Chapter: CHAPTER V



 The midnight clock has toll'd; and hark, the bell
 Of Death beats slow! heard ye the note profound?
 It pauses now; and now, with rising knell,
 Flings to the hollow gale its sullen sound.
     MASON

When Montoni was informed of the death of his wife, and considered
that she had died without giving him the signature so necessary to
the accomplishment of his wishes, no sense of decency restrained the
expression of his resentment. Emily anxiously avoided his presence, and
watched, during two days and two nights, with little intermission, by
the corpse of her late aunt. Her mind deeply impressed with the unhappy
fate of this object, she forgot all her faults, her unjust and imperious
conduct to herself; and, remembering only her sufferings, thought of
her only with tender compassion. Sometimes, however, she could not avoid
musing upon the strange infatuation that had proved so fatal to her
aunt, and had involved herself in a labyrinth of misfortune, from which
she saw no means of escaping,--the marriage with Montoni. But, when
she considered this circumstance, it was 'more in sorrow than in
anger,'--more for the purpose of indulging lamentation, than reproach.

In her pious cares she was not disturbed by Montoni, who not only
avoided the chamber, where the remains of his wife were laid, but that
part of the castle adjoining to it, as if he had apprehended a contagion
in death. He seemed to have given no orders respecting the funeral,
and Emily began to fear he meant to offer a new insult to the memory of
Madame Montoni; but from this apprehension she was relieved, when, on
the evening of the second day, Annette informed her, that the interment
was to take place that night. She knew, that Montoni would not attend;
and it was so very grievous to her to think that the remains of her
unfortunate aunt would pass to the grave without one relative, or friend
to pay them the last decent rites, that she determined to be deterred
by no considerations for herself, from observing this duty. She would
otherwise have shrunk from the circumstance of following them to the
cold vault, to which they were to be carried by men, whose air and
countenances seemed to stamp them for murderers, at the midnight hour
of silence and privacy, which Montoni had chosen for committing, if
possible, to oblivion the reliques of a woman, whom his harsh conduct
had, at least, contributed to destroy.

Emily, shuddering with emotions of horror and grief, assisted by
Annette, prepared the corpse for interment; and, having wrapt it in
cerements, and covered it with a winding-sheet, they watched beside it,
till past midnight, when they heard the approaching footsteps of the
men, who were to lay it in its earthy bed. It was with difficulty, that
Emily overcame her emotion, when, the door of the chamber being thrown
open, their gloomy countenances were seen by the glare of the torch they
carried, and two of them, without speaking, lifted the body on their
shoulders, while the third preceding them with the light, descended
through the castle towards the grave, which was in the lower vault of
the chapel within the castle walls.

They had to cross two courts, towards the east wing of the castle,
which, adjoining the chapel, was, like it, in ruins: but the silence and
gloom of these courts had now little power over Emily's mind, occupied
as it was, with more mournful ideas; and she scarcely heard the low
and dismal hooting of the night-birds, that roosted among the ivyed
battlements of the ruin, or perceived the still flittings of the bat,
which frequently crossed her way. But, when, having entered the chapel,
and passed between the mouldering pillars of the aisles, the bearers
stopped at a flight of steps, that led down to a low arched door, and,
their comrade having descended to unlock it, she saw imperfectly the
gloomy abyss beyond;--saw the corpse of her aunt carried down these
steps, and the ruffian-like figure, that stood with a torch at the
bottom to receive it--all her fortitude was lost in emotions of
inexpressible grief and terror. She turned to lean upon Annette, who was
cold and trembling like herself, and she lingered so long on the summit
of the flight, that the gleam of the torch began to die away on the
pillars of the chapel, and the men were almost beyond her view. Then,
the gloom around her awakening other fears, and a sense of what she
considered to be her duty overcoming her reluctance, she descended to
the vaults, following the echo of footsteps and the faint ray, that
pierced the darkness, till the harsh grating of a distant door, that was
opened to receive the corpse, again appalled her.

