Emily’s Melancholy Woodland Walk
Overcome by memories of the previous year’s festival, when her father was still alive, Emily leaves the gathering and walks alone into the woods; soothed by distant music and soft moonlight, she wanders near the wild avenue where her father first arrived at Château-le-Blanc, recalling the mysterious figure they encountered there, when she is startled by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Emily’s Reunion with Valancourt
The approaching figures are Henri and Valancourt, who has traveled to Languedoc after receiving Emily’s forwarded letter; he arrived at the monastery she wrote from only to find it closed for the night, and was on his way back to his inn when Henri, an old acquaintance from Paris, led him to the festival. The long-separated pair share a joyful, affectionate reunion, and Emily’s prior anxieties and sorrows are instantly forgotten.
CHAPITRE XIII.
This chapter segment opens with Emily, Valancourt, and Henri returning to the village green, where Valancourt is presented to the Count, who receives him with noticeably less warmth than usual despite their prior acquaintance. The group enjoys evening festivities, during which Valancourt sits with Emily to converse freely. Emily observes that Valancourt has lost some of his former simplicity and open benevolence, displaying instead intermittent anxiety, melancholy, and distraction, though he retains his characteristic intelligence and charm. Emily shares the details of her recent suffering under Montoni’s tyranny, and Valancourt is overwhelmed by alternating pity, indignation, and self-accusation, abruptly leaving her twice before returning visibly distressed, prompting Emily to comfort him and urge him to be happy.
Evening Reunion and Tense Conversation
During the evening reunion, Valancourt sits with Emily to talk without restraint after paying his respects to the Count. Emily notes that while Valancourt still has his usual intelligence and charm, he has lost much of his former simplicity and open benevolence, showing intermittent anxiety, melancholy, and moments of distraction as he speaks. When Emily recounts her suffering at the hands of Montoni, Valancourt is overcome with self-accusation and resentment, abruptly leaving her twice before returning weeping, and Emily tenderly begs him to compose himself, expressing relief that she has escaped Montoni and is reunited with him.
Valancourt’s Self-Reproach and Unspoken Guilt
Valancourt confesses he is unworthy of Emily, which distresses her deeply, though he refuses to explain the meaning of his words. He alludes to guilt tied to their past journey in the Pyrenees, which he calls the happiest period of his life, and begs Emily not to wish to forget that time, insisting he has not lost his candour and was only surprised into self-accusation. Emily forgives him for the uneasiness he caused that evening, but remains unsettled by his strange behavior and the Count’s uncharacteristically cold reception of him.
The Count’s Revelations of Valancourt’s Dissolute Past
The following day, the Count privately speaks to Emily about Valancourt, revealing his knowledge of Valancourt’s disgraceful past out of concern for her welfare. He explains that Valancourt fell in with a group of dissolute men who led him into a life of dissipation: he lost large sums gambling, was initiated into their dishonest schemes to share in their plunder, twice ended up imprisoned in Paris, and was last bailed out by a well-known Parisian countess with whom he was residing at the time the Count left Paris. The Count states that Valancourt is not worthy of Emily’s trust or affection, and that his son was nearly corrupted by Valancourt’s bad example.
Emily Faints at Damning Accusations
As the Count details Valancourt’s vices—his gambling addiction, corrupted morals, and taste for every vicious pleasure—Emily is overwhelmed with anguish, struggling to believe the reports but unable to dismiss the match to his self-reproach the night before. When the Count reveals that Valancourt was twice imprisoned for his extravagance and bailed out by a Parisian countess he was living with, Emily is so overcome that she faints. The Count catches her, and when Valancourt arrives with Henri and sees her collapsed, he refuses the Count’s stern request to withdraw, tending to her with anxious concern until she regains consciousness.
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