Notes

Later, after Madame de Villefort and Valentine leave for a ball, Villefort shuts himself in his study. But before he has time to work at his papers, his former mother-in-law arrives. Her husband, Saint-Méran, has just died. The old lady is so distraught that Villefort has her put to bed, where she falls into a feverish sleep. When she rouses, she questions Villefort closely about Valentine's upcoming marriage. She is surprised that Franz, Valentine's fiancé, does not object to marrying the granddaughter of a fervent Bonapartist. After all, she says, Franz's father was assassinated only a few days before Napoleon returned from exile in Elba. Villefort tries to dismiss the old lady's worries; Franz, he says, was "only a child" when all that took place. Old Madame Saint-Méran, however, urges Villefort to marry his daughter to Franz as soon as possible. She says that she is certain that she is going to die. Last night, she saw a white "form" do something with her orangeade glass. And abruptly, she asks for the glass and empties it in a long, single swallow. An hour later, the old lady is dead.

Villefort is hysterical at the attending doctor's cross-examination. The old woman could not have died of poison, as the doctor states. Why would anyone want to poison her? Her sole heiress is Valentine — and Valentine is absolutely incapable of murder. But the doctor is certain not only that murder was committed, but that the poison used was brucine, a red liquid which he has been administering in very small doses to Villefort's father. One drop of that potion is a medicine; several drops are deadly poison.

Meanwhile, Valentine takes her beloved Maximilien to meet her grandfather old Noirtier. He obviously approves of the young man as a husband for Valentine, but signals for them to wait, instead of eloping.

He has plans for them.

Two days later, Monsieur and Madame de Saint-Méran are buried in a vault beside Renée, Valentine's mother. Then Villefort makes immediate plans for his daughter's marriage to Franz d'Epinay. The formal papers are ready to be signed when a message arrives from Villefort's father, old Noirtier. He wishes to see Franz immediately. So Franz, Valentine, and Villefort all hurry to the old man's room. There, by means of eye signals, a secret packet of old papers, tied in a black ribbon, is brought forth from Noirtier's desk. Franz is directed to read the papers.

He cries out when he sees that they are dated on the very day that his father was assassinated. There was, he reads, a secret club of Bonapartists during Louis XVIII's reign. Unfortunately, it was erroneously believed that Franz's father was a secret Bonapartist, and thus he was blindfolded one day and taken to one of the secret meetings of the Bonapartists. Among the matters discussed were the details of Bonaparte's return, including the mention of a certain letter carried on Morrel's ship, the Pharaon (the ship on which we first met Edmond Dantés. This "message" was also the message which Danglars used to indict Dantès and send him to prison for fourteen long, torturous years).

When Franz's father could no longer listen to plans for overthrowing the king's government, he spoke out loudly and said that his loyalty would always be to Louis — never to Bonaparte. Thus he was blindfolded again and was taken away and forced to fight a fair duel with old Noirtier, who killed him honorably. D'Epinay's death was no assassination.

Franz sinks lifelessly into a chair. The grandfather of his fiancée killed his own father! Villefort opens the door and flees in order not to choke the life out of his mute old father, who has just ruined Valentine's chance for marrying the wealthy Franz d'Epinay.

But Valentine, happy and frightened at the same time, kisses her grandfather and goes to the iron grill to speak of what has happened to her beloved Maximilien. "We're saved," she tells him, but she states that she will not reveal the full story until she is his wife.

Next day, Monsieur Noirtier has a new will made up, leaving Valentine his entire fortune. Valentine will soon be a very rich woman, with three hundred thousand francs a year.

Meanwhile, just as Valentine is planning for her marriage to Maximilien, another proposed marriage is being shattered. Morcerf (Fernand) comes to discuss his son's upcoming marriage to Eugénie Danglars with Danglars. Danglars tells Morcerf that "certain new circumstances have arisen"; Eugénie will not marry Albert. Morcerf proudly bites his lip at Danglars' arrogance. He asks for an explanation. "Be grateful that I don't give you one," snarls Danglars.