After the pause of a moment, she went on, and, as she entered the
vaults, saw between the arches, at some distance, the men lay down the
body near the edge of an open grave, where stood another of Montoni's
men and a priest, whom she did not observe, till he began the burial
service; then, lifting her eyes from the ground, she saw the venerable
figure of the friar, and heard him in a low voice, equally solemn and
affecting, perform the service for the dead. At the moment, in which
they let down the body into the earth, the scene was such as only the
dark pencil of a Domenichino, perhaps, could have done justice to. The
fierce features and wild dress of the condottieri, bending with their
torches over the grave, into which the corpse was descending, were
contrasted by the venerable figure of the monk, wrapt in long black
garments, his cowl thrown back from his pale face, on which the light
gleaming strongly shewed the lines of affliction softened by piety, and
the few grey locks, which time had spared on his temples: while,
beside him, stood the softer form of Emily, who leaned for support upon
Annette; her face half averted, and shaded by a thin veil, that fell
over her figure; and her mild and beautiful countenance fixed in
grief so solemn as admitted not of tears, while she thus saw committed
untimely to the earth her last relative and friend. The gleams, thrown
between the arches of the vaults, where, here and there, the broken
ground marked the spots in which other bodies had been recently
interred, and the general obscurity beyond were circumstances, that
alone would have led on the imagination of a spectator to scenes
more horrible, than even that, which was pictured at the grave of the
misguided and unfortunate Madame Montoni.

When the service was over, the friar regarded Emily with attention and
surprise, and looked as if he wished to speak to her, but was restrained
by the presence of the condottieri, who, as they now led the way to
the courts, amused themselves with jokes upon his holy order, which
he endured in silence, demanding only to be conducted safely to his
convent, and to which Emily listened with concern and even horror. When
they reached the court, the monk gave her his blessing, and, after a
lingering look of pity, turned away to the portal, whither one of the
men carried a torch; while Annette, lighting another, preceded Emily to
her apartment. The appearance of the friar and the expression of tender
compassion, with which he had regarded her, had interested Emily, who,
though it was at her earnest supplication, that Montoni had consented
to allow a priest to perform the last rites for his deceased wife, knew
nothing concerning this person, till Annette now informed her, that he
belonged to a monastery, situated among the mountains at a few miles
distance. The Superior, who regarded Montoni and his associates, not
only with aversion, but with terror, had probably feared to offend him
by refusing his request, and had, therefore, ordered a monk to officiate
at the funeral, who, with the meek spirit of a christian, had overcome
his reluctance to enter the walls of such a castle, by the wish of
performing what he considered to be his duty, and, as the chapel was
built on consecrated ground, had not objected to commit to it the
remains of the late unhappy Madame Montoni.

Several days passed with Emily in total seclusion, and in a state of
mind partaking both of terror for herself, and grief for the departed.
She, at length, determined to make other efforts to persuade Montoni to
permit her return to France. Why he should wish to detain her, she could
scarcely dare to conjecture; but it was too certain that he did so, and
the absolute refusal he had formerly given to her departure allowed her
little hope, that he would now consent to it. But the horror, which his
presence inspired, made her defer, from day to day, the mention of this
subject; and at last she was awakened from her inactivity only by a
message from him, desiring her attendance at a certain hour. She began
to hope he meant to resign, now that her aunt was no more, the authority
he had usurped over her; till she recollected, that the estates, which
had occasioned so much contention, were now hers, and she then feared
Montoni was about to employ some stratagem for obtaining them, and
that he would detain her his prisoner, till he succeeded. This thought,
instead of overcoming her with despondency, roused all the latent
powers of her fortitude into action; and the property, which she would
willingly have resigned to secure the peace of her aunt, she resolved,
that no common sufferings of her own should ever compel her to give to
Montoni. For Valancourt's sake also she determined to preserve these
estates, since they would afford that competency, by which she hoped to
secure the comfort of their future lives. As she thought of this, she
indulged the tenderness of tears, and anticipated the delight of that
moment, when, with affectionate generosity, she might tell him they
were his own. She saw the smile, that lighted up his features--the
affectionate regard, which spoke at once his joy and thanks; and, at
this instant, she believed she could brave any suffering, which the evil
spirit of Montoni might be preparing for her. Remembering then, for the
first time since her aunt's death, the papers relative to the estates
in question, she determined to search for them, as soon as her interview
with Montoni was over.

