She was about to open her mouth to tell him he had the wrong bit of food, but the man was eating. She fought the urge to run and go fetch Betsy and to point wildly at him in the excitement that he was eating! And all it took was a reminder to eat. That was it. That was it? That meant everyone was too busy walking on eggshells around the poor man. He was so lost in his own world that he didn't even notice, either... until he was reminded to function.

She sat down then and decided to pull the switcheroo after all. She was too honest for her own good sometimes! "I believe this one is yers, sir," she said cheerfully and gently pushed the plate to him. Assuming he took that, she took the other food and didn't even bat an eye at eating it.

"Oh? Is it?" He eyes the new food for a moment as she slides it in front of her. She looks away from him to focus on her dish and by the time she looks back he has returned to the books shelving them steadily the food utterly untouched.

"Alright... Ye can have mine..." she slid it back without having taken a bite. "Please... Sit down, sir, and eat." She looked at the fancier food and salivated, pulling it to her reluctantly and then looking at him pointedly. She worried that they would be angry with her if she ate his food, but if it meant he would eat something at all, then she would go home knowing she did the right thing and she would just have to move on.

"Hrmm, what?" Edward says absently as he continues to work. It wasn't that he didn't want the food, it was that he'd forgotten it was even there. The problem went far beyond simply people walking on eggshells around him. As evidenced by the fact that he didn't stop working, she'd gotten his attention on the food enough for him to eat a few bites but those few bites seemed like enough to Edward.

She watched him with almost a deadpan expression, looking between him and the food. She took a few bites of food and then got up to help him with the books. Ruth was determined by then, arms akimbo for a moment as she paused in shelving. What could she do? With a sigh, she thought about sticking a book in the wrong place on purpose to see if that would get him out of his deep concentration. But she didn't. "Ye know... ye have a lot of books, sir." She paused and slid a book in place, glancing around to see how much work they had left in truth. "But they aren't goin' anywhere," she continued, shelving two more books in that timeframe.

"Yes they are, they are going on the shelf."

Edward says, apparently her statement caught his attention. He looks over and frowns for a moment as something niggles at him for a moment. He frowns and his gaze sweeps the room and he spots the food once again.

"Oh, were you not hungry? Looks like the food has barely been touched."

He says as he strokes his chin and then nods.

"Ah, I got distracted again. Of course, I should eat I suppose."

He goes back to the near dish, this time it was the wellington and he takes a few bites of it.

"Ye keep letting yerself get distracted from yer food, sir. I mean ta say that the books can wait until ye have eaten yer fill." Jacob chose at that moment to start rooting for his own dinner and Ruth said, "Seem's me bairn is in agreement with that sentiment." She was in a conundrum now... if she left him on his own, he would probably continue to ignore his food... but she had to feed the baby at the same time. "I should probably feed him..." she said quietly.

"Hrmm?" Edward blinks and then he seems to remember the baby. "Oh, yes, you should feed them. And you should eat. Mothers require a greater amount of sustenance during and post-childbirth since they are providing for the baby. You should eat, your food looks like it is getting cold." He notes though she would doubtless notice that this new piece of information had once again lead to him abandoning his own meal.

Jacob started to whimper in frustration. She wanted to do the same, truth be told. Trying to get a grown man to eat was harder than feeding her infant. She rubbed her forehead and said, "Ye won't eat if I leave the room ta feed Jacob. Ye're more interested in yer books than feeding yerself." Ruth shook her head and stood.

"Hrmm, why would I need to eat? I ate recently... I had some stew just a few moments ago." He says with a shrug of his shoulders, as though him eating three mouthfuls of stews was enough for a full-grown man. "Take care of yourself and your child, I am fine." He gives her a warm and genuine smile. The man believed what he was saying despite the fact that it was clearly evident that he was not fine. He was obviously still underweight, gaunt and pale.