For a very short time, Maximilien is a very happy man. He is so very much in love with Valentine that he is scarcely able to believe in his happiness, expecially as he listens to Valentine tell him about the details of her future plans. Her grandfather has given her and Maximilien his blessing and, in eighteen months, Valentine will be of legal age and can marry Maximilien.

Just then, Valentine notices that Noirtier's old servant, Barrois, who has been standing in the background, is looking very tired. She offers him a glass of lemonade from her grandfather's tray. Gratefully, he empties the glass. In a few moments, he begins to stagger and his facial muscles begin to twitch violently. "Call the doctor," cries Valentine. D'Avrigny comes at once. Barrois rallies briefly, but then he is seized with an attack even more intense than the first one. The doctor discovers that Barrois has drunk some of the lemonade meant for Noirtier, and after Barrois falls dead with a loud cry, d'Avrigny reminds Villefort that the Saint-Mérans also died suddenly — and, moreover, that Madame Saint-Méran died of brucine poisoning, the same poison that has just now killed Barrois. Villefort cries out. But d'Avrigny says that he knows the symptoms of brucine poisoning very well. He performs a colored paper test and proves that brucine was indeed used.

"Death is in my house!" moans the public prosecutor. The doctor corrects him. "Murder is in your house," he says. Only the fact that Noirtier was taking graduated doses of brucine saved him, the doctor states. By accident, Noirtier was immune. But clearly, d'Avrigny believes that the poison was meant for Noirtier — and the evidence points to Valentine because she prepared the lemonade and would gain all of Noirtier's fortune if he were dead.

Villefort is furious with the doctor, but d'Avrigny is unmoved. He simply washes his hands of the Villeforts. If Villefort harbors criminals, or murderers, in his home, he wants nothing more to do with the family. He bids Villefort a final goodbye.

Andrea Cavalcanti returns to his hotel and discovers that Caderousse has been there looking for him. Moreover, Caderousse refused to take his "allowance." Reading the note that Caderousse left, Andrea fears that Caderousse plans to make trouble. He is right. Caderousse wants to see Andrea immediately. Therefore, Andrea dons a disguise and goes immediately to Caderousse's room.

Caderousse demands more money, and Andrea refuses him. Caderousse says that if Andrea really wanted more money, he could easily get it from Monte Cristo, his benefactor. Then, suddenly inspired by the thought of the wealthy Monte Cristo, Caderousse begins to question Andrea in detail about Monte Cristo's house on the Champs Elysées; Andrea answers in detail, and it is very clear that Caderousse means to rob Monte Cristo's house.

The two men part, and the next day, Monte Cristo receives a note informing him that his house will be robbed and, furthermore, that the thief will try and break into the desk in the Count's dressing room. The note ends with the information that this thief will be no ordinary thief; this thief will be an "enemy" of the Count. Monte Cristo's curiosity is sufficiently aroused so that he sets a trap.

He wants all of his staff moved to his house in Auteuil, and he wants the house on the Champs Elysées left exactly as it is — except that the shutters on the ground floor are to be closed. When that is finished, Monte Cristo and Ali slip into a side door and go up to Monte Cristo's bedroom to wait. It is half-past nine. At a quarter to twelve, Monte Cristo hears a faint noise, then another, and then a third; then he hears the sound of a diamond cutting the four sides of a pane of glass. (This is the diamond from a ring that Caderousse finagled from Andrea.)

Monte Cristo signals to Ali, and in the near-darkness, they see a man entering through an open window. He is alone. Ali touches the Count's shoulders. Outside, another man has climbed onto a hitching post to watch. Meanwhile, the thief methodically goes about his work, trying to unlock the desk with his collection of "nightingales" (assorted keys). Unable to find the correct key, Caderousse turns on a dim light. Monte Cristo can scarcely believe his eyes. He motions to Ali not to use any weapons. Quickly then, he dons his disguise as the Abbé Busoni, and taking a lighted candle, he steps into the room. "Good evening, Monsieur Caderousse," he says.

