World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 134 Promise (2)
"Yes, I swear to you, Maximilian, I have received from my mother the holiest thing in the world, and I will swear it."

"Well, then, we shall wait," said Morrel.

"Yes, let's wait for a while." Valentine continued, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Actually, there are many things that can save unfortunate people like you and me."

"I have complete confidence in you, Valentine," said Morrel, "that what you want will be done successfully, only if your entreaties are ignored, if your father and Mme. Send Monsieur d'Epinet to sign the marriage contract..."

"I will keep my word, Morrel."

"Not only did you not sign the marriage contract..."

"And go to you at once, and we will go away together. But from now until that hour, we must take no chances, Morrel. We shall not see each other again during this time, and it is a miracle that we have not been caught so far, It was God's will. If we were caught, if people knew how we met, then we would really be cornered."

"You are right, Valentine, but how do you know..."

"Ask Mr. Deschamps, the notary."

"I know him."

"I'll tell you too, I'll write to you, don't worry. My God! This marriage, Maximilian, I hate it as much as you do."

"Well, well! Thank you, my dear Valentine," said Morrel; "it is settled, and I will come here as soon as I know when the contract is signed, and you will come out over the wall, and I will be outside. You will have no difficulty meeting you. There will be a carriage waiting for you by the gate of the fence, and you will go with me in that carriage, and I will take you to my sister. When you arrive at my sister's house, if you don't want to make it public, we will Hide first; if you are willing to make it public, we will show up. We will see how powerful we are, and we will understand what our pursuit is. At that time, we will not be like lambs, only knowing bleating Screaming and being slaughtered."

"Very well," said Valentine, "it is now my turn to tell you, Maximilian, that what you want will be accomplished."

"it is good!"

"Well, are you satisfied with your wife?" said the girl sadly.

"My dear Valentine, it would be an understatement to say 'yes'!"

"Tell me more," said Valentine, leaning against the iron gate, or rather pressing her lips against it, her voice following her perfumed lips. On the other side of the grille, Morrel pressed his mouth deeply against the cold and unforgiving partition. "Good-bye," said Valentine, breaking away from this happiness, "good-bye."

"Will you write to me?"

"Will do."

"Thank you, dear wife! Good-bye."

A chaste kiss sounded at the iron gate, and Valentine hurried into the lime grove.From the forest path came the rustle of the girl's skirt brushing the bushes and the rustle of her walking on the gravel road. Morrel did not raise his eyes to the sky until he could not hear the sound that was gradually receding, with an indescribable expression on his lips. Smiling, he thanked God for giving him such a love, and then he also left the iron gate.

When Maximilian returned home, he waited for a whole night, and the next day for another day, but he never got any news.Near ten o'clock in the morning of the third day, he was going to see Mr. Deschamps, the notary, when a letter arrived by the postman.Maximilian had never seen Valentine's handwriting, but he recognized the letter as Valentine's handwriting.The letter reads:
Tears, supplications, and prayers are of no avail.Yesterday I spent two hours in St. Philip's Church in the Ruhr, and during these two hours I opened my heart to God and prayed without stopping!God is as indifferent as man, and the time for signing the marriage contract has been set at 9 o'clock this evening.My word is single, my heart is single, Morrel.What I say to you is my promise that my heart is yours.

At a quarter to nine o'clock this evening, we met at the iron gate.

your wife
Valentine Villefort

And again: my poor grandmother is getting sicker and sicker, yesterday she was restless and talking nonsense, today she is not only talking nonsense, but almost insane.Morrel, are you deeply in love with me?You will make me forget that I left her when she was so ill?I don't think they've been telling my grandfather about the signing of the engagement tonight.

Morrel felt that Valentine's account of these circumstances was not sufficient, so he went to the notary, who also told him that the marriage contract was to be signed at nine o'clock in the evening.Morrel next visited Monte Cristo, and it was there that he received the most detailed information.Franz had been here, and told Monte Cristo about the engagement.Mrs. Villefort also wrote to the earl, asking the earl to forgive him for not inviting him to the signing ceremony, and saying that the death of Mr. Saint-Meran and the current health condition of Mrs. Saint-Meran inevitably made the signing ceremony a layer of sadness. I sincerely wish the Earl happiness, so I don't want to make the Earl frown.Besides, yesterday Franz visited Madame de Saint-Meran, and the old lady got up to meet him, but just after the meeting, she went to bed and lay down again.

It is not difficult to understand that Morrel appeared restless at this time, and his demeanor could not escape the count's sharp eyes.So Monte Cristo was more affectionate to him than usual, and so affectionate that Maximilian two or three times came close to telling the whole thing to the count.But he remembered that he had made a very solemn promise to Valentine, and finally kept his secret deep in his heart.

