Page 12 (1/2)

"She'll be a difficult…act to follow, indeed," said Granny Weatherwax "Act?" said Miss Tick "I meant life, of course," said Granny Weatherwax "Whom will you put in there?" asked Miss Tick, because she liked to be first with the news She also"whom" whenever she could She felt it was more literate "Miss Tick, that is not up to me," said Granny sharply "We have no leaders in witchcraft, you know that"

"Oh indeed," said Miss Tick, who also knew that the leader the witches did not have was Granny Weatherwax "But I know that Mrs Earill be proposing young Annagra has quite a few followers these days It's probably those books she writes She "

"You know I don't like witches who try to impose their will on others," said Granny Weatherwax "Quite," said Miss Tick, trying not to laugh "I shall, however, drop a name into the conversation," said Granny Weatherwax With a clang, I expect, thought Miss Tick "Petulia Gristle has shaped up very well," she said "A good all-around witch"

"Yes, but s," said Granny Weatherwax "I was thinking about Tiffany Aching"

"What?" said Miss Tick "Don't you think that child has enough to cope with?" Granny Weatherwax smiled briefly "Well, Miss Tick, you knohat they say: If you want so Tiffany ht be very busy soon," she added "Why do you say that?" said Miss Tick "Hmm Well, I can't be sure, but I will be very interested to see what happens to her feet…" Tiffany didn't sleep ht before the funeral Miss Treason's looht, because she had an order for bedsheets she wanted to coot up, in that order At least she could get the goats mucked out and milked before she tackled the other chores There was snow, and a bitter as blowing it across the ground It wasn't until she was carting a barrowload of ray light, that she heard the tinkling It sounded a bit like the wind chie, only they were tuned to a note that was unco frorew fine, old roses, full of scent and so red they were nearly, yes, black The roses were blooirl?" said a voice It didn't arrive in her head, it wasn't her thoughts, any of them, and Dr Bustle didn't wake up until at least ten It was her own voice, froht it, and she hadn't e She hadn't decided to do that either, but her legs had taken over It wasn't fear, not exactly; it was just that she very arden with the sun not up and the snoing and filling the air with ice crystals as fine as fog She ran through the scullery door and collided with a dark figure, which said, "Um, sorry," and therefore was Petulia She was the kind of person who apologized if you trod on her foot Right now there was no sight more welcome "Sorry, I was called out to deal with a difficult cow and, u back to bed," Petulia said, and then added: "Are you all right? You don't look it!"

"I heard a voice in ht just have stepped an inch or so backward "You mean in your head?" she asked "No! I can deal with those! My rown in the rose garden! You won't believe it!" There were roses They were made of ice so thin that, if you breathed on the but the dead stalks they'd grown on And there were dozens of the in the wind "Even the heat of my hand near them makes them drip," said Petulia "Do you think it's your Wintersmith?"

"He's not mine! And I can't think of any other way they'd turn up!"

"And you think he, u another rose Ice particles slid off her hat every time she moved "No! It was me! I mean, my voice! But it didn't sound like him I ramma when she's in a mood! But it was my voice!"

"How do you think he'd sound?" said Petulia The wind gusted across the clearing,the pine trees shake and roar "…Tiffany…be hed and said: "Um, was it just me, or did that sound like--?"

"Not just you," whispered Tiffany, standing very still "Ah," said Petulia, in a voice as bright and brittle as a rose of ice "Well, I think we should get indoors now, yes? Uet all the fires lit and sos ready, because quite soon a lot of people will be turning up" A e, with the doors bolted and every candle spluttering into life They didn't talk about the wind or the roses What would be the point? Besides, there was a job to be done Work, that's what helps Work, and think and talk later, don't gabble now like frightened ducks They even ri people arrived fros Miss Treason had ordered People alking across the clearing The sun was out, even if it was as pale as a poached egg The world was belonging to…nor about things Were there roses? There were none now; the fragile petals had not survived even the daeak light Had the wind spoken? Then she aze Yes, it had happened But for now there was a funeral to feed The girls had already got to work on the ha you couldn't go with a hary witches, you were going all the way past Wrong and were heading into Absolute Party Disaster So barroere arriving with loaves and roasts of beef, and jars of pickled cucu that they looked like drohales Witches are very keen on pickles, as a rule, but the food they like best is free food Yes, that's the diet for your working witch: lots of food that so for, and so h to shove in your pockets for later As it turned out, Miss Treason wasn't paying for it either No one would take anyabout by the back door looking worried until they could have a ith Tiffany The conversation, when she could spare the ti like this: "She's not really dying, is she?"

"Yes At around half past six to"

"But she's very old!"

"Yes I think that's sort of why, you see"

"But e do without her?"