Caderousse is speechless. The Abbé wonders aloud why Caderousse is trying to rob the Count's house. Has prison taught him nothing? Clearly, he says, Caderousse is still very much himself — that is, he is Caderousse the murderer, referring to the jeweler who bought the diamond which Abbé Busoni gave to Caderousse and who was later killed because of the diamond. Caderousse, the Abbé infers, always wants more. Earlier, he wanted the enormous diamond and the money, so he killed the jeweler. Now, he is breaking into the home of a very wealthy gentleman.

"It was poverty," Caderousse gasps, "Poverty drove me to all this." No, Monte Cristo tells him. Poverty does not drive a man to use a diamond to cut through the pane of a window. Caderousse pleads for pity, and the Abbé offers him pity if he will but tell the truth. Caderousse agrees, and he begins to tell the Abbéabout his years in prison, but when he begins to describe his relationship with Benedetto, he begins to lie, and so the Abbé forces him to confess what Andrea's role is in deceiving Parisian society. The Abbé states that he will reveal the truth about Andrea's fraudulence. Caderousse panics: If the Abbé does that, Caderousse will have no more money. Drawing a knife, he lunges at the Abbé, striking him in the middle of the chest, but the knife bounces back, its point blunted. Monte Cristo wore a metal vest, expecting this very thing. Monte Cristo then wrenches Caderousse's arm until he agrees to write a letter to Danglars exposing Andrea. Then he releases Caderousse, who climbs out of the window. During his escape, he is stabbed three times. He makes no sound; he simply slumps to the ground.

Slowly and painfully raising himself on one elbow, he calls out for the Abbé. Monte Cristo comes and forces Caderousse to write one more note, this time naming Benedetto as the man who stabbed him. Caderousse does so, then looks at the Abbé and accuses him of allowing Benedetto to stab him. Not I, says the Count, it was "the justice of God in Benedetto's hand." He tells Caderousse that God gave him health, good work, and good friends and that he squandered them all in laziness and drunkenness.

"I need a doctor," cries Caderousse, "not a priest!" Monte Cristo continues: "God sent an enormous diamond to you, and you became a murderer when you sought to double your good fortune. In prison, you were given a chance to escape and begin a new life when you were slipped a file by myself, but once free, you blackmailed Benedetto, then tried to rob Monte Cristo's house. Then you tried to kill me!"

He urges Caderousse to repent, but Caderousse refuses. So Monte Cristo takes off his disguise and orders Caderousse to look long and hard at him. "Oh, my God," Caderousse cries out, "Forgive me, Lord!"

Ten minutes later, the Abbé Busoni is found praying for the soul of the deceased.

One morning, Albert and Beauchamp (the journalist) call on Monte Cristo, and it is soon clear to the Count that Albert is out of sorts, so he invites him to go away with him to his new estate in Normandy, on the coast of France. Albert accepts the invitation, and when he arrives there, he is once more in awe of the Count — and of his new estate. From the terrace overlooking the sea, Albert sees Monte Cristo's yacht, proudly at anchor in the bay. That night, Albert falls asleep, lulled by the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

The following day, after shooting a dozen pheasants and catching a number of trout, Albert's idyllic interlude is cut short. Albert's valet arrives breathlessly from Paris, utterly exhausted from having traveled so far so quickly; he has a letter of urgent importance. Albert reads the first few lines and half-collapses. Monte Cristo murmurs omnisciently that "the sins of the father shall be visited upon the children." His insight is uncanny. The true identity of Albert's father has been revealed in the Paris press, as well as the fact that years ago when Fernand (de Morcerf) was supposedly defending Ali Pasha's fortress, he betrayed Ali Pasha to the Turks. (We learn later that not only did Fernand betray Ali Pasha, but that he assassinated him.) The implication is that "Count" de Morcerf (who bought his title), a member of the French Parliament, is both a traitor and a fraud. Albert leaves immediately for Paris. He is terribly confused. His father has such public stature that this scandal, he fears, will soon "echo all over Europe." He is correct.

