He rose up suddenly, shaking her hand away.
The color mounted to her temples, but she controlled the temper that burned within her.
"You are out of sorts, dear husband; and I am lonesome. Come away from this cold room."
"It is not colder than usual," he answered, curtly; but a thrill ran through his frame and the blood tingled in his veins. She had never called him by that endearing name but once before, not even in the first days of their marriage.
Her hand had fallen lightly on his wrist—she felt the leap of the pulse, and smiled with inward triumph.
"Come, come. I am getting angry. How could you neglect me so? Busy, busy, all the time; about what? and I left alone! Come—this morning I will take no refusal! You shall breakfast with me!"
Nelson took her hand, grasping it hard, and looked steadily in her face.
"Ellen, what is the meaning of this?"
"It means that I want to see my husband now and then, or he will forget how much I love him."
Nelson shook his head. This sweet flattery was too sudden. It lacked the ring of truth, and he felt it.