“You two.” Mrs Lunan scowled across to Agnes and me. “I heard you were abroad last night.”
“Yes, Mrs Lunan,” Agnes admitted at once.
“Well, you won’t be out tonight,” Mrs Lunan said. “Not tonight of all nights.”
“Why not tonight?” I asked.
“There’s an initiation,” Mrs Lunan said, looking me up and down. “When that happens, we leave the boys alone.”
“Ah.” I nodded without understanding. “What sort of initiation?”
“Our third horseman is learning the Horseman’s Word,”
I nodded again. I had heard about the Horseman’s Word, a semi-magical concept that gave the horsemen power over horses and women. Glancing at Agnes’s very pregnant condition, I wondered if the Word worked.
“Don’t forget!” Mrs Lunan left our room after a very pointed look at me.
“I’ve never seen an initiation,” Agnes sai
