Morrel Prepares Escape for Valentine
Morrel carefully arranges Valentine’s escape: two ladders are hidden in the clover-field, and a cabriolet without a servant or lights is ordered. Lamps will be lit only at the first street turning to avoid attracting police attention. He imagines the moment of catching her as she descends the wall and holding her in his arms for the first time.
Morrel Awaits Valentine at Hideout
As afternoon deepens, Morrel seeks solitude, unable to bear even a friend’s question. He paces his room, glances over a book without comprehension, and reviews his plan. His restless tampering with the clocks makes them strike eight at half-past six, and he departs early, reaching the clover-field while Saint-Philippe-du-Roule strikes eight, concealing the horse and cabriolet behind a small ruin.
Morrel Fears Valentine Has Fainted
The garden darkens and Morrel emerges with a beating heart to peer through the gate. No one appears. As the half-hour passes, he grows increasingly frantic, watching the unlit house with dread. When the clocks indicate half-past nine, then ten—well past Valentine’s appointed time—his anxiety peaks, and he tremblingly sets the ladder against the wall.
Morrel Discovers Villefort and d’Avrigny
Unable to wait longer, Morrel leaps over the wall onto Villefort’s property, crosses a path, and hides in a clump of trees from which he can see the house. Its windows are dark except for a moving light in Madame de Saint-Méran’s room and a stationary glow behind red curtains in Madame de Villefort’s bedroom. A voice on the wind freezes him in place just as he is about to cross the flower-garden, and he conceals himself completely to listen.
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