Ben had been focusing on his food when Melody spoke, and he was honestly a bit surprised that she'd done so. They didn't typically have much to say to one another, and he was used to excusing himself as soon as his plate was cleared to go about his own business in some other part of the house. He certainly hadn't expected her to start a conversation about Mr. Binns.

"Uh, sure," Ben said with a shrug. He'd run into Mr. Binns at a few parties here or there, but hadn't had a conversation of any depth with him. "He's a bit of a prick, isn't he?"

This was partly observation, but may also have been colored slightly by his suspicion about why Melody was bringing him up. He was a married man, from what Ben knew, with several children. What business did he have meeting with young debutantes? Or... not debutante, anymore, but Melody was still a young women all the same.