With these resolutions she met him at the appointed time, and waited to
hear his intention before she renewed her request. With him were Orsino
and another officer, and both were standing near a table, covered with
papers, which he appeared to be examining.

'I sent for you, Emily,' said Montoni, raising his head, 'that you might
be a witness in some business, which I am transacting with my friend
Orsino. All that is required of you will be to sign your name to this
paper:' he then took one up, hurried unintelligibly over some lines,
and, laying it before her on the table, offered her a pen. She took it,
and was going to write--when the design of Montoni came upon her mind
like a flash of lightning; she trembled, let the pen fall, and refused
to sign what she had not read. Montoni affected to laugh at her
scruples, and, taking up the paper, again pretended to read; but Emily,
who still trembled on perceiving her danger, and was astonished, that
her own credulity had so nearly betrayed her, positively refused to sign
any paper whatever. Montoni, for some time, persevered in affecting
to ridicule this refusal; but, when he perceived by her steady
perseverance, that she understood his design, he changed his manner, and
bade her follow him to another room. There he told her, that he had been
willing to spare himself and her the trouble of useless contest, in an
affair, where his will was justice, and where she should find it law;
and had, therefore, endeavoured to persuade, rather than to compel, her
to the practice of her duty.

'I, as the husband of the late Signora Montoni,' he added, 'am the heir
of all she possessed; the estates, therefore, which she refused to me
in her life-time, can no longer be withheld, and, for your own sake, I
would undeceive you, respecting a foolish assertion she once made to you
in my hearing--that these estates would be yours, if she died without
resigning them to me. She knew at that moment, she had no power to
withhold them from me, after her decease; and I think you have more
sense, than to provoke my resentment by advancing an unjust claim. I
am not in the habit of flattering, and you will, therefore, receive,
as sincere, the praise I bestow, when I say, that you possess an
understanding superior to that of your sex; and that you have none
of those contemptible foibles, that frequently mark the female
character--such as avarice and the love of power, which latter makes
women delight to contradict and to tease, when they cannot conquer. If
I understand your disposition and your mind, you hold in sovereign
contempt these common failings of your sex.'

Montoni paused; and Emily remained silent and expecting; for she knew
him too well, to believe he would condescend to such flattery, unless he
thought it would promote his own interest; and, though he had forborne
to name vanity among the foibles of women, it was evident, that he
considered it to be a predominant one, since he designed to sacrifice to
hers the character and understanding of her whole sex.

'Judging as I do,' resumed Montoni, 'I cannot believe you will oppose,
where you know you cannot conquer, or, indeed, that you would wish to
conquer, or be avaricious of any property, when you have not justice
on your side. I think it proper, however, to acquaint you with the
alternative. If you have a just opinion of the subject in question, you
shall be allowed a safe conveyance to France, within a short period;
but, if you are so unhappy as to be misled by the late assertion of the
Signora, you shall remain my prisoner, till you are convinced of your
error.'

Emily calmly said,

'I am not so ignorant, Signor, of the laws on this subject, as to be
misled by the assertion of any person. The law, in the present instance,
gives me the estates in question, and my own hand shall never betray my
right.'

'I have been mistaken in my opinion of you, it appears,' rejoined
Montoni, sternly. 'You speak boldly, and presumptuously, upon a subject,
which you do not understand. For once, I am willing to pardon the
conceit of ignorance; the weakness of your sex, too, from which, it
seems, you are not exempt, claims some allowance; but, if you persist in
this strain--you have every thing to fear from my justice.'

'From your justice, Signor,' rejoined Emily, 'I have nothing to fear--I
have only to hope.'

Montoni looked at her with vexation, and seemed considering what to
say. 'I find that you are weak enough,' he resumed, 'to credit the idle
assertion I alluded to! For your own sake I lament this; as to me, it
is of little consequence. Your credulity can punish only yourself; and I
must pity the weakness of mind, which leads you to so much suffering as
you are compelling me to prepare for you.'

'You may find, perhaps, Signor,' said Emily, with mild dignity, 'that
the strength of my mind is equal to the justice of my cause; and that I
can endure with fortitude, when it is in resistance of oppression.'

