"Don't let anyone trough." "You've checked everything?" "It's working?" "Please test it." "There's an execution, turn back or take another road." " Will it take long?" " No." "They're bringing the prisoner." "They say she's killed many children in their mothers' wombs." "But God takes His revenge on earth." "She..." "Who prevented so many children Seeing their mothers' eyes." "At dawn." "She will no longer see the light." "For God takes His revenge on earth." "Who will mourn Gervaise?" "She belongs in hell... with her friend Lucifer." "It's crawling with uniforms." "They'll never think escapees would be mad enough to taunt them right under their noses." "Look at your father." "Who will mourn Gervaise?" "She was so very bad." "She belongs in hell... , with her friend Lucifer." "When Monte Cristo asked me to meet you, I almost kissed his hands." "He's actually doing me a favour since at last I can thank you for..." "Nothing, You owe me..." "You saved my father from ruin and dishonour." "Alas he died to soon to thank you." "So allow the son to express The father's gratitude." "You may ask anything from me." "Thomson  French are opening new markets in the East." "More precisely in Janina in Greece." "Janina?" "It was our army's main stop on the route to India." "Alas, despite the Count of Morcerf's heroism, the Ottomans took the city." "I know." "I asked Morcerf about the help he gave the Sultan of Janina." "What courage." "I wonder how the Turks finally won." "I heard Ali Pasha was betrayed." "All the more reason to investigate before opening a branch there." "Could I meet one of your captains, Mr. Morrel?" "One of those familiar with Janina?" "The man we want is Cocles, Captain Cocles." "He served Morrel for 27 years and is now retired in Fecamp..." "Let's go..." "It'll be a change from this stinking place." "It's like a cemetery with open graves." "This is the deep sleep potion." "IT induces a deep numbness Which resembles death." "Another one of Faria's recipes?" "He was no longer sure of the formula." "Poor Faria." "He was so old." "Well we'll see." "I know a recipe I'm sure your famous Faria never told you about." "It's the recipe for happiness." "It always fails." "With your fortune life could be sweet and we'd forget all our misfortunes." "I can imagine you in London Budapest St Petersburg, And why not America?" "I can't put an ocean between my justice and me." "What you call justice is revenge." "Do you think I like being Monte Cristo?" "I'd be afraid to have him for a friend Bertuccio." "He's a terrifying man - ruthless and cold." "I didn't want to become that man, I was happy just being Edmond Dantes." "I expected nothing more from life." "But they ruined it." "Villefort, Morcerf, Danglars and even that worm Caderousse, who knew all but said nothing." "By killing the sailor who asked for nothing they created the avenger who's back for his dues, too bad for them." "Have the carriage prepared." "We're leaving." "Three pillows Grandad." "So you can sit straight to see the sky through the window." "Maybe you'll see the famous comet." "He's grateful." "But what Mr. Noirtier likes most is the coming of the day." "The dawn." "It reminds him of the Austerlitz sun." "Dear child, why are you still here?" "Your place isn't by a bedridden invalid." "I helped put him to bed, He had a bad day." "The way he is, it must have been like any other." "Please, Heloise." "He can hear." "Shouldn't Valentine leave?" "Why?" "It concerns her too." "Try dressing differently." "You'll get us into trouble with these rags." "They scream: "Long live the Emperor"." "These 'rags' have seen all the battlefields of Europe that made France greater than ever." "You needn't worry, M, Noirtier and I never leave this house." "We have wonderful news." "Mme de Saint-Meran is coming from Marseille." "Don't you understand?" "We can plan Valentine's marriage with Franz dEpinay." "Does my father wish to speak?" "Yes, Mr. Noirtier disapproves of this marriage." "Barrois is talking nonsense." "You're wrong." "He uses his right eye for vowels." "He bats his eyelid once for 'a' twice for 'e' three times for 'I' and so on." "The left eye is for consonants." "He can't control his nerves." "That's all." "He says if you go ahead he'll disinherit Valentine." "What?" "My dear father..." "Leave it." "If he disinherits her, everything is ours." "He says his entire fortune will go to charity." "I keep saying he must be put away." "You see I'm right." "She visits him and he thanks her..." "by disinheriting her." "I'll ask Dr dAvrigny to visit him." "I see his mind is starting to..." "Mr. Noirtier says he knows exactly why you're crying." "He'll do his best to stop the marriage." " Will she still marry?" " Of course." " Despite your father's threats?" " What threats?" "Let him leave his fortune to the poor, I've never been