Claude paused in what he was doing to take a look at Anise's completed bag. "Hey, that's great!" he brightly said. "I'll bet whoever you give that to will love it."

After that, he returned his attention to the drawing. By now he'd finished a rough sketch of Anise's hair, face, and shoulders. While he would have liked to have her pose for it, Claude was more or less satisfied with the basic outline he had. With that done, he began to darken the lines and give her face more definition.

"By the way," he lightly added after a moment, "how was your trip to Doyleton yesterday? Do anything interesting?"