'You speak like a heroine,' said Montoni, contemptuously; 'we shall see
whether you can suffer like one.'

Emily was silent, and he left the room.

Recollecting, that it was for Valancourt's sake she had thus resisted,
she now smiled complacently upon the threatened sufferings, and retired
to the spot, which her aunt had pointed out as the repository of the
papers, relative to the estates, where she found them as described; and,
since she knew of no better place of concealment, than this, returned
them, without examining their contents, being fearful of discovery,
while she should attempt a perusal.

To her own solitary chamber she once more returned, and there thought
again of the late conversation with Montoni, and of the evil she might
expect from opposition to his will. But his power did not appear so
terrible to her imagination, as it was wont to do: a sacred pride was
in her heart, that taught it to swell against the pressure of injustice,
and almost to glory in the quiet sufferance of ills, in a cause, which
had also the interest of Valancourt for its object. For the first time,
she felt the full extent of her own superiority to Montoni, and despised
the authority, which, till now, she had only feared.

As she sat musing, a peal of laughter rose from the terrace, and, on
going to the casement, she saw, with inexpressible surprise, three
ladies, dressed in the gala habit of Venice, walking with several
gentlemen below. She gazed in an astonishment that made her remain at
the window, regardless of being observed, till the group passed under
it; and, one of the strangers looking up, she perceived the features of
Signora Livona, with whose manners she had been so much charmed, the day
after her arrival at Venice, and who had been there introduced at the
table of Montoni. This discovery occasioned her an emotion of doubtful
joy; for it was matter of joy and comfort to know, that a person, of a
mind so gentle, as that of Signora Livona seemed to be, was near her;
yet there was something so extraordinary in her being at this castle,
circumstanced as it now was, and evidently, by the gaiety of her air,
with her own consent, that a very painful surmise arose, concerning her
character. But the thought was so shocking to Emily, whose affection the
fascinating manners of the Signora had won, and appeared so improbable,
when she remembered these manners, that she dismissed it almost
instantly.

On Annette's appearance, however, she enquired, concerning these
strangers; and the former was as eager to tell, as Emily was to learn.

'They are just come, ma'amselle,' said Annette, 'with two Signors from
Venice, and I was glad to see such Christian faces once again.--But
what can they mean by coming here? They must surely be stark mad to come
freely to such a place as this! Yet they do come freely, for they seem
merry enough, I am sure.'

'They were taken prisoners, perhaps?' said Emily.

'Taken prisoners!' exclaimed Annette; 'no, indeed, ma'amselle, not they.
I remember one of them very well at Venice: she came two or three times,
to the Signor's you know, ma'amselle, and it was said, but I did not
believe a word of it--it was said, that the Signor liked her better than
he should do. Then why, says I, bring her to my lady? Very true, said
Ludovico; but he looked as if he knew more, too.'

Emily desired Annette would endeavour to learn who these ladies were, as
well as all she could concerning them; and she then changed the subject,
and spoke of distant France.

'Ah, ma'amselle! we shall never see it more!' said Annette, almost
weeping.--'I must come on my travels, forsooth!'

Emily tried to sooth and to cheer her, with a hope, in which she
scarcely herself indulged.

'How--how, ma'amselle, could you leave France, and leave Mons.
Valancourt, too?' said Annette, sobbing. 'I--I--am sure, if Ludovico had
been in France, I would never have left it.'

'Why do you lament quitting France, then?' said Emily, trying to smile,
'since, if you had remained there, you would not have found Ludovico.'

'Ah, ma'amselle! I only wish I was out of this frightful castle, serving
you in France, and I would care about nothing else!'

'Thank you, my good Annette, for your affectionate regard; the time will
come, I hope, when you may remember the expression of that wish with
pleasure.'

Annette departed on her business, and Emily sought to lose the sense of
her own cares, in the visionary scenes of the poet; but she had again to
lament the irresistible force of circumstances over the taste and powers
of the mind; and that it requires a spirit at ease to be sensible even
to the abstract pleasures of pure intellect. The enthusiasm of genius,
with all its pictured scenes, now appeared cold, and dim. As she mused
upon the book before her, she involuntarily exclaimed, 'Are these,
indeed, the passages, that have so often given me exquisite delight?
Where did the charm exist?--Was it in my mind, or in the imagination
of the poet? It lived in each,' said she, pausing. 'But the fire of the
poet is vain, if the mind of his reader is not tempered like his own,
however it may be inferior to his in power.'

