‘ And he rose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart. And the damsel's father said, “Comfort your heart, I pray you, stay until the day declines.” And they did eat, both of them '
This time he definitely intended to take leave of his father-in-law. But the father-in-law wanted to keep him as long as possible, perhaps still at his daughter's urging.
The father-in-law knew that it was not possible to indicate that he wanted to delay him another day, so instead he pressed him to stay until after the evening meal, which was eaten in mid afternoon. And the Levite, probably unwillingly, agreed. And they ate the meal together. But the continued delay was to cost him dearly.
In all this there is no mention of the wife, for she was not considered to be important in the situation, although she no doubt ate with them. This was a matter between man and man. She had to fall in with their wishes.