Emily, as she observed him in silence, saw, that his countenance was darker and sterner than usual.'O could I know,' said she to herself, 'what passes in that mind; could I know the thoughts, that are known there, I should no longer be condemned to this torturing suspense!' Their breakfast passed in silence, till Emily ventured to request, that another apartment might be allotted to her, and related the circumstance which made her wish it.
'I have no time to attend to these idle whims,' said Montoni, 'that chamber was prepared for you, and you must rest contented with it.
It is not probable, that any person would take the trouble of going to that remote stair-case, for the purpose of fastening a door.If it was not fastened, when you entered the chamber, the wind, perhaps, shook the door and made the bolts slide.But I know not why I should undertake to account for so trifling an occurrence.'
This explanation was by no means satisfactory to Emily, who had observed, that the bolts were rusted, and consequently could not be thus easily moved; but she forbore to say so, and repeated her request.
'If you will not release yourself from the slavery of these fears,'
said Montoni, sternly, 'at least forbear to torment others by the mention of them.Conquer such whims, and endeavour to strengthen your mind.No existence is more contemptible than that, which is embittered by fear.' As he said this, his eye glanced upon Madame Montoni, who coloured highly, but was still silent.Emily, wounded and disappointed, thought her fears were, in this instance, too reasonable to deserve ridicule; but, perceiving, that, however they might oppress her, she must endure them, she tried to withdraw her attention from the subject.
Carlo soon after entered with some fruit:
'Your excellenza is tired after your long ramble,' said he, as he set the fruit upon the table; 'but you have more to see after breakfast.
There is a place in the vaulted passage leading to--'
Montoni frowned upon him, and waved his hand for him to leave the room.Carlo stopped, looked down, and then added, as he advanced to the breakfast-table, and took up the basket of fruit, 'I made bold, your excellenza, to bring some cherries, here, for my honoured lady and my young mistress.Will your ladyship taste them, madam?' said Carlo, presenting the basket, 'they are very fine ones, though Igathered them myself, and from an old tree, that catches all the south sun; they are as big as plums, your ladyship.'
'Very well, old Carlo,' said Madame Montoni; 'I am obliged to you.'
'And the young Signora, too, she may like some of them,' rejoined Carlo, turning with the basket to Emily, 'it will do me good to see her eat some.'
'Thank you, Carlo,' said Emily, taking some cherries, and smiling kindly.
'Come, come,' said Montoni, impatiently, 'enough of this.Leave the room, but be in waiting.I shall want you presently.'
Carlo obeyed, and Montoni, soon after, went out to examine further into the state of the castle; while Emily remained with her aunt, patiently enduring her ill humour, and endeavouring, with much sweetness, to soothe her affliction, instead of resenting its effect.
When Madame Montoni retired to her dressing-room, Emily endeavoured to amuse herself by a view of the castle.Through a folding door she passed from the great hall to the ramparts, which extended along the brow of the precipice, round three sides of the edifice; the fourth was guarded by the high walls of the courts, and by the gateway, through which she had passed, on the preceding evening.The grandeur of the broad ramparts, and the changing scenery they overlooked, excited her high admiration; for the extent of the terraces allowed the features of the country to be seen in such various points of view, that they appeared to form new landscapes.She often paused to examine the gothic magnificence of Udolpho, its proud irregularity, its lofty towers and battlements, its high-arched casements, and its slender watch-towers, perched upon the corners of turrets.Then she would lean on the wall of the terrace, and, shuddering, measure with her eye the precipice below, till the dark summits of the woods arrested it.Wherever she turned, appeared mountain-tops, forests of pine and narrow glens, opening among the Apennines and retiring from the sight into inaccessible regions.
While she thus leaned, Montoni, followed by two men, appeared, ascending a winding path, cut in the rock below.He stopped upon a cliff, and, pointing to the ramparts, turned to his followers, and talked with much eagerness of gesticulation.--Emily perceived, that one of these men was Carlo; the other was in the dress of a peasant, and he alone seemed to be receiving the directions of Montoni.
She withdrew from the walls, and pursued her walk, till she heard at a distance the sound of carriage wheels, and then the loud bell of the portal, when it instantly occurred to her, that Count Morano was arrived.As she hastily passed the folding doors from the terrace, towards her own apartment, several persons entered the hall by an opposite door.She saw them at the extremities of the arcades, and immediately retreated; but the agitation of her spirits, and the extent and duskiness of the hall, had prevented her from distinguishing the persons of the strangers.Her fears, however, had but one object, and they had called up that object to her fancy:--she believed that she had seen Count Morano.
When she thought that they had passed the hall, she ventured again to the door, and proceeded, unobserved, to her room, where she remained, agitated with apprehensions, and listening to every distant sound.
At length, hearing voices on the rampart, she hastened to her window, and observed Montoni, with Signor Cavigni, walking below, conversing earnestly, and often stopping and turning towards each other, at which time their discourse seemed to be uncommonly interesting.
