'She?' said Evan, faintly. 'May she come, Louisa?' He hoped for Rose.
'I have consented to mask it,' returned the Countess. 'Oh, what do I not sacrifice for you!'
She turned from him, and to Evan's chagrin introduced Juliana Bonner.
'Five minutes, remember!' said the Countess. ' I must not hear of more.' And then Evan found himself alone with Miss Bonner, and very uneasy. This young lady had restless brilliant eyes, and a contraction about the forehead which gave one the idea of a creature suffering perpetual headache. She said nothing, and when their eyes met she dropped hers in a manner that made silence too expressive. Feeling which, Evan began:
'May I tell you that I think it is I who ought to be nursing you, not you me?'
Miss Bonner replied by lifting her eyes and dropping them as before, murmuring subsequently, 'Would you do so?'
'Most certainly, if you did me the honour to select me.'
The fingers of the young lady commenced twisting and intertwining on her lap. Suddenly she laughed:
'It would not do at all. You won't be dismissed from your present service till you 're unfit for any other.'
'What do you mean?' said Evan, thinking more of the unmusical laugh than of the words.