"Oh, he thinks I am bad... Wait until he does see ye face to face, ma. And if ye bludgeon him tae death with that powerful swing o' yers, not only would I make sure yer prison cell is well appointed, but I'd stay with ye if I could. I love ye." She said this, and her mother would probably be able to see the truth shining in her dark eyes. She had grown up fast since this began, she'd taken the brunt of the hurts the world had to give to her for the situation not entirely of her making. It was sad that the men of the world could get away with lifting all the skirts they could, but heaven forbid a woman act with lust.

Jacob gave a great yawn and snuggled into his grandmother, ever comfortable in her presence. He loved her, and Ruth was trying not to grin over the rim of her tea cup at the sight that softened her mother's face with joy. Jacob was going to be a good lad, and he was proving to be quite smart. And she thought about the way he adored Edward... almost as much as she did. Then her eyes kind of went blank as thoughts of his face interrupted her conversation. She thought of every beloved line, the stray lock of hair, the frazzled appearance of a scientific man. Not only did she adore him, but her heart was starting to beat for him alone. Angus never made her feel the butterflies that Edward gave to her.

This wouldn't do, she straightened her spine and looked down. "Ma, there's somethin' I should tell ye. I think I am fallin' in love truly this time, but I..." she paused, her voice having cracked, "I have no business lovin' anyone right now, let alone Mister Blackwood." She set the cup down, then covered her face, and a true sob shook her frame, "I love him so, and I shouldn't, and I don't know how to stop, ma. He doesn't know and I... I don't tell him, and I try ta stay away, but he will only eat if I am there, or come out of his thoughts with me, and he only ever treats me with kindness and respect, and... god, he is so smart and... I love everything about him, especially how he looks at me boy as if he loves him as much as I do. And I can't tell him cause it ain't proper, especially me about to divorce me husband."

If she had to spend the rest of her days at 'Her Magesty's Pleasure', there were probably worse crimes for it.
Lottie closed her eyes. It was good, really. It was good that she had found a man whose biggest strike against him was that he was an American - or so the Whitby gossip machine had said - . It was good that she was not rushing into a relationship this time. That she was taking the time to consider her future.

"Please dear, no scandals. Not just now. I don't think I could take this family gettin' hoisted into the muck again. I'm certain yer father's chest can't."

"Oh, I promise I've been tryin' ta do good and only that. But me heart is rebellious. And... would it be a scandal if he fell in love with me? Oh, I don't know. I didn't ask fer this, I promise ye, I didn't look fer this at all. But I feel me heart fill with joy just because he speaks ta me. I would be happy just ta be in the same room if he only just looked me way." She gave a hoarse laugh. "I won't say a word o' me feelins' right now. I can't. I'll just try ta settle fer bein' where I am fer now. I won't leave his home until I know he will eat without me. I cannot leave him ta wither away."

She sighed. "He is a good man, ma... He is a better man than I deserve. I would never do somethin' ta make him a villain. Did ye know he confronted Angus in the inn a while ago to defend me honor? Did ye know he's been payin' fer a lawyer ta make sure I get ta keep me boy?"

There was the faintest of echoes of Lottie's own youth in her daughter's words, the artist.. then Bill. Was the daughter to tred that same worn path? Lottie blinked rapidly at this new news. "That's good an' all, but what does he want in return?" American or not, he was a man, and men all wanted satisfaction.

"That is just it... he hasn't asked anything of me at all. He hasn't touched me other than ta tend to me while sick and get me safely to me bed. He's never asked fer anything since the day I met him. Never. Yet he's been me friend as he comes out o' his shell. And people of his household don't seem ta think badly o' me at all bein' around him as much as I am. Aye, they are happy ta know he eats again, and he experiments with his science projects, and he talks ta me. He's a widower, ma... His wife and his child were killed and he's been so... sad with his grief and nobody but I have been able ta get him to eat. But he lights up brighter than the midday sun when he is with us in this real world again. He doesn't tell me pretty words like Angus, he's just... there." She sighed, it was so easy now to see why Ruth was falling deeply in love with Edward Blackwood, yet the fright of doing just that was etched in the worry lines on her face.

"hmn, I see." Lottie murmmered. He certainly fit the description of an unfortunate soul rather than a beast hungry for the baser pleasures. The women of the family seemed to have a weakness for strays, runts, and other neglected souls. For Lottie, it was Anne; for Joe it was Pearl; for Ruth it appeared to be this fellow.

"Is it wrong o' me to love him in secret and just be there? He doesn't need ta know, ma. Nobody does. It'll just be me bein' happy ta listen ta him teach me about science and math. I know it's unrequited, but I'm just happy with him in my life at all. He's made me into a better person." And she surprised herself by saying as much, for her face reflected just that. "Oh, Ma, if only it could be simple and it didn't have ta be like this at all. The only thing I got that I don't regret out of me marriage ta Angus is Jacob, and he will not be just like his da, I won't let that happen. I want him to be around Mister Blackwood and the love that everyone seems ta have for him despite the circumstances o' his birth. He deserves to know how loved he is." She smiled, stood and reached out to touch his downy cheek as he now slept peacefully against his grandmother. "One day, he'll be a good man. I'll make sure o' it and make sure he treats women better than his da did."