Chapter 5. The Marriage Feast
The morning’s sun rose clear and resplendent, touching the foamy wavesinto a network of ruby-tinted light.
The feast had been made ready on the second floor at La Réserve, withwhose arbor the reader is already familiar. The apartment destined forthe purpose was spacious and lighted by a number of windows, over eachof which was written in golden letters for some inexplicable reason thename of one of the principal cities of France; beneath these windows awooden balcony extended the entire length of the house. And although theentertainment was fixed for twelve o’clock, an hour previous to thattime the balcony was filled with impatient and expectant guests,consisting of the favored part of the crew of the Pharaon, and otherpersonal friends of the bridegroom, the whole of whom had arrayedthemselves in their choicest costumes, in order to do greater honor tothe occasion.
Various rumors were afloat to the effect that the owners of the Pharaonhad promised to attend the nuptial feast; but all seemed unanimous indoubting that an act of such rare and exceeding condescension couldpossibly be intended.
Danglars, however, who now made his appearance, accompanied byCaderousse, effectually confirmed the report, stating that he hadrecently conversed with M. Morrel, who had himself assured him of hisintention to dine at La Réserve.
In fact, a moment later M. Morrel appeared and was saluted with anenthusiastic burst of applause from the crew of the Pharaon, who hailedthe visit of the shipowner as a sure indication that the man whosewedding feast he thus delighted to honor would ere long be first incommand of the ship; and as Dantès was universally beloved on board hisvessel, the sailors put no restraint on their tumultuous joy at findingthat the opinion and choice of their superiors so exactly coincided withtheir own.
With the entrance of M. Morrel, Danglars and Caderousse were despatchedin search of the bridegroom to convey to him the intelligence of thearrival of the important personage whose coming had created such alively sensation, and to beseech him to make haste.
Danglars and Caderousse set off upon their errand at full speed; but erethey had gone many steps they perceived a group advancing towards them,composed of the betrothed pair, a party of young girls in attendance onthe bride, by whose side walked Dantès’ father; the whole brought up byFernand, whose lips wore their usual sinister smile.
Neither Mercédès nor Edmond observed the strange expression of hiscountenance; they were so happy that they were conscious only of thesunshine and the presence of each other.
Having acquitted themselves of their errand, and exchanged a heartyshake of the hand with Edmond, Danglars and Caderousse took their placesbeside Fernand and old Dantès,—the latter of whom attracted universalnotice.
The old man was attired in a suit of glistening watered silk, trimmedwith steel buttons, beautifully cut and polished. His thin but wiry legswere arrayed in a pair of richly embroidered clocked stockings,evidently of English manufacture, while from his three-cornered hatdepended a long streaming knot of white and blue ribbons. Thus he camealong, supporting himself on a curiously carved stick, his agedcountenance lit up with happiness, looking for all the world like one ofthe aged dandies of 1796, parading the newly opened gardens of theLuxembourg and Tuileries.
Beside him glided Caderousse, whose desire to partake of the good thingsprovided for the wedding party had induced him to become reconciled tothe Dantès, father and son, although there still lingered in his mind afaint and unperfect recollection of the events of the preceding night;just as the brain retains on waking in the morning the dim and mistyoutline of a dream.
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As Danglars approached the disappointed lover, he cast on him a look ofdeep meaning, while Fernand, as he slowly paced behind the happy pair,who seemed, in their own unmixed content, to have entirely forgottenthat such a being as himself existed, was pale and abstracted;occasionally, however, a deep flush would overspread his countenance,and a nervous contraction distort his features, while, with an agitatedand restless gaze, he would glance in the direction of Marseilles, likeone who either anticipated or foresaw some great and important event.
Dantès himself was simply, but becomingly, clad in the dress peculiar tothe merchant service—a costume somewhat between a military and a civilgarb; and with his fine countenance, radiant with joy and happiness, amore perfect specimen of manly beauty could scarcely be imagined.
Lovely as the Greek girls of Cyprus or Chios, Mercédès boasted the samebright flashing eyes of jet, and ripe, round, coral lips. She moved withthe light, free step of an Arlesienne or an Andalusian. One morepracticed in the arts of great cities would have hid her blushes beneatha veil, or, at least, have cast down her thickly fringed lashes, so asto have concealed the liquid lustre of her animated eyes; but, on thecontrary, the delighted girl looked around her with a smile that seemedto say: “If you are my friends, rejoice with me, for I am very happy.”
