[ He might have been more inclined to believe the latter, honestly, because that's just what he expected. But the faintest surge of emotion he'd picked up before Claude had blurted that out made him think otherwise. That the former was the truth and Claude was trying to cover it up.

He ponders that for a moment as he samples a bite of the stew and then steals a bit of the roast bird as he tries to figure out how to come back at that.

Which is how he ends up propping his chin in his hands and eyeing Claude curiously a moment later. ]

You musta been really subtle about it. Finding me that interesting back then, I mean. I was usually pretty aware of that sort of thing. [ Then again, he's pretty sure Claude's still trying to be subtle about it now unless he's reading into things too much. Which he does, on occasion, but the brief glimpses into Claude's emotions tonight are starting to make him doubt that. ]