Nell stopped what she was doing, wiped her hands on her apron, and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. A broad smile broke across her homely face, which was dominated by a nose slightly too large and crooked to the right to be handsome, and a burn mark on her left cheek from a hot poker, courtesy of an older brother with a predilection for hurting others. She had kind eyes and a comforting bosom always ready to offer warm hugs. Nell was a consummate homemaker without a home to call her own. She did the next best thing and entered the Willow haushold soon after the death of her own husband and the sad demise of Castor’s young wife. She transformed the haus into a sanctuary of snugness and creature comforts.