We return for a moment to Venice, where Count Morano was suffering through one disaster after another.
Soon after arriving in the city, he was suddenly arrested by order of the Senate. He had no idea what crime he was accused of, and before he could even defend himself, he was taken away to a secret place of imprisonment.
His friends searched everywhere for him, making every possible inquiry, but they could not discover where he had been taken.
Morano could not imagine who had caused his downfall.
There was only one person who came to his mind.
Montoni.
And this suspicion was not without reason.
During the incident of the poisoned cup, Montoni had suspected that Morano was the person who had tried to harm him. However, he had not been able to obtain enough evidence to prove Morano’s guilt.
Unable to bring him before the law, Montoni had chosen another kind of revenge.
He found a man he believed he could trust and ordered him to secretly place an accusation against Morano inside the Denunzie secrete—the hidden complaint boxes built into the walls of the Doge’s palace.
These boxes allowed anyone to secretly report people suspected of opposing the government.
The system was dangerous because the accuser never had to face the accused. A person could destroy an enemy with a false accusation and suffer no punishment if the truth was later discovered.
For Montoni, such a method was perfectly suited to his character.
In the letter, he accused Morano of plotting against the state. He wrote the accusation in a simple and convincing manner, making every false statement appear reasonable.
At that time, the Senate treated suspicion almost like proof.
Because of this accusation, Morano was arrested.
No explanation was given to him.
No crime was revealed.
He was simply thrown into one of Venice’s secret prisons—places that terrified the citizens because many prisoners disappeared there forever. Some remained imprisoned for years, and some died without their families ever knowing what had happened to them.
Morano had already gained many enemies among powerful men.
Some disliked him because of his lifestyle.
Others hated his ambition and the bold way he had challenged rivals during public affairs.
It was therefore unlikely that mercy would protect him from a punishment decided by those who already wished him harm.
Meanwhile, Montoni faced dangers of his own.
His castle had been attacked by enemy forces who seemed determined to risk everything to achieve victory. They endured hardship patiently and showed no fear as they surrounded Udolpho.
But the fortress was strong.
The walls resisted every attack.
The soldiers inside defended it fiercely.
And the lack of supplies in those wild mountain regions soon weakened the attackers.
At last, they were forced to abandon the siege.
Once Udolpho was again safe, Montoni immediately sent Ugo into Tuscany to bring Emily back.
He had originally sent her away because he feared for her safety. While the castle was under attack, it had been too dangerous for her to remain there.
Now that peace had returned, Montoni wanted her under his control again.
Ugo was ordered to assist Bertrand in escorting her back.
Emily was deeply saddened when she had to leave the kind Maddelina.
During the two weeks she had spent in Tuscany, she had finally experienced a period of calm after so many months of fear and suffering.
That short peace had given her strength again.
Yet now she was forced to return to the Apennines.
As she climbed higher into the mountains, she stopped and looked back sadly at the beautiful land spread beneath her.
Far away, she could see the Mediterranean Sea.
So many times she had wished those waves could carry her back to France.
She felt great sorrow at returning toward the place where she had suffered so much.
But one thought gave her a small comfort.
Valancourt might be there.
Perhaps he was still inside the castle.
Even if he was a prisoner, the possibility that she might be near him brought a little hope into her heart.
They had left the cottage at noon, but evening had already fallen before they approached Udolpho.
The moon appeared only occasionally because clouds covered the sky.
Ugo carried a torch, and the travelers moved silently through the darkness.
Emily sat lost in her thoughts.
Bertrand and Ugo, however, were thinking of warmer things.
They were already imagining a bottle of wine and a good fire because they could feel the difference between the warm lowlands of Tuscany and the cold mountain air surrounding them now.
At last, Emily was pulled from her thoughts by a distant sound.
The castle clock was striking.
The deep notes rolled through the night air.
She listened with a strange feeling of fear as each sound echoed among the mountains.
Another strike followed.
Then another.
The heavy sound slowly disappeared into the darkness.
To Emily’s troubled imagination, it sounded like a funeral bell counting down some terrible fate.
“There is the old clock,” Bertrand said.
“He is still alive after all. The cannons did not silence him.”
“No,” Ugo replied.
“He shouted louder than anything else during the fighting. He kept ringing even when the worst attacks were happening.”
“I thought the enemy would surely hit that old tower,” he continued.
“But he escaped, and so did the tower.”
The road curved around the foot of the mountain.
Soon, through a break in the clouds, a beam of moonlight revealed Udolpho in the distance.
