Besides, the "Talk to Young Wives" said that indirect influence was much to be preferred, always, to direct persuasion--which last, indeed, usually failed to produce results.
So Billy "dressed up," and practiced, and talked (of anything but the baby), and even hinted shamelessly once or twice that she would like to go to the theater; but all to little avail.

True, Bertram brightened up, for a minute, when he came home and found her in a new or a favorite dress, and he told her how pretty she looked.

He appeared to like to have her play to him, too, even declaring once or twice that it was quite like old times, yes, it was.

But he never noticed her hints about the theater, and he did not seem to like to talk about his work, even a little bit.
Billy laid this last fact to his injured arm.

She decided that he had become blue and discouraged, and that he needed cheering up, especially about his work; so she determinedly and systematically set herself to doing it.
She talked of the fine work he had done, and of the still finer work he would yet do, when his arm was well.