SHEILA.... The drive to Greyleith seems to take forever this time. Perhaps it's because I'm making the final trip at long last. I keep checking the rear view mirror to make sure the boys with the moving van are behind me and the girls behind them. I'm excited and a little apprehensive. It took two months to get things in order for the move , to quit my job at the factory, and sell the house. I'll miss my friends, but there are always visits back and forth to look forward to. Sami's been sleeping most of the last part of the trip. She positively hates being in the car. Probably because most of the time the trips end up at the vet's. I can't help wondering what she'll be like at the house. To let her roam or not...... she isn't used to being out alone, so probably not. I desparately hope that the house magic will let her and Jill's cats be friends. Jill's recently lost one of hers and is still feeling the loss of poor Dasher. It takes a long time to get over loosing a pet.
    I'm a little worried about Jill, though. I've been coming up to Greyleith every weekend to work for James and haven't spent a lot of time with her at Fiddler's Green. I'm thinking that she's seemed a little reserved and can't help wondering if she wishes she had the house to herself, or if she's upset because she hasn't been able to come to an agreement with her partners at the photography studio, as far as a buy-out is concerned. Perhaps now that I will be working full time at the veterinary clinic she can just chuck it in and let things take their course. If we're careful, we shouldn't have any problem with money. I know she loves the place as much as I do, but maybe after all the years of looking out for our parents, she would rather be on her own. I remember that she gave up a lot of her social life... men friends..... since she felt that she couldn't have anyone over with Mom and Dad around. I'd have felt the same way, I expect, but what a sacrifice to make!!! We had always wanted to move in together once we were alone, but maybe it's too soon. I'll definitely have to have a chat with her as soon as possible and make sure things are alright. There's no way I want to hold her back from a relationship should she meet someone interesting.
    There's Fanny on the corner. I honk the horn and wave. She looks at the van behind me and gives me a big grin, knowing that I'm here to stay at last. She's become a good friend and I enjoy her company. I know that Jill has gone to visit her a couple of times, but I think that is more to get information on Annie than anything else. Fanny and I have not discussed the Wicca thing too much. She says I'm not ready to get into it fully yet, with the travelling back and forth, and I have to admit that maybe she is right. Just knowing that it is there in my mind is a comfort and I can draw on the knowledge I do have for peace and strength at any time, without having to go through the proper rituals.
    As we pull into the yard at Fiddler's Green, Jill is waiting on the verandah to greet us with a big grin. The first thing, is to take Sami up to my room and close the door until I can show her the house properly. There isn't a lot to unload ....... my bed,dressing table, Mom's chair, a couple of chests of drawers, my computer stuff and clothing and linens. The pictures that used to belong to our great grandmother. The table and chairs that I had painted, do fit wonderfully in the kitchen. Just the right size. House magic....!! Jill is looking at the butternut side table with the two drawers that I know she has always been fond of.
    "I was thinking that you might like this for your bedroom."
    She grinned at me. "Gee...... are you sure? I'd love to have it there. I can remember when Mom and I refinished it and we were so surprised to see that decoration appear when all the paint layers came off." I'm glad that I can make her happy. Besides, I really don't need it since I have the set of drawers and dressing table that Gran left me.
    It didn't take long to put everything in its place and we all sat down to dinner that Jill had ready for us. She seemed very happy to have us all there, and I had to admit that it was nice for us all to be together. I can't help noticing that Jill is in a very good mood tonight. Perhaps I've been worrying for nothing.
    Greg and Chris and their wives are going to stay for the weekend. Our first overnight guests. They've brought sleeping bags and can decide for themselves who gets the spare room bed and who gets to camp on the floor. That leads naturally into a converstion about whether or not we can renovate the upper floor of the garage into some sort of guest quarters, and we all troop out to have a close up look at the possibilities. We all agree that it would be lovely..... there's room for two small bedrooms, and the possibility of a tiny bathroom if we can get someone in to do the plumbing.
    The rest of the evening is spent on the verandah reminiscing about childhood stuff. I wonder if Debra feels very left out since the rest of us all grew up together. I've brought Sami out with us and am surprised that she doesn't seem too frightened by the new surroundings. I keep a careful eye on her as she explores towards the brook. Jill's watching her as well, and I watch Jill.
    "She doesn't seem as nervous as I thought she'd be."
    Jill smiles over at me. "No.... they....... she'll be fine."
    No one notices the slip except me. I know that the mystery cat is there and apparently it is with Sami. I've long been convinced that there is a resident cat here that I cannot see. Jill can, however and seems to be attached to it. I wonder if the cat has something to do with the former owners and perhaps once belonged to the girl Annie, who seems to have a bond with Jill, as I do with her sister Ruth. House magic...... . I watch Sami and realize that she,too, can see the cat . I no longer mind not being able to see it, though it did hurt my feelings a bit at first. As long as it is taking care of Sami I don't care if it is invisible. The thought occurs to me that the cat may be able to keep Sami and Jill's Dottie and Minn from fighting. If it does, it can stay forever and I'll be grateful. I must ask Jill its name, but that can wait until the others have gone home.
