Morning light drove away the dark shadows of superstition from Emily’s mind, but it could not remove her fear.
The first person who appeared in her thoughts when she awoke was Count Morano. Immediately, a flood of worries followed—imagined dangers, possible disasters, and troubles that she could neither escape nor overcome.
She rose quickly, hoping to distract herself from these painful thoughts by focusing on the world around her.
Standing at her window, she looked out upon the wild and magnificent landscape surrounding the castle.
High mountains rose on every side. Their peaks overlapped one another, fading into soft misty colors in the distance. Below, dark forests covered the steep slopes, stretching down into narrow valleys.
The beauty of the woods captured Emily’s attention. She admired the richness of the trees and the vast strength of the ancient castle itself.
The fortress spread across an enormous stretch of rock. Some parts of its walls had already fallen into decay, but its remaining towers, battlements, and massive stone structures still showed a proud and powerful greatness.
Her eyes moved beyond the castle walls and wandered across the cliffs and forests until they reached the valley below.
A wide, rushing river cut through the landscape. In some places, it crashed over rocks on the opposite mountain, shining brightly under the sun. In others, it disappeared beneath the shadows of thick pine trees.
Then suddenly, it burst out again in a great sheet of white foam, roaring down into the valley.
Farther away, toward the west, the mountain view that had impressed Emily so deeply when she first approached the castle opened before her again.
A thin gray mist rose from the valley, covering the landscape with a gentle veil.
As the mist climbed higher and caught the sunlight, it slowly turned golden and then crimson, touching the forests and cliffs with extraordinary beauty.
The glowing mist moved upward toward the mountain peaks.
Little by little, the hidden details of the valley appeared.
Green fields emerged.
Dark forests became visible.
Small rocky corners revealed themselves.
A few peasants’ cottages appeared among the landscape.
The rushing river returned to sight.
A herd of cattle wandered peacefully below.
Every moment revealed another piece of beauty.
The pine forests brightened beneath the sun. Then the broad mountains themselves became visible, until finally the mist rested around their peaks, giving them a warm red glow.
The entire scene became clear.
The deep shadows beneath the cliffs made the brightness above appear even more magnificent.
The mountains seemed to descend gradually into a distant blue sea.
At least, that was what Emily imagined the faint blue light at the end of the view to be.
For a while, she allowed her imagination to rest upon this beautiful scene, and the effect was calming.
The fresh morning air strengthened her spirits.
She lifted her thoughts in prayer, as she often did when surrounded by the grandeur of nature, and slowly her courage returned.
When she turned away from the window, her eyes fell upon the door she had guarded so carefully the previous night.
She suddenly decided to discover where it led.
She stepped forward and began moving the chairs away from the door.
But then she stopped.
The chairs had already been moved.
They were no longer exactly where she had left them.
A feeling of shock passed through her.
Then she noticed something even more disturbing.
The door was locked.
Emily stared at it in disbelief.
She felt as though she had seen a ghost.
The corridor door was still locked exactly as she had left it. But this smaller door could only be locked from the outside.
Someone must have fastened it during the night.
The thought filled her with serious uneasiness.
How could she sleep again in a room where someone could enter secretly, especially when the chamber was so far away from the rest of the family?
She immediately decided to tell Madame Montoni and ask to be given another room.
After some difficulty finding her way through the unfamiliar passages, Emily reached the great hall.
She entered the room where breakfast had been prepared.
Her aunt was there alone.
Montoni had gone outside to inspect the castle walls and fortifications with Carlo.
Emily noticed that Madame Montoni had been crying.
Her heart softened toward her aunt.
Although she did not mention the tears directly, her manner became gentler, and she tried to show kindness without embarrassing her.
When Montoni was absent, Emily carefully explained what had happened with the door.
She asked permission to move to another room and again questioned her aunt about the reason for their sudden journey.
Madame Montoni refused to interfere in the matter of the room.
“Speak to Montoni yourself,” she said coldly. “I will not involve myself.”
As for the reason for their journey, she claimed she knew nothing.
Emily then tried to comfort her aunt by speaking positively about the castle.
“The castle is certainly magnificent,” Emily said. “And the scenery around it is truly extraordinary. Perhaps, with time, we may become happier here.”
She tried to make every unpleasant circumstance appear less painful.
Misfortune had changed Madame Montoni somewhat.
Her own troubles had softened some of her harshness and had made her more aware of the suffering of others.
But one weakness remained unchanged—the desire to control everyone around her.
She still could not resist using her power over Emily.
Instead of sharing Emily’s admiration for the scenery, she mocked it.
“You find beauty in these gloomy mountains?” Madame Montoni said. “I cannot understand such tastes. Give me a pleasant city, elegant rooms, and society—not these wild rocks and forests.”
Before Emily could answer, Montoni entered the room.
Immediately, Madame Montoni’s expression changed.
Fear and resentment appeared together on her face.
