Meg had been gone for a long time, and Erik was becoming increasingly worried. He was hungry, bored and needed to use the lavatory, but sadly relied on his captor to alleviate all three uncomfortable feelings. He'd tried falling back asleep, but as time ticked on and there was no discernible indication that Meg was in the house, his fear that something had happened to her became significantly increased.
"What if my angry words caused her to run away, or worse, to kill herself? I can't stand the thought of dying in my bed, naked and restrained." He also thought about how nice a bath would feel right about now, but his filth was one of the last things on his mind at the moment until Meg returned. "I have to control my temper if I am to get out of this situation alive, preferably with her at my side. If I have to sacrifice my body so that she can trust me, so be it, and I will deal with the consequences of my actions when I have control of the situation, but I have to ultimately make her believe that I am on her side."
Meg had been wandering the labyrinthine hallways for hours now and though she knew where she was, she wasn't quite sure if she should head back to the surface or face her shame with Erik.
"I still love him and want him desperately, but I've rushed things in my haste to make him and to get pregnant. There is still that small hope that a child might be forming right now, though I must work to repair my relationship with Erik in the meantime. But oh, he felt so good when he was inside of me and though I know he was scared, I saw that lustful glimmer in his eyes that makes me believe that he wants it more when he realizes his feelings for me."
She had been close to the entrance to the street above, nearly fleeing to the arms of her supposedly frantic mother, but the prospects that she still held for her life with Erik encouraged her to return to his home and continue on with the life that they had been leading for the past few days.
Meg hadn't realized how far she's gone until it was time to go back. "I must have been pretty upset before for me not to recognize how far I was going. I probably walked in circles a few times, ranting and crying to myself in order for me to wander around with no sensible direction." She skirted along the narrow ledge following the canals and ducked below the portcullis, entering the large room that greeted trespassers to Erik's domain.
When Erik heard Meg's light footfalls on the chipping steps outside the kitchen, he was silently overjoyed. "For someone I hate so much, I sure am glad to hear that they are back." Not wishing to anger her further, he was genuinely happy to see her when she walked through the open doorway into his room. She looked tired and dejected, neither returning his smile nor acting at all happy to see him. She crossed the room without a word and unfastened the short chain so that he could move about the room more freely. He sat up and carefully looked at his broken wrist, grimacing at the ugly purple and green marks that were forming along the wound. He knew that his violent thrashing did not help to heal the break, but he began to worry that infection could set in from any blood, sweat or grime that may have leached into the puckered skin.
"Meg? I am going to be taking a bath and I think I am going to need your assistance as my hand does not seem to be doing very well." She nodded and helped him from the bed before he shut himself in the bathroom. The luxurious purple nightgown had been thrown into a corner that morning after she had gotten dressed, before seducing Erik, so she picked it up and threw it in the hamper after she knew that he was already immersed in the bathwater. She knocked on the door, and he answered her with the affirmative that she might enter.
He sat in the water with his right hand extended over the tub and a washcloth was conveniently draped above his knees, yielding him the only privacy he could have at this moment. Meg kneeled on the floor beside the porcelain basin and gently took the damaged appendage in her hand as she fished for the gauze and medical tape.
"It is healing nicely given the severity of the gash and that my stitches were crude, at best. I never was very skilled in sewing."
"Perhaps you should've thought of that before setting traps around my home. If you love me so much why would you risk my death?" She could feel his arm tense with unrestrained anguish as she held it lightly while bandaging the wrist. Truthfully she could say nothing in her defense that would substantially reconcile her actions, though now she was truly coming to regret forcing him on the bed.
Still, Meg found that she could not prevent herself from issuing an apology. "I'm very sorry, I never meant to hurt you."
"You truly are a hypocrite, Meg Giry, because in spite of all this pain and torture, you still won't let me go, will you?" She shook her head and feeling so much more vulnerable, Erik ordered her out of the bathroom. "Please remove yourself from my sight."
When she somberly exited the master bathroom, Erik was actually surprised that she didn't counter with some retort about her having all of the power over him. He was completely exposed to her and she could have very well trapped him naked in the bathroom, but her guilty conscious must have been overwhelming for her to leave without a word. He looked down at his genitals, surprised at how normal they looked despite the violent act that had taken place earlier. He didn't think that they would grow or look very different, but they seemed so…similar to when he had been a virgin. His body didn't feel any different either, but somehow, something had changed where he just didn't feel like he used to. The stickiness and sweat had long-since washed away in the mild water, though the filthiness still clung to him as though he'd fallen in mud. He scrubbed his skin again but he knew that there was little he could do to wash away the emotional scars.
"I can't keep thinking that I was raped or else I can never convince Meg that I trust her. I don't trust her, not for a second, but my one small chance to leave comes in me sharing my body with her and making her think that I am doing it willingly. I don't know how soon she will come to me again but I don't think that was a one-off moment, so I will have to just bite my tongue, try to be friendly and give in to her insatiable passions." The thought of whoring himself just for his freedom made Erik feel physically nauseous, but until he could be free from these chains, he saw no alternative.
