Her soft laugh had a naturally merry note.

He heard it first when she held him quite still at her side as they watched the frisking of some baby rabbits.
There was a curious relief in realising, as the hours passed, that her old dislike and dread of him had melted into nothingness like a mist blown away in the night.

She was thinking of him as if he were some mature and wise friend who had always been kind to her.

He need not rigidly watch his words and hers.

She was not afraid of him at all; there was no shrinking in her eyes when they met his.