“It’s just me,” Mari called out as she marched into the workshop and set a couple of bags onto the bench near the door. “I’m going to start in the kitchen.”

Leo jerked up from the depths of the Volvo’s engine and swore as he banged his head. “Sorry, Mrs Hewson!” he called out across the workshop, rubbing his head. He wiped his hands on a rag as he rushed over. “It’s okay, you just tell us what to do and we’ll do it for you. And Gryff will make a nice cup of tea.”

“Don’t make a fuss,” Mari said. “I’ve brought some more snacks over for you. You’re all growing lads.”

Gryff pushed himself out from under the Mini. “No, Mrs Hewson, we can’t let you get dirty in here.” He looked around him. “Alyn, Mrs Hewson’s here.”

“Hang on!” Alyn’s voice was muffled and he almost fell out of the storeroom. “Mrs Hewson, do you want some tea?” He looked frantically at the kitchen. “We haven’t got any biscuits left, but I can nip out to the shop for some.”

“Don’t be daft,” Mari said. Inside she felt a tiny pang. These lads were so young and so lost. Heaven knows her husband wouldn’t have wanted her to interfere, but the thought of kids the age of Alice and Toby being left without support didn’t sit right with her. “I’m just going to help you work out the best ways of going on. I’ll make a start in the kitchen so you can get on with things.” She started to unload the bags. “I’ve brought some cleaning supplies in case you were running low and some snacks to keep you going.” She pulled out a large box. “I’ve got sausage rolls, chocolate chip cookies and I found a recipe for Cumberland pie that I wanted to try out and I’d like your opinion. You’ll need to warm it up, but there’s a microwave in the kitchen.”

“Mrs Hewson, you shouldn’t!” There was panic in Alyn’s eyes. “You can’t go getting dirty in dark corners.”

“This isn’t my Sunday best,” Mari said. She caught the flash of shame in Alyn’s eyes before he forced himself to smile. “I tell you what, I’ll just do the kitchen today and we can have a talk.”

Leo swore as he opened the box of sausage rolls. “That’s proper pastry.”

“Don’t talk like that in front of Mrs Hewson,” Alyn said, striding over and cuffing his younger brother’s head.

“Sorry, Mrs Hewson,” Leo said, shoving Alynn back. “They look fu…” He flinched as Alyn punched his arm. “They look fine, Mrs Hewson.”

Mari grinned. “I’m glad that you like them. Perhaps they’ll do for a snack at break time as well as dinner.” She looked over to the two cars. “You’ve done wonders with those. You can’t be taking many breaks.”

Gryff nodded. “We’re getting there.” He reached towards the sausage rolls. “I’m waiting on a set of brake pads, then I can start on the hydraulics.”

“I told you that you needed to get the callipers sorted,” Leo said.

“And I told you that I already got the callipers sorted,” Gryff said, glaring.

“Now, boys, wash your hands before you eat,” Mari said. “So you both have cars?”

Gryff nodded. “Me and Leo are working on the cars. Alyn’s turning good iron into paperweights.”

“Hey, I’m getting decent money for it,” Alyn snapped, shoving Gryff. “It’s my work that’s covering costs.”

“But me and Leo will be getting the big money in,” Gryff said.

“Yeah, but we’ll still have to buy the next cars with them,” Leo said.

“I’m sorry about this, Mrs Hewson,” Alyn said. “We’ll go and clean ourselves up before we eat.”

“That’s a good idea.” Mari pulled out her favourite cleaning spray and a handful of rags. “And after you’ve had something to eat, you can show me these paperweights.” She marched into the kitchen and stopped. Her shoulders slumped as she took in the scene. “How on earth do you manage in here?” she asked. There was a stack of plastic picnic plates in a corner and some foil containers next to the tabletop oven. Mari frowned. That hadn’t been in the inventory when she’d handed over the keys to the workshop. She had left a small fridge, a microwave and a cupboard with a sink. Now there was a small table, the tabletop oven and a two burner electric hob. The cupboard was stuffed with a jumble of pans and plates and some mugs with a jar of instant coffee, a large box of teabags and a sagging bag of sugar were grouped on a tray on the table with an electric kettle. None of the new equipment looked new or particularly clean. The lads shouldn’t have to live like that.

