World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 133 Promise (1)
It was Morrel, who, since last night, could hardly live.With the instinct peculiar to lovers and mothers, he had anticipated that after Madame de Saint-Meran's return to Paris and the death of the Marquis, something would happen to the Villeforts which had something to do with his love for Valentine.The reader will see that Morrel's premonition was correct, and that he came to the iron gate by the chestnut grove with trepidation and dismay, but it was more than ordinary panic and suspicion that drove him there.

But Valentine didn't know that Morrel would come here to wait for her. He usually doesn't come at this time, so this meeting is completely coincidental. Or, Valentine's coming to the garden is due to the mutual understanding between lovers. .As soon as she came, Morrel called to her, and the girl ran to the iron gate. "Why are you here now?" she said.

"Yes, my poor friend," replied Morrel, "I have bad news to tell, and I want to hear what else is."

"Then it's really a family misfortune," said Valentine. "Just tell me, Maximilian. But to tell you the truth, the cup is full enough."

"My dear Valentine," said Morrel, trying to be calm and deliberate, "I beg you to listen to me, for what I have to say to you is very serious now. When are they going to marry you?"

"Listen," continued Valentine, "I don't want to hide anything from you, Maximilian. I've been talking about my marriage this morning. I've been counting on my grandmother, and I'm sure she will help." I don't think she not only approves of the marriage, but urges it to be done quickly. It is only because M. d'Epinet returns to Paris that the engagement will be signed the next day as soon as he arrives."

Maximilian couldn't help sighing deeply. He looked sadly and stared at the girl for a long time. "Hey!" he whispered. "It's terrible to hear the girl I love say these words calmly: 'Your departure has been fixed, and your execution will be in a few hours. But God I will do whatever I want if it cannot collapse, and I myself will never object.' Well, now that you have said it, we will wait for Monsieur d'Epinet, and sign the marriage contract as soon as he arrives, and since he arrives the second Today you belong to him, so tomorrow you will be Mrs. d'Epinet's wife, because he has returned to Paris this morning. V. Mocerf came in first, and I was about to suspect that my suspicions were wrong. Albert entered again, a young man, and the count exclaimed: 'Ah, Monsieur Franz d'Epinay!' It took all the strength and courage I could have in my heart to keep me from being lost. .But maybe my face is pale, maybe I'm shaking all over, but one thing is for sure, I have a smile on my face. After staying for 5 minutes, I left. What did they say in these 5 minutes? I didn't even hear it, I was already fascinated."

"Poor Maximilian!" whispered Valentine.

"I'll come here soon, Valentine. Well, as if my life and death depended on you, please answer me, what are you going to do?"

Valentine's heart was full of sorrow, and she just hung her head despondently.

"Listen," said Morrel, "we are in a serious and urgent situation, and it is not the first time that you have thought of it. I think we should not be helpless and melancholic at this time. It is of no use." , only those who are resigned and willing to swallow their grievances are like this. There are such people, and God undoubtedly takes care of these people in heaven, because they are willing to resign themselves to their fate on earth. But a competitive person will never let a moment go for nothing Precious time, once the blow of fate, he will immediately retaliate. Do you want to stand up and fight against the bad luck, Valentine? Tell me, I came to ask you this."

Valentine was trembling all over, and staring at Morrel with wide-eyed horror.The idea of ​​defying her father, her grandmother, her entire family had never crossed her mind. "What do you mean, Maximilian?" asked Valentine. "What do you mean by rebellion? Oh, that's treason! What? I'm going to disobey my father's orders? I'm going to Against the wishes of my dying grandmother? It's impossible."

Morrel was taken aback.

"You have a good heart to understand me, and you know me very well, my dear Maximilian, so I think you have been silenced. Let me fight! God will not promise me No, no, I will fight with all my might, I will fight myself, I will swallow my hatred as you say. It is impossible for me to break my father's heart and my grandmother's deathbed. "

"You are quite right," said Morrel, in a tone of great indifference.

"Why do you say such things to me? My God!" said Valentine dejectedly.

"I speak of a man who admires you, madam," said Morrel.

"Mademoiselle!" exclaimed Valentine. "Mademoiselle! Oh, how selfish! Seeing my desperate situation, she pretends not to forgive me."

"You are wrong, on the contrary, and I fully forgive you. You do not want to offend M. de Villefort, nor do you want to disobey the wishes of the Marchioness, so tomorrow you will sign the marriage contract."

"But, my God, what can I do?"

"Don't ask me, madam, because I am a judge unfit for such a case, and I am selfish, so it is impossible to judge right from wrong." Morrel replied, speaking very low, his hands clenched into fists, it seemed The anger in his heart is getting bigger and bigger.

"If you think I can take your advice, what would you suggest I do, Morrel? Well, please tell me. You can't just say 'You're not doing it right', you have to help with ideas. Row."

