"Oh!" she exclaimed, dropping the rock in surprise and falling back into the grass. The surprise quickly shifted into embarrassment. She blushed from root to throat and looked guiltily at the roses in the hole she'd dug. Behind her, her garden and cottage spread itself out like a painted tableau. The young woman looked as if she'd been born there, so perfectly she matched the landscape.
"Ah -- yes, yes, I'm all right," she said, quickly recovering. "I just -- you surprised me, is..."