interested in money." "Money is good for the likes of Danglars." "You're only interested in glory." "No not in glory either." "Glory is a toy just good enough to satisfy children like Morcerf." "I have better: the power to condemn to death or life imprisonment." "Same thing." "As Prosecutor." "I have the Kings favour." "The dEpinays are close to him so Valentine will marry like it or not." "I have 17 trunks and eight hat boxes." "Don't complain it's heavy, It's just silk and satin." "Take it all upstairs and tell a maid to iron my dresses." "These coachmen are unbelievable." "They keep moaning I have too much luggage." "What times!" "They can't tell me what to bring for the wedding." "I looked lovely when you married my Helene." "What a lovely day." "Really?" "I thought it rained." "Isn't that what you said?" "It did rain." "It was a deluge." "But how we laughed in the rain." "Excuse me, I must check the kitchen." "Supper will be served at ten." "Your new wife is as surly as ever." "She's hardly a new wife now." "It's many years since Heloise and I..." "I'll never get used to it." "What do you see in her?" "Well she..." "IT seems..." "You see?" "Marrying her was a mistake, I warned you." "But you won't admit it." "Let's forget your harpy, How's my angel?" "How's Valentine?" "She's very well, thank you." "I meant how does she get on with the harpy?" "For the best" " So they hate each other." "Still it doesn't matter now Valentine is getting married." "It means she'll be leaving soon." "May God make her happy with Franz." " It's my only wish" " Mine too." "She'll be happy." "I'll make sure of it." "I hope so." "Otherwise my ghost will come and box your ears." "A staircase might not be the ideal place for what I have to say." "But this wedding will be my last party." "The last ceremony I'll attend and not willingly will be my funeral." " Why do you say that?" " Because it's true." "So I want this wedding to be grand and beautiful." "I want it magnificent and moving, I want to cry." "I haven't cried for so long." "Not since Helene's death." "If you need money to make things grander than grand just tell me." "The Morrels were always good to me." "The father" " God rest his soul - and the son." "If you weren't sent by young Maximilien I wouldn't have told you a thing." "But I'm not totally blameless myself." "I can't believe that a general Count of Morcerf and peer of France..." "Forget all those grand-sounding titles." "Morcerf the scum didn't have them at Janina." "He was just Fernand Momdego lieutenant colonel." "Sultan Ali Pasha made him general and the Turks paid him a fortune to betray him." "Mondego gave up Janina to the Turks and caused the massacre of Ali Pasha's family." "But you weren't there Captain Cocles." "I arrived at the end, but above all..." "I heard a witness." "A witness?" "Yes sir." "Haydee Ali Pasha's own daughter." "But you said they were all killed." "All except Haydee." "The Turks used her like any young captive." "They reduced her to slavery ...in a harem." "She became a piece of meat for men's pleasure." "Listen to me." "Since the Turks see Haydee as a commodity we'll buy her from them." "...twenty times her selling price." "Given her rank youth and beauty it was already considerable." "As well as the ransom we'd need a ship and money for the expedition." "A fortune!" "Supposing I find you a man who has this money..." "I'd leave now." "I'm cold." "But it's not cold." "You say I can't forgive." "But if you'd heard Cocles' story you wouldn't forgive either." "Beauchamp, I trought journalists too badly paid to play the Stock Exchange." "I'm not here to play but to work." "I've been assigned to question the Baron on his latest losses." "Baron Danglars?" "Impossible." "It's strange, but luck eludes him lately and his fortune is slipping away." "But he's an exceptional financier." "He's just lost five million in a risky project in Mexican mines." "It's the same with his sturgeon farms in St Petersburg." "You seem rather pleased." "You look like the cat who got the cream." "These days journalists live on others' misfortunes." "So be happy, Mr. Cat." "Sonn you'll be able to gorge yourself all you like." "Janina." "Jani... what?" "Janina." "I warn you." "That cream is particulary sickening." "I would make one vomit." "A ghost, There was a ghost in my room." "Calm down, Ghosts don't exist, It was probably the wind in the curtains." "I'm not mad, I tell you it was a ghost." "My husbands ghost telling me my time has come to join the world of the dead." "What's all this shouting?" "What's happening?" "Grandma had a bad dream." "Go on, say I'm hysterical." "Only a ghost would dare enter the Crown Prosecutor's house." "The living can't hurt you." "You're untouchable." "But the dead are a different story." "She's not mad, I too saw..." " He offered me a drink" " I'll