger and was well on the way to recovery, he straightened up, to find himself face to face with a portrait in a golden frame which was set high over the fireplace in the hall. Perhaps in her early twenties (and dressed in the fashions of the years immediately before World War an exceptionally beautiful wo- man looked calmly down at him, her eyes gazing durectly into his, her mobile mouth about to break into a warm and friendly smile. Whoever the artist had been, he had caught,to an extraordinary degree, the air of serenity and peace which seemed to surround her.

For a moment Ian could only see her face and confu- sedly thought that he was looking, not at a portrait, but at himself in a mirror. But shortly his vision widened to take in the meticulously dressed hair, the beautiful low cut evening gown, the white arms clothed in gloves to the shoul- der and the rich dark oak of the panelled wall behind her.

"Who's who's that?" he asked in a voice which, to his surprise, quavered and trembled. "She's your Aunt, Mr. Ian - your Great Aunt I should say - Miss McGregor."

He gazed in admiration at the beautiful face which, in a way, seemed completely familiar to him, perhaps, he thought, from the photographs of her he'd studied back in Lon- don. But as he continued to look at her, a most peculiar sensation began to steal over him. It was as if the portrait was drawing him closer and closer towards itself until he was almost totally absorbed into it and found that he was looking out through its eyes at himself standing in the center of the hall. It was an ex- traordinarily real sensation - he could see the whole hall in clear detail, even areas which he could not possibly see from where he was really standing even the hairs on top of his own head ruffled by the breeze from the open windows. With an effort, he shook his head and every- thing snapped back to normal. Shaken - the impression had been extremely vivid - he moved to follow Margaret into the house.

not

There was never really any doubt that he would live at Braefoot House once he'd seen and it took him only a few weeks to clear up in London and move everything he possessed that it amounted to very much - up North. Within a short time, with Margaret a most efficient housekeeper, he was comfor- tably installed and starting to explore not only Edinburgh