'May she so, lady?' said he. 'You shall know no more, then;' and he was
going, though slowly, when Emily's anxiety, overcoming the resentment
and fear, which the man's behaviour had roused, she desired him to stay,
and bade Annette retire. 'The Signora is alive,' said he, 'for me. She is my prisoner, though;
his excellenza has shut her up in the chamber over the great gates of
the court, and I have the charge of her. I was going to have told you,
you might see her--but now--'
Emily, relieved from an unutterable load of anguish by this speech, had
now only to ask Barnardine's forgiveness, and to conjure, that he would
let her visit her aunt. He complied with less reluctance, than she expected, and told her, that,
if she would repair, on the following night, when the Signor was retired
to rest, to the postern-gate of the castle, she should, perhaps, see
Madame Montoni. Amid all the thankfulness, which Emily felt for this concession,
she thought she observed a malicious triumph in his manner, when he
pronounced the last words; but, in the next moment, she dismissed the
thought, and, having again thanked him, commended her aunt to his
pity, and assured him, that she would herself reward him, and would
be punctual to her appointment, she bade him good night, and retired,
unobserved, to her chamber. It was a considerable time, before
the tumult of joy, which Barnardine's unexpected intelligence had
occasioned, allowed Emily to think with clearness, or to be conscious of
the real dangers, that still surrounded Madame Montoni and herself.
When this agitation subsided, she perceived, that her aunt was yet the
prisoner of a man, to whose vengeance, or avarice, she might fall a
sacrifice; and, when she further considered the savage aspect of the
person, who was appointed to guard Madame Montoni, her doom appeared to
be already sealed, for the countenance of Barnardine seemed to bear the
stamp of a murderer; and, when she had looked upon it, she felt inclined
to believe, that there was no deed, however black, which he might not be
prevailed upon to execute. These reflections brought to her remembrance
the tone of voice, in which he had promised to grant her request to
see his prisoner; and she mused upon it long in uneasiness and doubt.
Sometimes, she even hesitated, whether to trust herself with him at the
lonely hour he had appointed; and once, and only once, it struck her,
that Madame Montoni might be already murdered, and that this ruffian was
appointed to decoy herself to some secret place, where her life also
was to be sacrificed to the avarice of Montoni, who then would claim
securely the contested estates in Languedoc. The consideration of the
enormity of such guilt did, at length, relieve her from the belief
of its probability, but not from all the doubts and fears, which a
recollection of Barnardine's manner had occasioned. From these subjects,
her thoughts, at length, passed to others; and, as the evening advanced,
she remembered, with somewhat more than surprise, the music she had
heard, on the preceding night, and now awaited its return, with more
than curiosity.