fetch you an infusion." "No I don't want to sleep." "I want it to be day." " And things to happen" " What things?" "Your wedding, I want you married before I die." " That's impossible" " Why?" "Because nothing is ready?" "But never mind." "Let it be a private affair as long as it happens." "A solicitor for the signatures and a priest for a bit of Latin." "Don't worry." "My will shall exempt you all from wearing mourning." "Nothing will stop you having a big party once I've been buried." "Why are you crying?" "You can't see me die?" "No and I don't want to get married either, I don't want to." "What's wrong?" "How should I know?" "The world may be falling apart but that's no reason to flout traditions." "The Saint-Meran tradition is to have grand and noble marriages." "Isn't Franz a grand and noble catch?" "The best imaginable." "Lets stop imagining, then, Today is Tuesday." "Saturday at the latest our little Valentine will be Baroness dEpinay." "Your ticket, young man." "May I speak with you?" "No I'm expected." " I'll be brief, You'll see the show" " I don't care." "I've seen it." "Let go, I'm meeting..." "Mademoiselle de Villefort?" "Do you love her?" "Why?" "Who are you?" "I need the truth, Then I'll let you go." " I'll scream" " Fine." "I'll say you tried to rob me you'll protest." "They'll detain us and you'll miss your meeting." "Let go, I'll answer you." "Yes." "I love Valentine." "Does she love you too?" " Do you know who her father is?" " The Crown Prosecutor." "Few men have been as ruthless to others as him." "It's Valentine I love, He can go to hell." "He probably will, Hear me out." "You love Valentine for her beauty?" "Don't trust that." "What would you know of love and beauty?" "I wasn't always a priest, Anyway, this isn't about me." "You're sure Valentine is the one?" "Then go to her." "Hurry, the show is about to start, The magician won't wait." "I just can't escape this marriage." "I've spent two days in my room examining all the possible solutions." "I'm a minor and the law..." "And if I told you I know a country where there are no laws?" "Algeria." "It's so far away." "I only have one ship left." "But it's in Marseille, the Pharaon can be ready to sail in a week." "An abduction?" "You're mad..." "Say 'yes'." "I can't hurt my father and grandmother." "You'd rather hurt me?" "Fine I know what I must do." "Yes forget me." "After the show." "I'll go to a gunsmith." "I'll buy a gun load it and sit by a fountain." " A fountain?" "'" " The sound will drown the shot." " Not even the pigeons" " Very well." "You agree?" "The gun?" "The fountain?" " My suicide?" " I agree to Algeria." "You wont change your mind?" "Not if you marry me once we're there..." " No" " What no?" "We won't wait." "Once we're on the Pharaon, the captain will marry us." "Listen." "Tonight at eleven meet me at the gate." "I'll have a carriage." "Bring no bags, We'll buy what we need." "Stupid foolish young Maximilien falling in love with the wrong girl." "What does she have he likes so much?" "Beauty?" "Certainly." "She's so insipid, Too blond, too milky-white." "That's just it, She's a brioche." " She's like a brioche" " A brioche!" "Mme de la Richardais to see the Count." "You're off to a fancy dress ball?" "Can I come?" "It's so long since I made myself up." "What should I go as?" "A brioche." "I can just see it, A cheeky little round hat the colour of toast." "A dress a bit lighter than the hat With big flounces for the sides of the brioche." "He calls her Brioche." "Her mouth smells of vanilla." "He says he's harder than a rock." "They sit closely under the arbour." "My goodness, happiness is so close." "For Cocles to finance the voyage to Janina." " So?" " It's full of gold and jewellery." " Let's go" " We'd better wait until it's dark." "You shouldn't visit unexpectedly." "Yes I do." " On what?" " Settlements of debts people owe me." "I came because I missed you 53 hours without you." "53 hours?" "You count them?" " And the minutes" " And the seconds?" "I don't have a precise stopwatch." "You will tomorrow." "No more presents." "It's your presence I want." "What for?" "Something like this, for instance." "But you who know all can teach me." "Your song didn't lie, You smell of vanilla." "Do you like vanilla?" "I think so." "But if you don't mind I'd like to make sure." "The contents of the cabinet alone are worth a visit." "There's a trick to opening it but I saw him do it." "Seeing is one thing but going in..." "It's easy, Darkness a good ladder and a sharp diamond for the window-pane." "What if we're seen?" "You'd commit murder?" "You'd dare?" "If we're caught, you know what we'll get as escapees?" "Hey Squire." "What?" "It's midnight." "We've been waiting for an hour." "I'll go and check, Stay here." "Dead!" "She's dead." "I can't believe it." "And in such terrible circumstances." "Did