The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe (best novels to read in english txt) 📖

glance, for she passed the group swiftly, and her timid eyes scarcely rested on them a moment. Having reached the terrace, she stopped, and perceived the strangers standing in the shadow of one of the turrets, gazing after her, and seemingly, by their action, in earnest conversation. She immediately left the rampart, and retired to her apartment.

In the evening, Montoni sat late, carousing with his guests in the cedar chamber. His recent triumph over Count Morano, or, perhaps, some other circumstance, contributed to elevate his spirits to an unusual height. He filled the goblet often, and gave a loose to merriment and talk. The gaiety of Cavigni, on the contrary, was somewhat clouded by anxiety. He kept a watchful eye upon Verezzi, whom, with the utmost difficulty, he had hitherto restrained from exasperating Montoni further against Morano, by a mention of his late taunting words.

One of the company exultingly recurred to the event of the preceding evening. Verezzi’s eyes sparkled. The mention of Morano led to that of Emily, of whom they were all profuse in the praise, except Montoni, who sat silent, and then interrupted the subject.

When the servants had withdrawn, Montoni and his friends entered into close conversation, which was sometimes checked by the irascible temper of Verezzi, but in which Montoni displayed his conscious superiority, by that decisive look and manner, which always accompanied the vigour of his thought, and to which most of his companions submitted, as to a power, that they had no right to question, though of each other’s self-importance they were jealously scrupulous. Amidst this conversation, one of them imprudently introduced again the name of Morano; and Verezzi, now more heated by wine, disregarded the expressive looks of Cavigni, and gave some dark hints of what had passed on the preceding night. These, however, Montoni did not appear to understand, for he continued silent in his chair, without discovering any emotion, while, the choler of Verezzi increasing with the apparent insensibility of Montoni, he at length told the suggestion of Morano, that this castle did not lawfully belong to him, and that he would not willingly leave another murder on his conscience.

“Am I to be insulted at my own table, and by my own friends?” said Montoni, with a countenance pale in anger. “Why are the words of that madman repeated to me?” Verezzi, who had expected to hear Montoni’s indignation poured forth against Morano, and answered by thanks to himself, looked with astonishment at Cavigni, who enjoyed his confusion. “Can you be weak enough to credit the assertions of a madman?” rejoined Montoni, “or, what is the same thing, a man possessed by the spirit of vengeance? But he has succeeded too well; you believe what he said.”

“Signor,” said Verezzi, “we believe only what we know.”—“How!” interrupted Montoni, sternly: “produce your proof.”

“We believe only what we know,” repeated Verezzi, “and we know nothing of what Morano asserts.” Montoni seemed to recover himself. “I am hasty, my friends,” said he, “with respect to my honour; no man shall question it with impunity—you did not mean to question it. These foolish words are not worth your remembrance, or my resentment. Verezzi, here is to your first exploit.”

“Success to your first exploit,” re-echoed the whole company.

“Noble Signor,” replied Verezzi, glad to find he had escaped Montoni’s resentment, “with my good will, you shall build your ramparts of gold.”

“Pass the goblet,” cried Montoni. “We will drink to Signora St. Aubert,” said Cavigni. “By your leave we will first drink to the lady of the castle.” said Bertolini.—Montoni was silent. “To the lady of the castle,” said his guests. He bowed his head.

“It much surprises me, Signor,” said Bertolini, “that you have so long neglected this castle; it is a noble edifice.”

“It suits our purpose,” replied Montoni, “and is a noble edifice. You know not, it seems, by what mischance it came to me.”

“It was a lucky mischance, be it what it may, Signor,” replied Bertolini, smiling. “I would, that one so lucky had befallen me.”

Montoni looked gravely at him. “If you will attend to what I say,” he resumed, “you shall hear the story.”

The countenances of Bertolini and Verezzi expressed something more than curiosity; Cavigni, who seemed to feel none, had probably heard the relation before.

“It is now near twenty years,” said Montoni, “since this castle came into my possession. I inherit it by the female line. The lady, my predecessor, was only distantly related to me; I am the last of her family. She was beautiful and rich; I wooed her; but her heart was fixed upon another, and she rejected me. It is probable, however, that she was herself rejected of the person, whoever he might be, on whom she bestowed her favour, for a deep and settled melancholy took possession of her; and I have reason to believe she put a period to her own life. I was not at the castle at the time; but, as there are some singular and mysterious circumstances attending that event, I shall repeat them.”

“Repeat them!” said a voice.

Montoni was silent; the guests looked at each other, to know who spoke; but they perceived, that each was making the same enquiry. Montoni, at length, recovered himself. “We are overheard,” said he: “we will finish this subject another time. Pass the goblet.”

The cavaliers looked round the wide chamber.

“Here is no person, but ourselves,” said Verezzi: “pray, Signor, proceed.”

“Did you hear anything?” said Montoni.

“We did,” said Bertolini.

“It could be only fancy,” said Verezzi, looking round again. “We see no person besides ourselves; and the sound I thought I heard seemed within the room. Pray, Signor, go on.”

Montoni paused a moment, and then proceeded in a lowered voice, while the cavaliers drew nearer to attend.

“Ye are to know, Signors, that the Lady Laurentini had for some months shown symptoms of a dejected mind, nay, of a disturbed imagination. Her mood was very unequal; sometimes she was sunk in calm melancholy, and, at others, as I have been told, she betrayed all the symptoms of frantic madness. It was one night in the month of October, after she had recovered from one of those fits of excess, and had sunk again into her usual melancholy, that she retired alone to her chamber, and forbade all interruption. It was the chamber at the end of the corridor, Signors, where we had the affray, last night. From that hour, she was seen no more.”

