She nodded, and the ghasts began to fade away. Within moments, the leaves were back on the trees. Jenny had faced up to the ghasts bravely. She hadn’t run.

I smiled at her.

“Have I passed the test, then?” she asked.

“Yes, you passed, without a shadow of a doubt. As far as I know, John Gregory never kept anybody on after they’d failed the test in the haunted house. But I have the right to do it my way. For him, it was just a routine procedure to see how brave a lad was. But I believe that you are telling the truth, that you didn’t run because of fear. So I’ll keep you on—at least for a little while. The worst that can happen is that I’m wrong and you’ll run away again.”

“I won’t. But next time, if I feel the same about something and it’s getting too much to bear, I’ll warn you.”

I nodded and smiled.

“So I’m your apprentice now? It’s official?” Jenny asked. “Even though I’m a girl?”

“It’s official. As far as I know, you’re the first girl ever to become a spook’s apprentice. That makes you special,” I added.

The image of my dead master came into my mind. I could imagine him shaking his head in disapproval. I felt sure that he would never have taken on a girl apprentice.

“My mam and dad, they’ll never pay you,” Jenny said.

I shrugged.

“Don’t you mind?”

The truth was, I wasn’t sure whether I minded or not. Being a spook was never going to make me rich. Getting money out of some people was harder than getting blood from a stone. But it was a steady job and you didn’t go hungry, so it didn’t really matter that much whether Jenny’s foster parents paid up or not.

But the trouble was, I kept comparing myself with my master. John Gregory would never have stood for that. I felt somehow lessened by letting the Calders get away with it. It made me feel weak, as if I was a soft touch. For now I shrugged away the worry; there were more important things to be concerned about.

“I don’t mind,” I told her. “Money isn’t everything. All that matters is that you try to be a good spook. I’d like you to meet some of my family now. They live in the farm just the other side of this hill.”

“I’ll bet your mam and dad are nicer than mine,” Jenny said.

“They’re both dead now. My eldest brother runs the farm. He has a wife, Ellie, and a little girl called Mary, and a baby son too. Another of my brothers lives there as well. He’s called James, and he’s the local blacksmith. He has his forge on the farm.”

“What knocked down all those?” Jenny asked, pointing to the huge swathe of felled trees as we began the descent. “Was it a storm?”

“It was far worse than a storm,” I told her. “One day I’ll tell you all about it. It’ll be part of your training.”