World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 194 Sharing (1)
The hotel that Albert Mocerf chose for his mother and himself was located on the Rue Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The rooms on the second floor of this hotel were connected into a complete small suite, and they were all rented out to a Very mysterious character.This mysterious figure was a gentleman whose face was never seen clearly by the concierge when he came in and out of the hotel, because in winter he was like a coachman of a rich family waiting for his master at the door of the theater, and the whole lower part of his face was covered with a red scarf , and in the summer, whenever he passed the porter's cubicle, when he might meet people face to face, he would blow his nose in his handkerchief.It should be said that this situation violated the regulations of the authorities on the hotel. No one knew who the tenant was. It was rumored in private that he was an important official and influential figure, so he kept his name incognito. After the word spread, everyone kept a respectful distance from him coming in and out in such a mysterious way, and didn't dare to ask questions about this and that again.

He usually comes to the hotel at a fixed time, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later, but he always enters his chartered suite around 4 o'clock in the afternoon all year round, but he never stays here overnight.This small apartment has a maid as a housekeeper. This maid is discreet. She comes to light the fire at 3:3 in winter and brings ice cubes at 4:20 in summer. At four o'clock, as we have just said, the mysterious figure came. Twenty minutes later, a carriage came and stopped in front of the hotel. A woman, dressed in black or dark blue and always covered with a veil, walked out of the front of the concierge's small room like a ghost. Then she walked up the stairs softly, her footsteps could not be heard on the stairs, and no one ever asked her which room she was going to.The two porters at the hotel never saw what the anonymous figure looked like, nor did they see what the woman looked like.Those two porters were so strict that they could be said to be model porters in countless hotels in the capital, perhaps they were the only ones like this.Needless to say, the woman stopped when she reached the second floor, and then she knocked on the door lightly in a special way, the door opened, and then closed tightly again, that was the end of what she could explain clearly to everyone.Leaving the hotel is exactly the same as coming in. The woman goes first, always with a veil on her face, and as soon as she gets into the carriage, the carriage leaves immediately, sometimes on one side of the street, sometimes on the other, in a flash. Then disappeared. After 20 minutes, the man came out, or covered his face with a scarf or a handkerchief, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

On the second day after the Count of Monte Cristo visited Tangra, that is, the second day after Valentine's funeral, the mysterious guest did not wait until around 4 o'clock in the afternoon as usual, but came to the hotel around 10 o'clock in the morning. his suite.Almost front and back, instead of a period of time in the middle as usual, a cab drove up to the hotel, and the veiled woman hurried upstairs.The door opened, then closed again.But before the door was completely closed, the woman cried out: "Oh, Lucien! Oh, my friend!" The porter, who had overheard the exclamation, knew for the first time that his lodger was Lucien, but he was a model porter, he said to himself, not even to his wife.

"Oh! what's the matter, my dear friend?" asked the man whose name had been revealed in the confusion or haste of the veiled woman. "Speak, speak."

"My friend, can I count on you?"

"Of course, you are clear. But what happened? I read your note this morning, and I was completely bewildered. You wrote so hastily, and your handwriting was so sloppy. Ah, tell me quickly, and So that I can relax, or else just scare me to death!"

"Lucien, things are getting serious!" The woman said suspiciously, staring at Lucien closely, "Mr. Tanglar slipped away last night."

"Gone! Mr. Tanglars gone? Where has he gone?"

"I do not know."

"What? You don't know? So he doesn't plan to come back now that he's gone?"

"Definitely not coming back. At 10 o'clock last night, he first took his own carriage to the gate of Charenton City. A sedan carriage at the post station was ready and the horses were waiting there. He took his valet got into that carriage, and told his own coachman that he was going to Fontainebleau."

"Ah! What did you just say?"

"Wait a minute, my friend. He left me a letter."

"Leave a letter?"

"Yes, see for yourself."

Then the baroness took out an open letter from her pocket and handed it to Debray.Debray did not read the letter at once, but hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to guess what it said, or rather as if he considered that whatever it said, he had to figure out how to deal with it first.Within a few seconds he seemed to have made up his mind, for he had begun to read the letter.This letter, which made Mrs. Tangla very upset, reads as follows:
Ma'am, my faithful wife:

Debray stopped without thinking, and glanced at the baroness, who was flushed.

"Read it!" she said.Debray then went on to read:
When you receive this letter, you will lose your husband!what!Don't panic too much.To lose your husband is to you the same as to lose your daughter, that is to say, at this moment I am on one of the thirty or forty roads I have taken to leave France.It is my duty to explain it to you, and as a woman like you must be able to understand such an explanation, I will explain it as follows.

