Parker did enjoy Ruth's company. The woman was down to earth and, like him, from a life that had once been far simpler. Now the two stood in a maze of technology and hidden battlegrounds. It was fun in many ways, both could agree—it added an edge of excitement the two thought they would have long ago lost, and it kept them young while at the same time aging them hideously. When it came down to it, neither would trade this life for the world, though Ruth was the first to admit that at moments like this, she was more than willing to leave it all behind and try a far more bland way of life—that, and she's would probably still have her oaken brown locks. She'd been so proud of them when she was young.
Parker didn't really have anything to say but the same old niceties. The boys were strong and resilient and while they had been shaken by this, badly, they would pull through because they had her. Yes, they had snapped at her, but that wasn't her fault—they were understandably scared and probably confused, not to mention recovering from very bruised prides. Once they had found their footing again, and themselves, they would apologise, probably to the point she would get sick of it, because they were gentlemen, and a gentleman never forgets when he has wronged someone.
The soft and polite coughing announced her Ladyship's arrival, the young mistress clearly having something weighing her down, and it was no surprise to anyone when that weight turned out to be a certain young sir. What was a bit of a surprise was that the young man in question apparently didn't trust his brother a far as he could throw his 'bird, but as she laid out the evidence she had been given, things became clear. Mrs. Tracy was biased but Parker saw the pieces. He would talk to her Ladyship properly later, but he certainly agreed with Gordon.