I was about to give up when at last the mirror started to glow and Grimalkin’s face appeared before me. She smiled, showing her teeth, which she kept filed to points and sometimes used as a weapon.
“There is something here that I would like you to see.” I spoke slowly, mouthing the words carefully at the mirror. She could not hear me but would read my lips. Over time I too had become skilled at this.
Grimalkin shook her head. “I cannot come to Chipenden. I am busy with other things,” she replied.
“I think you might want to change your mind,” I persisted. “A strange creature has been murdering local women. I’ve killed it, but I think it’s one of the Kobalos—probably one of their mages. It walked upright and had a hairy body but a shaved face. It wore a long coat too, just as it was described in the Spook’s Bestiary. You really do need to see it.”
For a moment or two the witch’s face stared at me out of the mirror without blinking. Then she nodded.
“The fact that it has come so far south into the County is very worrying. I will be there within three days,” she mouthed.
Then the mirror grew dark.
I wondered where she was. If she was traveling on horseback, three days was quite some distance away. But it could have been worse. The Kobalos lands lay across the Northern Sea, and many weeks’ ride beyond its shores.
Next I went out to the western garden and filled in my master’s grave, making it as tidy as possible. Then I went down on my knees and told him that I was sorry. I said it over and over again.
I knew he couldn’t hear me, of course. By now he would have passed through limbo and gone to the light, but it made me feel better.
I was already seated at the table when Jenny came into the kitchen. There were two place settings, and a large plate in the center held generous portions of bacon and eggs. A further side plate was heaped with thick slices of buttered bread.
“You’re late,” I told her. “The bell rang five minutes ago.”
“I’m sorry,” she said with a cheeky smile. “I’ll try to do better tomorrow.”
“I suppose it’s better than coming down to breakfast too early. I did that my very first morning in this house and got my ears boxed by the boggart!”
She nodded, sat down, and helped herself to bacon and eggs. Then, before she took her first mouthful, she looked me in the eye, a serious expression on her face.
“I will still be here tomorrow, won’t I? You really did mean it about taking me on as your apprentice?”
“Yes, I meant it, but I’m giving you a month’s trial. You have to pass a test first to convince me that you’re up to the job.”
I had decided to treat her as my master had treated me—and the apprentices before me. We’d had a month to prove ourselves. The test was to see if we were brave enough to face the dark.
“So we’re going to the haunted house?”
“You know about that?” I asked, gazing at her in astonishment. “How did you find that out?”
“Easy!” she said mischievously. “Lots of boys failed the test. I talked to one of them—of course he’s a man now, with sons of his own. He couldn’t remember the name of the town where the house was, though. Somewhere south of here, isn’t it?”
“It’s in a place called Horshaw—but first we should go and see your parents.”
“Do we have to visit my mam and dad?” Jenny asked, her face downcast.
“We do. We must do things properly. I have to explain to them what it means to become my apprentice.”
Jenny gave a big sigh of exasperation, but said no more. I wondered why visiting her parents bothered her, but I let it go for now.
“What’s your second name?” I asked.
“Calder,” she replied.
“And where is your home?”
“Just north of Grimsargh.”
Grimsargh was about five miles south of the Long Ridge, so we could get there and back long before nightfall. It would make for a pleasant stroll, and I wanted to get this done before starting Jenny’s training.
As we walked, I thought over what I might have gotten myself into. Taking Jenny on as my apprentice would change my life significantly. It would end my loneliness, true, but on the other hand, it would mean a lot of extra work and responsibility.
It was late morning when we arrived. Jenny’s parents’ home was a typical gray stone farm laborer’s cottage, with small windows and a front door that led straight into the narrow front room.
I was going to knock, but Jenny walked straight in, and so I followed. It was gloomy inside, with a small fire flickering in the grate and a man and a woman sitting very close to it. The man was warming his hands. He was bald but for tufts of white hair over each ear. The woman wore a bonnet that looked none too clean, and her hands were wrinkled and covered with bulging blue veins. Both were getting on in years.
“Mam! Dad!” Jenny said without any preamble. “This is Master Ward, the Chipenden Spook. He’s going to take me on as his apprentice.”
Jenny’s dad didn’t even turn to acknowledge me. He just carried on warming his hands and staring into the fire. The mother didn’t get up to greet me either, but at least she swiveled her head and met my eye.
“She’s a wild one, that!” She nodded toward Jenny. “Nearly been the death of me, she has. Goes gallivanting all over the County and never thinks to help her poor old mam and dad. What a worry she’s been. I wish we had a lad, not a mad girl like that.”
“That’s enough, Mother!” Jenny’s dad rebuked her angrily. He turned in his chair and looked at me for the first time. “Well, Master Ward, let’s get down to business. If you’re going to put her to work, how much will you be paying us for her services?”
I smiled. “It’s usually the other way round, Mr. Calder,” I explained. “When my own master took me on as his apprentice, my dad paid him two guineas to start with, and another ten after the trial period was over. You see, I’m offering to teach her a trade that will eventually provide her with a good steady livelihood. Not only that . . . her food and accommodation are free. The guineas are just part of the contract and go nowhere near covering the full cost that I’ll be put to.”
“But she’ll be working hard and making your life easier. There should be some payment for that, or it doesn’t seem right.”