World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 186 Stepmother
Valentine was alone in the room.Two big clocks, which moved slower than the big clock of St. Philip's Church in Ruhr, sounded 12 o'clock at midnight from different places near and far.Then, except for the occasional sound of a carriage driving in the distance, there was silence all around.Valentine was thinking of nothing at the moment, and was listening to the pendulum of the wall clock in her room ticking and ticking.She began counting seconds by seconds, and found that the pendulum was swinging back and forth half as slow as her own heartbeat.She still had doubts and beliefs in her heart. Valentine had never thought of harming anyone, so how could she imagine that someone would actually kill her?Why do you want to kill her?For what purpose?What wrong had she done to cause others to hate her so much?

There is no doubt that she does not feel sleepy at this time.Only one thought, a dreadful thought, clenched her mind, that there was indeed a man in the world who had not only tried to kill her in the past, but had never stopped trying to kill her.What if this time the man saw that the poison had no effect, and, as Monte Cristo just said, he used iron!What if the Count doesn't arrive in time!What if she really reached the end of her life!What if she never saw Morrel again!Thinking of this, Valentina's face turned pale with fright, and her face was covered with cold sweat. She almost rang the rope bell to call for help.But she felt that through the door of the study, she could see the earl's piercing eyes.This gaze has been deeply etched in her memory, thinking of this gaze, she felt very ashamed, she secretly asked herself, if she really called someone to come over, wouldn't all the hard work the count did out of chivalry be in vain?

20 minutes, this long and difficult 20 minutes finally passed, and then another 10 minutes later, the wall clock that was one second faster finally struck 12:[-] with a crisp sound.At this moment, there was an almost inaudible tapping of fingernails on the wooden door of the study, telling Valentine that the count had been watching over there, and telling her to be more careful.Sure enough, on the opposite side of the study door, that is, on the side of Edward's room, Valentine felt as if she heard a sound on the floor. She pricked up her ears to listen carefully, and she didn't even dare to take a breath. Living.At this time, the lock button on the door clicked lightly, and the door slowly turned on its hinges.Valentine, who had been sitting on the bed on her elbows, hastily let go of her arms and lay down on the bed, throwing one arm over her eyes.She was trembling all over, waiting anxiously, only feeling that her heart was gripped by an indescribable fear.

Someone came up to the bed, touching the curtains.Valentina tried her best not to move, and deliberately breathed lightly and evenly, pretending to be sleeping soundly. "Valentine!" cried a voice softly.The girl was shocked, but said nothing. "Valentine!" cried the voice again.There was still no sound, and Valentine, as she had just agreed, would never show the slightest sign of being awake.Then the whole room seemed to stand still, except for a faint, almost inaudible sound, which Valentina perceived as the pouring of some water into the glass she had just emptied.One arm had been draped over her forehead over her eyes, and now she ventured to lift her eyelids a little and saw a woman in a white bathrobe pouring a vial of liquid medicine into the empty glass.For a split second Valentine may have held her breath, or perhaps she had stirred, for the woman stopped suddenly, restlessly, and bent over Valentine's bed to see if she was really asleep.The woman turned out to be Madame de Villefort.

Seeing that it was her stepmother, Valentine shuddered so violently that the bed shook.Madame de Villefort immediately slipped to the wall, hid herself behind the curtain of the bed, and stood there silently, not taking her eyes off every slight movement of Valentine.Valentina recalled the words of Monte Cristo that had frightened her, and she fancied she saw that the hand was holding not a medicine bottle, but something like a long, thin, sharp knife, and she saw the cold light. .Then Valentine restrained herself with the utmost willpower, and tried to close her eyes.Although when we are afraid, the first reaction is to close the eyes, but at this moment, this function, which is usually the simplest, is almost extremely difficult, because the strong curiosity is always trying to drive us. Open your eyelids and see the truth of the matter clearly.

At this time, the room was still silent, only the sound of Valentine's regular breathing could be heard, and Madame de Villefort felt relieved, convinced that Valentine was in a deep sleep.Then the woman, half concealed behind the tucked-in curtain at the head of the bed, raised her arms again, and poured all the unfinished liquid from the vial into Valentine's glass, and she Withdrew, the footsteps were so light that no sound could be heard, and Valentine did not realize that she had gone.At that time, Valentine only saw that arm disappear. Although she didn't see anything else, she saw clearly a 25-year-old young woman with a good appearance. To the world.

Madame de Villefort remained in the room only a minute and a half, but we cannot express in words what was going on in Valentine's mind at that moment.The girl was just lying still, dazed, when the sound of fingernails tapping on the study door woke her up.She raised her head with difficulty.The door opened quietly again, and the Count of Monte Cristo entered.

"Well?" asked the count, "do you still doubt it?"

"Oh, my God!" murmured the girl.

"Did you see it?"

"Oh!"

"Do you recognize who it is?"

Valentine groaned. "Yes," she said, "but I can't believe it."

"So, you would rather die than let Maximilian die with you!"

"My God! My God!" said the girl, who seemed to be in a daze. "But I can't leave this house, can I just go away?"

"Valentine, this hand that seeks to murder you will follow you wherever you go. You can buy your servants for money, death will come to you in disguise, and will sneak into you to drink. into the water of your spring, into the fruit you pluck from the tree."

"But didn't you say that because of my grandfather's thoughtfulness, I already have the ability to resist poison?"

