Wifelet

Annie, wifelet, let me tell you of one of my foreign flirtations—one that I have never yet even hinted to you.

The third of veils again,— / So telleth Little Love,— / Is private in its skein, / For her exactest fane, / And for her special dove. / [...] / ’Tis made of wax of bees, / Of fairy wax, fay bees, / And in its charmful frieze, / Letteth no public breeze / Canvass the wifelet’s glees.

As on a journey, when the ship is lying at anchor, thou mayest land to take in water, and gather shells and the like upon the shore, but must keep the vessel still in view, and when the steersman beckons, must leave all else at once to come on board; so, too, in life's pilgrimage, if wifelet or little one be given thee for a while, it may be well, but see to it that thou art ready, when the pilot calls, to go at once, and turn not to look back.

'You are most awfully fetching to-night—you look so jolly mysterious somehow,' he said joyously, putting his cheek against hers. 'Give me a kiss, wifelet.' She gave him one. She would have given him a dozen of the trivial things had he asked for them! Then she laid her hand on his.

Well, speak to your little wifelet, your little bunny, for God's sake.

'My own little wifelet.' Harriet hung her head. 'Why not Sally-Anne? Why me?' Why indeed, he wondered, looking at the big blonde child who fate had proclaimed should be Mrs Grenderlyn?

I mean, who are you holding up as an example of marital bliss? Mummy, the unpaid housekeeper? Allegra, the largely ignored trophy wifelet?

[T]he new wifelets [androids] couldn't enjoy the taste of food, despite being programmed to be perfect cooks. The wifelets were nonetheless programmed to comment about the food they cooked. While "eating" with their owner, they would occasionally pause and say reflectively, "Perhaps I should have put in a bit more salt," or, "I might have overdone the potatoes just a little." Of course this was never true, but it added to the authenticity of a meal.

In stature the Manlet was dwarfish— / No burly big Blunderbore he: / And he wearily gazed on the crawfish / His Wifelet had dressed for his tea.

Old Kit is a painter, and so is his wife, or rather his wifelet, for "wife" always sounds too sober and matronly a word for so dainty a pocket Venus.