"Oh, it's alright!" she said quickly, for this was the first time he'd simply just approached since before she even began to work for his brother. "You didn't know." It was true, he had knocked politely anyway. "He is doin' well enough I think. Growin' quickly." She commented in reply to his next words. Then she got up and walked to where he stood, pointing toward the direction of the kitchen. "If ye go that way, ye should eventually find the kitchen." She turned to look at him then, "What kind of experiment, if ye don't mind me askin'?"

"Ah, yes thank you," Edward says chipperly as she points the right way down the corridor. "As for my experiment, I am testing to see how the addition of salt affects the chemical composition of water and if it will improve its fire fighting capabilities in any way." He explains to her. "I do not believe it will but some controlled experiments to satisfy my curiosity won't go amiss I think."

He was going to set things on fire. She wished she could join but thought she would have to go get permission. "Can I watch?" she asked. "The bairn will be asleep soon and me time is done at work. I just want another bite ta eat first. Pot pie was made and they are me favorite so far. Ye should try it if ye haven't, it is delicious," she said, cheerfully, knowing it wouldn't hurt to encourage him to nibble here and there throughout the day, even if he just ate not long before.

"Hrmm, watch?" He says mulling it over and then shrugging. "I suppose so. I had Angus clear a spot in the backyard and they've laid some brick. Nice and far away from the house and treeline for safety. You can meet me out there." He says with an absent, if cheery, wave of his hand showing no sign that he'd heard her suggestion that he should try the pot pie as he heads towards the kitchen in his pursuit of salt.

It was later after she fed the babe that she put him in his cradle to sleep. She would not be gone long, and she knew that if anything was amiss, someone would surely find her and alert her to the fact. She stopped in the kitchen long enough to scarf down that pot pie, particularly hungry after nursing, and then headed to the garden.

The area where she found Edward made it clear that it had not, exactly, been set up because of his request. It was more of an outdoor fire pit for parties than it was a place for experiments. Likely he'd made the request, Angus had told Lane, Lane had told Ambrose and Ambrose had sighed and set something up that would be practical for his brother while still serving a function.

Edward was humming happily regardless though as he set up a fire in the pit, the sun already drifting towards the horizon. He is so wrapped up in what he is doing he doesn't notice Ruth's approach or that Angus, the groundskeeper, who was also present was fixing the fire as Edward worked on it. In that Angus was removing wood and making sure that when the professor went to spark it, it would actually catch. While the man may have been a genius of some sort, he seemed to lack some practical skills.

She situated herself not too far from the pair of men, but far enough to stay clear of any fire that would be set. She watched the man as he tinkered with the log, fascinated in whatever it was that made him tick. She was studying him, lifting one hand to the side of her face, resting it there, simply watching. It wasn't really the gaze of someone who hungered for another, it was studious.

Once the fire is going and quite large Edward claps his hands in excitement. He had a variety of bottles to one side and some sticks that he'd wrapped with cloth at one end. Taking one he dips it into the fire until the cloth catches fully pulling it out and setting it on the bricks.

Humming to himself, not even realizing he is being watched, he grabs one of the bottles and pulls out a pocket watch. There was, evidently, a small hole in the lid because he holds it at roughly waist height above the burning cloth and begins pouring a trickle of water onto the stick slowly. One eye on his watch, one on the stick. Once it is completely drenched and the fire out he bounces on his feet heading over to a notebook he'd left on a small table to write something in it.

"Oh,"

He looks up, the table was all but in front of where Ruth was sitting.

"Hello Miss Blacke, I almost forgot you were coming did you just arrive?"

"Nay, sir, I've been here since before ye start to light the log on fire," she said this with veiled amusement. Her hand moved from her face and she forced her gaze away so it didn't seem like she was staring. She had been, however. She knew she couldn't stay much longer with the babe in the cradle, but that didn't stop her from trying to figure him out.

"Oh, hrmm, I didn't notice you should have said something. I would have explained."

Gesturing to the pile of sticks and jars.

"So, I am going to light each stick one at a time than spray it down with the contents of the jar while recording how long it takes to douse the flame entirely. The first jar had plain ordinary water, I will repeat the experiment twice more just to get an average and then move onto the salt water and there will also be a blend with bicarbonate. Each one will get three tests total and when I am done I will hopefully know if any of them is better at fighting ordinary fire than the other."