"It's just against one kind of poison, and it's not a large dose, but people can change the poison or increase the dose." He picked up the glass and licked his lips. "Look," he continued, "the medicine It has been changed, and the poison you are given now is not strychnine, but a common anesthetic. I can taste alcohol here, and this anesthetic is dissolved in alcohol. If you drink The potion that Madame de Villefort poured into your glass, Valentine, Valentine, you are doomed."

"But, my God!" said the girl, "why did she do this to me?"

"What? Don't you understand that, Valentine? You are so generous, kind, and totally devoid of defense."

"I don't understand," said the girl, "I never hurt her."

"But you are rich, Valentine. You have an income of two hundred thousand livres a year, and if you have an annuity of two hundred thousand livres, her son will not get them."

"How can you think like this? My property is not hers. It was bequeathed by my grandparents."

"There is nothing wrong with that, and it is for this reason that Mr. and Mrs. Saint-Meran died one after another. This is so that you can inherit the property of your grandparents. It is also for this reason that M. Noirquier appointed you as his property from him. From the day of the heir, he too was plotted, and for that reason, it is your turn to die at last, Valentina, so that your father may have your property, and your brother, being an only son, may have The property was inherited there."

"Edward! The poor boy, is it for him that all these crimes are committed?"

"Ah! You understand at last."

"Oh! my God! I hope all this doesn't come to him in the end."

"You are an angel, Valentine."

"But my grandfather, didn't he want to harm him later?"

"There are considerations, because after you die, unless your younger brother loses his right of inheritance, the property will naturally belong to him. If you think about it this way, it would be superfluous and dangerous."

"A woman's head for such a plan! Oh, my God! My God!"

"Think of Perugia, of the grape arbor of the inn, of the man in the brown cloak, did not your stepmother ask the story of the Tofana potion? Oh! A whole set of outrageous schemes was brewing in her mind."

"Oh, sir," cried the good-natured girl, with tears streaming down her cheeks, "I see, it is true, and I must die."

"No, Valentine, no, for I have foreseen all these plots. You will not die, because our enemy has been defeated, because she has been found out. No, you will live, Valentina." To love, to be loved, you must live; to live a happy life, to make a noble heart happy, you must live. But to live, Valentine, you You should trust me completely."

"Command me, sir, what shall I do?"

"Do what I tell you to do, don't ask why."

"Oh! God is my witness," cried Valentine, "if I were but a man, I would be willing to die!"

"Don't tell anyone about it, not even your father."

"My father has nothing to do with this terrible conspiracy, has he, sir?" said Valentine, clasping her hands.

"No connection, but your father knows how to prosecute criminal cases. He should have thought that it is extremely abnormal for people to die again and again in his family. It should be your father who protects you, and he should be in my position at this moment. He should have emptied the glass, and he should have risen up against the murderer," exclaimed Monte Cristo, and at last, lowering his voice, "The devil has ruled the devil."

"Sir," said Valentine, "I will try my best to live, because there are two people in this world who love me so much that if I die, they will die too, my grandfather and Maximilian." .”

"I'll take care of them as I took care of you."

"Well, sir, do your bidding," said Valentine, and then, lowering her voice, said to herself: "Oh, my God! my God! what will become of me?"

"Whatever happens to you, Valentine, don't panic. If you feel sick, if you lose sight, hearing, and touch, don't worry. If you wake up and don't know where you are, even if you Don't be afraid to wake up and find yourself in some dark tomb or nailed in a coffin. You have to remind yourself immediately and say to yourself, 'At this very moment, there is a friend, a Father, a good man who wishes me happiness and Maximilian's happiness, in short, such a good man who protects me!'”

"Ah! ah! what a dreadful end!"

"Valentine, don't you think it's enough to expose your stepmother's conspiracy?"

"I'd rather die a hundred times! Oh! Yes, rather die!"

"No, you will not die. Will you promise me that no matter what happens, you will not mourn, but hope?"

"I will think of Maximilian."

"You are my dear daughter, Valentine. I alone can save you, and I will."

Horrified, Valentine felt that it was time to pray to God for courage, so she sat up on the bed, put her hands together and began to pray, whispering brokenly, forgetting that her white shoulders were only covered by her long hanging hair. Covered, and did not think that through the delicate lace of her pajamas, she could see her heart beating.The count lightly pressed the girl's arm with one hand, and pulled the velvet up to her neck, and then he smiled again like a fatherly man. "My daughter," he said, "believe in me, as you trust in a merciful God and in Maximilian, who loves you dearly."

Valentine looked at the count with gratitude in her eyes. She sat motionless on the bed, exactly like an obedient and docile child.At this moment the count took out his little emerald box from his waistcoat pocket, lifted its pure gold lid, and poured a pill the size of a bean into Valentine's right hand palm.Valentine took up the pill with her other hand, and fixed her eyes on the count, seeing a majestic and extraordinary air on the face of this resolute protector.Obviously, Valentine was asking the count with her eyes.

"Yes," replied the count.

Valentine put the pill in her mouth and swallowed it.

"And now, my child, good-bye," said the count, "I shall try to sleep a little too, for you are saved."

"Go away," said Valentine; "whatever happens to me, don't worry, I will never be afraid."

Monte Cristo watched the girl for a long time, and the girl gradually fell asleep under the effect of the anesthetic the count had just given her to swallow.The count then took the glass, poured a large portion of it into the fireplace, so that others would think Valentine had drunk it, and put the glass on the bedside table.Then he went to the door of the study, disappeared immediately, and before leaving, he cast a last glance at Valentine, who had fallen asleep peacefully like a simple angel sleeping at the feet of God. .

(End of this chapter)