Melody sighed, and Ben echoed the sentiment. He felt tired, not physically but both mentally and emotionally, and he wanted to sit. There was only one chair in the room, though, and Melody was in it. There were other things that looked vaguely sit-able, but he hadn't been in this room before and he didn't know where she'd unpacked things, and the last thing he wanted to do was perch on top of a chest that she needed to get into in order to keep getting ready for bed, thereby further intruding on her. So he opted for sitting on the edge of the bed, although he felt a little awkward about it.

"Tonight was... well, I think it's good that we invited them, and that they all came — for the sake of appearances, you know," he said, looking at his hands rather than at her. The fact that they'd all shown up signaled that they were treating this marriage as legitimate — or at least, that they wanted everyone outside of the family to think they were — and it was a necessary first step towards smoothing things over in the long run. "But it was too soon for... well," he said, awkwardly. "I don't think any of them hate you, in case that was the impression you got. They just... need some time to get used to things. It'll get better."

Merlin, he hoped it would, anyway.