The Count of Monte Cristo

第八十一章 The Room of the Retired Baker

This chapter contains two parallel but intertwined plot developments set in motion by Andrea Cavalcanti’s rising fortunes. In the first half, Andrea formally proposes marriage to Danglars’ daughter, negotiates the financial terms of the union, secures the banker’s conditional approval, and walks away with 80,000 francs. In the second half, the narrative shifts to the seedy lodging of Caderousse (now disguised as “Monsieur Pailletin, retired baker”), where Caderousse refuses his modest monthly stipend, summons Andrea through a threatening letter, and the young man—disguised in his servant’s livery—arrives to discover that his old accomplice is plotting to extort far more money from him. The chapter’s climactic revelation is Caderousse’s explicit knowledge of Andrea’s true background as Benedetto and his plan to blackmail the young man into securing a much larger sum than the meager 200-franc allowance he currently receives. Chapter 81 centers on a confrontation between Andrea (Benedetto) and Caderousse in the retired baker’s room on the third floor of a house in the Allées de Meilhan. Caderousse pressures Andrea for money, Andrea confesses that he believes Monte Cristo is his real father and will inherit a fortune, then Caderousse extracts a detailed architectural plan of Monte Cristo’s Champs-Élysées mansion before Andrea leaves. After parting, Caderousse studies the plan with the clear intent of robbing the Count, reasoning that whoever hastens the day Andrea can touch his five hundred thousand francs will not be his worst friend.