The next morning, Emily went to see Madame Montoni. She found her aunt in almost the same condition as the night before. She had barely slept, and the little rest she had received had done nothing to restore her strength.
When Emily entered, Madame Montoni smiled weakly. The sight of her niece seemed to comfort her, but she spoke only a few words. She never once mentioned Montoni.
Soon afterward, Montoni himself entered the room.
The moment Madame Montoni realized he was there, she became visibly distressed. Yet she remained silent until Emily rose from the chair beside her bed.
“Please do not leave me,” Madame Montoni whispered weakly.
Emily immediately sat back down.
But Montoni had not come to comfort his dying wife. He had not come to ask for forgiveness or show kindness. He had come for one final purpose.
He wanted her signature.
If she signed the document, her estates in Languedoc would pass to him after her death instead of to Emily.
The scene revealed Montoni’s usual cruelty. He showed no pity for a woman whose life was fading away before him. Madame Montoni, though physically weak, refused to surrender. Her determination fought against her failing body.
Emily repeatedly tried to end the argument.
“Give up my claim to the estates if necessary,” she told Montoni. “I would rather lose everything than see my aunt’s final moments disturbed by this conflict.”
But Montoni would not stop.
He continued pressing his wife until her strength was completely exhausted. At last, overcome by the struggle, Madame Montoni fainted.
She lay motionless for so long that Emily feared her life had already ended.
At last, Madame Montoni opened her eyes again. She looked weakly at Emily, whose tears were falling over her face, and tried to speak.
But no words could be understood.
Emily feared that death was coming.
After some time, however, Madame Montoni’s voice returned. A little strengthened by a cordial, she spoke clearly and calmly about her estates in France.
She told Emily where she could find important papers concerning them. She explained that she had hidden these documents from Montoni and gave Emily a serious warning.
“Never allow these papers to leave your possession,” she said.
Not long after this conversation, Madame Montoni fell into a deep sleep. She remained asleep until evening, and when she woke, she appeared better than she had been since leaving the tower.
Emily never left her side.
She stayed with her aunt long after midnight and would have continued watching over her if Madame Montoni had not insisted that she go and rest.
Emily finally obeyed because her aunt seemed somewhat restored by sleep. She gave Annette the same instructions as the night before and returned to her own room.
But her mind was restless.
Sleep would not come.
The strange figure she had seen the previous night still filled her thoughts. She decided to watch again and discover the truth behind the mysterious appearance.
It was now the second watch of the night, the same time when the figure had appeared before.
Emily heard the soldiers walking along the ramparts as they changed guards. When silence returned, she stood by the window.
She placed her lamp far away from the casement so that anyone outside would not notice her.
The moon gave only a weak and uncertain light. Heavy clouds surrounded it, sometimes covering it completely and leaving the castle grounds buried in darkness.
During one of these dark moments, Emily saw a small, glowing flame moving across the distant terrace.
She stared at it.
Then suddenly it disappeared.
The moon emerged again from behind the heavy storm clouds, and Emily turned her attention upward.
Lightning flashed silently from cloud to cloud, illuminating the dark forests below.
Emily loved watching the landscape appear for a moment in those sudden flashes of light.
Sometimes the lightning revealed a distant mountain, showing every rock and tree upon it while the rest of the world remained hidden in darkness.
Sometimes it exposed parts of the castle—the ancient arch leading to the eastern rampart, the tower above it, or the distant fortifications.
Then, in another flash, the entire castle appeared: its towers, its massive dark walls, and its narrow pointed windows.
A moment later, everything vanished again.
Emily looked back toward the terrace.
The strange flame had returned.
It moved slowly forward.
Soon afterward, she thought she heard footsteps.
The light appeared and disappeared repeatedly as it came closer. At last, it passed beneath her window.
At that exact moment, Emily was certain she heard someone walking below.
But the darkness prevented her from seeing anything except the strange flame.
The light moved away.
Then a flash of lightning revealed a person standing on the terrace.
All the fears from the previous night returned.
The figure continued forward, while the mysterious flame flickered beside it.
Emily wanted to speak. She wanted to know whether the figure was a living person or something supernatural.
But every time she tried to call out, fear stopped her.
At last, when the flame passed beneath her window again, she gathered enough courage.
“Who is passing there?” she asked softly.