she suffer?" "Atrociously, You only need to see her contorted face." "The poison which killed her was badly dosed." "Hence the uncontrollable pain and endless suffocation." "Poison?" "I think you're jumping to conclusions." "Who could have hated her that much?" "I think suicide is more probable." "Why would she have done that?" "Especially at her age." "There's no age for a desperate act." " Mademoiselle de Villefort?" " Upstairs but the poor lady..." "Maximilien Morrel." "I'm a friend..." "Whoever you are, thanks for coming so fast." "How did you hear the terrible news?" "Is this..." "Where she rests?" "Yes sir." "But I warn you we haven't had time to lay out the corpse." "I thought..." "I was so afraid." "She was dying just as I was about to join you, I couldn't run off like that." "You did the right thing, But will you be angry if I think of us?" "This tragedy might be a miracle." "A miracle?" "You said she wanted to hasten your wedding to Franz." "Her death is sad." "But we can breathe." "Before she died, my poor grandmother asked as a last favour..." "What did she ask?" "That the wedding take place on the very evening of her funeral." "Tomorrow I'll be married." "She spoke of some debt our family owed to the dEpinays." "My father promised and you don't go back on an oath made at a deathbed." "Where did I put this certificate?" "Wretched glasses!" "Here we are." "No, this is the will of Marchioness de Vetheuil." "What is this?" "The sale of the Hotel Gisors." "Nothing to do with today's bussiness but don't worry." "I'll find it." "I can't sign a marriage contract the day Grandma's buried." "I'm signing since you're a minor, Just say you're present." "Here we are." "If everyone's ready we'll start." "In preparation for their marriage today appear Franz Alphonse Christian dEpinay officer bachelor future husband acting on his own behalf." "And Mademoiselle Valentine Julie Marie de Villefort Minor his future wife." "Finally the." "Dowry Of Mademoiselle de Villefort will be 50000 gold francs." "Excuse me." "Wasn't it 100.000 francs?" "We would have loved to be more generous." "But my father-in-law acted on a whim as old people do And disinherited the three of us." "We must protect our future." "You're not marrying for money." "Of course not, It's out of love, Deep sincere and unselfish love." "All parties having approved The contract they will now sign before me Jacques Alphonse Delafosse." "Issued in Paris on 21 July 1838." "If you would care to sign." "Are you happy?" "I am." "Were it not for the funeral." "This would be my happiest day." "You're not saying anything?" "There's nothing to say." "Don't sign it." " What's all this?" " Forgive me." "Mr. Noirtier wishes to see Lieutenant d'Epinay." "Tell him we'll see him when were done." "Mr. Noirtier insists you come now." "He says is a very serious matter." "This one, isn't it?" "Are we here to redecorate?" "There's a note, Should I read it?" "Or give it to someone?" "To whom?" "The confession in this note forces me to break all ties with your family." "Please leave us." "You too." "Barrois." "What does this note say?" "Franz nearly married the granddaughter of his father's killer." "This is a confession signed by my father Before he became paralysed and in which he admits..." "He's a murderer?" "Not a murderer thank God." "My father killed Baron dEpinay but not in a way that makes him a criminal." "No it was a duel." "Without witnesses, which explains why the police thought dEpinay was murdered." "A duel with swords is that right?" "On the banks of the Seine." "The fight lasted an hour, the swords broke and you continued with guns." "That's it." "Am I right?" " You knew?" " Yes." "Twenty years ago a man accused by an anonymous letter appeared before me." "He was a young sailor arrested at his engagement party, I remember his name." "Edmond Dantes." "On Elba he'd been given a letter from Napoleon to you." "The letter said that the ex-Emperor was preparing to flee the island to seize power back in France." "Your mission was to help him by eliminating Napoleon's worst enemy." "Baron dEpinay." "Yes, I know." "You never received that letter." "To protect you to save you, I burnt it and reduced it to ashes." "With no letter how did your father..." "Accomplish a mission he knew nothing about?" "Instinctively, he knew it was his duty to eliminate dEpinay." "Correct?" "I too have always acted on instinct." "I've never needed orders to know a man Deserved death." "And the sailor?" "I had him put in solitary confinement at the Chateau d'If for life." "Just for being a messenger?" "I didn't know whether he'd read the letter, It was him or my father." "But now you'll free him won't you?" "It's too late." "He drowned trying to flee" " So unfair." "He can't take revenge on your father." "No lights Hassan, Fetch Muhammad." " We