“I’m sorry, Mrs Hewson,” Alyn said.

Mari patted his shoulder. He wasn’t a good looking lad, and heaven knows his manners needed help, but he had a good heart and that was worth a lot. “I’ll get it sorted.” She stumbled over a pile of clothes. “Is this your dirty washing?”

Alyn looked away. “There isn’t a washing machine in our digs,” he muttered.

Mari thought of the sleeping bags hidden in the corner. “I tell you what,” she said. “Why don’t we do a trade? I’ll get this place tidied up a bit and do your washing. In return, I’ve got a few little jobs in the house that I need sorting out.” She patted Alyn’s shoulder. “I can tell that you lads are handy, and my late husband never got around to half the stuff he should.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“We’d help you out for free,” Alyn said, finally looking directly at Mari. “It’s the least we can do.” His assurance wavered. “You’ve just treated us like normal people. Not like, well, our Da.”

“I never knew your Da, so I couldn’t tell you what he was like,” Mari said firmly. “And I speak as I find. You act right and I’ll treat you right. Now, you get on with your work and I’ll sort this lot out here.” She pulled out her favourite spray cleaner. “You get on with your work and I’ll give you a shout around 5pm, if that suits? I can reheat the Cumberland pie for you. I’d like to know what you think about it.”

It didn’t take Mari long to sort out the kitchen. There wasn’t that much to clean. The lads had missed a few spots but they had kept the basics in order. The problem was clutter and the random pots, plates and mugs that had ended up jumbled together. The bathroom didn’t take long either. It wasn’t a thing of beauty and it wasn’t squeaky clean, but it wasn’t a health hazard. It was bare, though, and the cup with three toothbrushes was a hint that they had nowhere else. She rinsed out her cloths and headed back to the kitchen, pausing at the door.

She had no idea why her husband had set it up like this. There was the main room which was large and echoing and set up to service up to five cars at a time. Sion had sold off a lot of the tools when he decided to rent out the space but it still had plenty of heavy equipment around. Then there was the tiny kitchen, a bathroom that had a shower added as a kindness to those who worked physical jobs and three large storerooms at the back. Mari glanced over to the corner where the boxes hid sleeping bags. She’d avoided the workshop after Sion died. Between the police calling, the gossip, the funeral and her daughter moving abroad with her family, she had been too overwhelmed to think about the space. But now she wondered about those workshops. Why weren’t the lads sleeping in there?

“Alyn,” she called.

“He’s in his workshop, Mrs H,” Gryff said, coming up behind her. “Wow! That kitchen looks amazing.”

“I just tided up a few things,” Mari said. “I’m sure that you boys can keep it up. So where’s Alyn?”

“I’m here.” Alyn stepped out of the room on the left. “I use this as a forge – I make iron ornaments for things like weddings.”

“He’s very good,” Gryff added. “His sales cover our running costs.”

“But the work on the cars will be the bigger payoff,” Alyn said.

“Those clockwork figures would get more,” Leo joined them. “That commission that you’ve been working on will make a shit load of profit.”

Alyn cuffed Leo’s head. “Don’t use bad language in front of Mrs Hewson,” he snapped. He turned to Mari. “But I was wondering…” he hunched down as he forced the words out. “The boxes in the back rooms? Could you move them? I mean, when you’re ready and everything, and we’ll help, or, you know, if they have to stay there…”

Mari held up her hand. “I need to apologise. I shouldn’t have left that stuff lying around to take up space that you’re paying for. To be honest, I’d forgotten that they were there,” she said. For a brief moment she felt angry. Leaving those boxes around made her a bad landlord. If that Lord Maldwyn cared so much for the lads, he should have been demanding that she moved the damned stuff. “The last tenants weren’t like you and the police moved them on in the end.” She looked around the lads. “I’m not even sure what happened as it was at the time my husband died and I didn’t know which way was up.”