“A friend,” answered a voice.
Emily felt slightly relieved.
“What friend?” she asked. “Who are you? And what is that strange light you are carrying?”
“I am Anthonio, one of the Signor’s soldiers,” replied the man.
“And what is that glowing light?” Emily asked. “Look how it rises upward—and now it disappears!”
“This light, madam,” said the soldier, “has appeared on the tip of my lance ever since I began my watch tonight. I do not know what it means.”
“How strange,” Emily said.
“My fellow guard has the same flame upon his weapon,” the soldier continued. “He says he has seen it before. I never have. I am new here and have not served at this castle for long.”
“What does your companion think it means?” Emily asked.
“He believes it is an omen, madam. He says it brings no good fortune.”
“And what kind of harm does he believe it predicts?”
“He does not know that either, madam.”
Whether or not Emily believed in the omen, she certainly felt relieved to discover that the mysterious figure was only a soldier.
She immediately thought that this man might have been the cause of the fear she had felt the night before.
Yet some things still troubled her.
From what she could see in the weak moonlight, the figure she had seen before was not like this soldier. It had not appeared to have the same size or shape.
And she was certain that the earlier figure carried no weapon.
The silent movement, the strange sounds of sorrow it had made, and the way it had disappeared were all mysteries that did not seem likely to belong to an ordinary guard.
Emily questioned the soldier.
“Did you see anyone else walking on the terrace around midnight the other night?” she asked.
She briefly described what she herself had witnessed.
“I was not on guard that night,” replied Anthonio, “but I heard about what happened. Some among us believe strange things. Many unusual stories have been told about this castle.”
He paused.
“But it is not my place to repeat them. As for me, I have no complaints. Our leader treats us well.”
“I respect your wisdom,” said Emily.
She then gave him a small coin.
“Good night.”
She closed the window, ending the conversation.
After the soldier left, Emily opened the casement again.
She listened with a strange pleasure to the distant thunder beginning to rumble among the mountains.
Lightning crossed the sky, breaking over the distant landscape.
The thunder grew louder. The mountains echoed the sound until it seemed that thunder answered thunder from every direction.
The clouds gathered thicker and thicker. They completely covered the moon and took on a dark reddish glow, warning of a violent storm.
Emily remained at the window until the lightning became so frequent and powerful that it was no longer safe to stay there.
She returned to her bed.
But sleep was impossible.
She lay awake, listening with fear and wonder as the storm shook the castle walls.
The thunder seemed powerful enough to tear the ancient fortress apart.
After some time, during the terrible noise of the storm, Emily thought she heard a voice.
She sat up and listened.
Suddenly, her chamber door opened.
Annette rushed inside.
Her face was filled with terror.
“Madam! Madam! She is dying!” Annette cried.
Emily jumped from her bed and hurried to Madame Montoni’s room.
When she entered, she found her aunt lying completely still.
She seemed to have fainted.
Emily forced herself to remain calm. Her grief could not overcome her while there was still something she could do.
She tried every method she knew to revive her.
But it was too late.
The final struggle had already ended.
Madame Montoni was gone forever.
When Emily realized that nothing could bring her aunt back, she turned to the frightened Annette.
She asked what had happened.
Annette explained that Madame Montoni had fallen asleep soon after Emily left.
She had remained sleeping until only a few minutes before her death.
“I wondered why my lady was not frightened by the thunder,” Annette said. “I was terrified, so I went to her bed many times to speak to her. But she seemed asleep.”
She shuddered.
“Then suddenly I heard a strange sound. I went to her and saw that she was dying.”
Emily listened with tears in her eyes.
She had no doubt that the violent storm and the sudden change in the air had been too much for her aunt’s exhausted body.
After thinking carefully, Emily decided not to tell Montoni until morning.
She feared that, in his present state of mind, he might say something cruel and heartless that she could not bear to hear.
So, with only Annette beside her, Emily performed the final duties for the dead.
She encouraged Annette by showing her own courage and forced herself to remain awake throughout the night beside her aunt’s body.
The storm continued raging around the castle.
The terrible thunder and lightning made the solemn night even more frightening.
During those long hours, Emily repeatedly turned her thoughts toward Heaven, asking for strength and protection.
And her sincere prayers, we may believe, were heard by the God who brings comfort to those who suffer.