Albert's father, meanwhile, reports to the Chamber totally unaware of the incriminating article that has just been published. Within minutes, one of his peers opens the floor for debate on the matter of Ali Pasha's assassination and what role Colonel Fernand Mondego (Morcerf's real name) played in it. Morcerf pales immediately, and then his entire body is rocked with a horrible shudder. There is a unanimous demand for an immediate investigation into the entire matter, and that evening, Morcerf presents himself before a twelve-member commission. His defense is that he was Ali Pasha's most trusted confidant; to be accused of betrayal is a grave error, for Morcerf tried to defend Ali Pasha, he says, but found him dead and his wife and daughter gone. Furthermore, he resents this anonymous attack on his honor.

The commission then produces a witness to substantiate the charges against Morcerf. Monte Cristo's slave-girl, Haydée, offers as evidence her birth certificate and her "bill of sale." She is Ali Pasha's daughter, she says, sold by Fernand (de Morcerf) to a slave merchant after her father was assassinated. At last, she says, she has the opportunity to avenge her father's murder. She identifies Morcerf by saying that her father's assassin has a wide scar on his right hand; immediately, Morcerf hides his hand and sinks into a chair, crushed by despair. Then, tearing open his coat, he flees from the room. Within moments, the commission finds him guilty of felony, treason, and dishonor.

When Albert hears of this decision, he vows to "find the denouncer" of his father. Beauchamp, the journalist, mentions that Danglars recently questioned his "correspondent" in the East about Ali Pasha's betrayal. Albert seizes on the news with vehemence and anger. He will fight Danglars, he says, and either he or Danglars "will be dead before the end of this day."

At first, Danglars shrinks with fear when he is confronted by Albert, but when he realizes that Albert's anger is totally irrational, he very cleverly suggests that it is Monte Cristo who is to blame for Albert's father's defamation. It was Monte Cristo, he says, who told him to investigate "the Ali Pasha affair" — which he did — and reported his findings to Monte Cristo immediately. Albert realizes that Danglars sounds like a man who has been used only as a "tool," and so he vows to go immediately to Monte Cristo and confront him with the charges.

The Count is unavailable when Albert calls, but Albert is told that Monte Cristo plans to go to the opera that evening, so Albert decides to attend the opera also and therefore sends word to Franz, Debray, and Maximilien to meet him there. He plans to use them as witnesses. Later, Albert questions his mother, Mercédès, about Monte Cristo. Mercédès cannot believe what her son tells her; she pleads with him to stay with her instead of going to the opera, but she is unsuccessful.

Monte Cristo arrives late, but Albert sees him enter, and during the intermission, he hurries to Monte Cristo's box. He shouts threats at the Count and makes an ugly scene, but Monte Cristo is undaunted; if Albert wants to duel, he will oblige him. He promises Maximilien that he will kill Albert tomorrow. Then he sits back and enjoys the rest of the opera.

Later, Mercédès visits Monte Cristo and agonizingly pleads for her son's life; then it is clear that she knows that Monte Cristo is Edmond Dantès. She begs him for pity — because of her. The Count refuses, revealing what a villain Fernand was — to help send Monte Cristo to prison for fourteen long, torturous years. Mercédès pleads with him, "the man [she] still loves," not to become the murderer of her son. Finally, Monte Cristo agrees not to kill Albert. Instead, he tells Mercédès, he will allow Albert to kill him. Gratefully, Mercédès leaves Monte Cristo. The Count is puzzled by Mercédès' seeming indifference to his own, certain death. He curses the day that he vowed to revenge himself on his enemies.

Next morning, Maximilien (Monte Cristo's "second") and Emmanuel (Julie Morrel's husband) arrive for Monte Cristo. They tell the Count that he will fire first, since he is "the offended party." Maximilien fears that Monte Cristo is not a good shot, and so the Count attaches an ace of diamonds to a plank and instantly shoots each of the four corners of the diamond in the center of the card. Maximilien cries out to the Count for mercy for Albert, but seemingly, the Count's decision will not be swayed. Yet, he says, despite the marksmanship that Maximilien has just seen, it will be Monte Cristo, and not Albert, who will be carried back.