    Greg's come back from another of his walkabouts and as usual is quiet and thoughtful. Jill and I have discussed this and wonder if he can see or feel something along the paths. We've thought about clearing them out to make them more accessible and decided not to. The underbrush doesn't interfere with the stroll and keeps them a little private. I'd love to ask him, but know that he won't say anything until he's ready. We both hope that he can feel the house magic.

SHEILA..... Towards the end of the month I finally talked Jill into moving in permanently. She had persuaded her partners to buy out her part of the business and I didn't see any reason for her to stay on in the city while the lawyers worked out the deal. She was most willing to make the move and I was a little sorry that I had been the one to move in first. She should have had the opportunity to be here for a while on her own, but she said she was just glad to be here at all. If we are very careful with our money, we'll have enough to last, and though my salary from James isn't huge, we'll be quite comfortable.
    The day Jill moved in, we all watched carefully to see what the cats would do in each other's company. Sami has become quite at home here with the help of Annie. I had finally asked Jill about the invisible cat and been given the low down. I'm happy to have her about and especially keeping an eye on Sami.
    The first morning after Jill moved in, I got to the top of the stairs and stopped. Jill's Dottie and Minn and Sami were sitting facing each other at the bottom of the stairs. None of them even gave me a glance when I called softly to Jill to come and have a look.
    "Is Annie there too?" I asked when she joined me.
    "Yes.... she's in the middle. I think she must be laying down the house rules or something." We watched a few minutes longer and then the three that I could see stood up and stretched..... backs arched.... first one back leg and then the other...... and they all sniffed noses. It was the weirdest thing to watch. They all wandered into the kitchen, with Jill and I right behind, and waited rather pointedly beside their food dishes. With the cats taken care of we got ourselves breakfast and took it out onto the verandah.
    "This is the life, isn't it."
    I looked out over the garden to the fountain where birds were splashing. We had never figured out exactly how it worked and eventually left the house magic to do its thing, just making sure that the holes stayed unclogged, and that shell basin was always clean. There was enough to do in the garden itself and I had dug up another bit for planting vegetables. One of the things we had quickly noticed about the house magic was that, while things had been taken care of when no one lived at Fiddler's Green, the house magic seemed to rest once we moved in. The lawns needed cutting and the weeds needed pulling. Fallen tree branches needed to be removed, and the lane to the house needed to be tidied from time to time. Work inside was still light, as though the house knew that neither of us liked that bit. There were never any flies to sweep up and the windows stayed sparkling clean. We had to keep our own things put away and neat, but the house seemed to take care of itself. We wondered if it knew how grateful we were.
    We were just finishing up our tea, when I saw the cats coming from the edge of the woods. They were all in a group and I watched them for a moment wondering what on earth they were doing. They had something with them and for a minute I thought that I was seeing Annie at last.
    "Jill...... what have the cats got? It looks like a baby rabbit!! Oh, those cats!!!!!" I jumped up, meaning to run to them, but Jill caught my arm.
    "Wait..... Annie's bringing it. The others are just with her. It looks as though its got an injured paw or somthing." She jumped off the verandah as the cats came closer and sure enough, the bunny looked as though it was leaning on something as it hobbled along. "Oh the poor little thing. I think it's been caught in a trap. Its leg looks broken."
    Jill patted each of the cats and picked up the baby rabbit gently. It didn't struggle, but lay quietly in her hand. I looked at it, and it certainly did look as though the leg had been in a trap.
    "Oh look at this poor leg. Look...... why don't I give James a call and have him meet us at the vet's."
    We laid the little bunny in a box and noticed that all the cats stood around watching. We dressed quickly and after a call to James, we drove to the vet's, leaving the cats looking after us on the verandah. During the drive, we wondered whether Annie knew that we could help the rabbit. If it had, in fact been caught in a trap, we would need to hunt through the woods , find it, and take it out. Who would have set it,and were there more? Wouldn't the house magic have kept people out? There were too many quetions and nowhere to go for the answers. It was good that Annie knew to bring a hurt animal to us, but a rabbit was one thing and a larger animal something else altogether. If someone was setting traps, we would need to bring in the police.
    None of our thoughts were very pleasant, especially after James examined the rabbit and confirmed that it had been caught in a trap. There was nothing broken, though the skin was horribly torn,and the little leg badly bruised. He bandaged the little animal and put it in a cage to observe for a couple of days. When he asked where we'd found it we merely said that one of the cats had brought it to the house. I wondered if James knew anything about the house magic.
    It was a pretty quiet drive home. We didn't like to think of anyone coming onto the property ,never mind setting traps. For the rest of the morning we hunted through the woods, but found nothing that would indicate that someone had been there. No traps,no footmarks, nothing looked out of place. Perhaps Greg would be able to find something that we couldn't . When we got back to the house, we called and made arrangements for them to come for dinner the next weekend.

SHEILA..... I think my sister has a mystery of her own going on. Apart from the invisible cat, I mean. When I came home from work this afternoon, I passed a strange car on the road. The driver waved as we passed and I did return the wave even though I didn't recognize either the car or the man. When I got home, Jill was singing in the kitchen and dinner was almost ready.
    "Did you have company today, by any chance?" I asked her. She paused for a moment, not looking at me.