“How! seen no more!” said Bertolini, “was not her body found in the chamber?”

“Were her remains never found?” cried the rest of the company all together.

“Never!” replied Montoni.

“What reasons were there to suppose she destroyed herself, then?” said Bertolini.—“Aye, what reasons?” said Verezzi.—“How happened it, that her remains were never found? Although she killed herself, she could not bury herself.” Montoni looked indignantly at Verezzi, who began to apologise.

“Your pardon, Signor,” said he: “I did not consider, that the lady was your relative, when I spoke of her so lightly.”

Montoni accepted the apology.

“But the Signor will oblige us with the reasons, which urged him to believe, that the lady committed suicide.”

“Those I will explain hereafter,” said Montoni: “at present let me relate a most extraordinary circumstance. This conversation goes no further, Signors. Listen, then, to what I am going to say.”

“Listen!” said a voice.

They were all again silent, and the countenance of Montoni changed. “This is no illusion of the fancy,” said Cavigni, at length breaking the profound silence.—“No,” said Bertolini; “I heard it myself, now. Yet here is no person in the room but ourselves!”

“This is very extraordinary,” said Montoni, suddenly rising. “This is not to be borne; here is some deception, some trick. I will know what it means.”

All the company rose from their chairs in confusion.

“It is very odd!” said Bertolini. “Here is really no stranger in the room. If it is a trick, Signor, you will do well to punish the author of it severely.”

“A trick! what else can it be?” said Cavigni, affecting a laugh.

The servants were now summoned, and the chamber was searched, but no person was found. The surprise and consternation of the company increased. Montoni was discomposed. “We will leave this room,” said he, “and the subject of our conversation also; it is too solemn.” His guests were equally ready to quit the apartment; but the subject had roused their curiosity, and they entreated Montoni to withdraw to another chamber, and finish it; no entreaties could, however, prevail with him. Notwithstanding his efforts to appear at ease, he was visibly and greatly disordered.

“Why, Signor, you are not superstitious,” cried Verezzi, jeeringly; “you, who have so often laughed at the credulity of others!”

“I am not superstitious,” replied Montoni, regarding him with stern displeasure, “though I know how to despise the common-place sentences, which are frequently uttered against superstition. I will enquire further into this affair.” He then left the room; and his guests, separating for the night, retired to their respective apartments.

CHAPTER VIII

He wears the rose of youth upon his cheek.
                    SHAKESPEARE

We now return to Valancourt, who, it may be remembered, remained at Thoulouse, some time after the departure of Emily, restless and miserable. Each morrow that approached, he designed should carry him from thence; yet tomorrow and tomorrow came, and still saw him lingering in the scene of his former happiness. He could not immediately tear himself from the spot, where he had been accustomed to converse with Emily, or from the objects they had viewed together, which appeared to him memorials of her affection, as well as a kind of surety for its faithfulness; and, next to the pain of bidding her adieu, was that of leaving the scenes which so powerfully awakened her image. Sometimes he had bribed a servant, who had been left in the care of Madame Montoni’s château, to permit him to visit the gardens, and there he would wander, for hours together, rapt in a melancholy, not unpleasing. The terrace, and the pavilion at the end of it, where he had taken leave of Emily, on the eve of her departure from Thoulouse, were his most favourite haunts. There, as he walked, or leaned from the window of the building, he would endeavour to recollect all she had said, on that night; to catch the tones of her voice, as they faintly vibrated on his memory, and to remember the exact expression of her countenance, which sometimes came suddenly to his fancy, like a vision; that beautiful countenance, which awakened, as by instantaneous magic, all the tenderness of his heart, and seemed to tell with irresistible eloquence—that he had lost her for ever! At these moments, his hurried steps would have discovered to a spectator the despair of his heart. The character of Montoni, such as he had received from hints, and such as his fears represented it, would rise to his view, together with all the dangers it seemed to threaten to Emily and to his love. He blamed himself, that he had not urged these more forcibly to her, while it might have been in his power to detain her, and that he had suffered an absurd and criminal delicacy, as he termed it, to conquer so soon the reasonable arguments he had opposed to this journey. Any evil, that might have attended their marriage, seemed so inferior to those, which now threatened their love, or even to the sufferings, that absence occasioned, that he wondered how he could have ceased to urge his suit, till he had convinced her of its propriety; and he would certainly now have followed her to Italy, if he could have been spared from his regiment for so long a journey. His regiment, indeed, soon reminded him, that he had other duties to attend, than those of love.

A short time after his arrival at his brother’s house, he was summoned to join his brother officers, and he accompanied a battalion to Paris; where a scene of novelty and gaiety opened upon him, such as, till then, he had only a faint idea of. But gaiety disgusted, and company fatigued, his sick mind; and he became an object of unceasing raillery to his companions, from whom, whenever he could steal an opportunity, he escaped, to think of Emily. The scenes around him, however, and the company with whom he was obliged to mingle, engaged his attention, though they failed to amuse his fancy, and thus gradually weakened the habit of yielding to lamentation, till it appeared less a duty to his love to indulge it. Among his brother-officers were many, who added to the ordinary character of a French soldier’s gaiety some of those fascinating qualities, which too frequently throw a veil over folly, and sometimes even soften the features of vice into smiles. To these men the reserved and thoughtful manners of Valancourt were a kind of tacit censure on their own, for which they rallied him