The castle appeared for only a moment before darkness covered it again.
But that brief sight was enough to awaken all of Emily’s fears.
The enormous walls and dark towers reminded her of imprisonment and suffering.
Yet as she moved closer, another feeling mixed with her terror.
Hope.
This was certainly Montoni’s castle.
But perhaps it was also where Valancourt was.
And the thought that he might be somewhere inside gave her a strange happiness despite everything she feared.
They continued through the valley.
Soon the castle appeared again, its ancient walls and moonlit towers rising above the forest.
The brighter moonlight allowed Emily to see the damage caused by the siege.
Broken walls.
Destroyed battlements.
Ruined towers.
They had now reached the foot of the steep hill where Udolpho stood.
Large pieces of stone had fallen into the woods.
The path was covered with loose earth and fragments of rock.
The forest itself had suffered greatly.
The enemy had used these trees for protection while firing at the castle.
Many magnificent trees had been cut down completely.
Others had lost their highest branches and stood damaged across the landscape.
“We should get off the mules,” Ugo said.
“We should lead them up the hill, or we may fall into the holes left by the cannon fire.”
“There are plenty of them here.”
After they dismounted, Ugo continued:
“Give me the torch.”
“And be careful where you step. The ground has not yet been cleared.”
Emily looked at him in surprise.
“Not cleared?”
“Do you mean some of the enemy soldiers are still here?”
“I cannot say for certain,” Ugo answered.
“But when I left, I saw one or two of them lying beneath the trees.”
As they continued upward, the torch threw a weak and frightening light across the ground and into the dark spaces between the trees.
Emily was afraid to look ahead.
She feared that some terrible sight might appear before her.
The path was scattered with broken arrows and pieces of damaged armor.
At that time, soldiers wore such armor mixed with their ordinary clothing.
“Bring the light here,” Bertrand said suddenly.
“I have stepped on something that makes quite a noise.”
Ugo lifted the torch.
On the ground lay a steel breastplate.
Bertrand picked it up.
The armor had been pierced through.
Inside, the lining was stained completely with blood.
Emily immediately begged them to continue.
Bertrand, making a careless joke about the unfortunate soldier who had worn it, threw the armor back onto the ground.
They moved on.
Yet with every step, Emily feared seeing another reminder of death.
Soon they reached an opening in the woods.
Bertrand stopped and looked around.
The ground was covered with enormous fallen trees and broken branches.
It was clear that this place had been especially deadly for the attackers.
The destruction showed that the defenders had concentrated their strongest fire here.
Ugo raised the torch again.
Between the fallen trees, pieces of steel reflected the light.
The ground was covered with broken weapons and torn pieces of soldiers’ clothing.
Emily almost expected to see the bodies of the dead lying there.
Again, she begged them to move forward.
But Bertrand and Ugo were too interested in examining the battlefield to notice her fear.
She turned away and looked toward the castle.
There she saw lights moving along the walls.
At that moment, the castle clock struck twelve.
Immediately afterward, a trumpet sounded.
Emily looked up in alarm.
“What is that for?”
“Only the changing of the guard,” Ugo replied.
“I do not remember hearing that trumpet before,” Emily said.
“It is a new custom.”
“Not new,” Ugo answered.
“Only an old one brought back. We always use it during war.”
“We have sounded it every night since the siege began.”
“Listen,” Emily whispered.
The trumpet sounded again.
Then came the faint clash of weapons.
A guard’s password was called across the terrace above.
Another voice answered from far inside the castle.
Then everything became silent again.
Emily shivered.
“I am cold,” she said.
“Please, let us continue.”
“Soon, lady,” Bertrand replied.
He was still turning over broken weapons with the spear he carried.
Suddenly he stopped.
“What have we here?”
At that moment Emily heard something.
“Listen!”
“What was that noise?” Ugo asked, immediately becoming alert.
“Quiet,” Emily whispered.
“It came from the walls above.”
They looked upward.
A light was moving along the castle ramparts.
Then the wind strengthened, and a voice became clearer.
“Who goes there?” shouted a guard.
“Speak, or you will regret it!”
Bertrand suddenly laughed with happiness.
“Ha! My brave companion, is that you?”
He gave a sharp whistle.
Another whistle answered from the guard above.
The group continued forward.
Soon they left the woods and reached the damaged road leading directly to the castle gates.
Emily looked up.
The enormous structure stood before her.
Her fear returned completely.
“Alas,” she thought.
“I am going back into my prison.”