The three men arrive at the appointed hour, and when Albert arrives — at a full gallop — he leaps off his horse and, before his own witnesses, he apologizes for his conduct. He knows now that his father, Fernand Mondego, did betray Ali Pasha. But, far worse than that was his father's betrayal of Edmond Dantès. Because of the enormity of Fernand's crime, Albert can only thank Monte Cristo for not deciding on more painful vengeance than he did.

Monte Cristo realizes that Mercédès has told her son everything; obviously she planned to do so all along, after Monte Cristo promised not to kill Albert. The two men shake hands on Albert's apology, and Albert returns home and begins to pack his belongings, including the portrait of Mercédès as a Catalan fisherwoman. But he discovers, to his surprise, that his mother is also packing. The two vow to make a complete break with their pasts, and Mercédès advises Albert to use the name of "Herrera," her father's name, instead of Morcerf.

Albert replies that if Monte Cristo was able to endure his own misery, unhappiness, and injustice, then he, Albert, can do the same. So he and his mother make ready to leave. Just then, Bertuccio, Monte Cristo's steward, delivers a letter to Albert from the Count. Albert is told to claim three thousand francs (money which Edmond Dantès buried twenty-two years ago, when he believed that he would marry Mercédès); the money lies buried in the garden of Dantès' father's house in Marseilles. Mercédès reads the letter and accepts the Count's offer. She'll take the money to a convent with her.

At home, Monte Cristo learns that Maximilien is deeply in love with someone, and so he tells him goodbye and asks him not to forget to call on the Count if ever the need arises. Maximilien agrees to do so. Shortly thereafter, Morcerf (Fernand) arrives to speak with Monte Cristo. He wants verification that his son actually apologized to Monte Cristo — instead of dueling with him. He cannot understand why.

Because, Monte Cristo says, "there was another man guiltier than I." Monte Cristo then names Fernand, labeling him an "enemy." Fernand challenges Monte Cristo to a duel, this time with swords. But Monte Cristo first identifies Fernand for what he is: Fernand, he says, deserted the French army on the eve of Waterloo; he served as a spy in Spain; he assassinated Ali Pasha, and he unscrupulously managed to become Count Morcerf. Fernand is livid. He demands to know who Monte Cristo is so that he can pronounce his name aloud as he plunges his sword into the Count's heart. Monte Cristo leaves the room and returns dressed as a young sailor. Morcerf's teeth begin to chatter; he leans against the wall, and then he slides out of the room, crying out in terror, "Edmond Dantès!"

Fernand returns home just in time to see his wife and son leaving together. Their carriage door closes, and Fernand is alone. Moments later, a shot rings out so violently that one of the frames in the bedroom window is shattered.
Leaving Monte Cristo, Maximilien walks to the Villefort residence. He meets Valentine and is immediately concerned about her health. She seems disoriented. Valentine tells him that she is "slightly indisposed," but that she is gaining strength; she has been taking slow, but increasing doses of her grandfather's medicine (brucine). She says that she'll be fine; only minutes ago, she drank a glass of sugared water.

Madame Danglars and Eugénie arrive to announce Eugénie's engagement to "Prince" Cavalcanti, a title that somehow "sounds better" to Madame Danglars than does "Count." Eugénie protests her engagement; she does not look forward to marriage and becoming "a wife or a slave of a man." She wants to be free, and she needs to be free, she says. Valentine leaves the room and collapses on the landing, where Maximilien finds her and carries her to old Noirtier's room. There, Valentine suffers another attack, and this time she becomes so cold and so lifeless that Doctor d'Avrigny is called.

Maximilien goes immediately to Monte Cristo. He says that he fears that Valentine has been murdered. Monte Cristo instructs Maximilien to "be strong" and not to "lose hope."

