I got on an absolutely packed train today with my DD (2 and a half) and my nephews (7&8). I do this journey a fair bit, it’s long, pushing on 6 hours when the service is inevitably delayed and always always heaving at the weekend with people getting on with those open return tickets (you can’t book seats for those afaik).
I’d booked four seats as I was travelling with three kids, my DD would have been free but she’s the most independent, fussy madam atm and I just know it’d have been absolute murder getting her to sit on my lap for 5+ hours so I bought her a child ticket along with mine and DN’s so she’d have her own seat.
I’m taking the boys down to stay at my mum’s so we had a fair bit of luggage, and the buggy but if booked near a luggage rack for ease. I didn’t get a table seat like I usually request, instead two seats of seats one directly behind the other. This is fine bc I’m able to see the boys and they’re generally good kids anyway and they had plenty to occupy themselves with.
So we get on and it’s already busy but we’re all settled, all three kids currently watching screens of some sort (it keeps them the quietest on the train
) and I’m indulging myself catching up on Killing Eve. Anout half way through the journey it’s really really busy, everyone’s in reserves seats and there’s a couple of people standing in the end bits and I assume it’s the same on the rest of the train.
Anyway I see two ladies get on, one is visibly older and has a stick. They walk down the whole length of the carriage and no one is (rightly I guess if they’ve booked them) offering a seat for this lady. My DD is actually being remarkably well behaved at this and I decided we could do the rest of the journey with her sat on my lap. I moved up to the window and got their attention and offered the aisle seat for the lady to sit down.
This gets met with a bit of a grunt, not even a thank you and I’m a bit 
but I’m not a fan of drama so I just ignore the rudeness of this and the lady sits down. The other woman just stands in the aisle next to our seats.
When it becomes apparent that the kids in front are “mine” they’ve been turning round periodically to chat to me, the old woman leans over to me and asks if I can move and share the seats with the boys so her daughter could sit down as well.
I honestly was speechless for a moment for the CF of it all and wondered if I had heard correctly. I apologised and was very polite and explained that no, I had already given up one seat for her and I didn’t want to spend the next two hours squeezed next to two kids with a toddler on my lap!
Woman’s daughter pointed at my DD and piped up with “she travels for free anyway” to which I swiftly told her that I had in fact purchased tickets for all four seats and made the reservations as I knew I’d need them and maybe they would learn to book reservations in the future (I was being a bit sarcastic at this point but honestly I was so taken aback with how cheeky it was).
She said “we couldn’t reserve with these tickets” and I replied “that’s not really my problem”.
Anyway I did not move and for the rest of the journey they both shot daggers at me and my DD every time she laughed or made any kind of normal toddler noise. I’d have kicked the woman back out of the other seat but my conscience wouldn’t allow me to because she’d have had to stand for two and a half hours but really?? I’ve never ever come across this type of thing before at all.
AIBU or should they have just been grateful that I even gave up a booked seat that I had paid for in the first place without expecting even more from me???