She had talked to Mister Lane about starting divorce proceedings and it got her to thinking deeply and long about unrequited feelings and the like. Ruth was an emotional mess, for divorcing one's husband was scandal. She'd had enough of scandal, enough of men, so much so that she had not gone to visit with Edward. She was starting to feel like her feelings toward the man might never be reciprocated, he was too haunted by his past to see what he had in the present, or so she assumed.

Ruth dared not go out to the garden to weep, for every time she was there, Edward had some contraption or another that he was doing that had helped endear him toward her. She swallowed heavily as she entered the kitchen to get her child after one particularly tough day. She did not complain to the others, and if they asked what was wrong, she simply said that nothing was wrong and would go about her day. She would keep her hurt to herself and grieve for both her sham of a marriage, and for the fact that her son would be from a broken home.

She walked at a slow pace. Jacob snuggled into her sleepily and she rubbed his back as she made her way toward any room that wasn't occupied, not wanting to be found for at least a few minutes. Then and only then did she give herself permission to silently cry.

As it transpired, before she found herself an unoccupied room, she found Edward. Or rather, he found her since he rounded a corner spotted her just as she was about to enter a room and he said.

"Oh, if it isn't Miss Blacke and young Jacob. I feel that it has been sometime since I've seen the two of you."

The man frowned clearly not certain of that fact yet in the same breath making it clear her absence from the gardens had been noted. His frown deepened as his brow furrowed and then he looked up.

"Yes, I do seem to recall that it has been at least a few days since you last joined me for dinner. I enjoyed eating with you, I'd welcome your company again sometime. Bring young Jacob he is a delightful lad."

With that he offered her a smile before he seemed to lose focus once again turning to head back toward wherever he'd been going before he'd spotted her.

After she had her bout of weeping, it hit her that he actually paid attention enough to miss things like dinner. It confused her a little but at the same time, it gave her hope. She took herself to her mother's house after that and went to eat dinner there and let her know what was happening, but then she returned and arranged for dinner for the next day.

When that time came, she entered the library with Jacob as requested, the boy perking up when he saw the curly haired man. "Hello," she said when they were left with dinner on the table. She had dressed her hair differently until she put her hair in a bun on the top of her head, tendrils of loose strands falling on either side of her face but not bothering her. She normally wore her hair in a braid.

"Ah, Miss Blacke, its nice to see you."

Edward said with a small smile as she entered. He'd been working on something but for a change it seemed he was not so focused as the oblivious to the world around him. Possibly because he'd only been reading a book rather than engrossed in some project or maybe he'd actually been waiting for her.

"Did you..."

The man paused and frowned, evidently noticing something was amiss and it took him a moment.

"Ah, your hair is up that's... Ah, yes."

The expression that suddenly crossed his face was hard to read and a moment later his gaze was drawn back to his book. Something shifting for him as he fidgets for a few moments.

"Aye, it's a warm day," she said as she sat the baby down on the floor with his blanket. "I imagine he'll be movin' soon enough. Crawlin', that is," she commented about Jacob. "He'll roll fer now but that's about it." And then she looked over to him, her pupils dilating ever so slightly as she tried to read him. "How are ye?" she asked and sat down.

"Ah, yes, of course." Edward said a slight grimace flickering across his face at this information. Something about her hair had bothered him on some level it was clear, though he was not saying just what.

"I'm pleased to hear he is making progress. I am sure he will grow to be a fine young man. As for me, I am as I have been I suppose. Most days are... Well they tend to blend together for me." He was aware of how peculiar his behavior was but being aware of an issue did not always mean one had the means to correct it.

"I can imagine," she said softly, not looking at him. He face was strained and she looked spent from her bout of grief earlier. A sigh bubbled passed her lips and she murmured. But he was opening up to her as he hadn't before. Was he more comfortable with her? Though, she thought, something was bothering him. She didn't like knowing that he was bothered by anything. Ruth picked at her food. "Thank you for directing me to Mister Lane. Things are..." she paused and then looked up, "Unfortunate but necessary."

"Ah, yes, I believe I mean to ask how that was going. I trust you've talked to the barrister already?" The Blackwood family barrister had been a brusque and professional man by the name of Smythe. He'd seemed just a bit put out to be assisting her but evidently whatever he was being paid was enough that he'd not risk offended the client by being rude. He informed her that the easiest way forward was, if her husband was truly such a scoundrel, to hire an investigator to trail him and collect evidence of his wrong doings. An expense that was approved by Mister Lane.

"Aye, I spoke to him," she said without looking at him. She picked at her food, eventually taking a bite and chewing for the longest time, then swallowing. It sat like a lump in her gut. "I... need to hire someone to trail him evidently. Mister Lane has been quite accommodating and I am most grateful fer it." It was hard for her to talk about. She wasn't sure how else to deal with it. And then she looked up at him, and if he looked back, he would probably see the torture written in pages across her eyes.

"Oh, I am sure the Barrister will handle hiring the detective," Edward said with an absent wave of his hand as he looked up at her. He caught the expression and frowned slightly at it. "Are you quite alright? I know this is a painful thing for you but truly I think you have little enough to worry about. This Angus fellow sounds like a rather reprehensible sort and likely you are not the only woman he's taken advantage of. Even with the bias in the courts towards men such lack of moral character cannot be ignored."