Back at the Villefort residence, Doctor d'Avrigny announces guardedly that Valentine is still alive, and Villefort suggests that Valentine be put in her own bed. Then he exits. Doctor d'Avrigny stays behind with Noirtier and questions the old gentleman about Barrois' (Noirtier's servant's) death. Noirtier tells the doctor, with signs, that Valentine was poisoned by the same person who killed Barrois, and moreover, that Barrois was poisoned by accident; he drank a glass of liquid that was meant for Noirtier. The doctor then asks Noirtier if it was he who began giving Valentine increasingly potent doses of brucine — to make her immune if someone tried to poison her. Noirtier signals Yes, it was indeed he. The doctor leaves then and goes to Valentine's room, where he discovers an Italian priest — Abbé Busoni (Monte Cristo, in disguise).

Three days later, the Danglars' mansion is all aglitter with guests adorned with diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones. Eugénie Danglars is announcing her engagement to young Cavalcanti to an enormous crowd of her father's friends. At exactly nine o'clock, Monte Cristo arrives and soon after, a notary calls for the signing of the wedding contract.

Baron Danglars signs, then hands the pen to the representative of Major Cavalcanti (the Major himself has disappeared). Madame Danglars sighs; she wishes that Monsieur Villefort were here, whereupon Monte Cristo steps up and says that, unfortunately, he is the cause of Villefort's absence. Andrea Cavalcanti (Benedetto) immediately pricks up his ears. Monte Cristo continues, and he says that the vest on the murdered Caderousse has been examined and that a piece of paper was found in one of the pockets. It was a letter addressed to Baron Danglars. Monte Cristo speculates that the letter might have concerned a plot against Danglars, so he sent the vest and the letter to the public prosecutor, Villefort.

The notary then announces that the signing of the contract will once again resume; just then, an officer and two gendarmes enter the salon and ask for Andrea Cavalcanti, "an escaped convict accused of murdering another escaped convict by the name of Caderousse." A search begins for young Cavalcanti, but he seems to have disappeared.

Upstairs, Eugénie makes plans to flee with her friend Louise d'Armilly. She says that she loathes men and intends to leave Paris immediately! Then she cuts off her long black hair and dons a man's suit of clothes. Louise is speechless at Eugénie's daring; they quickly hire a cab and escape into the night. Monsieur Danglars has lost his daughter.

"Andrea Cavalcanti" is a clever young man. Before escaping, he detours through the room where the "wedding jewels" are on display. He seizes the most valuable ones, then he cajoles a cab driver to whisk him as fast as possible out of the city (ostensibly to try and catch a friend in another carriage); then, after he alights, he smudges dust on one side of his overcoat and asks to rent a horse (his own horse threw him in the darkness, he says). All of his plans work, and by 4 A.M., he has settled himself in a rented room and is ready for a good sleep, after having consumed a cold chicken and some excellent wine. He is absolutely certain that no one will capture him, for he plans to depart early, travel through a forest, and then cross the French border.

Unfortunately, Andrea sleeps later than he expected to — and when he peers out the window, he sees three gendarmes arriving at the inn. Hastily, he writes a note to the innkeeper, making it sound as though he had to leave in shame because he had no money. He leaves a handsome tie pin behind as payment for board and room, then he climbs up the chimney and onto the roof. He is afraid, however, that while the gendarmes are searching the rooms in the inn, they might look out of an upper window and spy him on the roof. Thus, he slips down a chimney where there is no smoke. Imagine his surprise, when he drops down the chimney and onto the hearth of a bedroom — and two young ladies rise up out of their bed and scream for help. One of them is Eugénie Danglars — the woman he was supposed to marry — and the other is her friend Louise! Eugénie tells Andrea to climb back up the fireplace, but one of the gendarmes has already seen Andrea through the keyhole and breaks open the door and arrests him. Andrea is taken back to Paris and imprisoned.

Back at the Villefort residence, Valentine has still not recovered. She seems to see phantoms in her fevered, delirious state. One night in particular, she seems to see a human figure approaching her bed; the figure takes her drinking glass, samples the contents, then speaks: "Now you may drink." It is the Count of Monte Cristo. He explains to her that he has been keeping guard over her, ascertaining who has come into her room, what food has been prepared for her, and what liquids Valentine has been given to drink. He says that, just now, he emptied the glass by her bed — which was filled with poison — and refilled it with a therapeutic potion. Valentine is confused and distraught: Monre Cristo obviously knows who her poisoner is.

