The next morning, Emily stayed in her room and received no message from Montoni. She saw no one except the armed guards who occasionally walked along the terrace below.
She had eaten nothing since the previous day’s dinner, and the weakness caused by hunger finally forced her to leave her room. She also desperately wanted to find out what had happened to Annette.
At first, she tried to delay leaving for as long as possible. She wondered whether she should go directly to Montoni or seek help from someone kinder. But her fear for her aunt eventually became stronger than her dislike of facing Montoni.
She made up her mind.
She would go to him and beg him to allow her to see Madame Montoni.
Meanwhile, Annette’s absence made one thing clear—something had happened to Ludovico, and Annette was still being held prisoner. Emily decided that she would also visit the room where she had spoken with Annette the night before. If the poor girl was still there, she would tell Montoni about her situation.
It was almost noon before Emily finally gathered enough courage to leave her room.
She first went to the south gallery.
The passage was completely empty. She heard no sound except, from time to time, the faint echo of distant footsteps.
She did not need to call for Annette.
As soon as she approached the gallery, she heard the girl crying loudly.
“Emily! Emily!” Annette cried. “Is anyone there? I am going to starve to death if they do not let me out soon!”
Emily hurried toward her.
“Do not be afraid, Annette,” she said. “I am going to ask Montoni to release you.”
But the moment Annette heard Montoni’s name, her fear of him became greater than her fear of hunger.
“No, no!” she cried. “Do not tell him where I am! Please, do not let him find me!”
Emily left her there and continued toward the great hall.
As she approached, the sounds around her increased her anxiety. She saw more people moving through the passages, but they were calm. They did not stop her, although they looked at her curiously and whispered among themselves.
When Emily crossed the hall toward the cedar room, where Montoni usually stayed, she saw something that filled her with horror.
On the floor lay broken pieces of swords, torn clothing stained with blood, and other signs of violence.
For a moment, she almost expected to see a dead body lying there.
Fortunately, she saw none.
As she came closer to the room, she heard several voices inside. She immediately felt afraid.
She did not want to enter before strangers, and she feared that interrupting Montoni might anger him.
She looked through the long arches of the hall, hoping to find a servant who could carry her message.
But no one appeared.
The voices inside were not angry. She could recognize some of the guests who had been present the day before.
Still, every time she prepared to knock, her courage failed.
Finally, she decided to walk around the hall until someone appeared who could call Montoni outside.
But as she turned away, the door suddenly opened.
Montoni himself stepped out.
Emily froze.
She trembled and became confused.
Montoni looked equally surprised, and his face revealed sudden suspicion and fear.
She forgot everything she had planned to say.
She did not ask about her aunt.
She did not ask for Annette’s release.
She simply stood there silently.
After closing the door behind him, Montoni spoke coldly.
“You have been listening at the door, have you not?”
Emily was shocked by the accusation.
“No, Signor,” she replied. “I came here for another reason. I wished to ask for your kindness toward my aunt and toward Annette.”
Montoni studied her closely.
He seemed doubtful.
His suspicion appeared to come from something more serious than a simple misunderstanding.
Emily continued explaining herself.
Finally, she said:
“Please tell me where my aunt is. Allow me to see her.”
Montoni only looked at her with a cruel smile.
That expression immediately confirmed Emily’s worst fears.
She felt something terrible had happened to Madame Montoni, and at that moment she was too frightened to continue begging.
“As for Annette,” Montoni said, “if you go to Carlo, he will release her. The foolish man who locked her up died yesterday.”
Emily shuddered.
“But my aunt, Signor,” she cried. “Please tell me about my aunt!”
“She is being taken care of,” Montoni answered quickly. “I have no time for unnecessary questions.”
He turned away.
But Emily could not let him leave.
“Please,” she begged in a voice filled with pain. “Tell me where Madame Montoni is.”
Montoni stopped.
Emily watched his face anxiously.
At that moment, a trumpet sounded.
A second later, she heard the heavy castle gates open.
The sound of horses’ hooves echoed through the courtyard, followed by many voices and hurried footsteps.
Montoni immediately walked away.
Emily hesitated.
Should she follow him?
Instead, she looked toward the entrance.
Through the long line of arches, she saw a group of horsemen entering the castle courtyard.
From a distance, she believed they were the same people who had left several days before.
But she had no time to examine them.
The trumpet sounded again.
The men in the cedar room rushed out.
Servants and soldiers ran through the halls from every direction.
Once again, Emily fled back to her room for safety.
But even there, she could not escape her fears.
She thought again about Montoni’s expression and his strange answer concerning her aunt.
Everything seemed to confirm her darkest suspicions.
Her tears finally stopped, not because she felt better, but because her sorrow had become too deep for tears.
She sat for a long time lost in thought.
Then someone knocked at her door.
When she opened it, she found old Carlo standing there.
“Dear young lady,” Carlo said, “I have been so confused with everything happening here that I completely forgot about you until now. I brought you some fruit and wine. I am sure you must need them.”
“Thank you, Carlo,” Emily replied. “That is very kind of you. Did the Signor send you?”
“No, Signora,” Carlo answered. “His Excellency has enough matters to deal with today.”
Emily immediately asked about Madame Montoni.
But Carlo could give her no answer.
He explained that he had been working in another part of the castle when Madame Montoni had been taken away, and he had heard nothing since.
Emily watched him carefully.
She could not decide whether he truly knew nothing or whether he was hiding the truth because he feared Montoni.
When she questioned him about the events of the previous day, Carlo gave only short answers.
“The arguments are over now,” he said. “Everything has been settled peacefully. The Signor believes he was wrong about suspecting his guests.”
“The fighting was because of that,” Carlo continued. “But I hope I never see another day like that in this castle. Still, strange things are going to happen.”
