"Truth is that I don't think he sees me as anything but friendly company, and that is just fine by me... Though I will say, he cut a fine figure standin' up fer me." It was the first time there was something in Ruth's eyes akin to unrequited feelings.

"I mean, I ain't surprised he only sees ya as friendly company," Betsy says with a grin, either seeing the glint in Ruth's eye or just being her usual self when she continues. "But that's how it start aye? Young maid, working for a rich foreigner, the man a widower due to a tragic fire, you nurse him back to himself and he falls madly in love with ye." The young girl sighs over it like the doe-eyed lass she truly was. "I mean you are the only one besides the cook who's been bale ta get him ta sit down and eat a whole meal Ruth, so ye've got to be doing something right with him aye?"

She gave a shrug, "I don't like him starvin' like that." She sighed and looked away. "I am goin' to go feed Jacob and then tis off to lie down fer me. Goodnight." She smiled and, assuming the other woman said something about it, she would give a nod and be off to her room for the night.

About a week later...

A letter was brought to her as she was just about to finish up and go eat lunch. She pocketed the missive and then headed off to the kitchen. After a brief cuddle of her son and a happy gurgle from him, she put him back in his basket and then sat down heavily, for she had recognized the handwriting to be that of her "husband."

She opened the letter despite her better judgment, gave a heavy sigh and then started to read it. Anger soon clouded her face instead of glee that her husband was begging for her to come back to him. She curled her lip and muttered, "Not on yer life, Angus, ye son of a bitch." She curled her hand and crumpled the paper, preparing to chuck it at the hearth.

"What was that dear?"

Eleanor inquired as she looked over at Ruth. The Head Maid was usually in the kitchen since much of the household flowed through their at different parts of the day to get their lunch or dinner. At present, she was working on the former since breakfast had just passed and the staff would need their lunch before too long. They had some contractors in today so it was a fairly large meal she was preparing since they offered the men lunch since it wasn't much of a burden to make a larger pot of stew.

"Oh, that... no good.. rotten..." she muttered and sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Me husband is tryin' ta get me back." And then she dropped the letter and quickly scooped Jacob out of his basket, startling the boy into a few little sobs. "Ooh, I'm sorry, I am, lad... Ugh. Shh, tis okay, baby. I didn't mean ta startle ye." It was clear that she felt threatened.

"Ha, I'll tell ya now that he probably only wants ye back because he misses how easy life was with ya. Don't listen ta him though, he will fall into bad habits the moment you give him an inch. The lord says to forgive yer fellow man and I think he'd want to give Angus another shot but I don't think he'd insist ye be the one ta do it." The woman pats Ruth on the back knowing how hard hearing from her deadbeat of a husband must be.

"I will not be takin' 'im back, no," she murmured in a sing song voice, bouncing a little and rocking the boy at the same time. With a few little whimpers, Jacob calmed down. Then he nuzzled his face against her breast, trying to root. "Oh, I suppose I had better feed the lad since I woke him, aye?" There was a troubled pucker to her brow.

"I knew you were too smart for that. Not the sort to fall for the same trick twice eh?" Eleanor beamed at Ruth and patted her gently on the back. "You feed yer lad and if you need a bit of time to yerself this morning you take it." The manor was a bit of a family in and of itself and it was never so busy that a member of the family couldn't get some time to themselves if they needed to compose themselves.

"Thank ye," she said almost tiredly, wishing that Angus would leave her alone. He probably wouldn't after the letter she was going to compose, despite the vehemence she felt in not wanting to go back to that pigheaded, insufferable bastard. How dare he think she would take him back after the way he had treated her?! She took Jacob away to her room to feed him and to take some time.

After she fed the boy, who was becoming chunky in the most delightful ways a baby could be, with his little folds and rolls, she paced the hall outside of her room. He was a happy child too, never fussy unless he wasn't feeling well or he was hungry. "I won't let him take ye from me either... nay... Ye're my little love." She paced her room with the boy in her arms, freshly bathed and swathed in a fresh nappy. She'd bathed too so as not to waste the water, and dressed in a clean smock.

She hummed as she rubbed at the babe's back in order to get him back to sleep before she was going to put him back in the basket in the kitchen so she could get back to work.

"Oh, hello Miss Blacke."

To her surprise when she rounded the corner toward the kitchen Edward was there and he'd... evidently disassembled the clock that was in the hallway. Which had been out of order after one of the work crew had hit it.

"I'm just fixing the clock. One of the gears was rustled out of place, relatively easy to repair."