I would like to tell you the truth: someone came suddenly this morning and asked to withdraw 500 million, and I paid the full amount. I don’t want to, and someone almost came one after another, asking to withdraw a huge sum of the same amount, and I postponed the payment until tomorrow.The reason why I go away today is to avoid the unbearable tomorrow.Surely you know the secret, don't you, madam, my dear wife?

I say you can, because you know my business as well as I do, if not better than I do.If you want to ask, my property was quite considerable not long ago, where is more than half of it transferred to today?I can't answer it myself, but you don't, and I have no doubt that you have a clear account in your mind.All women have an infallible instinct, and women have their own algebra invented by themselves, by which they can explain that wonderful and unspeakable wonder.And I only know my own accounts, and one day my accounts deceive me, but I don't know anything.

Did you ever feel that my decline was so rapid, ma'am?Have you ever been somewhat dizzy by the light of a fire that melted all my gold ingots?I, to tell you the truth, just saw the fire, I hope you can recover some gold from the ashes.

I fly away with this comforting hope, madam, my prudent wife.In conscience, I do not blame myself for abandoning you. You still have your friends, and the pile of ashes mentioned above, and what pleases you most, you have the freedom that I hereby return to you. .However, madam, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words from my heart.

I used to hope that you would work hard for our family's happiness and our daughter's property. At that time, I always closed my eyes philosophically, but now that you have reduced this family to ruins, I have no intention of doing it for others. Get rich and be willing to serve as a backing board.

When we got married, you were rich but not famous.Forgive me for being so blunt with you, however, I may just say what I know and you know, and I don't think that kind of rhetoric is unnecessary.I increased our property, and it continued unabated for fifteen years, until one catastrophe after another brought it up by the roots and overturned it.However, I am still at a loss as to why this nameless disaster happened, but I can say that it is purely innocent to me.

You, madam, have labored so hard, but you have only thought of increasing your own fortune, and you must have succeeded.So, today we parted, just like when we got together, you are rich, but you have a bad reputation.

do not.From today onwards, I will also work hard for my own affairs. Thank you for setting an example for me, and I will definitely follow suit. I would like to express my deep gratitude.

your faithful husband

Baron Tanglar

The baroness watched Debray all the while he read the long letter with embarrassment.The baroness saw that, despite his usual self-control, Debray twice involuntarily changed his countenance when he read the letter.After the conviction, Debray slowly refolded the letter and fell into thought.

"Then..." Mrs. Tangla said anxiously—it's not hard to understand why she was so anxious.

"Then, ma'am..." repeated Debray mechanically.

"After reading this letter, what do you think?"

"The idea is very simple, ma'am. Judging from this letter, I feel that Mr. Tangla had doubts in his heart when he left."

"Of course, but do you have nothing else to say to me besides this one?"

"I don't know what you mean by that," said Debray icily.

"He's gone! Flying away and never coming back."

"Oh!" said Debray, "don't think so, baroness."

"No, let me tell you, he will definitely not come back. I know him well. As long as it is his own business, once he makes up his mind, he will never turn back. If he thinks I'm still useful He will take me with him wherever he can. He is leaving me alone in Paris because it may be beneficial to his plan if we break up like this. Therefore, our breakup is irretrievable, and I am also You will be free forever." Mrs. Tangla said, the expression on her face was always begging.But Debray made no answer, and ignored her doubts, whether expressed in her eyes or in her heart. "What?" continued Madame Tangera, "won't you answer me, sir?"

"I just want to ask you a question, what do you plan to do in the future?"

"I was just going to ask you." Mrs. Tangera replied, feeling her heart beating.

"Huh?" said Debray. "So you want me to give you some advice?"

"Yes, I would like your advice," said the baroness anxiously.

"Well, since you want my advice," said Debray indifferently, "I advise you to travel."

"Travel?" Madam Tanglar murmured.

"That's right. As Mr. Tangra said, you are rich and completely free. Miss Eugenie's marriage has taken a turn for the worse, and now Mr. Tangra has disappeared. It's really a wave of ups and downs. In this case , at least I think it is necessary for you to leave Paris for a while. It is only essential that you let everyone know that you are deserted by your husband and that you are alone and without money, because a bankrupt's wife if You are still so well pampered, and people will not forgive you. To do the first step, you only need to stay in Paris for two weeks. You will tell everyone that you have been abandoned by your husband. To your best friend, Tell me in detail how your husband deserted you, and they will spread your words in society. Then you go away, leave your house, keep your jewelry, and your husband's property, Then everyone will say that you are detached and admire you. At this time, everyone knows that you have been abandoned by your husband, and everyone believes that you really have no money, because only I know whether you have money, and like me Such a partner is aboveboard, and I can tell you about the accounts now."