should have waited until dark" " That means moonlight." "This is too risky, We should have just blackmailed your father." "He'll be more useful if we're caught, Climb up." "You go." " No if anyone comes." "I'll hoot" " I can do that as well as you." "I get vertigo." "If you're chicken, I'll bleed you like a chicken." "Climb up." "I get vertigo." "Climb." "Two men with a ladder are trying to get in." " I'll take care of them" " No, let them come." "Men outside." " Thieves?" " Murderers." "If someone knows me, They want to kill me." "Or denounce you." "Too dangerous." "I'd say everything I know about Danglars Villefort and Morcerf." " Watch this floor" " Shall I tell the others?" "Hassan is a good strangler." "Don't panic, Pretend the house is empty." "Watch but don't shoot, I want to know who sent them." " There are only two?" " Go on." "These must be worth millions." "Millions!" "I'm very disappointed Caderousse." "Busoni?" "What are you doing here?" "And you?" "Me Father?" "As you can see." "I'm looking..." "Looking for what?" "Something to live on." "Isn't what I give you enough?" "Everything is so dear for an escapee." "To sleep under a roof to have a hot meal." "Even to wash they charge me ten times the price." "Or they threaten to turn me in." "Even you Father saintly as you are, if I begged you to let me go." "I know what you'd say." "All right Caderousse get going but buy my silence if you don't want me to turn you in to the police"." "So I'll give you everything I have quite willingly." "You can give it to your poor." "You'd sell your own parents." "One can be a priest without being a martyr." "Please." "Have mercy, I didn't mean to hurt you." "Killing a man doesn't hurt him." "It takes him closer to God." "Yes that's it." "So when the executioner places your neck under the blade..." " No please" " You stink." "Is fear making you stink?" "Did you shit yourself?" "Leaving already?" "May I go?" "Will you let me?" "That's up to God, Do you agree to be judged by Him?" "Let me go and I'll agree to anything." "It's a deal." "If you reach your lair safe and sound, it'll prove God forgives you." "And Busoni will forgive you too." "Pick that up." "No, I said it was for your poor." "My poor?" "I'll never find anyone poorer than you." "Pick it up ...and get lost." " Did you find it?" " Here." "Sorry." "I was taught to survive." "Not to share." "Fetch Muhammad." "Stop or I'll shoot." "Stop." "Don't kill me." "I give up." "Thank you." "Leave us." "A surgeon." "Send for a surgeon." "No surgeon cam help you." "You need a priest, Caderousse." "To hell with priests." "I don't believe in your God." "Why don't you?" "Because He doesn't exist." "If He did. the world wouldn't be so ugly." "Good people would be rewarded and bad people punished." "Remember, we've talked about this before." "You told me about Dantes." "Young Dantes, don't you remember?" "On your deathbed you think of Edmond Dantes?" "Yes, because he was punished." "And the others those who betrayed him are all rich and triumphant." "Your God isn't just." "He is, Caderousse." "God is just." "Look at me." "I am Edmond Dantes." "He's dead." "No he's alive." "He's by your side, holding your hand." "Look at me." "I'm alive." "Really alive." "You're Edmond Dantes?" "But if you're Edmond Dantes." "Then..." "Then what?" "Go on." "He's the first to pay, but not the worst traitor." "You're his friend Toussaint?" "Tie his hands behind his back." " We'll take him to the police" " And if they ask what he did?" " Say he's his father's son" " If you knew him, you'd be shaking." "If you knew who I am you'd know it's your father who's going to shake." "Well done." "Nice race." "First prize." "Congratulations." "Well done, son." "Nice race." " Thanks but it's an unfair victory" " Unfair?" "I'm not exactly an amateur when it comes to boats." "Of course." "Your long voyage in the East." "Don't you miss the sea?" "Miss many things." "I miss many things." "Despite of your fortune?" "Come on you can afford anything you dream of." "I don't dream much." "My nights are heavy." "What a strange man you are." "One could almost think you're unhappy." "Is it too late to go for a row?" "It's true, you row well." "A real sailor." "Do you like sailors?" "That's a very strange question." "What question?" "Whether I like sailors or not." "I'm just making conversation." "We don't know what to say to each other." "Like all gentlefolk making acquaintances." "In Paris we call it modesty." "...if we shared secrets, no one could hear." " Do you have a secret to tell me?" " Me?" "No And you sir?" "No." "Madam." "Very well, no secrets I'm Mercedes de Morcerf and my life has no secrets." "Yet you and I have a past." "We were young once." "Were you happy then?" "Up to a certain point." "And you?" "Up to a certain day." "She was the one who asked for a ride." "I