Meg was changing the bed sheets when Erik came out of the bathroom clad only in a towel. She turned her head away in a vain attempt at being proper but Erik couldn't hold back from releasing a biting remark.
"You have seen me in the nude and engaged with me in the most intimate of acts, madam, don't think that I am at all naïve to your false show of being modesty." Her cheeks flushed scarlet, but he came back with a comment of sugarcoated sincerity. "However, in spite of everything that you have done already, I do thank you for taking care of me. I-I do still blame you and always will, but you could've left me to die and you didn't."
She nodded but her burdensome sorrow was too great for her to remain in his company any longer. In a moment of clarity she finally saw the brutal torture she'd inflicted on him with her crazed actions. Meg quickly bolted from the room and down the stairs, seeking a refuge in Christine's curtain-shielded bedroom. She usually avoided this room at all costs because of her extreme hatred of the girl, but she needed to seek the comforts of the soft mattress and hear the gentle sounds of the lake lapping upon the rocky shore. This mattress was very soft in comparison with the firmer hardness of Erik's large canopied bed, and she lay back for a minute, choosing not to dwell on the selfishness she'd subjected Erik to, but imagined a life where they came to love each other gradually.
"I am greedy and trying to rush things. If I gave him time to adapt to a life with me, then he would be more likely to fall in love with me. I will bide my time in waiting to see if I am with child, and I shall maintain as much distance from him as possible. I will serve him meals and assist his wound dressings, but all other contact will be limited."
But two and a half weeks later he courses came ahead of schedule, and the small timeframe of grief she'd felt for her behavior had since dissipated.
"Our relations have grown better with each other," she thought as she tore Erik's tattered shirts into rags. "Perhaps I can try to initiate a romance us between us once more."
Erik had been both relieved and confused by Meg's behavior over the past few weeks. It appeared that she was wracked with guilt over her assault on him though she never directly apologized to him for it. Instead she did her best to avoid him, only bringing him meals and small items to occupy his time. The strangest part was that she did not share a bed with him as she had done before. This had been an unexpected welcome initially, but after the first week, the solitude of his captivity began to wear on him after Antoinette Giry's assistance in assimilating him back into society. He tried to engage Meg in conversation when she seldom came into his room, but she would only meekly respond, a vast difference from her normally boisterous personality.
"I have to get her to come back to me! I cannot free myself when I am chained up like this, I have to rely on her to somehow get me loose enough so that I can overcome her, but I cannot do that unless she remains here."
Meg did request however that Erik write a letter to her mother stating that he had some strong leads regarding her whereabouts but that thus far he had no luck in her recovery yet. The only trouble would be for Meg to find a way for the post office to post mark the letter in a region outside of Paris.
Erik's wrist was beginning to heal thanks to Meg's skill as a nurse and the fact that it was completely unfastened, causing the sores and chaffing to subside. The longer chain still confined Erik to the bed and surrounding area by his left wrist, but the small step towards an eventual freedom gave him just a little more hope.
"I have demonstrated that I acknowledge where she is coming from based on her personal grudges in life, but I have to stay strong in my pursuit to get her to trust me, no matter what the cost."
His body was stiff from sitting in the same position each day, and when Meg entered the room one day she found him pacing as far as the restraints would permit. She silently applauded herself for thinking to use the larger, thicker linked chain, otherwise he would've broken the smaller linked ones causing him to escape and kill her by now.
"What are you doing up?" she asked, choosing not to hide the irritation in her voice.
"I was tired of sitting, I need to increase blood circulation in my legs," he answered honestly.
"You're searching for an escape, I know you!" She hadn't intended to admit her suspicions, but the accusation just flew from her mouth.
"What! Even if I could find an alternative escape route how could I possibly get out given that I am shackled to the bed?"
"You designed this room, there could be more exits besides the one to the kitchen and the hidden panel behind the armoire." She smirked when she saw his mouth fall open in astonishment. "I am a lot more clever than you previously thought, aren't I?" He simply nodded and looked away.
It wasn't so much that he had planned on using the wardrobe as a means of exit, but he was completely aghast at the level of cunning she possessed. Obviously she had thoroughly searched his home for her to unlock the false wall and find the narrow hallway, though he couldn't ascertain if she had actually followed it.
"I'm sorry that you think I'd foolishly try to escape. I understand your loneliness and desire for companionship, and even if I were not bolted to the bed frame I'd certainly want to help you feel better."
"You're only saying that so I'll release you from the chains," she sulked.
"No, I feel I owe it to your mother to bring you back and try to fill that voice that is clearly present in your heart."
Meg's eyebrow rose in suspicion as she calculated any possible truth in his words. She loved him but trust was a serious issue on both sides. "If you are so keen to cure my sorrow then kiss me."