Emily would have pursued this train of thinking, because it relieved her
from more painful reflection, but she found again, that thought cannot
always be controlled by will; and hers returned to the consideration of
her own situation.

In the evening, not choosing to venture down to the ramparts, where she
would be exposed to the rude gaze of Montoni's associates, she walked
for air in the gallery, adjoining her chamber; on reaching the further
end of which she heard distant sounds of merriment and laughter. It was
the wild uproar of riot, not the cheering gaiety of tempered mirth; and
seemed to come from that part of the castle, where Montoni usually was.
Such sounds, at this time, when her aunt had been so few days dead,
particularly shocked her, consistent as they were with the late conduct
of Montoni.

As she listened, she thought she distinguished female voices mingling
with the laughter, and this confirmed her worst surmise, concerning the
character of Signora Livona and her companions. It was evident, that
they had not been brought hither by compulsion; and she beheld herself
in the remote wilds of the Apennine, surrounded by men, whom she
considered to be little less than ruffians, and their worst associates,
amid scenes of vice, from which her soul recoiled in horror. It was at
this moment, when the scenes of the present and the future opened to her
imagination, that the image of Valancourt failed in its influence, and
her resolution shook with dread. She thought she understood all the
horrors, which Montoni was preparing for her, and shrunk from an
encounter with such remorseless vengeance, as he could inflict. The
disputed estates she now almost determined to yield at once, whenever
he should again call upon her, that she might regain safety and freedom;
but then, the remembrance of Valancourt would steal to her heart, and
plunge her into the distractions of doubt.

She continued walking in the gallery, till evening threw its melancholy
twilight through the painted casements, and deepened the gloom of
the oak wainscoting around her; while the distant perspective of
the corridor was so much obscured, as to be discernible only by the
glimmering window, that terminated it.

Along the vaulted halls and passages below, peals of laughter echoed
faintly, at intervals, to this remote part of the castle, and seemed to
render the succeeding stillness more dreary. Emily, however, unwilling
to return to her more forlorn chamber, whither Annette was not yet come,
still paced the gallery. As she passed the door of the apartment, where
she had once dared to lift the veil, which discovered to her a spectacle
so horrible, that she had never after remembered it, but with emotions
of indescribable awe, this remembrance suddenly recurred. It now brought
with it reflections more terrible, than it had yet done, which the late
conduct of Montoni occasioned; and, hastening to quit the gallery, while
she had power to do so, she heard a sudden step behind her.--It might
be that of Annette; but, turning fearfully to look, she saw, through the
gloom, a tall figure following her, and all the horrors of that chamber
rushed upon her mind. In the next moment, she found herself clasped in
the arms of some person, and heard a deep voice murmur in her ear.

When she had power to speak, or to distinguish articulated sounds, she
demanded who detained her.

'It is I,' replied the voice--'Why are you thus alarmed?'

She looked on the face of the person who spoke, but the feeble light,
that gleamed through the high casement at the end of the gallery, did
not permit her to distinguish the features.

'Whoever you are,' said Emily, in a trembling voice, 'for heaven's sake
let me go!'

'My charming Emily,' said the man, 'why will you shut yourself up in
this obscure place, when there is so much gaiety below? Return with
me to the cedar parlour, where you will be the fairest ornament of the
party;--you shall not repent the exchange.'

Emily disdained to reply, and still endeavoured to liberate herself.

'Promise, that you will come,' he continued, 'and I will release you
immediately; but first give me a reward for so doing.'

'Who are you?' demanded Emily, in a tone of mingled terror and
indignation, while she still struggled for liberty--'who are you, that
have the cruelty thus to insult me?'

'Why call me cruel?' said the man, 'I would remove you from this dreary
solitude to a merry party below. Do you not know me?'

