The Mysteries of Udolpho

Several months passed, during which she heard nothing from the Marquis

de Villeroi, and her days were marked, at intervals, with the phrensy

of passion and the sullenness of despair. She secluded herself from all

visitors, and, sometimes, remained in her apartment, for weeks

together, refusing to speak to every person, except her favourite female

attendant, writing scraps of letters, reading, again and again, those

she had received from the Marquis, weeping over his picture, and

speaking to it, for many hours, upbraiding, reproaching and caressing it

alternately.

At length, a report reached her, that the Marquis had married in France,

and, after suffering all the extremes of love, jealousy and indignation,

she formed the desperate resolution of going secretly to that country,

and, if the report proved true, of attempting a deep revenge. To her

favourite woman only she confided the plan of her journey, and she

engaged her to partake of it. Having collected her jewels, which,

descending to her from many branches of her family, were of immense

value, and all her cash, to a very large amount, they were packed in

a trunk, which was privately conveyed to a neighbouring town, whither

Laurentini, with this only servant, followed, and thence proceeded

secretly to Leghorn, where they embarked for France.

When, on her arrival in Languedoc, she found, that the Marquis de

Villeroi had been married, for some months, her despair almost deprived

her of reason, and she alternately projected and abandoned the horrible

design of murdering the Marquis, his wife and herself. At length she

contrived to throw herself in his way, with an intention of reproaching

him, for his conduct, and of stabbing herself in his presence; but,

when she again saw him, who so long had been the constant object of

her thoughts and affections, resentment yielded to love; her resolution

failed; she trembled with the conflict of emotions, that assailed her

heart, and fainted away.

The Marquis was not proof against her beauty and sensibility; all the

energy, with which he had first loved, returned, for his passion had

been resisted by prudence, rather than overcome by indifference; and,

since the honour of his family would not permit him to marry her, he had

endeavoured to subdue his love, and had so far succeeded, as to select

the then Marchioness for his wife, whom he loved at first with a

tempered and rational affection. But the mild virtues of that amiable

lady did not recompense him for her indifference, which appeared,

notwithstanding her efforts to conceal it; and he had, for some time,

suspected that her affections were engaged by another person, when

Laurentini arrived in Languedoc. This artful Italian soon perceived,

that she had regained her influence over him, and, soothed by the

discovery, she determined to live, and to employ all her enchantments to

win his consent to the diabolical deed, which she believed was necessary

to the security of her happiness.