was still
fascinated by the arts of Laurentini, with whom, however, he had on
various pretences delayed his marriage; but, to reconcile her to this
separation, he now gave repeated promises of returning to conclude
the nuptials, as soon as the affair, which thus suddenly called him to
France, should permit.

Soothed, in some degree, by these assurances, she suffered him to
depart; and, soon after, her relative, Montoni, arriving at Udolpho,
renewed the addresses, which she had before refused, and which she now
again rejected. Meanwhile, her thoughts were constantly with the Marquis
de Villeroi, for whom she suffered all the delirium of Italian love,
cherished by the solitude, to which she confined herself; for she
had now lost all taste for the pleasures of society and the gaiety of
amusement. Her only indulgences were to sigh and weep over a miniature
of the Marquis; to visit the scenes, that had witnessed their happiness,
to pour forth her heart to him in writing, and to count the weeks, the
days, which must intervene before the period that he had mentioned as
probable for his return. But this period passed without bringing
him; and week after week followed in heavy and almost intolerable
expectation. During this interval, Laurentini's fancy, occupied
incessantly by one idea, became disordered; and, her whole heart being
devoted to one object, life became hateful to her, when she believed
that object lost.

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 branche