Emily now faintly remembered, that he was one of the officers who were
with Montoni when she attended him in the morning. 'I thank you for
the kindness of your intention,' she replied, without appearing to
understand him, 'but I wish for nothing so much as that you would leave
me.'

'Charming Emily!' said he, 'give up this foolish whim for solitude, and
come with me to the company, and eclipse the beauties who make part of
it; you, only, are worthy of my love.' He attempted to kiss her hand,
but the strong impulse of her indignation gave her power to liberate
herself, and she fled towards the chamber. She closed the door, before
he reached it, having secured which, she sunk in a chair, overcome by
terror and by the exertion she had made, while she heard his voice,
and his attempts to open the door, without having the power to raise
herself. At length, she perceived him depart, and had remained,
listening, for a considerable time, and was somewhat revived by not
hearing any sound, when suddenly she remembered the door of the private
stair-case, and that he might enter that way, since it was fastened only
on the other side. She then employed herself in endeavouring to secure
it, in the manner she had formerly done. It appeared to her, that
Montoni had already commenced his scheme of vengeance, by withdrawing
from her his protection, and she repented of the rashness, that had made
her brave the power of such a man. To retain the estates seemed to be
now utterly impossible, and to preserve her life, perhaps her honour,
she resolved, if she should escape the horrors of this night, to give up
all claims to the estates, on the morrow, provided Montoni would suffer
her to depart from Udolpho.

When she had come to this decision, her mind became more composed,
though she still anxiously listened, and often started at ideal sounds,
that appeared to issue from the stair-case.

Having sat in darkness for some hours, during all which time Annette did
not appear, she began to have serious apprehensions for her; but, not
daring to venture down into the castle, was compelled to remain in
uncertainty, as to the cause of this unusual absence.

Emily often stole to the stair-case door, to listen if any step
approached, but still no sound alarmed her: determining, however, to
watch, during the night, she once more rested on her dark and desolate
couch, and bathed the pillow with innocent tears. She thought of her
deceased parents and then of the absent Valancourt, and frequently
called upon their names; for the profound stillness, that now reigned,
was propitious to the musing sorrow of her mind.

While she thus remained, her ear suddenly caught the notes of distant
music, to which she listened attentively, and, soon perceiving this
to be the instrument she had formerly heard at midnight, she rose, and
stepped softly to the casement, to which the sounds appeared to come
from a lower room.

In a few moments, their soft melody was accompanied by a voice so full
of pathos, that it evidently sang not of imaginary sorrows. Its sweet
and peculiar tones she thought she had somewhere heard before; yet, if
this was not fancy, it was, at most, a very faint recollection. It
stole over her mind, amidst the anguish of her present suffering, like a
celestial strain, soothing, and re-assuring her;--'Pleasant as the gale
of spring, that sighs on the hunter's ear, when he awakens from dreams
of joy, and has heard the music of the spirits of the hill.'*

(*Ossian. [A. R.])


But her emotion can scarcely be imagined, when she heard sung, with the
taste and simplicity of true feeling, one of the popular airs of her
native province, to which she had so often listened with delight, when
a child, and which she had so often heard her father repeat! To this
well-known song, never, till now, heard but in her native country, her
heart melted, while the memory of past times returned. The pleasant,
peaceful scenes of Gascony, the tenderness and goodness of her parents,
the taste and simplicity of her former life--all rose to her fancy, and
formed a picture, so sweet and glowing, so strikingly contrasted
with the scenes, the characters and the dangers, which now surrounded
her--that her mind could not bear to pause upon the retrospect, and
shrunk at the acuteness of its own sufferings.

