Oh, what a comfort it was to Theobald to
reflect that he had a wife on whom he could rely never to cost him a
sixpence of unauthorised expenditure! Letting alone her absolute
submission, the perfect coincidence of her opinion with his own upon
every subject and her constant assurances to him that he was right in
everything which he took it into his head to say or do, what a tower of
strength to him was her exactness in money matters! As years went by he
became as fond of his wife as it was in his nature to be of any living
thing, and applauded himself for having stuck to his engagement--a piece
of virtue of which he was now reaping the reward. Even when Christina
did outrun her quarterly stipend by some thirty shillings or a couple of
pounds, it was always made perfectly clear to Theobald how the deficiency
had arisen--there had been an unusually costly evening dress bought which
was to last a long time, or somebody's unexpected wedding had
necessitated a more handsome present than the quarter's balance would
quite allow: the excess of expenditure was always repaid in the following
quarter or quarters even though it were only ten shillings at a time.
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