really wanted to go too." "He'll take you when he come back." "I don't want him to exhaust himself and it's getting late." "Tell him I went back to Auteuil." "What if I let you call me Mercedes, at least when we're alone?" "Thank you." "It's a lovely name." "I like saying it." "And in return what should I call you?" "As you wish." "Let's see." "Why not Emile?" "Emile takes us to the sun." "It's cold here." "No." "I don't like Emile." "Try something else." "Since we're on the letter 'E'... why not Edmond?" "Edmond, please take me to the sun." "We're init, Mercedes." "We're in full light even." "isn't it blinding?" "Yes it's burning my eyes now." "You must know I'm not happy." "My husband..." "We said no secrets." "Accept them." "I've never been able to talk to anyone." "Why me?" "Because you're just passing through Paris." "You don't count." "You're like a cloud." "Listen, Mr. Cloud." "I loved another man." "I loved him madly." "We were engaged when he disappeared in strange circumstances." "Suddenly and dramatically." "Disappearances don't happen except in death." "In other cases, you dig, scrape, search and find." "Or find again." "What do you think?" "Of course I tried to find out where he was." "His father said Edmond was dead." "His name was Edmond?" "Pure coincidence." "You're right." "I'll give you another name." "I don't want you to have a dead mans name." "Even if it's just a game." "A game yes..." "As a child, I feared the moment when my father called out: "It's late." ""Come inside"." "It was always around this time." "Your father was right to call you." "It's true that its late." "Much too late." "Grandad, Maximilien wanted to thank you." "Mr. Noirtier I wont forget what you did for us." "It must have been hard to face Franz dEpinay when you heard the truth." "From now on Valentine and I will look after you." "Without forgetting Barrois." "Here is some cool lemonade Valentine made for you." "Aren't you thirsty?" "Well, I am." "It's so hot tonight." "The summer is refusing to end." "With your permission..." "Icy drinks are dangerous when it's hot." "An old beast like me fears nothing." "I almost burned in Moscow and survived crossing the Beresina, so..." "My God." " What's wrong with him?" " I don't know." "I'll call Father." "He's with Dr dAvrigny." "Don't stay." "Its not wise." "These are common medicinal plants." "Separately, yes." "But certain combinations can be highly toxic." "Your mother-in-law..." "Can you imagine her poisoning herself playing amateur chemists?" "Come quickly." "His pulse is barely perceptible." "He must vomit." "Run to the nearest chemist and ask for the most powerful emetic." "The lemonade." "It started after I drank some lemonade." "Oh, it hurts." "What lemonade?" "The lemonade... over there." "Yes, it's lemonade." "Did you make it?" "No, it was it was Mademoiselle Valentine." "He's dead." "I won't go." " Yes, you will." "I entered your service." "You can't make me work for someone else." "What am I to you?" "Some commodity?" "Some slave you can lend, hire or sell?" "I'm lending you to the Villeforts." "But you're still at my service." " More than ever" " Elsewhere?" "With Valentine." "Serve me by protecting her." "Unbelievable." "It's beyond me." "A few days ago, you wanted her to drink a vile potion so her father would die of grief." "And now I'm to protect her?" " Why?" " Do you know sophistry?" "No." "And I don't care." "An example:" "Socrates is mortal." "All cats are mortal, so Socrates is a cat." "Amusing, subtle even, but completely stupid." "Here's another sophism." "I like Maximilien, Maximilien likes Valentine, so I like Valentine." "She's in danger." "Need I go on?" "Fine I'll be her nanny." "It's a good thing she's pretty." "Your bottle, Nanny." "At the slightest sign of illness, give her that." "What makes you think The Villeforts will have me?" "Heloise told me all their servants are leaving." "You'll be like the Messiah." "I'm here for the position." "We're glad to see you." "Come in." "Your meal is on the table." "And the rest?" "You'll find out." "I'm not staying in this cursed house." "Why cursed?" "Aren't you happy here?" "In a week, two people have died:" "Poisoned." "That's not my idea of happiness." "Better safe than sorry." "The analysis report on the lemonade that killed Barrois is very revealing." "He was poisoned." "A mixture of digitalin and hemlock." "It couldn't fail." "Nonsense." "My father drank some of that lemonade - and suffered no symptoms." "...he's literally stuffed with pills." "I know." "I prescribe them." "They probably stopped the effects of the poison by acting as permanent antidotes." "Have Mme de Saint-Meran's body exhumed and examined." "I bet the same poison will be found." "Never." "I'll do no such thing." "I understand the truth scares you." "IT was Valentine who made the lemonade." "Shut