The Count of Monte Cristo

第四十四章 The Vendetta

In Chapter 44 of The Count of Monte Cristo, Bertuccio recounts to the Count the origins of his vendetta against Villefort, a story involving his brother’s assassination, his oath of vengeance, and a shocking discovery in a hidden garden.

Bertuccio Begins His Story for Monte Cristo

Bertuccio asks the Count where he should begin his tale. Monte Cristo, who knows only vague details from Abbé Busoni seven or eight years prior, encourages him to proceed. Bertuccio settles on the year 1815 as his starting point, and Monte Cristo notes that 1815 “is not yesterday.”

Bertuccio’s Early Life and Brother’s Imperial Service

Bertuccio explains that he had an elder brother who served as a lieutenant in a Corsican regiment under the Emperor. Orphaned young—Bertuccio at five and his brother at eighteen—the elder brother raised him like a son. In 1814 the brother married, and when Napoleon returned from Elba, he rejoined the army, was wounded at Waterloo, and retreated with the army beyond the Loire. Bertuccio notes these events as the familiar history of the Hundred Days.

Brother’s Return After Waterloo and Assassination

After the army’s disbandment, the brother wrote from Rogliano at the tip of Cap Corse, asking Bertuccio to leave money for him with an innkeeper at Nîmes along his return route. Rather than send the funds, Bertuccio resolved to bring his thousand francs himself, leaving five hundred with his sister-in-law Assunta. Adverse winds delayed his smuggling boat four or five days on the Rhône, but he eventually reached Arles and proceeded overland to Nîmes.