If the room did not look quite so freshly scrubbed as most farm wives kept their homes – Tam’s piperack and The Travels of Jain Farstrider sat on the table, while another wood-bound book rested on the cushion of his reading chair; a bit of harness to be mended lay on the bench by the fireplace, and some shirts to be darned made a heap on a chair – if not quite so spotless, it was still clean and neat enough, with a lived-in look that was almost as warming and comforting as the fire.