Retreat to the Chamber
When her strength returns, Emily leaves the hall, accidentally revealing herself when she asks after Madame Montoni. She hurries back to her chamber, avoiding noisy parts of the castle, and secures the corridor door. In the quiet of her remote room, she watches the peaceful mountain view, resolves to search the east turret for her aunt at midnight when the castle is asleep, and worries about the missing Annette. She spends the rest of the afternoon in anxious solitude, unable to distract herself with reading, drawing, or playing her lute.
Midnight Venture
After sunset, the castle is plunged into darkness. Emily dares not fetch a lamp for fear of encountering hostile castle inhabitants, so she fans embers from a morning wood fire to light a standing lamp, then barricades her staircase door with furniture to pass the time. At midnight, when the great clock chimes and the sentinel on the rampart changes guard, she opens her door to find the corridor perfectly still, then ventures out toward the staircase leading to the turret via a side passage to avoid detection.
Annette in the Gallery
Emily reaches the turret staircase but must choose between two unknown passages, selecting one at random that leads to a wide, lonely gallery. While crossing the gallery, she hears a voice calling “Ludovico” and recognizes it as Annette, who is locked in a chamber off the gallery, sobbing. Emily calls to her through the door, reassures her no one will hurt her, and Annette reveals Ludovico locked her in the gallery chamber for her safety during the day’s chaos and promised to return to free her, but never came.
Ludovico’s Disappearance
Emily realizes Ludovico has not returned, and Annette fears he has been murdered. Emily conceals her suspicion that the wounded man brought to the hall earlier is Ludovico to avoid upsetting Annette, and presses for directions to the east turret to find Madame Montoni. Annette begs her not to leave, says she is hungry and alone, but Emily promises to free her in the morning, gets directions to the turret, and leaves the gallery.
The Turret Approach
Following Annette’s directions, Emily navigates more passages and reaches the steep, winding stairs of the east turret. She pauses at the foot to rest and gather courage, notices a door opposite the staircase leading to the east rampart, opens it briefly to look out at the dark, stormy night, then closes it quickly when she hears distant sentinel footsteps, fearful of being seen. She then begins climbing the turret stairs, trembling with fear of what she might find.
Blood on the Stairs
As Emily ascends the turret stairs, she spots a track of blood staining the steps and walls. Horrified, she nearly drops her lamp, fears she is about to witness a terrible scene or confirm her aunt’s murder, but forces herself to continue climbing, driven by a sense of duty to learn Madame Montoni’s fate.
The First Chamber
Halfway up the turret, Emily reaches a chamber door and enters, holding her lamp up to see only damp, empty walls. She spots a pile of clothes in a dark corner, fears it is her aunt’s body, but upon approaching finds it is an old soldier’s uniform with a heap of pikes and arms beneath it, relieving her fear that Madame Montoni is in this room. She is about to descend when she notices more blood on the steps leading to the next flight of stairs, and decides to continue upward to check the final turret chamber.
The Final Door
Emily climbs the remaining stairs, following the trail of blood to the final door at the top of the turret. Terrified to learn the truth, she hesitates to open it, listening for sounds but hearing only silence. She calls out for Madame Montoni, receives no response, and concludes her aunt has been murdered, her blood staining the stairs. Overwhelmed with faintness, she sits on a step to recover before descending.
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