Lance looked at Arthur "Well at least you're trying to make your own way, a lot of people in your position would have just fallen in plans and taken the easy way out."
Arthur grinned "At the moment I sometimes wish I had" he confessed. "But I just couldn't face doing a job I hated."
Lance gave Arthur his phone and the phone book "Ring the station and see when they want to see you next, at least then they won't think you've done a runner. Tonight you can have a word with Leon he's a good chap I've known him for years."
"I can't pay him" Arthur admitted.
"You'll get legal aid then, let him have a word he might not take you on himself but at least you'll know what to do next. Once you've made your call I'll show you around." Lance went to speak to his wife and let Arthur have some privacy.
"He seems a nice enough boy" Gwen said as her husband joined her "Do you think we're doing the right thing letting him stay here?"
"Yes I do, anyway if he's not in the main house there's not much that can happen. I think he's just got involved in someone else's mess, he seems honest enough. Sometimes you have to stick your neck out and help people." Lance looked back at Arthur. "I hope someone would help us if we needed it."
"You're a good man" Gwen kissed her husband on the cheek "But I agree with you. I wonder what the boys will think of him?"
"Tell me I'm a fool I expect, and Gwaine will warn him to behave I expect, you know what he's like, he will want to make sure Merlin is ok" Lance spoke fondly of his friend.
"I suppose you had better let Arthur know about Merlin or he won't know what's going on." Gwen grinned "I'd better put a bit more food on for tea, Arthur looks like he might be hungry. Oh I've sorted Arthur out with some of your old clothes he can't stay in the ones he's got on, let him have a shower and change before you do anything else." Gwen walked into the pantry and left the two men together.
Arthur handed Lance the phone "Thank you; make sure you keep a list of what I owe you. It was just as well you told me to ring them. They had been to the flat. I have to go to the station tomorrow afternoon."
"Ok I should have my car back by then. Here's some clean clothes, the bathroom is top of the stairs on the right have a shower and meet me back down here then I'll show you around and tell you what jobs you can do for me." Arthur went upstairs and did as Lance had said. The clothes weren't the best fit but even so they were better than what he had been wearing. He put on the old trainers Lance had given him and went back downstairs.
Once Arthur was with him once more Lance walked outside and went to a small building to one side across the drive. "This is your new home" Lance unlocked the door "As I said it's not finished yet but the bedroom is ok and there's a bed in it." The building was set up as an open plan area with what would obviously be a small kitchenette off to one side, but it wasn't fully fitted yet. Lance walked though to the back where there was a double bedroom and on suite. "We plan to let it out as a holiday home, it will help pay the bills"
"Have you lived here long?" Arthur asked.
"It's our family home, our parents died when we were young and our grandfather looked after us, when I met Gwen he decided to move into a small bungalow in the village and we stayed here with my sister. The place hasn't had much done to it for years. I think granddad had enough on his plate with two kids." Lance explained.
"That was tough. My mum died when I was born but I did have dad even if his idea of parenting was a series of nanny's." Arthur explained.
"Like Merlin in a way then, Mum was ill and it was several weeks before anyone realised she was pregnant, she stopped her treatment and lived long enough to hold Merlin and name her. Merlin is very special to us, mum choose to keep Merlin even though she knew it would kill her. Luckily she never knew that the treatment she had had would cause what it did. Dad only lived a few more years, he couldn't live without her." Lance looked out the window clearly upset at telling Arthur. "I don't know why I told you that."
"Thank you, I won't talk about it but I can see why you love your sister so." Arthur said "How do I communicate with her? I saw her using sign earlier."
"On she can lip read, but you will need to carry paper and a pen or a mobile and text her. All her friends and ours can sign. In fact the friends that are coming later treat Merlin like a little sister. Even I can't tell her off without getting it in the neck from them so take care." Lance took a deep breath "Come on let me show you the workshop"
Lance was a cabinet maker and his workshop was full of furniture in different stages of completion. "I make items to commission; I am hoping to set up a showroom in the shed next door. That's what I need the help for. Eventually I hope to turn the garage the other side of the house into a small bakery for Merlin. We live in an old farmhouse and all the outbuildings we are using were part of Mum and Dad's home. Mum's parents were small farmers, the lands all gone now, but we do have a good place here, all be it run down."
"It's a nice place, or will be" Arthur agreed "I can see you have a lot to do."
"We've done some of indoors but we need to get the place working for us, so have left the rest and concentrated out here." Lance sighed "One thing I might get you to do if you stay long enough is help decorate some of indoors. The plan there is eventually to turn upstairs into a self contained area for Merlin and we live downstairs. It's big enough to make two three bed roomed areas with a bit of wall moving. After all Merlin won't want to live totally with us forever."
Once Lance had shown Arthur the rest of the place and explained just what he wanted to do as soon as he could, and what would have to wait, they went back indoors. The smell as they went in was divine and Arthur stomach started to growl.
Gwen laughed "I thought you might be hungry" As soon as they had washed up Gwen had the food on the table. She walked over to a switch on the wall and pressed it a couple of times. "That's to call Merlin; she has a light in her room that flashes when we call her."
