They exchanged a good long stare, for at first she was too startled to move; and then he murmured, "_Restez donc_." She lowered her eyes again on her book and after a while heard him walk away on the path.

Her heart thumped while she listened to the little birds filling the air with their noise.

She was not frightened.

I am telling you this positively because she has told me the tale herself.

What better authority can you have.