He sighed and scratched at his beard. ‘As I told you, it’s a cruel thing to burn a witch and I don’t hold with it myself.’

‘I suppose now I’ll have to face Mother Malkin again,’ I said.

The Spook smiled. ‘No, lad, you can rest easy because she won’t be coming back to this world. Not after what happened at the end. Remember what I told you about eating the heart of a witch? Well, those pigs of yours did it for us.’

‘Not just the heart. They ate up every bit,’ I told him. ‘So I’m safe? Really safe? She can’t come back?’

‘Aye, you’re safe from Mother Malkin. There are other threats out there just as bad, but you’re safe for now.’

I felt a big sense of relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I’d been living in a nightmare, and now, with the threat of Mother Malkin removed, the world seemed a much brighter, happier place. It was over at last and I could start to look forward to things again.

‘Well, you’re safe until you make another silly mistake,’ the Spook added. ‘And don’t say you won’t. He who never makes a mistake never makes anything. It’s part of learning the job. Well, what’s to be done now?’ he asked, squinting into the rising sun.

‘About what?’ I asked, wondering what he meant.

‘About the girl, lad,’ he said. ‘It looks like it’s the pit for her. I don’t see any way round it.’

‘But she saved Ellie’s baby at the end,’ I protested. ‘She saved my life as well.’

‘She used the mirror, lad. It’s a bad sign. Lizzie taught her a lot. Too much. Now she’s shown us that she’s prepared to use it. What will she do next?’

‘But she meant well. She used it to try and find Mother Malkin.’

‘Maybe, but she knows too much and she’s clever too. She’s just a girl now, but one day she’ll be a woman and a clever woman’s dangerous.’

‘My mam’s clever,’ I told him, annoyed at what he’d said. ‘But she’s good too. Everything she does she does for the best. She uses her brains to help people. One year, when I was really small, the ghasts on Hangman’s Hill frightened me so much that I couldn’t sleep. Mam went up there after dark and she shut them up. They were quiet for months and months.’

I could have added that, on our first morning together, the Spook had told me that there wasn’t much to be done about ghasts. And that Mam had proved him wrong. But I didn’t. I’d blurted out too much already and it didn’t need to be said.

The Spook didn’t say anything. He was staring towards the house.

‘Ask my mam what she thinks about Alice,’ I suggested. ‘She seems to get on well with her.’

‘I was going to do that anyway,’ said the Spook. ‘It’s about time we had a little talk. You wait here until we’re finished.’

I watched the Spook cross the yard. Even before he reached it, the kitchen door opened and Mam welcomed him over the threshold.

Later, it was possible to work out some of the things that they’d said to each other, but they talked together for almost half an hour and I never did find out whether ghasts came into the conversation. When the Spook finally came out into the sunshine, Mam stayed in the doorway. He did something unusual then – something I’d never seen him do before. At first I thought he’d just nodded at Mam as he said goodbye, but there was a bit more to it than that. There was a movement of his shoulders too. It was slight but very definite so there was no doubt about it. As he took his leave of Mam, the Spook gave her a little bow.

When he crossed the yard towards me, he seemed to be smiling to himself. ‘I’ll be off on my way back to Chipenden now,’ he said, ‘but I think your mother would like you to stay one more night. Anyway, I’m going to leave it up to you,’ said the Spook. ‘Either bring the girl back and we’ll bind her in the pit, or take her to her aunt in Staumin. The choice is yours. Use your instinct for what’s right. You’ll know what to do.’ Then he was gone, leaving me with my head whirling. I knew what I wanted to do about Alice, but it had to be the right thing.

So I got to eat another of Mam’s suppers.

Dad was back by then, but although Mam was happy to see him, there was something not quite right, a sort of atmosphere like an invisible cloud hanging over the table. So it wasn’t exactly a celebration party and nobody had much to say.

The food was good though, one of Mam’s special hotpots, so I didn’t mind the lack of conversation – I was too busy filling my belly and getting second helpings before Jack could scrape the dish clean.

Jack had his appetite back but he was a bit subdued like everyone else. He’d been through a lot, with a big bump on his forehead to prove it. As for Alice, I hadn’t told her what the Spook had said but I felt she knew anyway. She didn’t speak once during dinner. But the quietest one of all was Ellie. Despite the joy of having her baby back, what she’d seen had upset her badly and I could tell it would take some getting over.

When the others went up to bed, Mam asked me to stay behind. I sat by the fire in the kitchen, just as I had on the night before I went away to begin my apprenticeship. But something in her face told me this conversation was going to be different. Before, she’d been firm with me but hopeful. Confident that things would work out all right. Now she looked sad and uncertain.

‘I’ve been delivering County babies for nearly twenty-five years,’ she said, sitting down in her rocking chair, ‘and I’ve lost a few. Although it’s very sad for the mother and father, it’s just something that happens. It happens with farm animals, Tom. You’ve seen it yourself.’

I nodded. Every year a few lambs were born dead. It was something you expected.

‘This time it was worse,’ Mam said. ‘This time both the mother and the baby died, something that’s never happened to me before. I know the right herbs and how to blend them. I know how to cope with severe bleeding. I know just what to do. And this mother was young and strong. She shouldn’t have died but I couldn’t save her. I did everything I could, but I couldn’t save her. And It’s given me a pain here. A pain in my heart.’

Mam gave a sort of sob and clutched at her chest. For one awful moment I thought she was going to cry, but then she took a deep breath and the strength came back into her face.

‘But sheep die, Mam, and sometimes cows when giving birth,’ I told her. ‘A mother was bound to die eventually. It’s a miracle that you’ve gone so long without it happening before.’

I did my best but it was hard to console her. Mam was taking it very badly. It made her look on the gloomy side of things.

‘It’s getting darker, son,’ she said to me. ‘And it’s coming sooner than I expected. I’d hoped you’d be a grown man first, with years of experience under your belt. So you’re going to have to listen carefully to everything your master says. Every little thing will count. You’re going to have to get yourself ready as quickly as you can and work hard at your Latin lessons.’

She paused then and held out her hand. ‘Let me see the book.’

When I handed it to her she flicked through the pages, pausing every so often to read a few lines. ‘Did it help?’ she asked.

‘Not much,’ I admitted.

‘Your master wrote this himself. Did he tell you that?’

I shook my head. ‘Alice said it was written by a priest.’

Mam smiled. ‘Your master was a priest once. That’s how he started out. No doubt he’ll tell you about it one day. But don’t ask. Let him tell you in his own good time.’

‘Was that what you and Mr Gregory talked about?’ I asked.

‘That and other things, but mainly about Alice. He asked me what I thought should happen to her. I told him he should leave it to you. So have you made up your mind yet?’

I shrugged. ‘I’m still not sure what to do but Mr Gregory said that I should use my instincts.’

‘That’s good advice, son,’ Mam said.