"Did he mean Mr. Thorne by Leslie?"
"Of course."
"But isn't his name Maverick?"
"Did you call him that?"
"I can't remember, though I suppose I must have done so. Some of the others certainly did."
Florence looked amused.
"I suppose you haven't an idea what a maverick is?"
Alison said that she had none at all, and her companion proceeded to inform her.
"It's a steer that won't feed and follow tamely with the herd, but goes off or gets wild and smashes things, and generally does what's least desirable. As you have spent some days with him you will no doubt understand why they have fixed the name on Thorne."
Alison glanced at her with a sparkle in her eyes.