up." "You're out of your mind." "She had nothing against the servant." "She was aiming at Noirtier." "But by a tragic accident, Barrois drank from his master's glass." "That's absurd." "He disinherited her." "An act of senility, Valentine doesn't care." "Outwardly only." "Young girls are deceitful." "Come in." "I'm Bertuccio." "Your new steward." "Nothing, sir But you rang." "Really?" "I don't think so." " You said you needed a cognac" " Right away." "I'll drink it alone." "I don't want to share anything with you any more." "Leave and never return." "Fine." "I said what I thought." "Listen, Villefort." "Unfair and intolerable as it may seem." "Valentine must be rendered harmless." "Her demure appearance hides a mad woman whose perverted nature may prompt acts of insanity if crossed." "It's keeping me awake at night." "I know what awaits Valentine if you denounce her." "No, you don't know..." "You've never seen someone's head roll." "I have." "I've seen hundreds." "Close up." "I've seen abject terror in their eyes." "I've touched their skin covered in a cold sweat which had the smell of death." "I've heard their teeth chattering to the point of breaking." "Should I inflict that on my daughter?" "You're a monster to." "Suggest it." "We could avoid it and obtain confinement." "In a madhouse?" "Treated like a rabid animal, tied up day and night?" "Now you listen." "Repeat a word." "Of this and I'll throw you in jail." "In jail?" "On what pretext?" "Trust me." "I'll find something." "I'm used to it." "All right." "I'll keep quiet." "But I pity you." "Above all." "I'm afraid for you You could be the next victim." "Anyone living in this house could be." "Get out." "My dear..." "I heard everything." "She's my daughter." "No one will harm her." "She won't leave the house I've locked her in her room." "You did well." "But I fear she hates being imprisoned." "It might be better if she turned on me instead of you." "Where's the key?" "In her door." "I'll go." "Have a rest." "Leave it all to me." "Can I taste it now, Count?" "I love it when your mouth politely says "Count' while your eyes beg:" ""Kiss me like a chef"." "How do chefs kiss?" "It's delicious." "Why are you here?" "Lm afraid." "Afraid?" "Fear doesn't exist." "It's just an illusion." "Go back." "I'm afraid for her." "Valentine?" "What Valentine?" "Valentine de Villefort." "That little girl?" "What is it?" "Some doctor thinks Valentine poisoned Barrois and Mme de Saint-Meran." "The lemonade Barrois drank really contained poison." " What kind?" "A mixture of hemlock and digitalin." "Damned woman." "Now her mixture works." "She won't stop there." "You too think she's guilty?" "She's in danger." "Go back there." "Don't let anyone in Valentine's room, especially Heloise." "I'll join you later." "How can I enter?" "I don't know the house well yet." "Maybe the roof..." "Fine." "Go back and look out for me." "You should be with Valentine." "Run along." "You look preoccupied." "I don't like it." "A slight inconvenience." "Nothing important." " Except..." " Except?" "Except I was hoping to keep you with me after dinner." "Yes, keep me with you." "My house is so cold." "Please, I want to stay with you." "By your side." "Right up against you." " Be sensible" " Why?" "It can wait until tomorrow night." "Impossible." "Its tonight I'm expected." "By whom?" "Not a woman, I hope." "If death looks like a woman, then yes." "Bertuccio, what are you doing here?" "What you should be doing." "Protecting Valentine." "What do you mean?" "Is she in danger?" "Don't worry." "We're looking after her now." "You say that, but you're only Bertuccio." " Of course" " I didn't mean it." "No but I mean it myself." "Don't worry, sir I'm not alone." " There's another man" " What man?" "He's my master, but I'll soon see him as a friend." "One day I'll stop calling him 'sir' and I'll hug him." "Come on to work." "Wake up." "Wake up for Gods sake." "Wake up, little toad." "I need you." "Wake up." "Well done." "Bertuccio." "Careful." "Careful." "The stairs creak." "Mademoiselle de Villefort's room." "Poor child, all these events have exhausted you." "Here's something to help you sleep." "I don't need anything." "I was sleeping fine." "With this, you'll sleep even better." "With this, you'll sleep even better." "Drink up." "That's good." "Drink it until the last drop." "There, there." "There, my child." "Sleep well." "Good night." "Quiet or we've had it." "And you won't see Maximilien again." " What did that drink taste like?" " The taste?" "Be more precise." "You life is at stake." "A pleasant taste of plants." "Where's the phial I gave you?" " The antidote" " I don't have it any more." "They gave me dinner and I was suspicious, so I drank all of it." "I can hardly breathe." "Run to the laboratory." "There's antidote left." "Seventh test tube in the rack." "I'm