The familiarity of those faces has another aspect: it creates a quiet, secret bond between the older clients and the volunteers.

We know MPs forge secret bonds of obligation with business and unions.

The two men share an anguished secret bond that dates back to a life-changing childhood incident.

It feels like a secret bond between the great Russian novelist and Adrian.

The habit in him, she felt, strengthened the secret bond that existed between them.

Always, when I see a light of recognition in the other person's eyes, I am aware of this secret bond.

They didn't know that the tattoos were a code for secret bonds she was hiding.

He felt the strength within the secret bonds of dependency and forced himself to be hard.

But for the rest of us, a secret bond with the land has been broken - because we can't set foot on it.

Taura was some kind of very special first for him, as he had been for her, and that secret bond had never faded.