She stood there in the doorway and stared about her before she entered.

She thought the rush matting that covered the floor was cold; she thought the oak furniture sombre.

Without realizing the need for tact, she said so.
"You want a woman in here," she said, thinking that she was paving the way for herself--"to warm things up a bit--you know what I mean--make things more cosy." He put a chair out for her by the fire.

It had a rush-bottomed seat to it, and for the first few moments she worried about in it, trying vainly to make herself comfortable.
"What would you do ?" he asked quietly, filling a well-burnt pipe from a tobacco-jar.
She took this as encouragement--jumped to it, as an animal to the food above it.
"Do?
Well, first of all I'd have a nice thick carpet." There was no need to force the note of interest into her voice.

She was already absorbed with it.