Merlin came running down the stairs and grinned as she came in she signed to Gwen and Lance before raising her hand to Arthur in a wave. Arthur held out his hand and shook Merlin's smiling as he did so, then careful to speak clearly and hoping she could lip read him he said "Hello Merlin nice to meet you" Merlin grinned even more and signed which Lance interpreted for Arthur.
"Merlin says it's nice to meet you as well, she said she likes your name it goes with hers. Merlin is a great reader and loves the stories of Camelot, I'm sure mother must have had second sight, although Granddad says she was named after the bird and not the wizard." Lance had been signing as he spoke clearly letting Merlin know what was being said.
At this there was a strange hissing sound from Merlin. Arthur jumped in surprise. This made Merlin continue to make the noise. Gwen looked at Arthur. "Merlin has always made that noise when she finds something funny; she doesn't know she's making it. It's not from her throat as she has no voice box it's more a hiss made with the air between her tongue and teeth."
At that Merlin blushed. Arthur grinned and said to Lance "Can you tell her not to be embarrassed I think it's great, I'll know when she laughing"
The meal went well and afterwards Arthur washed up the dishes and Merlin dried. Then she found Arthur a notebook and pen. They had hardly started to communicate when there was a knock on the door and several men came in. Merlin jumped up and ran and hugged each of the men in turn the last one picked her up and swung her around "Hello my little princess" he said to her before he put her down and signing with her.
The men and Merlin were signing so quickly it made Arthur grin. "I'd never learn to do sign that quickly"
The man that had picked Merlin up turned and looked at Arthur; they had clearly heard about him "You must be the Arthur we've heard about." He didn't sound that friendly.
Lance turned to Arthur "That gentleman is Gwaine" he said pointing at the man who had spoken. He was a good looking man in a rough diamond way. He had shoulder length brown hair and short beard. "Then there's Percy, Elyan and Leon." Percy was a tall muscular man with short hair. Arthur knew Elyan was Gwen's brother and so it was the slightly older man with ginger hair and beard that was Leon, Arthur looked at him with interest knowing he was the solicitor Lance continued "This gang are Merlin's protectors" he grinned "and when she starts courting god help the poor soul who she picks"
Merlin made her hissing noise once more and began to sign; Lance smiled before saying to Arthur "Merlin says who needs boyfriends when she has all these men to look after her."
Percy turned to Merlin and clearly for Arthur's benefit spoke as he signed "I'm going to marry you, just for your baking" Merlin smacked Percy on her arm and grinned as Gwaine butted in "No way am I going to let any of this lot marry you, nor Will either, you can do better than any of them" he threw his arm round Merlin and as they sat down Gwaine sat Merlin on his lap and put his arm round her.
Gwen shook her head "Gwaine I think Merlin is getting to old to sit on your lap, let the poor girl go. With you lot about I should think she's been put off of men for life." With that Merlin squeezed in between Gwaine and Percy, her slender form also drowned between them.
They sat and chatted for a while and Arthur felt that it would be a privilege to get to know these people better; they were clearly very comfortable with each other and good friends. He wasn't left out and although the men were still wary of him, they didn't make him feel out of place. After awhile Lance got Arthur and Leon together and they went into a small room off to one side. Leon wasted no time in going through what had happened with Arthur. Arthur held nothing back and answered all the other mans questions as honestly as he could. After a good hour Leon turned to Arthur "I f you want me to I will take your case. You will be eligible for legal aid. I'll come with you to the police station tomorrow"
Arthur thanked him and accepted the offer and felt so much better about the whole thing. They went back to the others and spoke for a bit longer. Arthur started to yawn it had been a long and stressful day "If it's alright with you guys I think I'll turn in"
Gwen went and collected some bed linen and Arthur went to take it from her. Gwaine stood up and helped him "I'll give you a hand" he said and the two men went to Arthur's rooms. Once Arthur had unlocked the door and they had dropped their load Gwaine turned to Arthur.
"I don't know if you can be trusted or not, Gwen and Lance are good people and will help anyone, me I'm more cautious. I'll tell you one thing you step out of line and you'll have the rest of us to deal with. And if you upset Merlin in anyway and you'll wish you hadn't been born, do you understand." He snarled.
"I do and I'm glad they have such loyal friends I won't betray their trust, they're good people, as to Merlin I won't hurt her, you have my word." Arthur said surprised by the other mans reaction as he'd seemed friendly enough all evening.
"The trouble is I don't know what your words worth now do I. Lance and Merlin have had enough hardship in their lives and I won't let you give them anymore. I'd do anything for them and so would the others; Merlin in particular is our baby sister and no one upsets her."
With that Gwaine walked out of the door and back to the house. Arthur sat down; he had been shaken at the tone of Gwaine's remarks. He was glad that Merlin had such people around her and understood that the man knew nothing of him, but it had made him understand that despite Gwen and Lance's kindness he still had to prove himself if he was to make a new life for himself here. That thought surprised him because until that moment he hadn't even given his future any thought. But he knew that he would love to be part of the friendship that existed in that room tonight.