"What then?"
"Monsieur de Morcerf has received a letter from Franz, announcing his
immediate return." Valentine turned pale, and leaned her hand against
the gate. "Ah heavens, if it were that! But no, the communication would
not come through Madame de Villefort."
"Why not?"
"Because--I scarcely know why--but it has appeared as if Madame de
Villefort secretly objected to the marriage, although she did not choose
openly to oppose it."
"Is it so? Then I feel as if I could adore Madame de Villefort."
"Do not be in such a hurry to do that," said Valentine, with a sad
smile.
"If she objects to your marrying M. d'Epinay, she would be all the more
likely to listen to any other proposition."
"No, Maximilian, it is not suitors to which Madame de Villefort objects,
it is marriage itself."
"Marriage? If she dislikes that so much, why did she ever marry
herself?"
"You do not understand me, Maximilian. About a year ago, I talked of
retiring to a convent. Madame de Villefort, in spite of all the remarks
which she considered it her duty to make, secretly approved of the
proposition, my father consented to it at her instigation, and it was
only on account of my poor grandfather that I finally abandoned the
project. You can form no idea of the expression of that old man's eye
when he looks at me, the only person in the world whom he loves, and,
I had almost said, by whom he is beloved in return. When he learned my
resolution, I shall never forget the reproachful look which he cast
on me, and the tears of utter despair which chased each other down his
lifeless cheeks. Ah, Maximilian, I experienced, at that moment,
such remorse for my intention, that, throwing myself at his feet, I
exclaimed,--'Forgive me, pray forgive me, my dear grandfather; they may
do what they will with me, I will never leave you.' When I had ceased
speaking, he thankfully raised his eyes to heaven, but without uttering
a word. Ah, Maximilian, I may have much to suffer, but I feel as if my
grandfather's look at that moment would more than compensate for all."
"Dear Valentine, you are a perfect angel, and I am sure I do not know
what I--sabring right and left among the Bedouins--can have done to
merit your being revealed to me, unless, indeed, heaven took into
consideration the fact that the victims of my sword were infidels. But
tell me what interest Madame de Villefort can have in your remaining
unmarried?"
"Did I not tell you just now that I was rich, Maximilian--too rich? I
possess nearly 50,000 livres in right of my mother; my grandfather and
my grandmother, the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Meran, will leave
me as much, and M. Noirtier evidently intends making me his heir. My
brother Edward, who inherits nothing from his mother, will, therefore,
be poor in comparison with me. Now, if I had taken the veil, all this
fortune would have descended to my father, and, in reversion, to his
son."
"Ah, how strange it seems that such a young and beautiful woman should
be so avaricious."
"It is not for herself that she is so, but for her son, and what you
regard as a vice becomes almost a virtue when looked at in the light of
maternal love."
"But could you not compromise matters, and give up a portion of your
fortune to her son?"
"How could I make such a proposition, especially to a woman who always
professes to be so entirely disinterested?"
"Valentine, I have always regarded our love in the light of something
sacred; consequently, I have covered it with the veil of respect, and
hid it in the innermost recesses of my soul. No human being, not even my
sister, is aware of its existence. Valentine, will you permit me to make
a confidant of a friend and reveal to him the love I bear you?"
Valentine started. "A friend, Maximilian; and who is this friend? I
tremble to give my permission."
"Listen, Valentine. Have you never experienced for any one that sudden
and irresistible sympathy which made you feel as if the object of it had
been your old and familiar friend, though, in reality, it was the first
time you had ever met? Nay, further, have you never endeavored to recall
the time, place, and circumstances of your former intercourse, and
failing in this attempt, have almost believed that your spirits must
have held converse with each other in some state of being anterior to
the present, and that you are only now occupied in a reminiscence of the
past?"
"Yes."
"Well, that is precisely the feeling which I experienced when I first
saw that extraordinary man."
"Extraordinary, did you say?"
"Yes."
"You have known him for some time, then?"
"Scarcely longer than eight or ten days."
"And do you call a man your friend whom you have only known for eight
or ten days? Ah, Maximilian, I had hoped you set a higher value on the
title of friend."
"Your logic is most powerful, Valentine, but say what you will, I can
never renounce the sentiment which has instinctively taken possession
of my mind. I feel as if it were ordained that this man should be
associated with all the good which the future may have in store for me,
and sometimes it really seems as if his eye was able to see what was to
come, and his hand endowed with the power of directing events according
to his own will."
"He must be a prophet, then," said Valentine, smiling.
"Indeed," said Maximilian, "I have often been almost tempted to
attribute to him the gift of prophecy; at all events, he has a wonderful
power of foretelling any future good."
"Ah," said Valentine in a mournful tone, "do let me see this man,
Maximilian; he may tell me whether I shall ever be loved sufficiently to
make amends for all I have suffered."
"My poor girl, you know him already."
"I know him?"
"Yes; it was he who saved the life of your step-mother and her son."
"The Count of Monte Cristo?"
"The same."
"Ah," cried Valentine, "he is too much the friend of Madame de Villefort
ever to be mine."
"The friend of Madame de Villefort! It cannot be; surely, Valentine, you
are mistaken?"
"No, indeed, I am not; for I assure you, his power over our household
is almost unlimited. Courted by my step-mother, who regards him as the
epitome of human wisdom; admired by my father, who says he has never
before heard such sublime ideas so eloquently expressed; idolized by
Edward, who, notwithstanding his fear of the count's large black eyes,
runs to meet him the moment he arrives, and opens his hand, in which he
is sure to find some delightful present,--M. de Monte Cristo appears
to exert a mysterious and almost uncontrollable influence over all the
members of our family."