While Debray was talking, the baroness turned pale and kept silent.She was stunned, with a look of despair on her face, but Debray who spoke was just the opposite, completely calm and deaf. "Abandoned," said the baroness, "oh! indeed abandoned... Yes, you are quite right, sir, and no one doubts that I am indeed abandoned." Proud, and so devoted, but at this moment, all she can answer Debray is this one sentence.

"But rich, even very rich," continued Debray, taking a few sheets of paper from his purse and spreading them on the table.

Mrs. Tanglar ignored Debray, she just wanted to try her best to suppress her violent heartbeat and hold back the tears that she felt were about to burst out of her eyes.In the end, her self-esteem overwhelmed all other unreasonable thoughts. Although she couldn't restrain her beating heart, she at least held back a tear.

"Madame," said Debray, "we have been in partnership for almost six months. Your initial investment was 10 francs. Our partnership started in April this year. We started trading in securities in May, and that month we Earned 4 francs. In June, the dividend increased to 5. In July, our net income was 45 million francs. You know, we did Spanish bonds that month. , the lost money began to be recovered, and we got it all back at the end of the month. Yesterday I settled all the accounts since our partnership, and we have a total of 6 million francs, that is to say, 90 million each of us. Now," Debray went on Said, while posing as a stockbroker, flipping through his small book without haste, "the interest on this money in my hand is 7 francs."

"But," interrupted the baroness, "what's the matter with the interest? You don't pay interest on the money!"

"I beg your pardon, Madame," said Debray coldly, "you have authorized me to pay interest on this money, so I am not doing this on my own initiative. You will then have half the interest, which is 4 francs, plus your investment. The capital is 10 francs, and your part amounts to 134 francs. So, Madame," continued Debray, "in order not to be caught off guard, I withdrew your money the day before yesterday. You see, this time is nothing. , and, let's just say, I'm expecting you to come and ask me for an account at any moment. Your money is there, half in cash and half in checks. I say 'over there' because it's really there Put it aside, I don't think my own family is reliable, and those notaries are not tight-lipped people. As for real estate agents, they are more vocal than notaries. In addition, your family property, except for the part jointly owned by husband and wife In addition, you have no right to buy or own, so this money is your only property today. I put the money in a safe built in this closet. For more safety, this cabinet is I built it myself. Now," continued Debray, opening the closet door and then the safe, "now, Madame, here are eight hundred thousand-franc notes. Look, it's like a hot-stamped book. Thick album. In addition, this is a coupon of 800 francs. As for the remainder, I think it should be 1000 francs (the calculation in the original book is wrong.) This is the bank note issued by the bank where I deposited the money. The check paid, the banker is not Mr Tanglar, this check will definitely be cashed, you can rest assured."

Mrs. Donglas took the check, the coupon, and the wad of banknotes mechanically.Once such a huge sum of money was placed on the table, it seemed like a handful.With no tears in her eyes, but a sob and a whimper in her heart, Mrs. Tanglar put the banknotes in her handbag and locked them, put the coupons and checks in her purse, and then she stood pale and silent, and she It is rich, but she hopes to hear a kind word to comfort her.However, her waiting was in vain.

"Now, Madame," said Debray, "you have a very considerable fortune, with an income of nearly sixty thousand livres a year, a considerable sum for a woman who is likely to be alone for at least a year. There is With this money, you can do as you please, and if you think your share is not enough, you can use my share, madam, I will All I have, that is, to finance you with the 6 francs. Oh, of course iii lend you as a loan."

"Thank you, sir," said the baroness, "thank you, you know, for the money you have given me is a considerable sum for a poor woman who will not appear in society again, at least for a considerable time from now." It's already too much."

Debray was taken aback for a moment, but he collected himself and made a gesture which, to express it in the most polite way, would be to say: "You are welcome!"

Up to this moment, Mrs. Tanglars might have held some hope, but she saw Debray wave his hand in this indifferent way, squinting at people while waving, followed by a deep bow, and finally remained meaningfully silent.At this time, she raised her head, opened the door, and walked quickly to the stairs without trembling or hesitating. She had already dismissed the man who bid her farewell in such a way, and had no intention of paying her last farewell salute.

"Hey," Debray said after she left, "what a beautiful arrangement, she can stay at home and read novels, and although she can't play stock trading, she can still play cards." In his small book, he carefully ticked off the money he just paid one by one. "The remaining 106 million francs are mine," he said. "It's a pity that Ms. Villefort died! This young lady is very suitable for me in every way, and I can marry her." He deserved it. As usual, I waited until 20 minutes after Mrs. Tangla left before deciding to leave.For twenty minutes, Debray put his watch aside and settled his accounts.

(End of this chapter)