The Mysteries of Udolpho

Baron St. Foix is eager to know about the count’s stay in the chambers, but the count remains unusually tight-lipped on the subject. He bids the baron not to discuss the matter with Henri. Henri looks terrified by whatever transpired the previous night. The count is similarly reserved with Emily.

Emily discusses the matter with the nuns. The nuns believe the count is being foolhardy and tempting the vengeance of evil spirits. Sister Agnes interrupts the discussion to criticize Emily, upsetting her. The nuns explain her behavior to Emily. Sister Agnes is from a noble family. In her youth, she was in love with a man beneath her station. Her father forced her to marry a nobleman she hated. She cheated on the nobleman and her father spirited her away to the convent, spreading the rumor that she had died. Sister Agnes suffered great remorse afterward and lost her composure. Emily tells the nuns that Sister Agnes looks familiar to her. The nuns remark on Emily’s resemblance to Sister Agnes.

The count and his family decide to visit Baron St. Foix. The count asks Emily to come along, but she takes the opportunity to visit M. Quesnel at Toulouse.

Toulouse reminds Emily of all the happy moments she shared with Valancourt. One day when Emily is particularly pensive, she sees a man walking in the garden. The man looks very much like Valancourt. Emily’s fancy often conjures up images of Valancourt, but this sighting seems more real. Before Emily can investigate the matter further, the man disappears.

Relatives and acquaintances visit Emily to mourn Madame Montoni. Emily cynically notes that the mourners only pay her attention now that she has money. She feels wearied by the empty formality. She longs to visit the garden again to calm herself, but avoids it since she feels she will imagine Valancourt’s presence again.

A few days later, Annette tells Emily that a robber was found in the garden the previous night. The gardener shot the robber, but the wounded man managed to escape. Emily grows pale, thinking the gardener may have mistaken Valancourt for a robber and shot him.

Plagued with worry for Valancourt, Emily goes over to La Vallee. She meets Monsieur Barreaux, the botanist who was her father’s friend and spends time in his pleasant company. Emily checks up on Theresa, the elderly housekeeper whom the Quesnels fired. Theresa is overjoyed to see Emily and tells her she is living comfortably in a cozy cottage nearby, thanks to monetary help from a kind friend. Though the friend wants their identity kept anonymous, Theresa reveals to Emily that the friend is Valancourt. Emily is moved by Valancourt’s kindness but her worry is doubled when Theresa reveals Valancourt has not been seen for the last couple of days.

Count de Villefort and his family are headed back to Chateau-La-Blanc after a pleasant stay with the baron. The Chevalier St. Foix accompanies them on the journey. As it gets dark, the group gets lost in the forest. They come across a fortress in the woods and decide to seek safety there. Blanche worries this may be a hideout for robbers. The count admits such fortresses are often used by French and Spanish smugglers, but the group has little choice. The count knocks at the door to the fortress and is greeted by armed men who allow the group to stay the night.

Blanche gets lost on the way to her room and overhears the armed men discussing a nefarious plan to kill Blanche and her party so they can rob them. Blanche tries to sneak off and warn the others, but the banditti, or group of robbers, are alerted. They seize her and steal her belongings. A horn sounds in the fortress and the banditti leave, interpreting this as a call for a fight. Blanche faints. When she awakens, she sees that the banditti have fled and her party is safe, though shaken up. She is surprised to see Ludovico on the scene. Ludovico is about to explain how he came to the rescue of the Villerforts when a pistol shot rings out, suggesting the danger is not yet past. The party leaves the fortress.