"If such be the case, my dear Valentine, you must yourself have felt,
or at all events will soon feel, the effects of his presence. He meets
Albert de Morcerf in Italy--it is to rescue him from the hands of the
banditti; he introduces himself to Madame Danglars--it is that he may
give her a royal present; your step-mother and her son pass before his
door--it is that his Nubian may save them from destruction. This man
evidently possesses the power of influencing events, both as regards
men and things. I never saw more simple tastes united to greater
magnificence. His smile is so sweet when he addresses me, that I forget
it ever can be bitter to others. Ah, Valentine, tell me, if he ever
looked on you with one of those sweet smiles? if so, depend on it, you
will be happy."
"Me?" said the young girl, "he never even glances at me; on the
contrary, if I accidentally cross his path, he appears rather to avoid
me. Ah, he is not generous, neither does he possess that supernatural
penetration which you attribute to him, for if he did, he would have
perceived that I was unhappy; and if he had been generous, seeing me
sad and solitary, he would have used his influence to my advantage, and
since, as you say, he resembles the sun, he would have warmed my heart
with one of his life-giving rays. You say he loves you, Maximilian; how
do you know that he does? All would pay deference to an officer like
you, with a fierce mustache and a long sabre, but they think they may
crush a poor weeping girl with impunity."
"Ah, Valentine, I assure you you are mistaken."
"If it were otherwise--if he treated me diplomatically--that is to say,
like a man who wishes, by some means or other, to obtain a footing in
the house, so that he may ultimately gain the power of dictating to its
occupants--he would, if it had been but once, have honored me with the
smile which you extol so loudly; but no, he saw that I was unhappy,
he understood that I could be of no use to him, and therefore paid no
attention to me whatever. Who knows but that, in order to please Madame
de Villefort and my father, he may not persecute me by every means in
his power? It is not just that he should despise me so, without any
reason. Ah, forgive me," said Valentine, perceiving the effect which her
words were producing on Maximilian: "I have done wrong, for I have given
utterance to thoughts concerning that man which I did not even know
existed in my heart. I do not deny the influence of which you speak,
or that I have not myself experienced it, but with me it has been
productive of evil rather than good."
"Well, Valentine," said Morrel with a sigh, "we will not discuss the
matter further. I will not make a confidant of him."
"Alas," said Valentine, "I see that I have given you pain. I can only
say how sincerely I ask pardon for having griefed you. But, indeed, I am
not prejudiced beyond the power of conviction. Tell me what this Count
of Monte Cristo has done for you."
"I own that your question embarrasses me, Valentine, for I cannot say
that the count has rendered me any ostensible service. Still, as I have
already told you I have an instinctive affection for him, the source of
which I cannot explain to you. Has the sun done anything for me? No; he
warms me with his rays, and it is by his light that I see you--nothing
more. Has such and such a perfume done anything for me? No; its odor
charms one of my senses--that is all I can say when I am asked why I
praise it. My friendship for him is as strange and unaccountable as
his for me. A secret voice seems to whisper to me that there must be
something more than chance in this unexpected reciprocity of friendship.
In his most simple actions, as well as in his most secret thoughts, I
find a relation to my own. You will perhaps smile at me when I tell you
that, ever since I have known this man, I have involuntarily entertained
the idea that all the good fortune which has befallen me originated
from him. However, I have managed to live thirty years without this
protection, you will say; but I will endeavor a little to illustrate my
meaning. He invited me to dine with him on Saturday, which was a very
natural thing for him to do. Well, what have I learned since? That your
mother and M. de Villefort are both coming to this dinner. I shall meet
them there, and who knows what future advantages may result from the
interview? This may appear to you to be no unusual combination of
circumstances; nevertheless, I perceive some hidden plot in the
arrangement--something, in fact, more than is apparent on a casual view
of the subject. I believe that this singular man, who appears to fathom
the motives of every one, has purposely arranged for me to meet M. and
Madame de Villefort, and sometimes, I confess, I have gone so far as to
try to read in his eyes whether he was in possession of the secret of
our love."
"My good friend," said Valentine, "I should take you for a visionary,
and should tremble for your reason, if I were always to hear you talk in
a strain similar to this. Is it possible that you can see anything
more than the merest chance in this meeting? Pray reflect a little.
My father, who never goes out, has several times been on the point
of refusing this invitation; Madame de Villefort, on the contrary, is
burning with the desire of seeing this extraordinary nabob in his own
house, therefore, she has with great difficulty prevailed on my father
to accompany her. No, no; it is as I have said, Maximilian,--there is no
one in the world of whom I can ask help but yourself and my grandfather,
who is little better than a corpse."
"I see that you are right, logically speaking," said Maximilian; "but
the gentle voice which usually has such power over me fails to convince
me to-day."
"I feel the same as regards yourself." said Valentine; "and I own that,
if you have no stronger proof to give me"--
"I have another," replied Maximilian; "but I fear you will deem it even
more absurd than the first."
"So much the worse," said Valentine, smiling.
"It is, nevertheless, conclusive to my mind. My ten years of service
have also confirmed my ideas on the subject of sudden inspirations, for
I have several times owed my life to a mysterious impulse which directed
me to move at once either to the right or to the left, in order to
escape the ball which killed the comrade fighting by my side, while it
left me unharmed."
"Dear Maximilian, why not attribute your escape to my constant prayers
for your safety? When you are away, I no longer pray for myself, but for
you."
"Yes, since you have known me," said Morrel, smiling; "but that cannot
apply to the time previous to our acquaintance, Valentine."
"You are very provoking, and will not give me credit for anything; but
let me hear this second proof, which you yourself own to be absurd."