"Do you mean it, Valentine? Should I really advise? Speak!"

"Of course, my dear Maximilian, you are right, and I will follow your advice. You know very well that I have a deep attachment to you."

"Valentine," said Morrel, pushing aside a board that had become loose, "stretch your hand to show that you forgive me for my temper. I am really in a daze, don't you see? During the hour , all kinds of ridiculous thoughts popped up in my mind one after another. Ha! If you don’t want to listen to my idea..."

"Oh! . . . Tell me what you think!"

"It is so, Valentine."

The girl raised her eyes to the sky and let out a long sigh.

"I have nothing to worry about," continued Maximilian, "I have enough money for both of us, and I swear you will be my wife before my lips touch your forehead."

"You make me tremble," said the girl.

"Come with me," continued Morrel, "and I will take you to my sister, who is worthy to be your sister. We can hide somewhere in the provinces until our friends take you." We've made it through at home, and we'll go back to Paris. If you don't like this, we can go to Algiers, England, or America by boat."

Valentine shook her head. "I expected your idea, Maximilian," she said. "It's only a madman's idea, and if I don't stop you at once, I'll be even more irrational than you. I'm telling you the truth." Well, it can't be, Morrel, it can't be."

"So, you can do what fate will do for you, and you are completely resigned to fate, and you don't want to fight your own fate?" said Morrel, his face darkened again.

"Yes, I will never regret it until I die."

"Well, Valentine," said Maximilian, "I repeat, you are right. I am indeed mad, and you have told me that passion makes the most intelligent Becoming blind. So I thank you for thinking without passion. Well, it is settled, and from tomorrow you are the faithful fiancée of M. Franz d'Epinet. The so-called signing a marriage contract is just a formality. It’s like acting. It’s edited first, and the whole drama can only be played after the performance. Your betrothal to him is not in this form at all, but out of your own will .”

"You've failed me again, Maximilian!" said Valentine, "you've put your dagger at the wound again! If your sister follows the advice you just told me, tell me yourself Well, what are you going to do?"

"Miss," said Morrel with a wry smile, "I am selfish, as you have said, and because of my selfish nature, I don't care what other people do when they are in my situation. I only think about what I should do." I am thinking, I have known you for a year, and since the day I met you, I have placed all my hopes of happiness on your love. I am thinking, one day you finally told me that you love I, from this day on, I feel that all hope of my future lies in whether I can have you. I can't live without you. Now I don't think about anything, I just say to myself, life is bad, I thought I got I lost Paradise, and it was Paradise that I lost in the end. It happens a lot to a gambler, he loses not only what he has, but also what he doesn't have."

When Morrel said these words, his tone was very calm.For a moment Valentine looked intently at Morrel with wide-eyed eyes, and tried not to let Morrel see how disturbed she was.

"But anyway, what are you going to do?" asked Valentine.

"It is my honor to say farewell to you, miss. God heard my words and looked into my heart. I ask God to testify that I wish you peace, happiness and fulfillment in life. May you not have the leisure to think of me again." .”

"Ah!" murmured Valentine.

"Farewell, Valentine, farewell!" said Morrel, with a bow.

"Where are you going?" cried the girl, reaching through the iron gate and grabbing Maximilian's coat.She herself was disturbed, so she knew that the lover's calm demeanor was not true. "Where are you going?"

"I have a responsibility, I can't add trouble to your family. I want to set an example for all loyal and dedicated men, so that they know how to deal with things when they fall to my situation."

"Before you leave me, you must tell me what you intend to do, Maximilian?"

Maximilian just smiled sadly.

"Oh, tell me, tell me!" said Valentine, "you must make it clear to me!"

"Has your resolution changed, Valentine?"

"My resolution will not change, you are too unfortunate! You know it very well!" cried the girl.

"Well, farewell, Valentine!"

Valentina shook the iron gate desperately, no one would have thought that she had such great strength.Morrel was about to go away, when the girl stretched out her hands through the iron gate, bent her arms through the iron bars, and clenched them tightly. "What are you going to do? You must tell me!" she cried. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, don't worry," said Maximilian, standing three steps away from the iron gate. "I have suffered a lot myself, but I have no intention of blaming another man. Someone else might threaten you." , that he was going to settle accounts with Mr. Franz, to provoke him, to fight him. This behavior is too irrational. What has Mr. Franz to reproach himself in this matter? This morning He just met me for the first time, and he has forgotten about meeting me by now. He didn't even know I existed when your family decided to use a second surname for the two of you. So I agree Monsieur Franz has no rancor, and I swear to you I will never hold a grudge against him."

"Then whom do you hate? Me?"

"Hate you, Valentine? Oh, God forbid! Woman is holy, and a beloved woman is a saint."

"Do you hate yourself? What a wretched man you are!"

"I am the one to blame, am I not?" said Morrel.

