She returns his smile, though she looks dubious. "That cannot be so, my dearest heart. What kindness or gentleness could you have seen in me in those first minutes, or even those first days? I did naught but rail at my cage like a foolish child, begging to be given a horse and set loose, or at least allowed to see the measure of my captivity. Though I would never mock one who spoke in sincerity, nor send away one who spoke with truth."

Her smile turns more fond. "That drew me to you, even at the first--I could not doubt your honesty, in anything you said or did. You told me no falsehoods, not even kind ones meant to spare me pain. That, I valued. I still do."