Flight Through the Mountain Wilderness
Beyond the walls, the party travels on foot down a road through the woods, Emily and Annette eventually being mounted on horseback. Shouts and lights from the castle pursue them, prompting a desperate gallop until their pursuers fade into silence. They agree to descend into Tuscany and make for the Mediterranean, where they hope to embark for France. Ludovico, familiar with the mountain passes, guides them along a quieter by-road toward a small town several leagues distant.
Stop at the Mountain Town for Supplies
After hours of silent travel through desolate, moonlit wilds, the travelers discern lights on a mountainside and at last emerge upon a pastoral Apennine valley. They reach a small town as morning breaks but find difficulty securing shelter. Emily lacks even a hat, having only thrown on her veil before fleeing. Their poverty becomes a pressing concern: Annette, Emily, Du Pont, and Ludovico all discover they have little or no money for refreshment or onward travel.
Discovery of Hidden Stolen Money
When Ludovico removes the saddle from one of the horses at the stable, he discovers a small bag concealed beneath it—the stolen booty of a Condottieri who had returned from a plundering expedition. The thief’s horse had strayed from the inner court during the chaos, carrying the treasure with it. Counting the contents, Du Pont finds the sum more than sufficient to carry the party all the way to France.
Resolution to Travel to Leghorn
Relieved of their financial distress, Du Pont resolves to accompany Emily to France whether or not he learns of his regiment’s whereabouts. Ludovico, knowing the country, identifies Leghorn as the nearest significant seaport and the most suitable point of departure, as vessels of all nations sail from there. The travelers purchase a straw hat and other necessities for Emily, exchange their tired horses, and set off again at sunrise.
Journey Through the Pastoral Apennine Valley
As the sun rises, the party travels for several hours through romantic Tuscan scenery and descends into the vale of Arno. Emily admires the sylvan and pastoral landscape: elegant Florentine villas, terraced slopes, amphitheatre-like woods, and the soft outlines of the Apennines softening from their earlier wildness. Florence appears on the eastern horizon, and to the west the vale opens toward the distant Mediterranean, visible only as a bluish line on the horizon.
Emily’s Reflections on Returning to France
With a full heart, Emily hails the waves that will bear her back to France, but the thought brings grief as well as hope: she has no home to receive her, no parents to welcome her, and will weep only over her father’s grave. She also fears that Valancourt may be stationed with his regiment in a distant part of France, and that their meeting, when it comes, will force them to lament Montoni’s successful villainy. Still, the mere thought of sharing a country with Valancourt would itself bring her inexpressible delight.
CHAPITRE IX.
Chapter IX follows Emily, Du Pont, Annette, and Ludovico as they travel from the mountains toward France, pausing to rest at midday in a grove near a spring. During the long halt, Du Pont recounts how he came to be Montoni’s prisoner, his secret walks along the terrace and nightly lute playing, and what he overheard of Montoni’s conversation through a hidden passage. The party then descends to the Arno at twilight, passes through Pisa without lingering, reaches Leghorn, and secures passage to Marseilles. The chapter closes with Emily’s poem “The Mariner,” inspired by a farewell she witnessed on the quay.
Rest in the Grove
With the noon heat oppressive, the travellers turn off the road into a grove whose thick canopy excludes the sun. A spring cools the air, wild grapes, raspberries, and figs provide refreshment, and the party dines on turf beneath pines and cypresses while Annette chatters and Ludovico keeps respectful watch. Emily and Du Pont grow thoughtful, and when Ludovico dozes at his post, Emily asks Du Pont by what accident he became Montoni’s prisoner.
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