Ben turned to Tobias. "He's been tryin' to live of Elijah's charity. And he's no doubt talkin' to you for yer money, Tobias. But he's not the type that you'd want near Alice."

Alice was fascinated by that splinter.

Tobias, meanwhile, was getting pretty fed up. He had learned by now that Ben was harsh and judgmental, but having his father-in-law telling him what company to keep and not keep went too far. "That's quite enough, Ben," he said, raising his voice a little.

Anthony furrowed his brows. Those things may have been true, but he was still offended and hurt by his words. He took a small step back, and decided to just try and wait this one out, difficult as it may be. He wasn't in the mood to dig his own grave by saying something stupid.

Ben looked surprised, and displeased. "I'm just warnin' ye, and tryin' to protect me daughter. You shouldn't let folk like that near her." He nodded in the direction of Anthony.

Tobias' experience of Anthony hadn't been altogether great, but the man seemed pathetic rather than evil, and Tobias was appalled by Ben's behavior. He held up his hand. "And protecting your daughter is my duty now, and I assure you I do it with care. But I do not need you telling me what to do."

That caught Alice's attention. She looked up and glanced at her father's and husband's faces.

Ben drew a sharp breath and balled his fists. "As you say," he said, voice quiet with anger. "Alice was fatigued. Make sure she rests and drinks something before you set off, if such advice doesn't offend you." He put a hand on Alice's shoulder, glared at Anthony, and then turned and marched out of the inn. Tobias put a hands to his forehead, closed his eyes and frowned.

Anthony was much too frightened to even breathe, much less say anything. If there were only one thing which he would be scared of, it would be Ben. He stood and stared at the table, feeling very deflated. Was he crying? Oh, no. Yes, he was crying. He didn't mean to cause this whole argument, and most definitely didn't mean to cause it by merely existing. Was he overreacting? Probably, yes, but to him it seemed perfectly justified.

Tobias frowned deeper. He'd have to talk to Ben next time. Try and reconcile. This was all very bad. He didn't like Ben particularly much - he had, at first, but it had been a misjudgment of character; he was even more certain of that after what had just come out of the man's mouth - but he couldn't have conflict with Alice's family. That was a concern for later though.

He dropped his hand and opened his eyes. "I'm so sorry about that," he said, and he turned to Anthony. "Oh..." Now he felt really bad. He put a hand on Anthony's shoulder. "Here, sit down. Don't mind what he said. He's a..." he realized Alice was there. "bit harsh and judgmental."

As if he didn't already know that. Anthony nodded, and sat down a bit reluctantly. He felt awfully bad for the girl, stuck here in the crossfire like that. "It's fine," Anthony said, as he started to tap his fingers on his glass again. It most definitely was not fine, and he wasn't about to admit it. But he didn't even need to, as it was already obvious.

"I'll get you a drink," said Tobias, as if that would make everything alright. And then he looked at Alice. "Tea?" she nodded, and he was off.

Alice looked up at Anthony shyly, with wide eyes and a little frown. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Anthony nodded and mouthed an 'okay'. A drink seemed good, especially right now. As Tobias set off, Anthony went back to fidgeting with and admiring the glass, as if there were nothing more interesting. "It's alright," said Anthony in response to the girl. He would have been alrighter had she been quiet and let him ignore her.

The girl continued to glance at him occasionally, but remained quiet. She started plucking at that splinter again, until she managed to pull it loose. Another glance. Then she started twisting it between her fingers. Glance.

Anthony was growing very aware of the eyes on him. It made him more uncomfortable by the second, but he was not about to say anything about it. Instead, he kept tapping his fingers on the glass as if it were the first time he'd ever seen one. Tobias, please come back.