The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (books to read to improve english txt) đ
- Author: Alexandre Dumas
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âI?âwhere the devil did you find out that?â
âAt their ball; it was apparent enough. Why, did not the countess, the proud MercĂ©dĂšs, the disdainful Catalane, who will scarcely open her lips to her oldest acquaintances, take your arm, lead you into the garden, into the private walks, and remain there for half an hour?â
âAh, baron, baron,â said Albert, âyou are not listeningâwhat barbarism in a megalomaniac like you!â
âOh, donât worry about me, Sir Mocker,â said Danglars; then turning to Monte Cristo he said:
âBut will you undertake to speak to the father?â
âWillingly, if you wish it.â
âBut let it be done explicitly and positively. If he demands my daughter let him fix the dayâdeclare his conditions; in short, let us either understand each other, or quarrel. You understandâno more delay.â
âYes, sir, I will give my attention to the subject.â
âI do not say that I await with pleasure his decision, but I do await it. A banker must, you know, be a slave to his promise.â And Danglars sighed as M. Cavalcanti had done half an hour before.
âBravi! bravo! brava!â cried Morcerf, parodying the banker, as the selection came to an end. Danglars began to look suspiciously at Morcerf, when someone came and whispered a few words to him.
âI shall soon return,â said the banker to Monte Cristo; âwait for me. I shall, perhaps, have something to say to you.â And he went out.
The baroness took advantage of her husbandâs absence to push open the door of her daughterâs study, and M. Andrea, who was sitting before the piano with Mademoiselle EugĂ©nie, started up like a jack-in-the-box. Albert bowed with a smile to Mademoiselle Danglars, who did not appear in the least disturbed, and returned his bow with her usual coolness. Cavalcanti was evidently embarrassed; he bowed to Morcerf, who replied with the most impertinent look possible. Then Albert launched out in praise of Mademoiselle Danglarsâ voice, and on his regret, after what he had just heard, that he had been unable to be present the previous evening.
Cavalcanti, being left alone, turned to Monte Cristo.
âCome,â said Madame Danglars, âleave music and compliments, and let us go and take tea.â
âCome, Louise,â said Mademoiselle Danglars to her friend.
They passed into the next drawing-room, where tea was prepared. Just as they were beginning, in the English fashion, to leave the spoons in their cups, the door again opened and Danglars entered, visibly agitated. Monte Cristo observed it particularly, and by a look asked the banker for an explanation.
âI have just received my courier from Greece,â said Danglars.
âAh, yes,â said the count; âthat was the reason of your running away from us.â
âYes.â
âHow is King Otho getting on?â asked Albert in the most sprightly tone.
Danglars cast another suspicious look towards him without answering, and Monte Cristo turned away to conceal the expression of pity which passed over his features, but which was gone in a moment.
âWe shall go together, shall we not?â said Albert to the count.
âIf you like,â replied the latter.
Albert could not understand the bankerâs look, and turning to Monte Cristo, who understood it perfectly,ââDid you see,â said he, âhow he looked at me?â
âYes,â said the count; âbut did you think there was anything particular in his look?â
âIndeed, I did; and what does he mean by his news from Greece?â
âHow can I tell you?â
âBecause I imagine you have correspondents in that country.â
Monte Cristo smiled significantly.
âStop,â said Albert, âhere he comes. I shall compliment Mademoiselle Danglars on her cameo, while the father talks to you.â
âIf you compliment her at all, let it be on her voice, at least,â said Monte Cristo.
âNo, everyone would do that.â
âMy dear viscount, you are dreadfully impertinent.â
Albert advanced towards Eugénie, smiling.
Meanwhile, Danglars, stooping to Monte Cristoâs ear, âYour advice was excellent,â said he; âthere is a whole history connected with the names Fernand and Yanina.â
âIndeed?â said Monte Cristo.
âYes, I will tell you all; but take away the young man; I cannot endure his presence.â
âHe is going with me. Shall I send the father to you?â
âImmediately.â
âVery well.â The count made a sign to Albert and they bowed to the ladies, and took their leave, Albert perfectly indifferent to Mademoiselle Danglarsâ contempt, Monte Cristo reiterating his advice to Madame Danglars on the prudence a bankerâs wife should exercise in providing for the future.
M. Cavalcanti remained master of the field.
Chapter 77. Haydée
Scarcely had the countâs horses cleared the angle of the boulevard, when Albert, turning towards the count, burst into a loud fit of laughterâmuch too loud in fact not to give the idea of its being rather forced and unnatural.
âWell,â said he, âI will ask you the same question which Charles IX. put to Catherine deâ Medici, after the massacre of Saint Bartholomew: âHow have I played my little part?ââ
âTo what do you allude?â asked Monte Cristo.
âTo the installation of my rival at M. Danglarsâ.â
âWhat rival?â
âMa foi! what rival? Why, your protĂ©gĂ©, M. Andrea Cavalcanti!â
âAh, no joking, viscount, if you please; I do not patronize M. Andreaâat least, not as concerns M. Danglars.â
âAnd you would be to blame for not assisting him, if the young man really needed your help in that quarter, but, happily for me, he can dispense with it.â
âWhat, do you think he is paying his addresses?â
âI am certain of it; his languishing looks and modulated tones when addressing Mademoiselle Danglars fully proclaim his intentions. He aspires to the hand of the proud EugĂ©nie.â
âWhat does that signify, so long as they favor your suit?â
âBut it is not the case, my dear count: on the contrary. I am repulsed on all sides.â
âWhat!â
âIt is so indeed; Mademoiselle EugĂ©nie scarcely answers me, and Mademoiselle dâArmilly, her confidant, does not speak to me at all.â
âBut the father has the greatest regard possible for you,â said Monte Cristo.
