"I know you're right," I said, "but I feel uncomfortable with betraying Mab like that.""Mab? You can't mean that! Just think what you're saying. Do you think she felt guilty when she was planning to kill me the other night? Or when she was trying to make you hers, or when she tortured me all day today with my hair? You're turning soft, Tom, like Old Gregory. Pretty girl smiles at you and your brain goes soft.""I'm just saying it isn't right to break a promise. My dad taught me that.""He didn't mean when you were dealing with a witch, though. Old Gregory probably wouldn't like our plan, but then he's never around when we need him these days.If he was, we wouldn't be having to rescue Father Stocks and your family all by ourselves."Her mention of Father Stocks reminded me again of the great danger he was in and the terrifying ordeal we were about to face at Read Hall. "Alice," I said, "something else is puzzling me. Who exactly is Wurmalde? She claims to come from the same land as Mam but talks as if she's part of the covens. As if she speaks for them."Alice frowned. "Never even heard of her before today.""But you were in Pendle until two years ago. Wurmalde's been in Roger Nowell's employment longer than that.""Nowell's a magistrate. Ain't likely I'd go near his house. Not stupid, am I? Nor any of my family either. As for his housekeeper--what would anyone know about her?"
"Well," I said, "she's a mystery all right, but we've delayed long enough now, so let's press on toward Read. Feeling any better, or shall I go on ahead at a faster pace?""I'll go as fast as I can. If I can't keep up, you'd best go on ahead."Our pace wasn't quite as fast as before, but Alice did manage to keep up and we came within sight of Read Hall with over an hour of daylight still remaining. But now we had a problem--how to get inside unseen.A creature of the dark, Tibb was not yet a threat, but there were still two risks. Wurmalde wouldn't be able to sniff out either Alice or me, but she might glimpse us from a window. There were also the servants to worry about. Some might be unaware of what was going on behind the magistrate's back, but if Cobden had returned from Malkin Tower, he'd certainly pose a danger. I couldn't afford to simply walk down the wide carriageway."I think the best chance of getting inside unseen is to approach from the shrubbery at the side. I can use my key to enter by the tradesmen's door."Alice nodded her agreement, so we circled around and approached from the -west, moving through the bushes and trees until we were close to the side of the house,only ten or twenty paces from the door."We need to be very careful here," I told Alice. "I think it's probably best if I go in alone."
"No, Tom. Ain't right. Need me, you do," Alice said, her voice indignant. "Two of us together have more chance.""Not this time, Alice. This is risky. You stay hidden, and if I get caught, at least I'll know there'll be somebody on the outside to help. If the worst came to the worst, you could come in after me.""Then give me your key!""I need it for the door --""'Course you do! But once you get it open, throw it back onto the lawn. I'll come and pick it up once you're inside.""You'd better take my staff as well," I told her. Father Stocks would still be weak, and I'd have to help him down the stairs. My staff would be an encumbrance. It was still light, so I hoped I wouldn't have to face Tibb, and the chain would be enough to deal with Wurmalde.If I missed her, I still had salt and iron to fall back on.Alice nodded but grimaced as I handed it to her. She didn't like the touch of rowan wood.I walked cautiously forward across the grass.
I halted close to the door and put my ear against the wood. I could hear nothing, so I inserted the key and turned it very slowly. There was a faint click as the lock yielded. Before I opened the door, I held the key high so that Alice could see what I was doing and threw it back toward the line of bushes. It was a good shot and it fell on the lawn, less than a pace away from where she was hiding. That done, I eased open the door very carefully and stepped inside. Once I'd closed it behind me, it locked itself shut. I waited, rooted to the spot for at least a minute, all the while listening for danger.Reassured by the silence, I moved through the hall-way to the main staircase. I paused and untied the silver chain from around my waist, coiling it about my left wrist, ready to throw. It was still daylight, so I didn't expect to meet Tibb yet, but I was more than ready for Wurmalde.In the hallway I halted again and peered about. It seemed empty, so I began to climb the stairs, pausing every time the wood gave the slightest creak. At last I reached the landing. Just ten steps would bring me to Father Stocks's room.I crept along, opened the door, and stepped inside. The heavy curtains had been drawn across the window again and it was very gloomy, but I could just see the outline of the priest lying on the bed."Father Stocks," I called softly.When he didn't answer, I went to the window and pulled back the curtains, flooding the room with light. I turned and walked back toward the bed.
Even before I reached it, my heart had begun to beat very rapidly.Father Stocks was dead. His mouth was wide open, unseeing eyes staring up at the ceiling. But he hadn't died as a result of Tibb taking his blood. The handle of a dagger was protruding from his chest.I felt upset and horrified at the same time, my mind reeling. I'd thought he would be safe enough until dark.I should never have left him alone. Had Wurmalde stabbed him? The blood on his shirt and the sheets appeared to come from the wound. Had she done it to cover up the fact that Tibb had taken his blood? But how could she hope to get away with murdering the priest?As I was staring horrified at the body of poor Father Stocks, someone stepped into the room behind me. I turned quickly, taken by surprise. To my dismay, it was Wurmalde. She glared at me before a faint smile appeared on her face. But I'd already pulled back my left arm, readying the silver chain. I was nervous, but I also felt very confident. I remembered my last training session with the Spook, when I'd hit the practice post a hundred times without missing even once.
A fraction of a second later I'd have cracked the chain and hurled it straight at the witch, but to my astonishment another figure came in through the doorway to stand at Wurmalde's shoulder, facing me, his forehead creased in a frown of displeasure. It was Master Nowell, the magistrate!"A thief and murderer stands before you!" Wurmalde crowed, the accusation strong in her voice. "Look at those bloodstains on his shirt and look what he holds in his left hand. That's silver, if I'm not mistaken."I stared at her, unable to speak, the words "thief" and "murderer" spinning around inside my head."Where did you get that silver chain from, boy?" Nowell demanded."It belongs to me," I said, wondering what Wurmalde had told him. "My mam gave it to me.""I thought you came from a family of farmers?" he asked, the frown creasing his brow again. "Better think again, boy, because you'll need a more convincing explanation than that. It's hardly likely that a farmer's wife would own such a valuable item.""It's just as I told you, Master Nowell," Wurmalde accused. "I heard a noise from your study and came downstairs in the dead of night to catch him red-handed. Otherwise you'd have lost even more than you have. He'd forced open the cabinet and was helping himself toyour poor dead wife's jewelry. He ran off before I could seize him, fleeing into the night like the thief and murderer he is, and when I went upstairs to tell Father Stocks what had happened, I found the poor priest as you see him now--dead in his bed, a knife plunged into his heart. Now, not content with murder and thieving that silver chain from somewhere, he's sneaked back into your home to see what else he can get his hands on."What a fool I'd been. It had never crossed my mind that Wurmalde would kill Father Stocks and then simply blame it on me.