Maximilian had read Valentine's letter twenty times that day; it was the first time the girl had written to him, and under what circumstances!Every time Maximilian reads it, he always repeats his oath in his heart that he must make Valentine's life happy.This is indeed the case, how righteous and awe-inspiring it is for a girl to dare to be so resolute!She sacrificed everything to fulfill her lover, isn't it worthy of his lover's loyalty to her?Shouldn't her sweetheart treat her like a god?She is both a queen and a wife, and her husband can't be too heartbroken to thank her and love her!At the thought of this excited moment, of Valentine coming to him and saying: "Here I am, Maximilian, take me with you." Morrel was so excited that it is indescribable.

He had made careful arrangements for his departure, two ladders were hidden in the clover field, a buggy was ready and waiting, and Maximilian would drive himself without a servant. Light it on the corner of the first street, because if you are too cautious, you will attract the police.Morrel trembled from time to time with nervousness, thinking how he would scale the fence to catch Valentine's jump.He was also thinking that at that time he would definitely feel the weakness and trembling of Valentina in his arms. You know, he had only touched the girl's hand and kissed her fingertips so far.In the afternoon, Morrel felt that the time was approaching, and he felt that he needed to be alone, because his blood was already boiling, and any question or shout from a friend might irritate him.He shut himself up in his room, and tried to read a book, but his eyes moved over the pages, and he could not understand anything that was written.At last he threw the book aside, and once more carefully drew on the paper his course of action, the positions of the two ladders and the fence.

The time is finally approaching.People who are in love never let the clocks move forward quietly. Morrel turned and turned all his clocks, and when it was 6 o'clock, his clocks were already 8 o'clock.He told himself that it was time to start, and that although the marriage contract was not signed until nine o'clock, Valentine would not wait until the time when it was impossible to actually sign the contract.So Morrel came out of the Rue de Merais at half-past eight by the clock at his house, and when he came to the clover field the clock of St. Philip's Church in the Ruhr was striking eight o'clock. bell.

The horses and buggy were hidden in a little ramshackle hut where Morrel used to hide.It was getting dark, and the trees and flowers in the garden had turned into a faint black shadow.At that moment Morrel emerged from the hut where he had hidden himself, with a beating heart.He walked to the iron gate and looked into the garden through the gap, but there was no one inside.The church bell struck 8:9, and I had waited for half an hour before I knew it.Morrel paced up and down there, every now and then--and more and more often--looking out into the garden through the cracks in the boards nailed to the iron gate; Dress; only the sound of silence in the garden can be heard, but not the slightest footsteps.The building that can be vaguely seen from the bushes is still dark and dark, and it is not at all obvious that an important ceremony such as the signing of the marriage contract will be held in this building.Morrel had heard the cathedral clock strike two or three times, and looked at his watch. It was just a quarter past nine, but at about this time the cathedral clock struck nine o'clock. Half an hour to correct the time on the Morrel watch.This was already half an hour longer than the time Valentine had promised, because she said nine o'clock, and even said that it would only be advanced and not delayed.

It was a terrible moment for the young man, and every second that ticked was like a plumb weight hitting his heart.The slightest rustle in the trees, the softest rustle in the evening wind, would prick his ears and make his brow sweat.Hearing this sound, he trembled all over, and went to put the ladder in place, and in order not to lose a moment when the time came, he had already stepped on the first step of the ladder with one foot.Just when he was sometimes trembling, sometimes he was waiting, and when he had a thorn in his back, the church clock struck 10 o'clock. "Oh!" said Maximilian softly, terrified, "unless something happens or something happens, it is impossible to sign the marriage contract for so long. I have thought of all kinds of possibilities, all kinds of things." I have calculated the time required for the ceremony, something must have happened over there."

So, for a while, he paced back and forth in front of the iron gate restlessly, and for a while he pressed his hot forehead tightly against the cold iron gate.Will Valentine pass out after signing the contract?Will Valentine be caught when she escapes?Maximilian felt that there could only be such two hypotheses, but either one made him despair. "Oh! if that's the case," he cried, climbing hastily to the top of the ladder, "I shall never find her again, and I'll do it to myself!"

The devil who suggested this idea to him was always haunting him, buzzing persistently in his ears, and after a while, certain guesses became true after reasoning.Morrel opened his eyes wide, trying to pierce the darkening night. He thought he saw something lying on the dark path. He risked a cry, and thought he heard a faint sound blown by the wind. Indistinct groans. The bell rang at 10:[-], and I couldn't wait like this all the time with my hands tied up, thinking about everything.Maximilian's temples were throbbing, he saw his vision was blurry, he jumped over the wall with one step, and jumped into the wall with a plop.

He was already in the Villefort house, which was an invasion of a private house over the wall.He also thought about the consequences of such an action, but he didn't want to back down anymore since others had already entered.After a while he came to the edge of the bush, and from where he stood, he could clearly see the building.Now Morrel looked forward through the trees, and what had been but a suspicion in his heart was now clearly seen.He expected to see every window shining brightly, which is a matter of course on a festive day, but what he saw was only a gray building, and a large cloud just covered the moon, casting a huge picture on the building. shady.

