[ It's comical, seeing that little carrot in the palm of Marianne's hand -- he really did miss dinner, didn't he? Still, he lets out a laugh, some of the weight lifting from his shoulders as he accepts it and begins to munch on it while he shrugs out of his coat and cravat, starting to get comfortable again as he eases himself down onto a nearby stump. ] If I keep hanging out with you, one of these days, I'm going to start neighing.

[ It's been nice, having Marianne by his side. It's different from his negotiations back home -- Marianne is different from back home, where she had been hidden away, not yet the representative of her adoptive family's house. Quiet and mild-mannered though she may be, he thinks that she's nonetheless an invaluable ambassador of their people. With one look at the likes of Claude, they can see him for what he is: a dyed-in-the-wool politician, good to barter with, but someone you can trust about as far as you can throw them. Marianne, on the other hand, has the sort of earnestness that Claude cannot even begin to fake. A figure of goodwill, if you will. ]

I think it went okay. [ Claude runs a hand through his hair, mussing his previously coiffed locks. ] As well as we could reasonably expect it to, all things considered. There was only so much that we could prepare for something like this, with how isolated we are in Aldrip. They didn't seem as distrustful as I'd feared, considering they won't even let us stay in their inns. What do you think? You couldn't have had the opportunity to sit in on many negotiations back home, not with the Margrave tending to most of those affairs.