She forces the children to stand whilst she lays the fire and lights it, before having the boy fetch a large pan of water which she places on the range.When the pan is sufficiently heated she pours its contents into the bathtub and sends the boy to refill it. Pan by pan the tub slowly fills and when almost full, she instructs Alice to remove her clothes. Alice is initially shy since a boy is present, but Mrs Postlethwaite tells her not to be stupid or shy. Alice undresses and steps in the bath where their brutal host scrubs her from head to toe. “I’ve got a good mind to chop this off!” she barks as she washes the girl’s thick red locks. Then she tells the boy to fetch his case from the hallway and when he returns, she instructs him to undress.