The Count of Monte Cristo

Invitation to the Trial

At eleven o’clock, the valet returned to remind Villefort that the trial commenced at noon and that Madame de Villefort wished to know if she should accompany him to the Palais. The valet hesitated before relaying his mistress’s wish to be present at the trial.

The Private Interview

Villefort sent word that he wished to speak with his wife in her room. Entering, he found Madame de Villefort dressed to go out, with Edward tearing newspapers beside her. Without preamble, he ordered the boy to leave. When Edward hesitated, his father spoke so harshly that the child arose pale and trembling. After kissing his son on the forehead, Villefort bolted the door behind the departing child.

Confronting the Poisoner

“Madame, where do you keep the poison you generally use?” Villefort demanded, placing himself between his wife and the door. Madame de Villefort turned deadly pale, her composure shattering. “I do not understand you,” she stammered.

The Accusation

Villefort listed her crimes in cold detail: she had killed M. de Saint-Méran, Madame de Saint-Méran, Barrois, and his daughter Valentine. He explained that M. d’Avrigny had warned him of a poisoner in the house, and that after Valentine’s death, his suspicions had crystallized into certainty. He was no longer her husband but her judge.

Denial and Terror

Madame de Villefort attempted to defend herself, clasping her hands and begging him not to believe appearances. She questioned whether he spoke as judge or husband. “To the judge—to the judge, madame!” came the terrible reply. When she still did not answer his questions about the poison’s location, Villefort observed that she could not deny it.

The Threat of the Scaffold

“You do not hope to escape because you are the wife of the one who pronounces sentences,” Villefort declared. “The scaffold awaits the poisoner, whoever she may be.” He added that he would be merciful only to her, for he would not dishonor himself by exposing her publicly.

The Alternative to Shame

Villefort explained that the wife of the first magistrate in the capital would not soil an unblemished name with her infamy. The poisoner’s fate was in her own hands: she possessed the means to avoid the scaffold and the public shame that would follow.

The Final Ultimatum

He gave her a stark choice: if she had kept any poison, she should use it before his return from the trial. If he found her alive when he came back from pronouncing sentence against the murderer Benedetto, he would personally denounce and arrest her. She would spend the night in the Conciergerie.

Fainting and Farewell

Madame de Villefort sank to the carpet, overwhelmed and crushed. The king’s attorney looked upon her less severely, and bowing, said slowly: “Farewell, madame, farewell!” That farewell struck her like the executioner’s knife. She fainted. The procureur went out, double-locking the door behind him.

CHAPITRE 109. The Assizes

Chapter 109 of Alexandre Dumas’s Count of Monte Cristo takes place at a trial court, where the notorious Benedetto affair draws enormous public attention.

The Benedetto Affair

The so-called Benedetto affair, also known as the false Cavalcanti case, created a tremendous sensation in Paris society. During his brief career of splendor frequenting fashionable locations like Café de Paris, Boulevard de Gand, and Bois de Boulogne, the impostor known as Prince Andrea Cavalcanti had cultivated numerous acquaintances who now eagerly anticipated witnessing his trial for murder.

Public Curiosity

Many who had known the accused remembered him as amiable, handsome, and liberal, leading them to suspect he was the victim of a conspiracy. In their view, large fortunes frequently excite malevolence and jealousy from unknown enemies, and Benedetto’s apparent affluence had clearly attracted such resentment from some quarters.

The Fallibility of the Law

In many observers’ eyes, Benedetto appeared as an instance of the law’s fallibility. His father, the supposed Marquis Cavalcanti, had been seen in Paris and was expected to reappear to claim his illustrious son. His respectable appearance and gentlemanly bearing impressed many, though this noble facade tended to crumble when he attempted arithmetic or made substantial statements.