“And when, in your feeble imagination, do you think the time will be right?” asked Leaky.

“When you answer a couple of my questions,” said Umbo.

“If you think—” began Leaky.

Loaf raised a hand. “Leaky, I know this look on his face, and I know this man. Whatever he’s done, it was for a good purpose, and if he needs us to answer questions, we will if we can.”

“It’s going to sound personal, offensive, and irrelevant,” said Umbo.

“That describes most of your questions,” said Loaf, “leaving out only ‘impertinent’ and ‘incomprehensible.’”

Umbo nodded, acknowledging the remark as having some justification. “I only need to know. Leaky, are you pregnant yet?” The question wasn’t completely out of the blue. Given the age the carpenter had told him for the child named Round, it was highly likely that he had been conceived before they went to Vadeshfold, and was already a couple of months along.

“None of your—” said Leaky.

“Yes,” said Loaf. “She is.”

Umbo nodded. “It’s a boy,” he said. “You’re planning to name him Round. That’s a horrible name, by the way.”

“It’s a fine name,” said Loaf mildly. “Far nobler to be named for a geometrical abstract than for a hunk of bread.”

“I’m sure it is,” said Umbo.

“You knew I was pregnant,” said Leaky. “You went into the future and you knew. Is that our baby she’s suckling upstairs?”

“It’s not the baby you’re pregnant with right now,” said Umbo, “but it’s yours all right. This second one you named Square.”

“Why did you kidnap him?” asked Loaf—surprisingly mild about it.

“I didn’t,” said Umbo. “A later version of Dariah kept him safe after the two of you were killed.”

That got their attention, and they listened without interruption as he told the story.

“General Citizen had them kill the baby?” asked Leaky, her voice soft.

“Yes,” said Umbo. “Or so they said. I have no reason to doubt them.”

“And Dariah kept this baby safe,” said Leaky.

“A version of her. A later version,” said Umbo. “But in the future we’re making now, she never will, because you’ll be long gone before your first son is born, let alone the second.”

“Not so hasty,” said Loaf. “These troubles begin more than a year from now.”

“But we don’t know when surveillance started,” said Umbo.

“It’ll arouse suspicion if we simply walk away,” said Loaf. “I need to make a good-faith effort to sell this place. The money will be useful, but mostly it’s so that life goes on normally here, but without us in it. If we can’t sell it in a few weeks, then we’ll walk away, because . . . Leaky’s mother is dying.”

“I have no idea if she’s alive or dead at this point,” said Leaky.