A single candle, flickering on and off, flickering like crazy, flashed across the three windows on the second floor, the three windows of Madame de Saint-Meran's apartment.A motionless candle shone from behind a red curtain, the curtain of Madame de Villefort's bedroom.Morrel guessed it all.In order to be able to imaginatively follow Valentine around the building every moment of the day, Morrel asked Valentine to describe the structure of the building over and over again.It's really like this, he asked the girl to say it again and again, so he already knew what it was like before he saw the building.

Morrel never saw Valentine's figure, but what made him even more worried was that he could only see the darkness in front of him, and he couldn't hear the slightest sound.Confused and maddened with pain, he resolved to risk everything to see Valentine. He had a presentiment of some misfortune, but whatever it was, he must find out.Morrel came to the edge of the bushes, and was about to pass through the flower-beds at the top of his speed, when suddenly, not too far away, voices were heard on the wind.He took a step back as soon as he heard the voice.Half of his body was already exposed outside the bushes. At this moment, he shrank back and hid in the dark bushes, staying motionless and silent.

He had already made up his mind that if Valentine was alone, he would call to the girl softly as she passed; He could be relieved that no misfortune had happened to her; and if he did not know the people who came, he could listen to what they had to say, which would just solve the mystery that he had never been able to figure out.Then the moon came out from under the veiled clouds, and Morrel saw Villefort approaching the door at the edge of the steps, followed by a man in black.The two of them descended the steps and went again towards the bushes, and before they had gone four paces Morrel recognized the man in black as Dr. Affini.Morrel saw them coming towards him, and retreated mechanically until he came upon the trunk of a fig tree in the middle of the clump, and was obliged to stop.After a while, the footsteps on the sandy road also stopped.

"Ah, dear doctor," said the prosecutor, "what a dreadful death that God has decided against our family! It's like a bolt from the blue! You need not comfort me. Oh! the wound is too deep! She is dead, died!"

Morrel was so anxious that his forehead was covered with cold sweat, his forehead felt cold, and his teeth were chattering.Who died again?Even Villefort himself called it an ominous house.

"My dear Monsieur de Villefort," replied the doctor, in a tone which terrified Morrel, who was listening, "I beg you to come here, not to comfort you, on the contrary."

"Do you have something to tell me?" the prosecutor asked in surprise.

"I want to tell you that behind this misfortune, there may be even greater misfortune."

"Oh, my God!" murmured Villefort, clasping his hands, "what more do you have to tell me?"

"Are we just the two of us here? My friend?"

"Oh! yes, just the two of us. But why are you so cautious?"

"Because what I am going to tell you is too terrible to be told. Let us sit down and talk."

Villefort sat down on a chair, but rather collapsed on it.The doctor stood in front of him, with a hand on his shoulder.Morrel was so startled that his whole body felt cold, and he touched his forehead with one hand and pressed his chest with the other, for fear that his violent heartbeat would be heard.

"She's dead, she's dead!" repeated Morrel to himself, feeling that he too was dying.

"Speak, doctor, and I will listen," said Villefort; "please tell the truth, I am ready for everything."

"Mrs. Saint-Meran is indeed old, but her body has always been very good."

For the first time in ten minutes Morrel let out a breath of relief.

"She died of excessive melancholy," said Villefort, "yes, of depression. For forty years she had lived with the Marquis..."

"Melancholy is not the cause, my dear Villefort," said the doctor; "melancholy can be fatal in excess, but such cases are rare, and even if they are fatal, they cannot be in a day, an hour, or even It took just 10 minutes to kill people."

Villefort made no answer, but raised his head, which had been bowed down, and looked straight at the doctor with frightened eyes.

"Didn't you die beside me?" asked Mr. Avrini.

"Yes," the prosecutor replied, "you whispered to me not to leave."

"Have you noticed Madame de Saint-Meran's dying symptoms?"

"I noticed. Madame de Saint-Méran had three seizures in succession, with intervals of a few minutes, but once, the intervals were shorter and the severity of the seizure was worse than the previous one. When you arrived, Madame de Saint-Méran had already She was panting for several minutes. When she first had the attack, I thought it was just a neurological disease, but then I saw her sitting up from the bed, her limbs and neck were stiff, and I really panicked. At this time I can see from your face that it's more serious than I thought. After the first attack, I wanted to see what was going on in your eyes, but we couldn't look at each other. You were counting her pulse. You Before I could turn around to me, the second attack started again, this time it was more terrifying than the first one, the movement of the sickness was exactly the same as the last time, and the lips were purple and tightly pressed. By the third attack Then she died. Immediately after her first seizure, I saw that it was a tonic convulsion, and your diagnosis later came to agree with mine."

(End of this chapter)