It's good to see you smile, she thought inwardly as she peered at him. She might have stared a little too long but she amended that as she turned her gaze to her half eaten food. For once, he had eaten more than she. Her stomach was filled with butterflies. She said, "I shall see ye again soon, sir. I fear I need to get Jacob. I am sure he is hungry." It was just an excuse but she was playing with fire staring at the man.

"Hrmm?" Edward said as she called his attention back to her. "Oh, yes, of course. And how is young Jacob? I trust he is well." The man smiled at her softly, there was something in his expression then as he remembered her babe. A sadness and melancholy that had him turning his attention back to his work a moment later. Ruth might not think of it until much later but Jacob was roughly the same age Edward's own child would have been.

"He is gettin' big, has a lusty appetite," she chuckled, "but he's a good lad. Mostly quiet." She smiled tenderly at the thought of her son, and then the smile died as she watched him retreat back into his own head. She wasn't sure what he was thinking but she felt guilty for making the light dim in his eyes.

"That's good, means he is healthy."

Edward muttered absently as he started to scribble on the paper lightly. His hand moved without any thought on his part. It was a simple pattern repeated over and over again, two words were written once, twice, thrice. If Ruth looked before she left she wouldn't be better for the knowledge, it wasn't helpful, it was just pain. The two words that consumed Edward Blackwood read simply, My Fault.

She did see what he wrote and fled the scene like a coward. She didn't really have to feed Jacob. She was bothered as she put the dishes in the sink and absently began to clean them. He thought it was his fault that his wife died, she was guessing. God, the pain he must be in... She wanted to weep for the man and she did. Not caring who saw her, she finished the dishes and went to retrieve the baby, then took both him and herself out to the garden to reflect upon this change of things.