The Count of Monte Cristo

At the house of M. de Villefort, a carriage had already arrived bearing Madame de Saint-Méran, white-haired and trembling, with the news of her husband’s death. She had brought his body home in lead, and she was consumed with the urgency of seeing Valentine married to Franz d’Épinay before her own death, which she felt approaching with the certainty of a summons. The notary was sent for. A doctor, M. d’Avrigny, was summoned in secret by the worried girl, and Valentine stole away from her grandmother’s chamber to pace the avenue of the garden, where she heard, at last, a voice she knew. Maximilian had come to find her.

Chapter 73. The Promise – Chapter 78. We hear From Yanina

It is a cold, anxious evening under the chestnut trees at the Villefort estate when Maximilian Morrel, his heart heavy with presentiments of disaster following the sudden deaths of the Marquis and Marchioness de Saint-Méran, calls out to Valentine. She had come to the gate by chance, unaware of his torment, and he confesses his worst fears: her family intends to bind her to Baron Franz d’Épinay, with the marriage contract to be signed the very next day, and he watched Franz arrive at the Count of Monte Cristo’s home that very morning. Desperate, he begs her to flee with him, to marry him abroad and escape the forced union, but Valentine refuses at first, bound by duty to her dying grandmother and inflexible father. Morrel’s composure shatters; he tells her calmly that he will kill himself the moment she is married, rather than endure a life without her. The declaration breaks her resolve, and she swears a secret vow: if the contract signing cannot be stopped, she will meet him at the gate at a quarter to nine that evening to escape together. They exchange solemn promises—she will resist the marriage and signal him if she is able, he will wait for her call—before she flees, leaving him trembling with hope. Morrel moves at once to prepare their flight: he hides ladders in a nearby clover field and arranges a servantless, unlit cabriolet to wait at the gate, planning to light the lamps only once they are clear of the neighborhood to avoid police notice. The hours crawl by; every tick of the clock feels like a hammer blow to his hope. When the appointed time passes with no sign of Valentine, his anxiety twists into dread. Certain something terrible has befallen her, he scales the high garden wall of the Villefort estate, hides among the trees, and stumbles upon Villefort and Doctor d’Avrigny in hushed conversation. The doctor reveals Madame de Saint-Méran did not die of grief or apoplexy, but of poisoning by brucine or strychnine—a dose likely meant for the paralyzed M. Noirtier, mistakenly administered by the old servant Barrois. Villefort is torn between launching a discreet inquiry and avoiding the scandal that would destroy his reputation as a magistrate. Overcome with love and fear for Valentine, Morrel abandons his hiding place and slips into the house. He finds her weeping beside her grandmother’s corpse, and after a near-miss with Villefort, she leads him to Noirtier’s chambers. There, Valentine confesses her love for Morrel and begs her grandfather for protection. Morrel lays out his two plans: elopement, or challenging Franz to a duel to force him to renounce the marriage. Noirtier rejects both, but fixes him with a steely gaze and solemnly promises he will prevent the contract from being signed. Morrel swears on his honor to await the old man’s direction, and is escorted out of the estate by Barrois, returning to his waiting cabriolet in the clover field. Two days later, the joint funeral of the Marquis and Marchioness de Saint-Méran draws a massive crowd of aristocrats and friends to Père-Lachaise. Morrel attends alone, his heart clenching when Franz, riding in the first carriage with Villefort, mentions Valentine’s uncharacteristic pallor that morning. After the burial, Villefort insists on signing the marriage contract that same day, despite the recent deaths. The notary reveals Noirtier has disinherited Valentine entirely in a new will, but Villefort dismisses the document as invalid during his lifetime. Just as the contract is about to be signed, Barrois arrives with an urgent summons from Noirtier, demanding to speak to Franz immediately. The interruption halts the proceedings entirely, leaving everyone in stunned