The Threat of the Scaffold
“You do not hope to escape because you are the wife of the one who pronounces sentences,” Villefort declared. “The scaffold awaits the poisoner, whoever she may be.” He added that he would be merciful only to her, for he would not dishonor himself by exposing her publicly.
The Alternative to Shame
Villefort explained that the wife of the first magistrate in the capital would not soil an unblemished name with her infamy. The poisoner’s fate was in her own hands: she possessed the means to avoid the scaffold and the public shame that would follow.
The Final Ultimatum
He gave her a stark choice: if she had kept any poison, she should use it before his return from the trial. If he found her alive when he came back from pronouncing sentence against the murderer Benedetto, he would personally denounce and arrest her. She would spend the night in the Conciergerie.
Fainting and Farewell
Madame de Villefort sank to the carpet, overwhelmed and crushed. The king’s attorney looked upon her less severely, and bowing, said slowly: “Farewell, madame, farewell!” That farewell struck her like the executioner’s knife. She fainted. The procureur went out, double-locking the door behind him.
第一百零九章 The Assizes
Chapter 109 of Alexandre Dumas’s Count of Monte Cristo takes place at a trial court, where the notorious Benedetto affair draws enormous public attention.
The Benedetto Affair
The so-called Benedetto affair, also known as the false Cavalcanti case, created a tremendous sensation in Paris society. During his brief career of splendor frequenting fashionable locations like Café de Paris, Boulevard de Gand, and Bois de Boulogne, the impostor known as Prince Andrea Cavalcanti had cultivated numerous acquaintances who now eagerly anticipated witnessing his trial for murder.
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