Offering her a smile he watched her go. He felt bad for the woman and for the boy and he was utterly sincere in his desire to see everything possible done for them. But his mind soon wandered and he returned to his experiments as the darker thoughts tried to creep into his mind.

Mister Lane was, naturally, more than amenable to assisting Ruth once she was informed that it was at Master Blackwood's insistence. The butler's duties was to see to Edward's wants and needs so long as they did not harm the Blackwood family name. But there was little worry of that with them so far removed from any social scene.