The nuptial morn, so justly dreaded by Julia, and so impatiently
awaited by the marquis, now arrived. The marriage was to be celebrated
with a magnificence which demonstrated the joy it occasioned to the
marquis. The castle was fitted up in a style of grandeur superior to
any thing that had been before seen in it. The neighbouring nobility
were invited to an entertainment which was to conclude with a splendid
ball and supper, and the gates were to be thrown open to all who chose
to partake of the bounty of the marquis. At an early hour the duke,
attended by a numerous retinue, entered the castle. Ferdinand heard
from his dungeon, where the rigour and the policy of the marquis still
confined him, the loud clattering of hoofs in the courtyard above, the
rolling of the carriage wheels, and all the tumultuous bustle which
the entrance of the duke occasioned.
He too well understood the cause
of this uproar, and it awakened in him sensations resembling those
which the condemned criminal feels, when his ears are assailed by the
dreadful sounds that precede his execution. When he was able to think
of himself, he wondered by what means the marquis would reconcile his
absence to the guests. He, however, knew too well the dissipated
character of the Sicilian nobility, to doubt that whatever story
should be invented would be very readily believed by them; who, even
if they knew the truth, would not suffer a discovery of their
knowledge to interrupt the festivity which was offered them.
The marquis and marchioness received the duke in the outer hall, and
conducted him to the saloon, where he partook of the refreshments
prepared for him, and from thence retired to the chapel. The marquis
now withdrew to lead Julia to the altar, and Emilia was ordered to
attend at the door of the chapel, in which the priest and a numerous
company were already assembled. The marchioness, a prey to the
turbulence of succeeding passions, exulted in the near completion of
her favorite scheme.--A disappointment, however, was prepared for her,
which would at once crush the triumph of her malice and her pride. The
marquis, on entering the prison of Julia, found it empty! His
astonishment and indignation upon the discovery almost overpowered his
reason.
Of the servants of the castle, who were immediately summoned,
he enquired concerning her escape, with a mixture of fury and sorrow
which left them no opportunity to reply. They had, however, no
information to give, but that her woman had not appeared during the
whole morning. In the prison were found the bridal habiliments which
the marchioness herself had sent on the preceding night, together with
a letter addressed to Emilia, which contained the following words: