The Count of Monte Cristo

The Robbery Investigation

Paris buzzes with news of the daring robbery attempt on Count Monte Cristo. Caderousse lies dying after signing a deposition naming Benedetto as the assassin. The police hunt for the murderer while evidence—Caderousse’s knife, lantern, keys, and clothes—sits in the registry. The count tells everyone he was away at Auteuil and learned of the incident only from the Abbé Busoni, who happened to request lodging for the night to examine the library’s valuable books. Bertuccio grows pale at Benedetto’s name, though no one thinks to connect his reaction to anything significant. Villefort prepares to prosecute the case with his usual vigor. Yet three weeks pass with no results, and public attention shifts toward the impending marriage of Mademoiselle Danglars to Count Andrea Cavalcanti.

The Forthcoming Marriage

Letters have been sent to the Count’s supposed father in Parma, who approves the union and promises a wedding gift of 150,000 livres while regretting his inability to attend. The three million fortune is to be entrusted to Danglars for investment. Though some warn Andrea of the banker’s recent losses, he refuses to listen with what appears to be sublime confidence. Baron Danglars adores his future son-in-law, but his daughter Eugénie feels an instinctive hatred of marriage. She had tolerated Andrea’s attentions merely to escape Morcerf, but now that Andrea presses his suit, she shows an unmistakable dislike for him. The baron notices but pretends not to understand, attributing her coldness to mere caprice.