The message Joanna wanted to deliver was that she regarded Valerie as her sibling so that there was no other relationship that she expected from Valerie and her brother other than that.
Nonetheless, in a fleeting moment later Joanna found Valerie's demeanor to be loose. In other words, she looked relaxed.
"You may rest assured, Ann." Valerie's voice was heard as she finally spoke, responding to Joanna's chatter since she stepped inside her room. "Brother Phillip may change his mind, as he didn't say anything to me about his plan to return to Lasse in the near future." Joanna kept her eyes on Valerie's face even though she felt Valerie's hand wrapping hers as if comforting her.
From Valerie's words, Joanna implied that Valerie thought and wanted to tell her that her relationship with Phillip was not ordinary.