“I’m sorry for bringing up the memories.” Alyn hunched down further.

“No!” Mari exclaimed. “I mean, I need to get rid of them. I had the solicitor go through all the legal stuff, so they’re definitely mine to throw out. I’m not even sure what’s in them. The box I saw the police open just had a load of clothes in them.”

“Like rags?” Leo asked. “We get through a lot of rags.”

Mari looked back to the cars. “I can imagine.” She shrugged. “If it’s the same old clothes in the boxes, you can have them.”

“For rags?” Gryff asked.

“For anything you like,” Mari said. She patted Gryff’s arm. “If it’s stuff you can wear or sell, help yourselves. It was never really mine to begin with and I’ll be glad to see the back of it.” The lads looked at each other. “You’ll be doing me a favour if you sort it out.”

“What if it’s not clothes?” Alyn asked.

“Let’s have a look,” Mari said. “Then I’ll leave you to sort the boxes out.” She smiled at the lads. “And I can come back tomorrow with your clean washing and Alyn can show me what he’s doing.”

“It’s worth seeing,” Leo said, striding towards the centre room. “He’s got waiting lists for some of that crap.”

“Don’t use bad language in front of Mrs Hewson,” Alyn snarled.

“I’m saying nice stuff about you, though,” Leo grumbled before looking apologetically at Mari. “Sorry for that, Mrs Hewson.”

“That’s alright,” Mari said. “But your brother’s right. It’s helpful to be aware of what you’re saying for times when you’re speaking to someone important, like at a bank or something.”

“You’re important, Mrs H,” Gryff said, bounding ahead and pulling open the metal door, wincing as it screeched. “We’ll have to get the WD40 on that.”

“Oh my Lord!” Mari said, staring at the wall of boxes facing her. “I didn’t realise that all these were still here.” She looked at Alyn. “Could you get one of the boxes down for me.”

Alyn was the tallest of them, but he wasn’t much taller than Mari. Still, he somehow climbed up the unstable wall of cardboard to grab a box from the top layer and jump down. He grabbed a rolling tool chest and pulled it over. “We can’t have you bending over,” he said, placing the box on top and slitting the tape with his pocket knife. “But you should do the honours.” He grinned and waved at Mari. “Have a look.”

Mari unfolded the cardboard flaps and sighed. “It’s just old clothes,” she said. The jumble of cotton knits and shiny fake silk in all the colours seemed out of place in the grimy workshop. She leaned into the box. “Do you know, my bridesmaid dresses were this exact shade of shell pink.” She reached in to grab the satiny fabric. “You don’t see this colour much any more and it’s a shame. Perhaps I could steal this and – Ow!” She swayed as a shock of what felt like static ran through her. For a moment her vision seemed to fade, the edges going dark and her head aching from the ringing in her ears. She was aware of movement around her before she felt herself being gently lowered onto a chair.

“Mrs Hewson, can you hear me?” Alyn faded into view. “Are you alright?”

“I think so,” Mari managed shakily. “There must have been some sort of live wire in there.”

“I can’t see anything,” Leo said. “Oh, hang on.”

A chill ran through Mari. Leo sounded scared. She sat up a little straighter. “It was just a shock, and there’s not much that they can do for that, is there?” she said. “Just a nice sit down and a drink.”

“Alyn, you need to come here.” Leo sounded scared. “Can you smell it?”

“Here you are, Mrs H,” Gryff said, pushing a warm mug into Mari’s hands. “A nice cup of sweet tea. That’s what they say about shock.”

Mari clasped her hands around the tea. “I’ll be fine in a minute,” she said. “Is my hair curling?”

Gryff patted her on the shoulder and then turned, wide eyed, as Alyn started swearing and swearing hard. “What is it?”

Alyn ignored him. “Mrs Hewson? Gryff is going to take you home so you can have a rest. You can have a nice nap, but don’t let anyone in that Gryff doesn’t know, okay? Lock all the doors and windows and perhaps have a nice nap.” Alyn looked up at his brother. “I’m ringing Lord Maldwyn. Those clothes, they reek of Dragon’s Blood.”