“Well, dear. It seems it’s time for my afternoon bath,” Elspeth cheerfully stated, turning away from the clock and back to him. James looked at her, confused for a second as to what she was saying.
“Oh. Okay, then. Er..... do I need to do anything? Get you anything? Mistress Elspeth?”, James queried in an unsure tone. Elspeth chuckled, shaking her head. “No, no, dear. You don’t need to do anything. In fact.....”
With a quick swipe of her hand, Elspeth picked James up and walked with him towards a mahogany door. “I’d say this is me doing something for you!”, she smiled.
Before he could properly register what was going on, James found himself placed on edge of a bathroom sink, which he stuck to marvelously well given his sticky new feet and hands. Elspeth, who had just entered the bathroom with James, turned around to shut the door behind her.
“M-Mistress Elspeth? Wh-What are you doing?”, James asked cautiously.
“I already told you, dear. I’m taking my afternoon bath. You’re welcome to join me, or just watch. Either is fine with me.”
James felt nausea and panic ripple throughout his core. While it was true that Elspeth was turning out to be far kinder and more hospitable a witch than James had anticipated, she was still an old woman. And while she wasn’t ugly, by any stretch of the imagination, James wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of coming face to face with the saggy, nude bosom of an elderly lady.
Before he could object, trying to find a way to explain that he didn’t want to see her naked in a way that wouldn’t offend her, Elspeth began to disrobe, humming a tune to herself that was wholly unfamiliar to James. As she removed her black shawl, James looked around the bathroom for a way to escape. Aside from a window that was too high for him to reach and the door that was too tightly shut for him to squeeze out through, there was no exit.
While Elspeth began to take off her tar colored boots, she turned on the bath with a wave of her hand. Steamy, hot water began to pour force from the golden faucet and into the claw foot tub, and the smell of lavender filled the room.
“M-M-MIS-MISTRESS EL-ELSPETH. ARE YOU SURE YOU W-WOULDN’T RATHER I G-GIVE YOU SOME PRIVACY?”, James stammered. Elspeth shook her head, taking off her second boot. “I’d rather you stay here with me, dear. You’ll be seeing a lot of me, clothed or not, so what better way to get acquainted with that the latter than with a nice bath? Besides, I’ve already seen you in the buff! Fair’s fair, right?”
Elspeth chortled merrily, as James experienced a feeling of shame and horror that he couldn't properly describe, either in English or in ribbits.