Montoni sat down at the breakfast table as if he did not notice anyone else.
Emily watched him silently.
His expression seemed darker and more severe than usual.
She wondered:
What thoughts are hidden behind that cold face? If only I knew what was happening inside his mind, perhaps I would no longer suffer this terrible uncertainty.
The breakfast continued in silence.
Finally, Emily gathered enough courage to speak.
“Signor Montoni,” she said, “I wish to ask if another room could be prepared for me. Something happened last night that makes me uncomfortable in the present chamber.”
She explained how she had found the door locked.
Montoni looked annoyed.
“I have no time for these foolish fears,” he said.
“That room was prepared for you, and you must remain there.”
“It is unlikely that anyone would walk all the way to that distant staircase simply to lock a door.”
“Perhaps the wind moved the bolts.”
“But I cannot understand why I should waste time explaining such a small matter.”
Emily was not convinced.
She had noticed that the bolts were old and rusty. They could not have moved so easily.
But she did not argue.
Instead, she repeated her request.
Montoni’s expression hardened.
“If you cannot free yourself from these imaginary fears,” he said, “at least do not trouble others with them.”
“You must learn to strengthen your mind.”
“No life is more miserable than one controlled by fear.”
As he spoke, he glanced toward Madame Montoni.
She immediately became flushed, but remained silent.
Emily felt hurt.
Her fears seemed completely reasonable to her, yet Montoni treated them as childish weakness.
Still, she understood that arguing would change nothing.
She forced herself to remain calm.
At that moment, Carlo entered carrying a basket of fruit.
“Your Excellency,” he said, “you must be tired after your long walk. But there is still more to see after breakfast.”
“There is a place in the old passage leading toward—”
Montoni suddenly frowned and raised his hand.
Carlo stopped immediately.
He lowered his eyes.
Then, pretending nothing had happened, he walked toward the table.
“I brought some cherries,” he said. “For my honored lady and my young mistress.”
“Would you like to taste them, madam?”
“They are excellent cherries. I picked them myself from an old tree that receives the southern sunlight. They are almost as large as plums.”
“Thank you, Carlo,” Madame Montoni replied.
“And perhaps the young Signora would like some too,” Carlo said, turning toward Emily.
“It would make me happy to see her eat them.”
“Thank you, Carlo,” Emily said with a smile, taking a few cherries.
Montoni immediately interrupted.
“That is enough. Leave the room.”
“Stay nearby. I may need you.”
Carlo bowed and left.
Soon afterward, Montoni also departed to continue examining the castle.
Emily remained with her aunt.
Although Madame Montoni’s mood was unpleasant, Emily patiently endured it and tried to comfort her rather than complain.
When her aunt finally withdrew to her dressing room, Emily decided to explore the castle.
Through a large folding door, she entered the great ramparts surrounding three sides of the fortress.
The fourth side was protected by the high walls of the inner courts and the enormous gateway through which they had entered the previous evening.
The sight amazed her.
The wide stone terraces stretched along the edge of the cliffs, offering different views from every direction.
Each turn seemed to reveal a completely new landscape.
She stopped often to admire the strange beauty of Udolpho Castle.
Its irregular towers.
Its ancient walls.
Its high arched windows.
Its narrow watchtowers perched above the corners of the building.
Yet whenever she looked down from the terrace wall, she shuddered.
Far below was the terrifying drop into the dark forest.
Beyond it stretched endless mountains, pine forests, and narrow valleys disappearing into the distant wilderness.
As Emily stood there, lost in thought, she suddenly saw Montoni below.
He was climbing a winding path carved into the rock.
Two men followed him.
One was Carlo.
The other was dressed like a peasant.
Montoni stopped on a cliff and pointed toward the castle walls.
He spoke eagerly, giving instructions.
Emily noticed that the peasant alone seemed to receive his orders.
She quietly moved away and continued her walk.
Then she heard something unexpected.
The sound of carriage wheels.
A moment later, the great bell at the castle entrance rang.
Emily’s heart immediately jumped.
Count Morano had arrived.
She hurried through the folding doors, leaving the terrace.
Several people entered the hall through another entrance.
She saw them only from a distance, among the shadows of the arches.
Her emotions were so disturbed that she could not clearly recognize them.
But fear has a powerful imagination.
She believed she had seen Count Morano.
She quickly retreated.
Only after she was certain they had crossed the hall did she return and quietly make her way back to her room.
There she waited anxiously, listening to every sound.
Soon she heard voices outside on the ramparts.
She rushed to the window.
Below, she saw Montoni walking with Signor Cavigni.
They were speaking seriously.
They often stopped, turned toward each other, and appeared deeply involved in an important discussion.
Of all the people who had entered the hall earlier, only Cavigni was there.
But Emily’s fear increased when footsteps approached in the corridor.
She thought someone might be bringing a message from Count Morano.
A moment later, Annette entered.