    "Why do you ask that?" Was I imagining that she had gone a litte red about the ears?
    "No reason particularly. I passed someone on the road who waved but I didn't recognize him. I suppose it was just country manners that he'd wave."
    "Well...... yes...... I did have a visitor. Just someone I met shortly after we moved in as a matter of fact. He was pretty surprised that the house had been bought. I think he had his eye on it for himself. His brother lives just outside Greyleith."
    I grinned at her, but didn't say anything else about him. Jill would tell me in her own good time. At least I hoped she would. "Dinner smells good. You really don't have to do this you know. You aren't here to carry on from looking after Mom and Dad. I feel pretty guilty when I come home and find you slaving.I know you aren't that fond of preparing meals."
    She stopped mashing potatoes for a moment and looked at me with a smile." I don't mind doing it here. It's a ton different doing something like this here than it was when I felt I HAD to do it and was made to feel guilty if I didn't. Besides, if you are willing to work for the both of us for a bit I can hold down this end. I was thinking today though that I might go into Greyleith with you in the morning and have a look around at some of the shops and see if there is anything in the photography line. I didn't think I'd miss it but I kind of do."
    "Oh, that's not a problem. Why not just drop me off at the vet's and take the car for the day? I can cadge a ride home with James. That way you won't feel rushed or have to wait all day if there's nothing there."

SHEILA..... We spent a pleasant evening on the verandah with the cats , a pot of tea, and a bag of chocolate marshmallow cookies. Fall hasn't really arrived yet, though the colors in the fields along the road are getting vibrant. I always think if it as nature's way of apologizing to me for the end of summer. Perhaps the Earth Mother knows how much I absolutely hate the winter.
    I am facing this winter in a new home, with no idea of whether the heating system can stand up, and whether or not I shall freeze for four or five months. Surprisingly enough it's a gas system which is great since it will continue to work in the event that the hydro goes out. I hate being cold, and long winter days tend to depress me. I've learned that I have a tendancy toward the SAD condition that affects some people who don't get enough sunlight. It would help if I liked winter sports, but I don't.
    The windows at the vet's face south, so as long as I don't have to get up in the dark or return home after dark as I did with my factory job, I think I can deal with the work end of things. I'm afraid that the verandah roof is going to cut down on the available winter sunlight here, and will just have to face that when it happens. I mustn't dwell on it and spoil this lovely weather now. This whole adventure has been based on Faith from the beginning and this is no time to lose that. The phone's ringing and Jill's gone to answer it. I hope she is successful in her job hunt. Wouldn't it be wonderful if she can find a part time thing in the photography field. I haven't noticed anything but then I haven't been to all the shops either......... she's knocking on the window and waving......
    "Who is it? Greg? The extension? 'K....just a sec." I picked up the phone in the livingroom in the middle of the conversation.
    "....... so do you mind if it's only me that comes afterall?"
    "No of course not. Won't Marlene mind then?"
    "No......she's tied up with her Mom and said I might as well come anyway. There's something I wanted to check out anyway."
    "What?" Jill sounds puzzled.
    There was a pause on Greg's end. "Do you only had five acres there with the house."
    "Yah, we do...... Sheila's on the other line....... we only have five don't we?"
    "That's all the deed had down. Why?" I stretched the phone cable as far as possible and just managed to be able to see Jill in the kitchen. We shrugged at each other, not understanding where this was going.
    "Well ...... I don't know..... I didn't really look at the property map when you guys moved in so I'm not sure where the property markers are supposed to be but I thought I'd see if I could locate them for you. Have you already done that?"
    "Well...... no..... we never gave it much though with moving in and all. I guess we should have checked up on it at some point. Is it a big deal?"
    There was another pause from Greg's end. "No, I guess not ..... but something just seemed a little strange. I mean when you drive along the road to your place, there are fields and then your bit of woods, and then your driveway."
    He sort of tailed off and there was a silence for a moment. Jill and I are looking at each other and grinning and pretty much guessing what he's thinking. Distances seem very deceiving here. We've both noticed that when we're out for a walk in the woods, and have just put it down to the House Magic which seems to encompass the property as well as the house proper. We aren't surprised that Greg had picked up on it. I tell him..... "Well come on out and have a look if you want. Are you coming down Friday or Saturday morning?"
    "Friday night I think, if that's OK with you guys."
    "Sure" we both say at the same time. "See you then."
    We hang up and meet in the living room. Jill giggles. "This sould be interesting. I wonder what he thinks he'll find. Do you think we should tell him about the House Magic?"
    "I don't know. Let's play it by ear and see what sort of observations he makes on his own. It probably wouldn't hurt to let him in on it but he'd have to be sworn to secrecy." We went out to tidy up the tea things from the verandah, and checked on the cats who were still lazing about. We've pretty much allowed them the run of the place , and have installed a cat flap in the kitchen door. Annie might be able to get in "through" the door but our guys need an opening. With Annie around I am not as worried about our three running into any difficulty in the night. Sometimes I wish I could see Annie, but Jill has shown me pictures of her and that's enough. As long as she looks after our guys she can be as invisible as she wants to be.

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