Best way to display crossword?

I have a crossword, and I display those small numbers in the top corners. The problem is, once you enter the word, it obviously removes the number. If I have a word going down from another, that number gets wiped out.

Does anyone have any suggestions or a workaround for this?

Thanks.

Use a flexgrid. Display the numbers as pictures in the cells. allow enough columns width to right justify the text and have both the picture and the letter in the cell...

That sounds like a good idea, I will work on that.