cold." "Very cold." "Faster, do you hear me?" "Hurry." "It's me, Captain Cocles." "Mission accomplished." "I know it's late but please could you tell The Count of Monte Cristo the news?" "Wonderful, but later." " Where's the coachman?" " He left." "Come on, please." "Hurry up." "Someone's coming." "We only have seconds." "Thank God the antidote acts faster than the poison." "Just in time." " She's saved." "Temporarily Heloise will try again when she sees the poison didn't work." "She'll concoct another one and I wont know the formula or the antidote." "Excuse me." "What will my punishment be?" "Because of me, she almost died." "I'm not infallible either." "At last, it's you, Count." "It's unbelievable." "What a night." "First we wait at your house, then we come here..." "The Turks are less twisted than your Bertuccio." "Oh, my God." "Haydee." "If you knew where I found her." "And in what state!" "I know." "I can guess what she endured." "I'll take the reins." "I'm suffocating." "I need air." "Welcome, madam." "I'm the Count of Monte Cristo." "And I'm your slave, since you were kind enough to buy me." "I didn't buy you." "I freed you." "You were imprisoned." "I hate jails." "I know." "I should have left." "But I was curious to find out what you meant by a 'meeting with death'." "Your sort of death is very pretty." "This young woman has suffered a lot." "Young women who suffer are your secret." "I'm Camille de la Richardais." "I've suffered quite a lot too." "Widowed after only two years I fell in love with someone I thought was a man." "He's in fact an owl or a bat." "A beast who likes to roam at night and never stays in a warm bed." "Thanks for saying "in love"." "We'll discuss the rest later." "You must be exhausted." "Muhammad will prepare your room." "Wouldn't a hotel be better?" "No one must know she's in Paris." "I demand total secrecy for her safety and my plans." "Since you know my house, madam, make sure she wants for nothing." "Thank you." "Captain." "You also asked for some documents." "Here they are." "Beauchamp, I asked for an article on Victoria's first year on the throne." "This isn't a political article." "It's a declaration of love." "It's just that with her nineteen years, her pretty round face and her shy smile." "She's a charming queen." "Very urgent." "We'll let the Queen of England grow up." "I have here something explosive." "Read this." "If it's true." "What a scandal." "Do you trust this information?" "I trust the man who sent it." "I hope so or I'll lose my newspaper." "For now, let's be cautious." "We'll light the fuse, but won't explode the bomb." "Letter from Janina"." "Let's hope you never fight in a duel." "Not against me anyway." "A bullet in the heart is no punishment." "A true punishment should last ages." " Have you ever missed your target?" " Never." "Teach me." "Enrol with the master." "The next session is Saturday." "I've no time." "You saved my life in Rome." "Don't let me die in Paris." "Albert, what is it?" "I'm fighting a duel." " You?" " I've been offended" " By whom?" " Beauchamp" " The journalist?" " Aren't you friends?" " Not any more." "Read this." ""Letter from Janina"." "Where's the offence?" "It says a certain Fernand an officer serving in Greece." "Betrayed the Sultan Ali Pasha handing him over to the Turks." "Signed Beauchamp." "A certain Fernand?" "That concerns you?" "My father's name." "Hundreds of people are called Fernand in Paris alone." "It's a common name." "If 'common' is insulting, let's say 'fashionable'." "Serving under the Sultan of Janina?" "The allusion to my father is obvious." "If you say so." "If your father has been attacked." "It's not your affair to defend him." "It's his." "Luckily he doesn't know about it." "He sees 'Le Messager' as the organ of the enemy." "What if your father had been insulted?" "My father?" "They did worse than insult him." "They made him die of grief." " Haven't you tried to avenge him?" " Yes." "You see?" "I have choice of weapons." "I fence well, but Beauchamp can't hold a sword." "He prefers pistols." "We were friends once and a duel is not a murder so I chose pistols." "But I'm no good." "So you're replacing murder by suicide?" "Not if you teach me." "I refused Making a marksman out of Albert means taking aim at Beauchamp." "He based his article on a document I sent him myself." "Albert is innocent." "Must children pay for their parents' faults?" "In that case, Valentine too..." "If I confound Fernand today, his son won't have to fight." "I hope not anyway." "But with Valentine..." "Heloise is always around her, offering coffee or blackcurrant." "We could save Valentine from her step-mother." "Remember the toad to which I gave the deep sleep potion?" "I don't like it." "No." "But it's the only way." "In the meantime." "Go back to your protegee I'll see you tomorrow at ten."