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“And like a son, you’ll get cuffed in the head when your mouth gets smart like that,” said Loaf.
“No he won’t,” said Rigg, moving closer to Umbo.
“If I wanted to get hit,” said Umbo, “I could have stayed at home. My father did it plenty. For free.”
Leaky laughed. “He was joking, you fools. This is a rough town with a lot of hitting, but Loaf never lays a hand on any, except when he throws troublemakers out.”
“I had my fill of hurting people when I was in the army,” said Loaf. “I won’t lay a hand on you.”
Umbo relaxed, and so did Rigg.
“Umbo is my son,” Loaf went on, “and Rigg will be my wife’s brother’s boy, your cousin, and his family have a bit more money than us. He was visiting us and we’re taking him to meet his father’s men in O.”
“Why all the lying?” asked Rigg.
“To explain why your clothes will be nicer than ours. When we meet Cooper, he has to believe you are what you say. The letter means something but not as much as you’d like, since it wasn’t addressed to him. He doesn’t know Wandering Man any more than I do. So he has to look at you and see a boy who might come from a family with money.”
“If the banker catches us lying about anything,” said Rigg, “then he won’t believe the jewels are mine.”
“We’ll tell him as much of the truth as he needs to hear. The lies are for nosy people along the way, to explain why you’re dressed different from us. And why you talk so much better than your friend.”
“He does not!” said Umbo, outraged.
“Are you deaf, boy?” asked Leaky. “This Rigg here sounds like he’s been to school. The way he pronounces his words so clear.”
“I’ve been to school!” said Umbo.
“I mean a downriver school,” said Leaky. “We get travelers like that now and then. You really can’t hear the difference in the way he talks?”
“He talks like his father,” said Umbo. “What do you expect?”
“That’s my point,” said Loaf. “You talk like a privick, and he talks like a snooty boy from the schools. He talks like money.”
“Well, I only know how to sound like who I really am,” said Umbo.
“And that’s why I’m calling you my son,” said Loaf, “and him my rich nephew, so why are we having this argument? Besides, I’m going to do the talking anyway. Don’t answer if anybody asks you a question, just look at me. Got it?”
“Yes,” said Rigg.
“This is so stupid,” said Umbo.
“You say that because it’s not your money,” said Leaky.
“Not yours either,” Umbo insisted.
“This boy never backs down,” Loaf growled.
“That’s what makes him a good friend,” said Rigg.
“Some of the money’s ours,” Leaky said to Umbo. “In exchange for the clothes we’re going to buy you two and the passages we’re going to pay for and the days Loaf spends away from here and the bouncers I’ll have to hire when he’s not here to keep the peace. If we don’t make a fair profit on this great and noble service we’re providing you, then he’s a stingy lad and you’re no better.”
“I’ll pay fairly,” said Rigg. “And just so you know, Umbo speaks like an educated boy from Fall Ford, but Father taught me to talk in several different accents and a few completely different languages, too. At home I talk just like Umbo, but for the last week I’ve been talking the way Father said they talk in Aressa Sessamo, cause people understood me better and laughed less.”
“Of course they did,” said Loaf. “That’s the imperial city. And your father sounds like a man who meant you to travel.”
Rigg remembered telling Father that he already knew everything he’d ever need to know—but Father knew all along that Rigg would not be spending his whole life trapping animals in the mountains. Father might not have told Rigg anything about his plans for Rigg’s future, but he’d certainly prepared him to speak wherever he went. Maybe someday Rigg would even have a use for all the astronomy and physics Father taught him. Maybe it would matter that Rigg knew that the Ring was made of dust and tiny stones circling the world, shining in the night because of reflected sunlight. Now that would be a journey!
They went to buy clothes right away that morning; the tailor measured and by evening the clothes were delivered—two of everything for each of them, in different fabrics. “Why do I need two?” asked Umbo.
