"Just John," assented Aylmer. "Just John what?"
"John Aylmer," said the boy and stared in surprise at his new friend's startled visage. But the other John Aylmer was not looking at his namesake. He was looking at the girl who held him.
Her eyes answered the glance gravely, sternly, even defiantly, and in silence.
"You?" cried Aylmer. "You are—?"
She hesitated.
"John's nurse," she said, looking him steadily in the face.
CHAPTER III
THE SHADOW OF A NAME
For a moment there was silence between the two. Aylmer's fingers unconsciously wound and unwound a tiny lock of hair in the horse's mane. His eyes travelled over the woman's face and figure appraisingly; his brows contracted into a frown of puzzlement.