Emily looked at him with curiosity.
“What do you mean?”
Carlo lowered his voice.
“Ah, Signora, it is not my place to reveal secrets or speak too freely. Time will tell.”
Emily then asked him to release Annette.
After she described the room where Annette was imprisoned, Carlo promised to go immediately.
As he was leaving, Emily remembered one more question.
“Who were those people who just arrived?”
Her guess was correct.
“It was Verezzi and his companions,” Carlo replied.
The short conversation comforted Emily somewhat.
In her lonely and fearful situation, even a small sign of kindness brought relief.
About an hour later, Annette finally appeared.
She entered the room crying bitterly.
“Oh, Ludovico! Poor Ludovico!” she cried.
“My poor Annette,” Emily said gently.
She helped her sit down.
“Who could have imagined this, ma’amselle?” Annette sobbed. “What a terrible day! What a miserable day! I never thought I would live to see such a thing!”
She continued crying until Emily felt she needed to calm her.
“We are always losing people we love,” Emily said sadly. “We must accept what Heaven decides. Sadly, our tears cannot bring back the dead.”
Annette lowered her handkerchief.
“You will meet Ludovico again in a better world,” Emily added.
“Yes, yes, ma’amselle,” Annette cried. “But I hope I will meet him again in this world too—although he is badly wounded!”
“Wounded?” Emily exclaimed. “Is he alive?”
“Yes, ma’am. But he has a terrible wound. He could not come to release me. Everyone thought he was dead at first, and he has only just begun to recover his senses.”
Emily felt relieved.
“Annette, I am very glad he is alive.”
“Alive?” Annette cried. “Holy Saints! Surely he will not die now!”
Emily told her that she hoped he would recover.
But Annette misunderstood her concern and became even more frightened.
When Emily asked about Madame Montoni, Annette could provide no useful information.
“I completely forgot to ask the servants, ma’amselle,” she said. “I could think only of poor Ludovico.”
After Annette became calmer, Emily sent her to ask the servants about her lady.
But no information could be found.
Some servants truly knew nothing.
Others had probably been ordered to keep silent.
The day passed with Emily suffering constant worry about her aunt.
Montoni did not trouble her again.
And now that Annette was free, Emily could obtain food without exposing herself to danger.
Two more days passed in the same way.
Emily heard nothing about Madame Montoni.
On the evening of the second day, after sending Annette away and preparing for bed, Emily’s mind became filled with terrible thoughts.
Her long anxiety had created frightening images that she could not escape.
Unable to sleep, she rose and went to the window of her room to breathe the fresh night air.
Outside, everything was silent and dark.
Only the faint light of the stars revealed the shape of the mountains, the western towers of the castle, and the walls below, where a lonely guard walked slowly.
The scene seemed peaceful.
The violent emotions that often disturbed the people inside the castle appeared to be sleeping.
The storms of human passion were quiet.
But Emily’s heart was not peaceful.
Her suffering was deep, but it remained gentle.
She did not experience wild anger or uncontrolled despair.
Her pain was silent.
She endured it with tears and patience.
The cool air refreshed her.
She continued looking at the dark landscape while the stars shone above.
She remembered how often she had looked at those same stars with her father.
She remembered how he had explained the heavens to her and taught her about the movements of the planets.
These memories brought back every strange and painful event that had happened since the peaceful days she had spent with her parents.
To Emily, who had been raised with love and kindness, her present life seemed almost impossible.
A foreign country.
A lonely castle.
A world filled with cruelty and violence.
It felt more like a nightmare than reality.
She cried when she imagined how much suffering her parents would have felt if they had known what would happen to her.
As she looked toward the sky, she noticed the same planet she had seen in Languedoc on the night before her father’s death.
She remembered their conversation about the souls of the dead.
She remembered the mysterious music she had heard then and how her emotions had given it a meaning beyond reason.
The memories made her cry again.
Then suddenly, beautiful music floated through the night air.
Emily froze.
A feeling of superstition and fear came over her.
She listened carefully.
Then she tried to calm herself and think logically.
But imagination often creates its own world, especially when the mind is already troubled by fear.
The music was a great surprise.
For a long time, Emily had heard nothing beautiful.
Since arriving at Udolpho, the only sounds she had known were harsh trumpets and sharp military instruments.
Slowly, her fear gave way to wonder.
She tried to discover where the music came from.
It seemed to come from below.
Perhaps from one of the rooms in the castle.
Perhaps from the terrace.
She could not tell.
The melody continued.
It was soft, sad, and beautiful.
Then suddenly it seemed to move farther away.
The sound became weaker.
Then it disappeared completely.
Emily remained still, enjoying the peaceful feeling the music had left behind.
But it did not return.
She thought about the strange event for a long time.
It was unusual enough to hear music at midnight.
It was even more unusual to hear it in a castle where such gentle sounds had probably not been heard for years.
Because of her suffering and fear, Emily’s imagination became especially sensitive.
For a moment, she wondered whether the music had been sent by her dead father to comfort her.
Reason told her that this was impossible.
Yet imagination continued to suggest strange possibilities.
She remembered the mysterious history of the castle.
She remembered how its former owner had disappeared and had never been heard from again.
Although there was no real connection between that event and the music, her mind began to link them together.
A sudden chill passed through her.
She looked nervously around her dark room.
The silence seemed even more frightening than before.
At last, she left the window.
But as she walked toward the bed, her steps were uncertain.
She stopped and looked around.
The single lamp in her room was almost burning out.
For a moment, she feared the darkness beyond it.
Then she forced herself forward.
Even so, sleep did not come easily.
She continued thinking about the mysterious music.
She looked forward anxiously to the next night.
“If those sounds came from a living person,” she thought, “I will probably hear them again.”