astonishment. Meanwhile, the fabricated Cavalcanti subplot unfolds: the elder M. Cavalcanti has squandered his entire travel allowance at the gaming tables of Lucca, but his son Andrea inherited forged papers proving his aristocratic lineage, and has rapidly insinuated himself into Parisian high society. Backed by a dubious scholar who claims to have seen the Cavalcanti family’s fabled buried fortune in the Saravezza quarries, Andrea is welcomed as a wealthy suitor for Eugénie Danglars, flaunting a diamond ring and making overtures to the cool, satirical young woman, who escapes his advances to practice piano with her friend Louise d’Armilly. That evening, Monte Cristo visits the Danglars household, where he discusses the Saint-Méran deaths and Danglars’ unnerving composure over recent financial losses with Madame Danglars. Albert de Morcerf arrives, and Danglars reveals he is considering breaking off the Morcerf engagement, annoyed by Albert’s indifference to Eugénie. A messenger from Greece throws Danglars into visible agitation, and he confides in Monte Cristo that he has uncovered a damning link between the name Fernand and Yanina, asking the count to remove Andrea from the house while he weighs his options. The following evening, Albert and Monte Cristo travel together in a carriage after leaving the Danglars. Albert complains of being shut out of Eugénie’s circle while Andrea is granted access as a potential suitor, and Monte Cristo reveals Danglars commissioned him to pressure Albert’s father, the Comte de Morcerf, to formalize the marriage arrangement, noting the recent rift between Danglars and his associate Debray. They arrive at Monte Cristo’s home, where Albert praises the staff’s intuitive service, then hears the soft sound of a guzla from an adjacent room. Monte Cristo introduces Haydée, his enslaved companion, explaining the rarity of her name, before inviting Albert to hear her story under two strict conditions: she may share the fate of her father, but cannot name the traitor or the act of treason that destroyed her family. Haydée’s account is harrowing: her father was Ali Tepelini, the legendary Grand Vizier of Yanina, betrayed by a French officer he trusted to Ottoman forces under Seraskier Kourchid. She recounts the night of the betrayal, when she was just four years old: her family fled to a lakeside kiosk, where her father prepared to blow up the stronghold and all inside it if the Ottoman forces advanced. A French messenger arrived with a full imperial pardon, but as Ali’s loyal guard Selim reached for the token ring to confirm the message, Ottoman soldiers ambushed them, killed Selim, and stormed the kiosk. Ali fought bravely before being mortally wounded, and Haydée and her mother were captured, forced to watch Ali’s severed head displayed over Yanina’s gates. Her mother died of shock immediately after, and Haydée was sold into slavery, eventually purchased by Monte Cristo in Constantinople. Albert is left reeling, and Monte Cristo gently reminds him of his vow not to mention his father’s name in Haydée’s presence. The final chapter opens with the fallout from a scathing article in Beauchamp’s newspaper, headlined “We hear From Yanina,” which reports that a French officer named Fernand betrayed Yanina’s castle to the Turks. Albert recognizes the name as his father’s, Count Fernand Mondego de Morcerf, and sees the piece as a deadly attack on his family’s honor. He frantically searches for Monte Cristo, finds him at a shooting gallery, and begs him to be his second as he prepares to demand a retraction. Monte Cristo advises restraint, suggesting Albert ask Haydée for the full truth of the events, but Albert refuses, determined to defend his father’s name. Monte Cristo agrees to serve as his second if needed, but declines to offer further counsel, citing his principles on the futility of duels. Albert goes straight to Beauchamp’s office, demanding the article be retracted. Beauchamp refuses, saying he must first verify the claims, and the two arrange a duel for three weeks later, on September 21. As Albert storms out of the office, his anger simmering, he spots Maximilian Morrel walking briskly toward the Madeleine, his step light and his face bright with joy. Albert envies him instantly, unaware that Morrel has just secured Valentine’s freedom, Noirtier’s promise to block the marriage, and a future with the woman he loves.