Her sighs were deep and convulsed; she could no longer listen to the
strain, that had so often charmed her to tranquillity, and she withdrew
from the casement to a remote part of the chamber. But she was not yet
beyond the reach of the music; she heard the measure change, and the
succeeding air called her again to the window, for she immediately
recollected it to be the same she had formerly heard in the
fishing-house in Gascony. Assisted, perhaps, by the mystery, which had
then accompanied this strain, it had made so deep an impression on her
memory, that she had never since entirely forgotten it; and the manner,
in which it was now sung, convinced her, however unaccountable the
circumstances appeared, that this was the same voice she had then
heard. Surprise soon yielded to other emotions; a thought darted,
like lightning, upon her mind, which discovered a train of hopes, that
revived all her spirits. Yet these hopes were so new, so unexpected,
so astonishing, that she did not dare to trust, though she could not
resolve to discourage them. She sat down by the casement, breathless,
and overcome with the alternate emotions of hope and fear; then rose
again, leaned from the window, that she might catch a nearer sound,
listened, now doubting and then believing, softly exclaimed the name of
Valancourt, and then sunk again into the chair. Yes, it was possible,
that Valancourt was near her, and she recollected circumstances,
which induced her to believe it was his voice she had just heard. She
remembered he had more than once said that the fishing-house, where
she had formerly listened to this voice and air, and where she had seen
pencilled sonnets, addressed to herself, had been his favourite haunt,
before he had been made known to her; there, too, she had herself
unexpectedly met him. It appeared, from these circumstances, more
than probable, that he was the musician, who had formerly charmed her
attention, and the author of the lines, which had expressed such tender
admiration;--who else, indeed, could it be? She was unable, at
that time, to form a conjecture, as to the writer, but, since
her acquaintance with Valancourt, whenever he had mentioned the
fishing-house to have been known to him, she had not scrupled to believe
that he was the author of the sonnets.

As these considerations passed over her mind, joy, fear and tenderness
contended at her heart; she leaned again from the casement to catch the
sounds, which might confirm, or destroy her hope, though she did
not recollect to have ever heard him sing; but the voice, and the
instrument, now ceased.

She considered for a moment whether she should venture to speak: then,
not choosing, lest it should be he, to mention his name, and yet too
much interested to neglect the opportunity of enquiring, she called from
the casement, 'Is that song from Gascony?' Her anxious attention was
not cheered by any reply; every thing remained silent. Her impatience
increasing with her fears, she repeated the question; but still no sound
was heard, except the sighings of the wind among the battlements above;
and she endeavoured to console herself with a belief, that the stranger,
whoever he was, had retired, before she had spoken, beyond the reach
of her voice, which, it appeared certain, had Valancourt heard and
recognized, he would instantly have replied to. Presently, however, she
considered, that a motive of prudence, and not an accidental removal,
might occasion his silence; but the surmise, that led to this
reflection, suddenly changed her hope and joy to terror and grief; for,
if Valancourt were in the castle, it was too probable, that he was here
a prisoner, taken with some of his countrymen, many of whom were at that
time engaged in the wars of Italy, or intercepted in some attempt to
reach her. Had he even recollected Emily's voice, he would have feared,
in these circumstances, to reply to it, in the presence of the men, who
guarded his prison.

What so lately she had eagerly hoped she now believed she
dreaded;--dreaded to know, that Valancourt was near her; and, while she
was anxious to be relieved from her apprehension for his safety, she
still was unconscious, that a hope of soon seeing him, struggled with
the fear.

She remained listening at the casement, till the air began to freshen,
and one high mountain in the east to glimmer with the morning; when,
wearied with anxiety, she retired to her couch, where she found
it utterly impossible to sleep, for joy, tenderness, doubt and
apprehension, distracted her during the whole night. Now she rose from
the couch, and opened the casement to listen; then she would pace the
room with impatient steps, and, at length, return with despondence to
her pillow. Never did hours appear to move so heavily, as those of this
anxious night; after which she hoped that Annette might appear, and
conclude her present state of torturing suspense.

 Em and Annette prepare Madame M. for burial. They bring in a friar from outside the castle walls. Montoni tries to get Em to sign the papers using some Class A trickery, but Em is too smart for him. When she refuses to sign, Montoni tells her to watch out: she speaks like a heroine, but can she suffer like a heroine? Muahahaha. Signora Livona and some of Montoni's other lady friends arrive from Venice, and Em notices they might not be the classiest of ladies. Going back to her chamber, Em notices a tall figure following her. It's one of Montoni's buds. He tries to kiss Em, who realizes that Montoni may have sent him to make good on his promise. When she finally gets back to her chamber, she hears the mysterious music again. Em decides to talk to the anonymous musician. She yells, "Hey, is that music from Gascony?" No answer.

