The Grandfather’s Fate
Valentine questions why her grandfather is permitted to live. Monte Cristo explains that with Valentine dead, the fortune would naturally revert to her brother unless he were disinherited. Additionally, killing the grandfather would appear unnecessarily criminal and pointless.
Condemned to Die
Valentine, bathed in tears, declares she sees she is condemned to die. Monte Cristo insists she will not die because he has foreseen all the plots—her enemy is conquered now that she is known. He promises she will live to be happy and make happy a noble heart.
A Promise of Protection
Monte Cristo instructs Valentine that to ensure her safety, she must rely on him completely. She must blindly take whatever he gives her, though she admits she would prefer to die for her own sake. He warns her to trust no one—not even her father.
Blind Obedience
Valentine asks what she must do, and Monte Cristo repeats she must blindly take what he gives her. She must not confide in anyone, not even her father, though she desperately asks if her father is not involved in the fearful plot.
The Father’s Failure
Monte Cristo confirms her father is not engaged in the plot but criticizes that a man accustomed to judicial accusations should have recognized these deaths were unnatural. He should have watched over her, emptied that glass, and risen against the assassin. He murmurs that it should have been “spectre against spectre.”
A Choice to Live
Valentine declares she will do all she can to live because two beings who love her will die if she dies—her grandfather and Maximilian. Monte Cristo promises to watch over them as he has watched over her.
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