The following morning, after a quick breakfast, we packed and got ready to go. Just before we left, I sneaked back into the kitchen to say goodbye to the Spook's pet boggart.
'Thanks for all the meals you've cooked,' I said aloud to the empty air.
I wasn't sure if the Spook would have been too happy about me making a special trip to the kitchen to say thanks: he was always going on about not getting too close to 'the hired help'.
Anyway, I know the boggart appreciated the praise because no sooner had I spoken than a deep purring began under the kitchen table and it was so loud that the pots and pans began to rattle. The boggart was mostly invisible, but occasionally it took the shape of a big ginger torn cat.
I hesitated, gathered my courage and spoke again. I wasn't sure how the boggart would react to what I had to say.
'I'm sorry if I made you angry last night,' I said. T was just doing my job. Was it the letter that upset you?'
The boggart wasn't able to speak so I wasn't going to get a reply in words. Instinct had made me ask the question. A feeling that it was the right thing to do.
Suddenly there was a whoosh of air down the chimney, a faint smell of soot, then a fragment of paper flew up from the grate and landed on the hearth rug. I stepped forward and picked it up. It was burned around the edges and part of it crumbled away in my fingers, but I knew that it was all that remained of the letter I'd delivered for Morgan.
There were just a few words on that scorched scrap of paper and I stared at them for a while before I could make them out:
Give me what belongs to me or I'll make you sorry you were ever born. You can start by
That was all there was, but it was enough to tell me that Morgan was threatening my master. What was it all about? Had the Spook taken something from Morgan? Something that rightfully belonged to him? I couldn't imagine the Spook stealing anything. He just wasn't like that. It didn't make any sense at all.
My thoughts were disturbed by the Spook shouting from the front door. 'Come on, lad! What are you up to? Don't dawdle! We haven't got all day!'
I screwed up the paper and threw it back into the grate, picked up my staff and ran to the door. Alice was already standing outside but the Spook was in the doorway, eyeing me suspiciously, two bags at his feet. We hadn't packed much but I still had to carry both of them.
By now the Spook had given me a bag of my own, although so far I hadn't got much to put inside it. All it contained was a silver chain given to me by my mam, a tinderbox, which was a leaving present from my dad, my notebooks and a few clothes. Some of my socks had been darned so much that they were almost new, but the Spook had bought me a winter sheepskin coat, which was very warm, and I was wearing it under my cloak. I had a staff of my own too - a new one my master had cut himself from rowan wood, which was very effective against most witches.
The Spook, for all his disapproval of Alice, had been generous regarding her clothing. She too had a new winter coat, a black woollen one that came down almost to her ankles; it had an attached hood to keep her ears warm.
The cold didn't seem to bother the Spook much and he wore his cloak and hood just as he had in spring and summer. His health had been poor in the last few months, but now he seemed to have recovered and appeared as strong as ever.
The Spook locked the front door behind us, squinted up into the winter sun and set off at a furious pace. I picked up both bags and followed as best I could, with Alice close at my heels.
'Oh, by the way, lad,' the Spook called back over his shoulder, 'we'll be calling in at your dad's farm on our way south. He still owes me ten guineas as the final payment for your training!'
I'd been sad to leave Chipenden. I'd grown fond of the house and gardens and I was sorry to think that Alice and I would be apart from now on. But at least I'd have a chance to see my mam and dad. So my heart leaped with happiness and there was a new energy in my step. I was on my way home!
Home
As we travelled south, I kept glancing back at the fells. I'd spent so much time walking up there close to the clouds that some fells were like old friends, particularly Parlick Pike, which was the nearest one to the Spook's summer house. But by the end of the second day of walking, those big familiar hills were no more than a low, purple line on the horizon and I was very glad of my new coat. We'd already spent an uncomfortable night freezing in a roofless barn, and although the wind had dropped and the sun was shining weakly, it now seemed to be getting colder by the hour.
At last we approached home, and my eagerness to see my family again grew with every stride. I was desperate to see my dad. On my last visit he'd just been getting over a serious illness, with little chance that he'd ever fully recover his health. He'd intended to retire and hand the farm over to my eldest brother, Jack, at the beginning of the winter anyway. But his illness had brought things forward. The Spook had called it my dad's farm, but that wasn't really true any more.
Suddenly, below us, I could see the barn and the familiar farmhouse with a plume of smoke rising from the chimney. The patchwork of surrounding fields and the bare trees looked bleak and wintry and I longed to warm my hands by the kitchen fire.
My master stopped at the end of the lane. 'Well, lad, I don't think your brother and his wife will be too pleased to see us. Spooks' business upsets most people, so we shouldn't hold it against them. Off you go and fetch my money; the girl and I will wait here. No doubt you'll be looking forward to seeing your family again, but don't be longer than an hour. While you're sitting by a warm fire, we'll be freezing our socks off here!'
He was right: my brother Jack and his wife didn't like spooks' business and had warned me in the past not to bring it to their door. So I left Alice and the Spook and ran up the lane towards the farm. When I opened the gate, the dogs began to bark and Jack came round the side of the barn. We hadn't got on too well together since I'd become the Spook's apprentice, but for once he looked happy to see me and his face split into a broad grin.
'Good to see you, Tom,' he said, putting his arm across my shoulders.
'And you too, Jack. But how's Dad?' I asked.
The smile slipped from my brother's face as quickly as it had come. 'The truth is, Tom, I don't think he's that much better than last time you were here. Some days are an improvement on others, but first thing in the morning he coughs and splutters so much he can hardly get his breath. If s painful to listen to. We want to help him but there's nothing we can do.'
I shook my head sadly. 'Poor Dad. I'm on my way down south for the winter' I told him, 'and I've just called in for the rest of the money Dad owes the Spook. I wish I could stay but I can't. My master's waiting at the end of the lane. We're to set off again in an hour.'
I didn't mention Alice. Jack knew she was the niece of a witch and had little time for her. They'd crossed swords before and I didn't want a repeat performance.
My brother turned and gazed back towards the lane before looking me up and down. 'You certainly dress the part anyway' he said with a grin.
He was right. I'd left the bags with Alice, but wearing my black cloak and carrying my staff, I looked like a smaller version of my master.
'Like the jacket?' I asked, pulling back my cloak to let him see it properly.
'Looks warm.'
'Mr Gregory bought it for me. Says I'll need it. He has a house up on Anglezarke Moor, not far from Adlington. That's where we're spending the winter and it's bitterly cold over there.'
'Aye, it'll be cold up there all right - you can be sure of that! Rather you than me. Anyway, I'd best get back to my chores' Jack said. 'Don't keep Mam waiting. She's been really bright and cheerful today. Must have known you were coming.'
With that, Jack set off back across the yard, pausing to wave from the corner of the barn. I waved back and then walked towards the kitchen door. Most likely Mam had known I was on my way. She has a way of sensing things like that. As a midwife and healer she often knows when someone is coming to seek her help.
As I pushed open the back door, I found Mam sitting in her rocking chair by the fire. The curtains were closed because she is sensitive to sunlight. She smiled as I walked into the kitchen.
'Good to see you, son' she said. 'Come here and give me a hug and then you can tell me all your news!'
I went across and she held me close. Then I drew up a chair next to her. A lot had happened since I'd last seen Mam in the autumn, but I'd sent her a long letter telling her all about the dangers I'd faced with
my master during the final stages of a job in Priestown. 'Did you get my letter, Mam?'
'Yes, Tom, I did, and I'm really sorry for not writing back, but things have been busy here and I knew you'd be calling in on your way down south. How's Alice getting on now?'