Jack nodded and bowed his head. Ellie looked frightened and I felt sorry for her.
'Right, Jack, I'm glad that's sorted out. Now bring me the keys to my room.'
Jack went into the front and came back almost immediately. There were four keys in all. The three smaller ones were for the trunks inside the room. Jack placed them on the table in front of Mam, who picked them up with her left hand.
'Tom and Alice' said Mam, 'both of you come with me.' So saying, she turned away from the table, left the kitchen and started to climb the stairs. She went straight up to her private room. The one she always kept locked.
Mam unlocked the door and I followed her inside. Her room was much as I remembered it, full of trunks, boxes and chests. In the autumn she'd brought me up here and given me the silver chain from the largest trunk, closest to the window. Without that chain I'd now be a prisoner of Meg again or, more likely, have been fed to her sister. But what else was to be found within the three largest trunks? I was starting to feel really curious.
At that moment I glanced behind me. Alice was still standing just outside the room, a nervous, hesitant expression on her face. She was staring down at the threshold.
'Step inside and close the door behind you, Alice' Mam said softly.
When Alice stepped into the room, Mam gave her a broad smile and handed me the keys. 'Here, Tom, they're yours now. Don't give them to anyone else. Not even Jack. Keep them by you at all times. This room belongs to you now.'
Alice looked about her wide-eyed. I knew she'd just love to start rummaging about inside those boxes, discovering all their secrets. I must admit I was feeling the same myself.
'Can I look inside the trunks now, Mam?' I asked.
'Inside you'll find the answers to a lot of things that'll have been puzzling you; things about me that I never even told your dad. My past and my future are inside those boxes. But you'll need a clear head and a sharp mind to work it all out. You've gone through a lot and you're tired and weary so it's best to wait until I've gone, Tom. Come back late in the spring and do it then, when you're full of hope and the days are getting longer. That would be best.'
I was disappointed but I smiled and nodded. 'Whatever you say, Mam' I told her.
'There's one more thing I need to tell you. This room is more than just the sum of its contents. Once locked, nothing evil can ever enter here. If you're brave and your soul is pure and good, this room is a redoubt, a fortress against the dark, better protected than even your master's house in Chipenden. Only use it when something so terrible pursues you that your very life and soul are at risk. It's your last refuge.'
'Just for me, Mam?'
Mam looked at Alice and then back at me. 'Alice is in here now, so yes, Alice could use it too. That's why I brought her up here now, just to be sure. But never bring anyone else here. Not Jack, not Ellie, not even your master.'
'Why, Mam?' I asked. 'Why can't Mr Gregory use it?'
I couldn't believe that the Spook couldn't use it in time of dire need.
'Because there's a price to pay for using this room. You're both young and strong and your power is waxing. You would survive. But as I told you, John Gregory's power is waning. He's like a guttering candle. To use this room would snuff out the last of his strength. And if the need ever arises, you must tell him exactly that. And tell him that I was the one who said it.'
I nodded my agreement and that was it. Alice and I were given beds for the night, but as soon as the sun rose, after a good breakfast, Mam sent us on our way to Chipenden. Jack was going to arrange for a cart to collect Mam at dusk and take her to Sunderland Point. From there she would set sail for her own land in the wake of Meg and her sister.
Mam said goodbye to Alice and asked her to go ahead and wait for me at the yard gate. With a smile Alice waved and walked away.
As we hugged each other for what I knew could be the very last time, Mam tried to say something, but the words choked in her throat and a tear trickled down her cheek.
'What is it, Mam?' I asked gently.
'I'm sorry, son,' she said. 'I'm trying to be strong but if s so hard I can hardly bear it. I don't want to say anything that'll make it worse for you.'
'Say it, please say whatever you need to say,' I begged, tears in my own eyes now.
'It's just that time rushes by so fast and I've been so happy here. I'd stay if I could, I really would, but it's my duty to go. I was so happy with your dad. There never was a more honest, true and affectionate man. And my happiness was complete when you and your brothers were born. I'll never know such joy again. But it's over now and I've just got to let go of the past. It's all gone so quickly that now it just seems like a short happy dream ...'
'Why does it have to be like this?' I asked bitterly. 'Why does life have to be so short, with all the good things passing quickly. Is it worth living at all?'
Mam looked at me sadly. 'If you achieve all thatI hope, then others will judge your life to have been worth living, son, even if you don't. You were born to serve the County. And that's what you've got to do.'
We held each other tight one final time and I thought my heart would surely break.
'Goodbye, my son,' she whispered and brushed her lips against my cheek.
It was too much to bear and I set off walking at once. But after a few paces I turned to wave and saw Mam wave back from the shadows inside the doorway. When I turned again soon afterwards, she'd already gone back into the kitchen.
So, with a heavy heart, I walked on to Chipenden with Alice, my mother's last kiss upon my cheek. I was still only thirteen but I knew my childhood was already over.
We're back in Chipenden now: the bluebells are finally out, the birds are singing and the sun's getting warmer with each passing day.
Alice has never been happier but she's really curious about what could be in the trunks in Mam's room. I can't take her back to the farm with me because it would upset Jack and Ellie too much, but I'm planning to go next month and I've promised to tell her about everything that I find.
The Spook seems to have recovered his health fully now and he spends hours each day walking on the fells to build up his stamina. I've never seen him leaner and tougher but something seems to have changed inside his head. Sometimes there are long silences during lessons when he seems to forget I'm there. And he stares into space a lot with a worried expression on his face. Despite the fact that he seems stronger than ever, he told me that he feels his time on earth is coming to an end.
There are things he wants to do before he dies. Things that he's been putting off for years. First of all he's talking about going east to Pendle to sort out the three covens of witches there once and for all. That's thirty-nine witches in all! It sounds a very dangerous thing to attempt and I can't start to see how he can possibly accomplish it. But I've no choice in the matter and I'll be following my master wherever he chooses to go. I'm still just the apprentice and he's the Spook.
Thomas J. Ward