'Been lonely most of my life, I have, Tom. So I know what that feels like. We've got each other though, ain't we?' she asked, reaching across to hold my hand. 'We'll always be together. Even Old Gregory won't be able to stop that!'
'The Spook's in no position to do anything at the moment' I said. 'When I got back, Meg had turned the tables. He's the one locked up now. I need Andrew to make me a key so that I can get the Spook out of there. I need your help. You and Andrew are the only people I can turn to.'
'Seems to me he finally got what was coming to him' Alice said, pulling her hand away from mine, a faint smile turning up the corners of her mouth. 'Got a good dose of his own medicine!'
'I can't just leave him there' I told Alice. 'And what about the other lamia? The feral one? Meg's sister? She's out of her pit and free to roam the steps behind the gate. What if she were to get out of the house? She could come down here, to the village. Nobody would be safe and there are a lot of children living here.'
'But what about Meg?' Alice asked. 'Ain't that simple, is it? Don't deserve to go in a pit. Don't deserve to spend the rest of her life sipping herb tea either! One way or another that's got to stop.'
'So you're not going to help?'
'Didn't say that, Tom. It just needs thinking about, that's all.'
Soon after dark, Andrew returned. I was waiting for him in the shop when he came in.
'What's this then, Tom?' he asked, stamping the snow from his boots and rubbing his hands together to get the blood circulating properly again. 'What does that brother of mine want now?'
Andrew always looked like a well-dressed scarecrow, his limbs gangly and awkward, but he was kind and easy-going and really good at his job.
'He's in trouble again,' I told Andrew. T need you to make a key so we can get him out of it. And it's really urgent.'
'A key? A key for what?'
'The gate on the cellar steps in his house. Meg's got him imprisoned down there.'
Andrew shook his head and clicked his tongue. 'Can't say I'm surprised. It was bound to happen one day. Just astonished that it's taken so long! I always thought Meg would get the better of him in the end. He cares about her too much and always has. He must have let his guard down.'
'But you will help?'
'Of course I will. He's my brother, isn't he? But I've been out in the cold most of the day and I can't do much till I've warmed my bones and got some hot food in my belly. You can tell me all about it when we've eaten.'
I'd not sampled much of Alice's cooking, apart from rabbits cooked in the embers of a fire outdoors, but judging by the appetizing smell of stew wafting in from the kitchen, I was in for a real treat.
I wasn't disappointed. 'It's really good, Alice,' I said, tucking in right away.
Alice smiled. 'Aye, better than that muck you fed me in Anglezarke.'
We laughed, then ate in silence until there wasn't a scrap of food left. It was Andrew who spoke first.
'I haven't got a key to that gate,' he told me. 'The lock and key were crafted by a locksmith from Blackrod a good forty years ago or more. He's dead now but he'd a reputation second to none, so we're facing a very complex mechanism. I'll need to go to the house and take a look myself. The easiest way would be for me to try and pick the lock and let you through the gate.'
'Could we go tonight?' I asked.
'The sooner the better' he said. 'But I'd like to know exactly what we're up against. Where's Meg likely to be?'
'She usually sleeps in a rocking chair by the fire in the kitchen. But even if we get past Meg safely and through the gate, there's another problem ...'
So I told him about the feral lamia loose in the cellar. He kept shaking his head as if he couldn't believe just how bad things were.
'How will you deal with her? Use that silver chain of yours?'
'I haven't got it' I told him. 'It's in my bag. And the bag's probably still in its usual place in the Spook's study. But I've got my staff. It's made of rowan wood and if I'm lucky it'll keep a lamia at bay'
Andrew shook his head and didn't look too happy. 'That's hardly a plan, Tom. It's far too dangerous. I can't pick a lock while you fight off two witches. But there is another way' he said. 'We could get a dozen or so of the men from the village to go with us and sort out Meg once and for all.'
'No' Alice said firmly. 'That ain't the way. It's too cruel.'
I knew she was remembering when the mob from Chipenden had attacked the house where she'd been living with her aunt, Bony Lizzie. Alice and her aunt had sniffed them out and just had time to escape, but everything had gone up in flames and they'd lost all their possessions.
'Mr Gregory wouldn't want that, I'm sure of it' I said.
'That's true enough' Andrew said. 'It's the safest way, but John would probably never forgive me. All right, looks like we're back to the first plan.'
'Here's something you ain't thought of' Alice said. 'A witch like that can't sniff you out at a distance, Tom. Don't work on a seventh son of a seventh son, do it? Most likely I'd be all right too - that's if I do decide to go with you. But Andrew's different. Once he approaches the house she'll sniff him out and be ready'