Hearing the plan, Vela nodded.  It sounded quite a solid experiment.  "Well, that makes sense."  She agreed.  "If any of them help in that, it would be great for those that build houses.  Though it would also depend on the cost of the chemicals and the process of applying them to the lumber, I suppose."  She commented with a considering expression.

"I don't think you can put a price on people's lives." Edward says softly his attention on the fire for a few moments. Then he shakes his head and blinks before going back to recording how far along each flame had come thus far. He had marked the lengths of wood with notches to identify the length without having to get close enough to actually measure.

She nodded.  "True enough."  She agreed though if it was overly expensive would people do it?  She wasn't sure.  Hopefully, it wouldn't be so much that people would not be able to afford it.  "I will be bringing out lunch soon.  I'll make it up as a picnic for you out here."  She suggested but not allowing him to have the time to negate it.  She was going to have food near him and hope he would eat as he worked. 

She went back inside.  "It should be ready for luncheon."  She smiled at Eleanor.  "I will set it up as a picnic.  Is there a basket handy with a table cloth that would be bright and cheerful for a picnic?"  She asked knowing that how food was displayed and how it looked was as much an invitation to taste it as the smell and taste.

"Hrmm, okay?"

Edward says the idea of the picnic not really registering with him as he works. Mostly because the wood was almost completely consumed at this point and he was scribbling furiously in his notebook before grabbing a bucket of water he had nearby to douse the flame and the embers. Shoveling out the coals into the now empty bucket of water for Angus to dispose of while he sets up the next experiment.

Meanwhile, inside of the house, Vela would find Eleanor still in the kitchen looking up as she enters. "Hrmm, oh, yes of course Vela. I've got some baskets in the pantry and blankets in the linen closet lets find you what you need."

"Thank you, so much."  She responded heading directly over to the pantry and picked up a basket, and then to the linen and looked for a pretty bright blanket but not so nice as to be ruined outside on the grass.    Placing the items on a nearby counter, Vela set on to putting the dishes in appropriate dishes, along with a couple of plates with silverware, figuring Angus might be hungry as well.  She also got a pitcher to bring in some lemonade she had seen in the cooler with a couple of glasses.

Once she was sure everything was ready, she glanced at Eleanor with a look of let's hope this works kind of expression.  "Would you and maybe one of the maids mind helping me bring this outside for Mr. Blackwood?"  It would take her three trips if she did it alone.

Glancing over at the amount of food she'd gathered Eleanor's eyes go wide. "Trying to feed an army love?" The head maid says shaking her head but she obliges, calling down her daughter and together the two women help her carry the picnic feast out to the yard. Where they would find Edward in the same position as before watching the wood burn and scribbling down annotation as he does so.

With both hands holding the handles before her, Vela carried the large basket with the food and paused to indicate the blanket be spread beside Mr. Blackwood.  Once it was in place, she sat down across from Edward and put the basket beside her.  She motioned to have the pitchers and glasses on the other side. 

With a smile, she indicated the ladies.  "The ladies and I have brought you something to eat for luncheon.  Enough for you as well, Angus."  She added.  She then began to pull out the plates to set them out and putting food from each container from the basket into each plate.  She took her time making sure the smell of the dishes had time to wave over in Edward's direction (likely Angus's way as well).  Her plating of each item was carefully done so that nothing touched to anything else on the plate, in case he had a problem with that, some did.  Small portions, so not to overwhelm him, and with an attention to how it looked on the plate.

Putting silverware next to the plate with a napkin, she sat the meal next to Edward.  Then did the same, using the same methods, for a plate for Angus, and handing it to him.

Angus gave Vela a look of surprise when she offered him a plate. He wasn't used to eating at the same time or the same meal as the master of the house. For a moment he glances Edward's way but the man hadn't even looked up yet. Shrugging the big Scot dug in, demolishing the plate with eagerness.

"Ach! My lord lass, tha's some fine food! Dun think I've ever eaten anything sae rich."

The big man says with enough enthusiasm that Edward finally looks up blinking as he notices the picnic.

"Oh! A picnic, how lovely and ah, is this plate for me? Thank you very much Vela this looks excellent."

The man begins to absently pick at the plate still making notes with his other hand but the food was, for the moment, being eaten.

Vela smiled.  She had taken a risk offering Angus the plate, but it had gone well.  Edward was eating.  She didn't know how much of it he would eat, but he was getting nutrition.  Giving a look at Angus, "I'm glad you like it."  She had not eaten any herself yet, but would later.  Right now she just paid attention to the food items that Edward ate to make a note of them for later.  Knowing what he seemed to like was key. 

"Which kinds go faster with the fire so far?"  She asked.

"Hrmm, just the normal lumber is the fastest so far. This is the second baseline test. These logs were soaked with water, which helped at first but I think the heat eventually dried the wood and about halfway through it started to spread at the same rate."

The scientific process could take quite some time to produce results.