âHe? Oh, no, he has plunged a thousand daggers into my heart, tragedy-weapons, I own, which instead of wounding sheathe their points in their own handles, but daggers which he nevertheless believed to be real and deadly.â
âJealousy indicates affection.â
âTrue; but I am not jealous.â
âHe is.â
âOf whom?âof Debray?â
âNo, of you.â
âOf me? I will engage to say that before a week is past the door will be closed against me.â
âYou are mistaken, my dear viscount.â
âProve it to me.â
âDo you wish me to do so?â
âYes.â
âWell, I am charged with the commission of endeavoring to induce the Comte de Morcerf to make some definite arrangement with the baron.â
âBy whom are you charged?â
âBy the baron himself.â
âOh,â said Albert with all the cajolery of which he was capable. âYou surely will not do that, my dear count?â
âCertainly I shall, Albert, as I have promised to do it.â
âWell,â said Albert, with a sigh, âit seems you are determined to marry me.â
âI am determined to try and be on good terms with everybody, at all events,â said Monte Cristo. âBut apropos of Debray, how is it that I have not seen him lately at the baronâs house?â
âThere has been a misunderstanding.â
âWhat, with the baroness?â
âNo, with the baron.â
âHas he perceived anything?â
âAh, that is a good joke!â
âDo you think he suspects?â said Monte Cristo with charming artlessness.
âWhere have you come from, my dear count?â said Albert.
âFrom Congo, if you will.â
âIt must be farther off than even that.â
âBut what do I know of your Parisian husbands?â
âOh, my dear count, husbands are pretty much the same everywhere; an individual husband of any country is a pretty fair specimen of the whole race.â
âBut then, what can have led to the quarrel between Danglars and Debray? They seemed to understand each other so well,â said Monte Cristo with renewed energy.
âAh, now you are trying to penetrate into the mysteries of Isis, in which I am not initiated. When M. Andrea Cavalcanti has become one of the family, you can ask him that question.â
The carriage stopped.
âHere we are,â said Monte Cristo; âit is only half-past ten oâclock, come in.â
âCertainly, I will.â
âMy carriage shall take you back.â
âNo, thank you; I gave orders for my coupĂ© to follow me.â
âThere it is, then,â said Monte Cristo, as he stepped out of the carriage. They both went into the house; the drawing-room was lighted upâthey went in there. âYou will make tea for us, Baptistin,â said the count. Baptistin left the room without waiting to answer, and in two seconds reappeared, bringing on a tray, all that his master had ordered, ready prepared, and appearing to have sprung from the ground, like the repasts which we read of in fairy tales.
âReally, my dear count,â said Morcerf, âwhat I admire in you is, not so much your riches, for perhaps there are people even wealthier than yourself, nor is it only your wit, for Beaumarchais might have possessed as much,âbut it is your manner of being served, without any questions, in a moment, in a second; it is as if they guessed what you wanted by your manner of ringing, and made a point of keeping everything you can possibly desire in constant readiness.â
âWhat you say is perhaps true; they know my habits. For instance, you shall see; how do you wish to occupy yourself during tea-time?â
âMa foi, I should like to smoke.â
Monte Cristo took the gong and struck it once. In about the space of a second a private door opened, and Ali appeared, bringing two chibouques filled with excellent latakia.
âIt is quite wonderful,â said Albert.
âOh no, it is as simple as possible,â replied Monte Cristo. âAli knows I generally smoke while I am taking my tea or coffee; he has heard that I ordered tea, and he also knows that I brought you home with me; when I summoned him he naturally guessed the reason of my doing so, and as he comes from a country where hospitality is especially manifested through the medium of smoking, he naturally concludes that we shall smoke in company, and therefore brings two chibouques instead of oneâand now the mystery is solved.â
âCertainly you give a most commonplace air to your explanation, but it is not the less true that youââAh, but what do I hear?â and Morcerf inclined his head towards the door, through which sounds seemed to issue resembling those of a guitar.
âMa foi, my dear viscount, you are fated to hear music this evening; you have only escaped from Mademoiselle Danglarsâ piano, to be attacked by HaydĂ©eâs guzla.â
âHaydĂ©eâwhat an adorable name! Are there, then, really women who bear the name of HaydĂ©e anywhere but in Byronâs poems?â
âCertainly there are. HaydĂ©e is a very uncommon name in France, but is common enough in Albania and Epirus; it is as if you said, for example, Chastity, Modesty, Innocence,âit is a kind of baptismal name, as you Parisians call it.â
âOh, that is charming,â said Albert, âhow I should like to hear my countrywomen called Mademoiselle Goodness, Mademoiselle Silence, Mademoiselle Christian Charity! Only think, then, if Mademoiselle Danglars, instead of being called Claire-Marie-EugĂ©nie, had been named Mademoiselle Chastity-Modesty-Innocence Danglars; what a fine effect that would have produced on the announcement of her marriage!â
âHush,â said the count, âdo not joke in so loud a tone; HaydĂ©e may hear you, perhaps.â
âAnd you think she would be angry?â
âNo, certainly not,â said the count with a haughty expression.
âShe is very amiable, then, is she not?â said Albert.
âIt is not to be called amiability, it is her duty; a slave does not dictate to a master.â
âCome; you are joking yourself now. Are there any more slaves to be had who bear this beautiful name?â
âUndoubtedly.â
âReally, count, you do nothing, and have nothing like other people. The slave of the Count of Monte Cristo! Why, it is a rank of itself in France, and from the way in which you lavish money, it is a place that must be worth a hundred thousand francs a year.â
âA hundred thousand francs! The poor girl originally possessed much more than that; she was born to treasures in comparison with which those recorded in the Thousand and One Nights would seem but poverty.â
âShe must be a princess then.â
âYou are right; and she is one of the greatest in her country too.â
âI thought so.
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