He was much too
downright and matter-of-fact to be quick at taking hints of this sort.
He hoped that as soon as his wife's confinement was over she would
regain her health and had no thought save how to spare her as far as
possible till that happy time should come.
In the mornings she was generally better, as long that is to say
as Ernest remained at home; but he had to go out buying, and on his
return would generally find that she had had another attack as soon as
he had left the house. At times she would laugh and cry for half an
hour together, at others she would lie in a semi-comatose state upon
state upon the bed, and when he came back he would find that the
shop had been neglected and all the work of the household left undone.
Still he took it for granted that this was all part of the usual
course when women were going to become mothers, and when Ellen's share
of the work settled down more and more upon his own shoulders he did
it all and drudged away without a murmur. Nevertheless, he began to
feel in a vague way more as he had felt in Ashpit Place, at
Roughborough, or at Battersby, and to lose the buoyancy of spirits
which had made another man of him during the first six months of his
married life.
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