The Poisoner Revealed
Valentine exclaimed in horror at the mention of poison and death. Monte Cristo placed his finger on her lips again and confirmed he spoke of poison and death. He offered her a bottle containing red liquid, pouring a few drops into the glass and instructing her to drink and take nothing more that night. She stretched out her hand but drew back in fear. The count drank half the contents himself before presenting it to her, and she smiled as she swallowed the rest, recognizing the flavor of her nocturnal beverage that had refreshed her and eased her aching brain.
A Healthful Draught
Monte Cristo explained she had lived this way for four nights, drinking what she believed was the doctor’s draught but what he had been substituting. He described the wretched hours of torture he endured watching the deadly poison poured into her glass, trembling lest she drink it before he could throw it away. Valentine, at the height of terror, declared if he saw the poison being poured, he must have seen the person doing it. When she demanded to know who could desire her death, the count asked her to listen.
A List of Victims
Valentine raised herself in bed, drawing her embroidered cambric over her whiter-than-snow chest. The count confirmed he had seen the person. She insisted he was trying to make her believe something too dreadful—that someone would attempt to murder her in her father’s house, on her sickbed. The count reminded her she was not the first victim this hand had stricken. Had she not seen M. and Madame de Saint-Méran and Barrois all fall? Would not M. Noirtier also have fallen victim had not his three-year treatment neutralized the poison’s effects?
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