He does indeed, and he tells Valentine to pretend that she is asleep and she will see for herself who is trying to murder her. Then Monte Cristo hides.

Madame de Villefort, Valentine's twenty-five-year-old stepmother enters; she empties a flask into Valentine's glass, then silently withdraws. Valentine is dazed with horror and disbelief, as Monte Cristo explains Madame de Villefort's motives: When Valentine is dead, he says, the huge fortune that was to be Valentine's inheritance will revert to her father (Villefort), who will leave it all to Edouard — the one true love in Madame de Villefort's life. Valentine can scarcely believe that her stepmother is so diabolical, so she asks the Count what she must do. He tells her that "no matter what happens . . . if you awaken in a tomb or a coffin, keep your head and say, 'Maximilien is watching over me."' Then he gives her a pill the size of a pea, bids her goodbye, and tells her that she is saved. Valentine gradually falls asleep, looking like "an angel lying at the foot of the lord."

In the morning, a nurse enters and shrieks. Seemingly, Valentine is dead. Villefort enters and sinks to the floor, his head on Valentine's bed. Madame de Villefort arrives and is speechless. She is sure that the glass by Valentine's bed was empty, but now it is one-third full! And Doctor d'Avrigny is studying it, she thinks, in order to punish her. D'Avrigny then makes a little experiment with a drop of nitric acid, and immediately, the potion changes color. "Aha!" he exclaims. Madame de Villefort crumples to the floor unconscious.

Maximilien appears and is transfixed; then he lifts up old Noirtier and his wheelchair and brings them both into Valentine's room. Noirtier looks as though he is on the verge of an epileptic seizure, and Maximilien vows that he will be Valentine's avenger. Villefort, in secret to Maximilien, confesses that he knows who the murderer is, and he asks for three days before Maximilien begins his vengeance. On his way out, the doctor sees Abbé Busoni, who agrees to attend to all last rites. (Busoni, remember, is Monte Cristo in disguise.)

Next day, Monte Cristo visits Danglars and asks for five million francs. Danglars, who has been boasting about the immense fortune of his firm, is panic-stricken, but finally he pays the Count, who leaves. Within moments, Monsieur de Boville is announced, and he also asks for five million francs from Danglars; tomorrow, his books are being examined. Danglars promises to have the money ready by noon the next day. Of course, however, he won't. He writes a letter to his wife, then takes about fifty thousand francs, his passport, and closes the door behind him.

Valentine's funeral procession is especially painful for Maximilien and afterward, he retires to his room, lays out his pistols, and begins to write a suicide note. He is interrupted by Monte Cristo, who successfully begs him not to commit suicide. The Count tells him to live — with hope. Then, as proof of his compassion for Maximilien's future, he reveals who he actually is — Edmond Dantès,the "savior" of the Morrel shipping firm. Dantès says that within a week, all matters which now seem hopeless will be resolved. Then, in exactly one month, they will meet and be happier than Maximilien can even imagine. Maximilien agrees to Monte Cristo's proposition and also to his invitation to move into the Count's house with him.

Coincidentally, Albert and Mercédès have chosen to live in a rooming house that contains an apartment that is being used by Debray and Madame Danglars for their affair. Madame Danglars assures Debray that her husband's farewell note is final. He will never return to Paris nor to her. She has been abandoned. Debray becomes very nervous. He reminds her that she is rich, rich beyond measure, and then, business-like, he announces that it is time for them to reconcile their individual financial balances. At this point, Madame Danglars carefully conceals the pain which Debray's words give her and hurries away, scorning him for allowing her to leave "like a servant with a paycheck."

Upstairs Albert tells his mother that he has enlisted in France's military forces. She sobs out of fear for him, but Albert manages to get her to promise that she will "live to hope." He will henceforth use her maiden name in his new life, and he tells her further to make plans to go to Marseilles and claim the money which Edmond Dantès saved long ago and buried to be used after he was married to Mercédès.

From a secret vantage point, Monte Cristo wonders if he can ever bestow happiness on these innocent creatures who have, by association