Ed didn't know what Ashleigh knew, of course. If he had known, he might have been more worried about this visit. Or, at least, he wouldn't have wasted time caring what the woman thought of him.
He stared a bit himself at what she said next, unable to believe she'd speak that way about her own daughter and when he noticed his girl looking down at her plate, he reached for her hand under the table, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
"If there's a more beautiful girl on campus, I've yet to meet her," he responded calmly, looking the woman straight in the eye. "With all due respect, Mrs. Barton, I don't think Ashleigh is homely at all. I think she's beautiful.. intelligent.. I'm definitely not just 'settling..' Quite frankly, I can't imagine ever meeting anyone as amazing as her."
Ed wasn't usually a man of quite so many words, but.. his girlfriend's own mother was insulting her. He couldn't just not defend her.