Ben had no desire to sit down. It implied he was going to be staying long enough that he ought to be sitting, and the idea made him wildly uncomfortable. After she'd sat, though, he didn't think he had much choice. It would have been strange to talk down to her while she was sitting, and he didn't want to offend her after she'd gestured to a chair. He was under no illusion that any of the Finches would ever like him, but if Melody had been here it might mean that she was one step closer to bringing the gap with her family, after they'd burned bridges a year ago. Ben knew how lost he would have been without Aldous to pull him out of the gutter (thankfully never literally, yet), and he wanted Melody to have someone like that — so for her sake, he was going to be on his best behavior. He sat, though only on the edge of the chair. He was quite obviously uncomfortable.

"I'm looking for my wife," he said honestly; no time to play games or mince words. "Has she been here? Today or last night?"