Emily Seeks Montoni
Emily requests to speak with Signor Montoni about the pressing matter on her mind. She wishes to petition for permission to return to her native country, though she scarcely dares to believe the request would be granted. Her agitation increases as the moment of interview approaches, nearly causing her to excuse herself under the pretense of illness.
Montoni Defers the Meeting
A message arrives from Montoni stating he cannot see Emily until the following day, providing her with temporary relief from her overwhelming anxiety about the impending conversation. Annette observes that the Chevaliers are preparing for another military expedition, as the courtyard fills with horses and the soldiers speak confidently of returning with substantial plunder. The passage also recounts Count Morano’s failed schemes and Annette’s account of how she rescued Emily from Barnardine’s scheme.
Annette and the Banditti
Annette continues to talk freely about her observations, mentioning that she would have let Count Morano’s people run away with both her and Emily if it were not for Ludovico’s sake, believing it would have served Emily well. Emily remains silent, inattentive, and absorbed in thought throughout the day, passing her time in a kind of solemn tranquillity resulting from faculties overstrained by suffering.
Emily’s Evening Vigil
As night falls, Emily recollects the mysterious strains of music she had heard previously, hoping to hear them again. The influence of superstition gains upon her long-harassed mind, and she looks with enthusiastic expectation to the guardian spirit of her father. She dismisses Annette for the night, determines to watch alone, and sits with a book from France, though her restless mind often drives her to the casement to listen for sounds. At midnight, the castle falls silent, and Emily seats herself at the casement.
Mysterious Nocturnal Sounds
Emily hears unusual sounds—not music, but like the low mourning of some person in distress. Her heart falters in terror as she listens. The sounds seem to rise from rooms underneath, adjoining the rampart, which have been long shut up. She leans from the casement to observe whether any light is visible, but the chambers appear dark. At a little distance on the rampart below, she sees something moving in the faint starlight.
The Spectral Figure
Emily observes a figure moving along the rampart toward her window. It moves with a silence that convinces her it is no sentinel. When it reaches her casement, the figure becomes stationary, and everything remains perfectly quiet. As she is about to move from the casement, she observes the figure start away, glide down the rampart, and disappear into the obscurity of night. She continues to gaze on the way it had passed, scarcely doubting she has witnessed a supernatural appearance.
Speculations on the Visitor
When her spirits recover composure, Emily seeks another explanation. She considers whether she saw an unhappy person brought to the castle as a captive by Montoni’s banditti, possibly connected to the music she had heard. However, she dismisses this idea because banditti typically murder those they rob rather than make them prisoners, and a prisoner would not wander unguarded on the terrace. She also considers whether Count Morano might have gained admittance, but remembers the difficulties and dangers this would involve, and that he would not behave in such silent, mournful fashion.
Decision to Watch Again
Emily determines to watch on the following night, hoping her doubts may be cleared up. She almost resolves to address the figure if it should appear again.
CHAPTER III
This chapter, titled “CHAPTER III”, opens with a Milton epigraph evoking dark, sepulchral gloom to set a foreboding tone. It follows Emily’s escalating terror and suspicion of Montoni as she is held in his remote mountain castle, covering her mistaken belief he leads a band of robbers, historical context for Italian mercenary condottieri, her midnight vigils watching for a mysterious figure, her failed attempt to secure permission to return to France, a violent clash between Verezzi and Orsino that escalates to a duel between Montoni and Verezzi, and Emily’s journey to visit her dying aunt, Madame Montoni, in the castle’s east turret.
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