Lirael froze when she felt the gloved hand on her back, her brain struggling to interpret the situation and decide on a course of action. When the laces had been undone down to the small of her back, she spun back to face him. "Bold?" She was a bit breathless, which took away from the 'righteous indignation' she had been trying to convey. "It's hardly my fault these sendings are addled with old age. I've only just convinced them that the shower is more effective than dumping a pail of water when I get home."
Perhaps bringing up the shower wasn't the brightest idea, if she were trying to... Well, she wasn't sure what she was trying to do. But she couldn't very well have him thinking she'd been undressing on purpose. Her delay in correcting him, though, may have been more telling than she wished.