"Maximilian," said Valentine, "Maximilian, come here, I want you to come here!"

Maximilian walked over with a smile on his face. If it wasn't for his pale face, anyone who saw him would think he was talking and laughing, just like usual. "Listen, my dear Valentine, my good Valentine," said he, in a tone both melodious and dignified, "that people like us are never ashamed, No face to face the world, face family and God. People like us can see each other's hearts at a glance, just like reading an open book. I'm not a novelist, and I can't play that sentimental drama, I Nor can I pretend to be Manfred or Antony. But, though I have spoken no rhetoric, nor magnanimity, nor swear words, I have committed my life to you. You ignore me, you You are right. I have already told you this, and I am only repeating it. In short, you ignore me, and my life is hopeless. Since you are leaving me, Valentine, I am alone in this world. My sister is very happy with her husband. Her husband is only my brother-in-law, that is to say, he is bound to me only by social convention. I am already in this world. No one needs me. My plan is this: I will wait until the last second before your marriage, because I don't want to miss any unexpected chance that we may encounter. For between now and the time of your marriage M. Franz d'Epinet may be dead, and just as your wedding is about to be celebrated, a thunderbolt may strike on the altar of the church where you were married. On. To a man condemned to death, everything seems plausible, and all kinds of miracles are possible to him when it comes to the means by which he can escape from death. So I say I will Wait, wait until the last hour. When my misfortunes are indeed irreparable, when everything is irreparable, when there is no hope left, I will write a secret letter to my brother-in-law, Write another letter to the Chief Constable, telling him my intentions, and go to the corner of some wood, to the cliff of some glen, to the bank of some river, and I'll blow my brains out with a single shot, Till then I will, to heaven's sake, remain the son of the most upright man in France."

Valentine trembled convulsively, her hands loosened from the iron bars, her arms fell limply by her side, and two large tears rolled down her cheeks.The young man in front of her looked sad, standing like a wooden man with a heart of stone.

"Oh! have pity on me," said the girl, "you'll live, won't you?"

"No, I swear on my honour," said Maximilian, "but what does it matter to you? You have done your duty, and you can have a clear conscience."

Valentine fell on her knees, clasped her hands to her breast, and her heart was about to break. "Maximilian," she said, "Maximilian, you are my friend and brother on earth, my true husband in heaven, I beg you, you should live like me, in spite of pain, Maybe one day we'll be together."

"Farewell, Valentine!" said Morrel.

"My God!" said Valentine, throwing up her arms with the utmost dignity, "you see, I want to be an obedient daughter, and I do everything I can: I Xun prayed, begged piously and begged bitterly, but God didn’t listen to my prayers, my begging, or my crying. That’s good,” she wiped away her tears, then said cruelly, “That’s good, I don't want to live with hatred, I'd rather die in shame. You want to live, Maximilian, I belong to no one but you alone. When will I leave? What time will I leave? Will I leave at once? Tell me, Tell me, I can go anytime."

Morrel, who was about to leave after taking a few steps, approached again, his face beaming with joy, and he stretched out his hands through the bars to Valentine. "Valentine," he said, "my dear friend, you should not speak to me like this, or let me die. If you love me as I love you, why should I force you?" What? You force me to live out of humanity, isn’t that what you mean? In that case, I would rather die.”

"In the end," murmured Valentine, "who in this world loves me? It is he. Who comforts me in my pain? It is he. In whom is my hope found?" Sustenance? On whom did my confused eyes find their way? On whom did my bleeding heart find comfort? It is him, it is him, everything depends on him. Oh! This time it makes sense You, Maximilian, I will go with you, I will give up my family, I will give up everything here. Oh, what an ungrateful man I am!" cried Valentine, sobbing, " I don't want anything, even my kind grandfather, I have forgotten him!"

"No," said Maximilian, "you will not part with him. You said that M. Noirquier seemed to be fond of me. Yes, you told him everything before we left, and you Get his permission and ask him to shield you from God. When we get married, he comes to live with us and he doesn't have one child but two. You told me how he was with you Speak, how do you answer his questions, I will soon learn this touching language expressed by the eyes. Go and talk to him, Valentine. Oh! I can assure you that what awaits us is not Disappointment, and that's the kind of happiness I want to give you."

"Oh! look, Maximilian, look, how you can touch my heartstrings. You have already said it almost to my heart, but what you said to me was the words of a madman. In fact, my father will curse me to death, I know him, his heart is like a stone, and he will never forgive me. So, listen to me, Maximilian, by some clever means, or by prayer, or by some unexpected Things, or other things, in short, if I can postpone the wedding by any means, you will wait, won't you?"

"Yes, I swear to you, can't you swear to me? You say that this abominable marriage will never take place, even if you are forced to drag you before the officials and priests who witnessed the marriage." Agree, don't you?"

(End of this chapter)