She had been bid to stop working, not just because of her vroken hand but because the servants seemed to happily helped to facilitate the relationship. She was bored without work and she took to wandering the garden. Nobody stopped her from finding joy in gardening. She was given a pair of gloves but only used the one for it's first forray. She was kneeling in the grass, her good hand, sans the glove, touched the earth, finding peace in the quiet solitude.

"Ah, Ruth, there you are."

Edward's voice cut through the air as he walked up to her. He was dressed down, just a white dress shirt to go with his plain leggings.

"I'm glad you finally agreed to take a furlough to let your wrist heal."

He'd just been informed that she'd capitulated to the collective concern.

"I have been bored into madness so I came out here. Maybe it's just that I can weed with one hand. I like ta garden." She said and looked up at him with a smile. "Somethin about it is relaxin."

"Yes, I thought you might be bored, that is why I was looking for you." He grinned at her brightly. "I thought you might want to come into town with me, I want to pick a few things up from the apothecary. Though if you'd rather garden, I'd understand."

She considered it for a moment, then stood. "Shall I fetch Jacob?" She gave him a smile despite the fear of being treated like some kind of soiled dove. She did get some reputation back but she was free to love after Angus acted like the putrid ass he was. She smiled more as she pictured him crying over some ailment he got from fucking the whole of England.

Ruth put her hand in Edward's hand.

"If you wish, but I thought it might be nice to go with just the two of us." A bit of a scandal by British standards perhaps, but he was American and he was less inclined to follow such stuffy rules that dictated whether a woman could accompany a man without a chaperone.

She gave pause and then said, "Mayhap he stays home. Tis cold today. It seens like it might snow."

"Wonderful," Edward smiled brightly at her choice. While he did adore the boy, he did think the two of them deserved at least some time alone together.

"Shall we go get ready to go?" He offered her his arm so they could head into the manor and grab their coats.

She went with him to town. She knew some were staring and she very deliberately ignored them. Her hand rest upon his arm as they traversed the slish and the crowd. "Ye know, I was worried for a moment I didn't think I could face judgement but I'm already a fallen woman in their eyes. We may face some anger but it doesn't matter."

"I don't see why it would be any business of theirs what we are doing." Edward shrugged his shoulders lightly as he leaned into her. "We are both adults, we are permitted to do as we wish so long as we are breaking no laws and I do not believe we are."