Page 26 of Not Without Me, Miss Elizabeth

Darcy gave her a scowl, “Your sympathy is remarkably cheerful.”

That did it. Elizabeth turned away, pressing her lips together in a vain effort to suppress her laughter. Meanwhile, he exhaled loudly, likely in disgust, staring up towards the ceiling, to look anywhere but in her direction.

Finally, after a few moments, Elizabeth let out a long breath and resigned herself to the inevitable. "What is it you require, Mr. Darcy?"

His face had gone quite crimson at her question, and Elizabeth strove to keep her own countenance composed. It was, after all, a natural enough necessity, however uncomfortable the circumstance. His mouth had set into a hard, mortified line, and she did not doubt he felt the indignity of it as keenly as she did herself, perhaps more so. Still, she meant to help him however she could.

At last, evidently unable to delay further, he spoke. "Miss Elizabeth, I mean to walk to the corner. Might you draw down my trousers from behind, then turn away until I have finished? Afterward, I would ask your assistance in setting them right again."

"Of course, Mr. Darcy," she said, striving for an even tone, though privately she could think of nowhere on earth she would rather not be at that moment.

He could not help but notice the deep colour flooding her neck and cheeks, her mortification at the office plain enough for either of them to see.

I must free his hands,she thought.We cannot go on managing like this.

He crossed to the corner with as much dignity as he could summon, though inwardly he felt he had walked the length of every embarrassment a gentleman might know. He had certainly never before had occasion to ask a lady for such assistance.

Her heart raced, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and awkwardness. "How am I to help, sir?"

"Take hold at the waist, and draw down," he said quickly, adding, "You may fix your eyes upon the ceiling, madam."

She lifted her gaze to the ceiling at once, before recollecting she must first locate the waist of his trousers. Once her bound hands had found theirplace, she raised her eyes again and pulled, continuing until he said, "That will do, stop there."

She turned at once and returned to the bed, fixing her attention upon the opposite wall, humming quietly to herself, rather too loudly, perhaps, in an effort to drown out what followed, and waited for his further word.

After what felt a very long interval, he cleared his throat and called her back to assist with his trousers. She approached with her eyes still lifted to the ceiling until she stood behind him.

His shirt, mercifully, hung long enough to preserve what modesty remained to either of them. She set her bound wrists at the waistband and drew it upward, no small labour, working as she was against both gravity and his own frame, until at last the task was done.

"Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. That will be all."

She turned and made her way back to the bed, resuming her place, while he returned to his own spot next to her, facing the wall, his eyes fixed determinedly upon anything but her.

Elizabeth took up his cuffs once more, and felt him flinch at her touch. She said nothing, only continued her work, her pulse still racing, the awkwardness in the room thick enough, she thought, to cut with a knife.

"Thank you… you were very kind," he said at last, after a long silence.

"Think nothing of it, sir." Though she suspected he could think of little else.

***

Quiet settled over them again as each worked through the discomfort of having relied upon the other for so intimate a necessity. Elizabeth found some relief in returning her attention to the cuffs, tugging as best her fingers allowed.

At last she felt a section give. "Oh! There it is!" She worked the loosened portion further, until it came free entirely. "Very nearly there, Mr. Darcy!"

"You are quite remarkable. Well done indeed." His words sounded something near admiration. He then added, "I have been turning over a plan of escape, and with our hands free, I believe we might attempt it."

"Do you think we ought, Mr. Darcy? These men seem dangerous enough. What if you should come to harm?" She asked, feeling a growing sense of insecurity.

He turned his head over his shoulder, not quite able to see her face, before saying, "Even should they receive their money, I cannot say what they mean to do with us afterward. I think it far more dangerous to remain than to attempt our escape."

Not long after, the final knot gave way, and he drew his wrists apart, free at last of his bonds. “Oh! You’re free at last!”

He turned to her at once, their earlier discomfort forgotten. "Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. You are quite extraordinary." He rubbed at his wrists and rolled his shoulders to ease them.

"Now, madam, allow me to return the favour." He took her hands in his and freed her bindings with far greater ease than she had managed his own.

Still sitting on the bed, now facing one another, Elizabeth naturally grabbed hold of her wrists as Darcy had done earlier, "Thank you, sir."