Mam had sent Alice off to her room to get some rest, Jack had his feet up in the front room and Ellie was upstairs trying to grab half an hour’s sleep before the baby woke again for feeding. So, wasting no time at all, I started to tell Mam what was worrying me. She’d been rocking in her chair but I’d hardly managed to blurt out my first sentence before the chair came to a halt. She listened carefully as I told her of my fears and reasons to suspect the baby. But her face remained so still and calm that I’d no idea what she was thinking. No sooner had I spat out my last word than she rose to her feet.
‘Wait there,’ she said. ‘We need to sort this out once and for all.’
She left the kitchen and went upstairs. When she came back she was carrying the baby, wrapped in Ellie’s shawl. ‘Bring the candle,’ she said, moving towards the door.
We went out into the yard, Mam walking fast, as if she knew exactly where she was going and what she was going to do. We ended up at the other side of the cattle midden, standing in the mud on the edge of our pond, which was deep enough and large enough to provide water for our cows even through the driest summer months.
‘Keep the candle high so we can see everything,’ Mam said. ‘I want there to be no doubt.’
Then, to my horror, she stretched out her arms and held the baby over the dark, still water. ‘If she floats, the witch is inside her,’ Mam said. ‘If she sinks, she’s innocent. Right, let’s see…’
‘No!’ I shouted, my mouth opening all by itself and the words just tumbling out faster than I could think. ‘Don’t do it, please. It’s Ellie’s baby’
For a moment I thought she was going to let the baby fall anyway, then she smiled and held it close again and kissed it on the forehead very gently. ‘Of course it’s Ellie’s baby, son. Can’t you tell that just by looking at her? Anyway, "swimming" is a test carried out by fools and doesn’t work anyway. Usually they tie the poor woman’s hands to her feet and throw her into deep, still water. But whether she sinks or floats depends on luck and the kind of body she has. It’s nothing to do with witchcraft.’
‘What about the way the baby kept staring at Alice?’ I asked.
Mam smiled and shook her head. ‘A newborn baby’s eyes aren’t able to focus properly,’ she explained. ‘It was probably just the light of the candle that caught her attention. Remember – Alice was sitting close to it. Later, each time Alice passed by, the baby’s eyes would just have been drawn by the change in the light. It’s nothing. Nothing to worry about at all.’
‘But what if Ellie’s baby is possessed anyway?’ I asked. ‘What if there’s something inside her that we can’t see?’
‘Look, son, I’ve delivered both good and evil into this world and I know evil just by looking at it. This is a good child and there’s nothing inside her to worry about. Nothing at all.’
‘Isn’t it strange though, that Ellie’s baby should be born about the same time that Mother Malkin died?’
‘Not really,’ Mam answered. ‘It’s the way of things. Sometimes, when something bad leaves the world, something good enters in its place. I’ve seen it happen before.’
Of course, I realized then that Mam had never even considered dropping the baby and had just been trying to shock some sense into me, but as we walked back across the yard, my knees were still trembling with the thought of it. It was then, as we reached the kitchen door, that I remembered something.
‘Mr Gregory gave me a little book all about possession,’ I said. ‘He told me to read it carefully, but the trouble is, it’s written in Latin and I’ve only had three lessons so far.’
‘It’s not my favourite language,’ Mam said, pausing by the door. ‘I’ll see what I can do but it’ll have to wait until I get back – I’m expecting to be called away tonight. In the meantime, why don’t you ask Alice? She might be able to help.’
Mam was right about being called away. A cart came for her just after midnight, the horses all in a sweat. It seemed that a farmer’s wife was having a really bad time of it and had already been in labour for more than a day and a night. It was a long way as well, almost twenty miles to the south. That meant that Mam would be away for a couple of days or more.
I didn’t really want to ask Alice to help with the Latin. You see, I knew the Spook would have disapproved. After all, it was a book from his library and he wouldn’t have liked the idea of Alice even touching it. Still, what choice did I have? Since coming home, I’d been thinking about Mother Malkin more and more and I just couldn’t get her out of my mind. It was just an instinct, just a feeling, but I felt that she was somewhere out there in the dark and she was getting nearer with each night that passed.
So the following night, after Jack and Ellie had gone to bed, I tapped softly on Alice ’s bedroom door. It wasn’t something I could ask her during the day because she was always busy, and if Ellie or Jack overheard, they wouldn’t like it. Especially with Jack’s dislike of spook’s business.
I had to rap twice before Alice opened the door. I’d been worried that she might already be in bed asleep, but she still hadn’t undressed and I couldn’t stop my eyes from glancing down at her pointy shoes. On the dressing table there was a candle set close to the mirror. It had just been blown out – it was still smoking.
‘Can I come in?’ I asked, holding my own candle high so that it lit her face from above. ‘There’s something I need to ask you.’
Alice nodded me inside and closed the door.
‘I’ve a book that I need to read, but it’s written in Latin. Mam said you might be able to help.’
‘Where is it?’ Alice asked.
‘In my pocket. It’s only a small book. For anyone who knows Latin, reading it shouldn’t take that long.’
Alice gave a deep, weary sigh. ‘I’m busy enough as it is,’ she complained. ‘What’s it about?’
‘Possession. Mr Gregory thinks Mother Malkin could come back to get me and that she’ll use possession.’
‘Let’s see it then,’ she asked, holding out her hand. I placed my candle next to hers, then reached into my breeches and pulled out the small book. She skimmed through the pages without a word.
‘Can you read it?’ I asked.
‘Don’t see why not. Lizzie taught me and she knows her Latin backwards.’
‘So you’ll help me?’
She didn’t reply. Instead she brought the book very close to her face and sniffed it loudly. ‘You sure this is any good?’ she asked. ‘Written by a priest, this is, and they don’t usually know that much.’
‘Mr Gregory called it the "definitive work",’ I said, ‘which means it’s the best book ever written on the subject.’
She looked up from the book then, and to my surprise her eyes were filled with anger. ‘I know what definitive means,’ she said. ‘Think I’m stupid or something? Studied for years, I have, while you’ve only just started. Lizzie had lots of books but they’re all burned now. All gone up in flames.’
I muttered that I was sorry and she gave me a smile.
‘Trouble is,’ she said, her voice suddenly softening, ‘reading this’ll take time and I’m too tired to start now. Tomorrow your mam’ll still be away and I’ll be as busy as ever. That sister-in-law of yours has promised to help but she’ll mostly be busy with the baby, and the cooking and cleaning will take me most of the day. But if you were to help…’
I didn’t know what to say. I’d be helping Jack so I wouldn’t have much free time. The trouble was, men never did any cooking or cleaning and it wasn’t just that way on our farm. It was the same everywhere in the County. Men worked on the farm, outdoors in all weathers, and when they came in, the women had a hot meal waiting on the table. The only time we ever helped in the kitchen was on Christmas Day, when we did the washing up as a special treat for Mam.