The carriage gave a rough jolt, jerking young Ignatius from his slumber. His drowsy head rolled on a neck that many had told him recalled to mind the elegant grace of a swan. Fingering back the curtain, with one eye shut, he gazed upon his first sight of the town that the locals merely adverted to as le Fleuve. His other peeper dithered over opening, awakening with the rapidity of a fluttering butterfly wing. Finally, he managed to pry both eyes open. What he saw brought a smile to his lips, an expression that quickly faded. Alas, owing to initial impressions of the land hereabout, his father’s voice resounded in his recollections.
“From what I’ve heard of the place, you’ll feel at home. You were always one for indolence, and Ville sur le Fleuveis a place of dreamers, those that build gay castles in the sky.”
Ignatius had to admit he liked the sound of that. Gay castles were fine by him. The small market town lay at the head of a river, bringing many by sea and land who wished to trade. If the locals had become complacent, it was because their fortune hardly needed seeking.
The door to the carriage opened, the footman encouraging the passengers to disembark with a sweeping gesture. Ignatius, stepping down, addressed one of the men transferring luggage and other belongings from the carriage roof to the ground, asking in the local dialect, “Good sirs, would you be so kind as to instruct me?”
The two men stopped what they were doing, looking at each other with equally perplexed expressions. Taking their silence for acquiescence, Ignatius continued, “I was endeavouring to enquire if this fine establishment would be able to stow my portmanteau, be it solely on a temporary fashion of perhaps a few hours at most. Or, if my trunk is not able to remain in the good care of amiable gentlemen such as yourselves, if there be somewhere directly nearby where you could guide me, I would be most grateful.”
The men exchanged fleeting looks and then both straightened, one making more of a show of it, tipping back his cap, tucking his thumbs into his braces, and regarding Ignatius with a diligent eye. “To set facts straight, you wish to stow that there crate—” the man lifted his chin in the direction of the leather trunk, “—for a few hours?”
His mental agility enabled Ignatius to understand the accent, and he quickly worked out what the man had said. “That I do,” Ignatius confirmed. He had removed his hat and clutched it in both hands, holding it in front of his chest over his heart, in what was surely a universal expression of sincerity. He took his gaze off the men to turn his head toward the sky. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and beamed his smile at the heavens. Opening his eyes and lowering his gaze, Ignatius gave his attention back to the men. “My journey was a little hurried, and I did not know if I would be able to arrive today or on the morrow. Therefore, I have to notify my employer that I am here. In addition, I would like to take a short while to perambulate in order to acquaint myself with your fair town.”
“He wishes to perambulate,” the first man said, tugging his braces as he leaned back toward the second fellow. He rolled the word out, making it rumble and stretch.
“Is that right?” the second man shot back.
Frowning, unsure whether these two were dim-witted in some way, Ignatius explained that yes, that was correct.
“You wish to amble, saunter, walk around this here, our town?”
“Yes.” Ignatius put a little emphasis into the word.
“And you want us to store this here trunk for you whilst you do so?”
“If it is possible.”
The man sniffed, then wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve; the gesture made Ignatius blink in astonishment.
“It be possible, though it will cost you.”
“H-how much?”
The man looked him up and down, then turned and mumbled something to his partner. He named a price higher than Ignatius thought fair but not as dear as he suspected they wanted to charge. He was aware he could be a little too innocent for his own good at times, but he had finally realised that this was one of those occasions where these men were sorely tempted to play him for a fool. Na?ve he could be, but he was no fool.
“You will keep it safely stored?”
“Naturally.”
“Then I agree, though I’ll pay half now and half when I return with my employer.”
“And if you don’t return?”
Ignatius glanced at his trunk. “Then I would lose my possessions.”
The man sniffed again, and Ignatius braced for yet another exhibition of a lack of kerchief. “We’ll keep it for you, but only today. We close at dusk. If you’ve not collected it by then, I’ll consider the trunk and anything therein as fair payment.”
Seeing the value of the trunk alone was probably worth more than this man likely made in a month, Ignatius did not see it as fair at all, but he was determined to return and hence settle in his new abode long before dusk. He could foresee no problems. He accepted the terms and paid the currency.