Morrel Awaits Valentine at the Garden Gate
While the engagement dissolution plays out at the Villefort home, Maximilian Morrel, who followed Franz to the residence and deduced the nature of the private meeting, waits at the clover-patch garden gate for Valentine. He is certain she will come to him immediately once she is free, and his certainty is confirmed when she appears, abandoning her usual caution to walk straight to the barrier.
Valentine Announces Their Union Is Saved
When Valentine reaches Morrel at the gate, her first words are “We are saved!” Morrel is overwhelmed with disbelief and joy, and asks who secured their salvation. Valentine credits her grandfather Noirtier, and Morrel swears to love and worship Noirtier for his kindness to the couple.
Valentine and Morrel Discuss Their Future Marriage
Morrel asks Valentine how Noirtier achieved the outcome, but she refuses to share the full secret, saying she will reveal all details when she is his wife. Morrel agrees to wait for her to share the news later, and secures a promise that she will meet him the next night. Both are far more confident in their future marriage than they had been just an hour earlier, when Valentine believed she would be forced to marry Franz.
Madame de Villefort Requests Noirtier Bequeath Fortune to Valentine
While Valentine meets with Morrel, Madame de Villefort visits Noirtier. She states she knows he opposed Valentine’s marriage to Franz, which was arranged without his consent, and asks him to restore his full fortune to Valentine, his only legitimate heir, framing the request as selfless since she will receive no personal benefit from the transaction. Noirtier is initially suspicious of her motive, but eventually signals he agrees to her request.
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