As soon as the bridal party came in sight of La Réserve, M. Morreldescended and came forth to meet it, followed by the soldiers andsailors there assembled, to whom he had repeated the promise alreadygiven, that Dantès should be the successor to the late Captain Leclere.Edmond, at the approach of his patron, respectfully placed the arm ofhis affianced bride within that of M. Morrel, who, forthwith conductingher up the flight of wooden steps leading to the chamber in which thefeast was prepared, was gayly followed by the guests, beneath whoseheavy tread the slight structure creaked and groaned for the space ofseveral minutes.
“Father,” said Mercédès, stopping when she had reached the centre of thetable, “sit, I pray you, on my right hand; on my left I will place himwho has ever been as a brother to me,” pointing with a soft and gentlesmile to Fernand; but her words and look seemed to inflict the diresttorture on him, for his lips became ghastly pale, and even beneath thedark hue of his complexion the blood might be seen retreating as thoughsome sudden pang drove it back to the heart.
During this time, Dantès, at the opposite side of the table, had beenoccupied in similarly placing his most honored guests. M. Morrel wasseated at his right hand, Danglars at his left; while, at a sign fromEdmond, the rest of the company ranged themselves as they found it mostagreeable.
Then they began to pass around the dusky, piquant, Arlesian sausages,and lobsters in their dazzling red cuirasses, prawns of large size andbrilliant color, the echinus with its prickly outside and dainty morselwithin, the clovis, esteemed by the epicures of the South as more thanrivalling the exquisite flavor of the oyster, North. All the delicacies,in fact, that are cast up by the wash of waters on the sandy beach, andstyled by the grateful fishermen “fruits of the sea.”
“A pretty silence truly!” said the old father of the bridegroom, as hecarried to his lips a glass of wine of the hue and brightness of thetopaz, and which had just been placed before Mercédès herself. “Now,would anybody think that this room contained a happy, merry party, whodesire nothing better than to laugh and dance the hours away?”
“Ah,” sighed Caderousse, “a man cannot always feel happy because he isabout to be married.”
“The truth is,” replied Dantès, “that I am too happy for noisy mirth; ifthat is what you meant by your observation, my worthy friend, you areright; joy takes a strange effect at times, it seems to oppress usalmost the same as sorrow.”
Danglars looked towards Fernand, whose excitable nature received andbetrayed each fresh impression.
“Why, what ails you?” asked he of Edmond. “Do you fear any approachingevil? I should say that you were the happiest man alive at thisinstant.”
“And that is the very thing that alarms me,” returned Dantès. “Man doesnot appear to me to be intended to enjoy felicity so unmixed; happinessis like the enchanted palaces we read of in our childhood, where fierce,fiery dragons defend the entrance and approach; and monsters of allshapes and kinds, requiring to be overcome ere victory is ours. I ownthat I am lost in wonder to find myself promoted to an honor of which Ifeel myself unworthy—that of being the husb
and of Mercédès.”
“Nay, nay!” cried Caderousse, smiling, “you have not attained that honoryet. Mercédès is not yet your wife. Just assume the tone and manner of ahusband, and see how she will remind you that your hour is not yetcome!”
The bride blushed, while Fernand, restless and uneasy, seemed to startat every fresh sound, and from time to time wiped away the large dropsof perspiration that gathered on his brow.
“Well, never mind that, neighbor Caderousse; it is not worthwhile tocontradict me for such a trifle as that. ’Tis true that Mercédès is notactually my wife; but,” added he, drawing out his watch, “in an hour anda half she will be.”
A general exclamation of surprise ran round the table, with theexception of the elder Dantès, whose laugh displayed the still perfectbeauty of his large white teeth. Mercédès looked pleased and gratified,while Fernand grasped the handle of his knife with a convulsive clutch.
“In an hour?” inquired Danglars, turning pale. “How is that, my friend?”
“Why, thus it is,” replied Dantès. “Thanks to the influence of M.Morrel, to whom, next to my father, I owe every blessing I enjoy, everydifficulty has been removed. We have purchased permission to waive theusual delay; and at half-past two o’clock the Mayor of Marseilles willbe waiting for us at the city hall. Now, as a quarter-past one hasalready struck, I do not consider I have asserted too much in saying,that, in another hour and thirty minutes Mercédès will have becomeMadame Dantès.”
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Fernand closed his eyes, a burning sensation passed across his brow, andhe was compelled to support himself by the table to prevent his fallingfrom his chair; but in spite of all his efforts, he could not refrainfrom uttering a deep groan, which, however, was lost amid the noisyfelicitations of the company.
“Upon my word,” cried the old man, “you make short work of this kind ofaffair. Arrived here only yesterday morning, and married today at threeo’clock! Commend me to a sailor for going the quick way to work!”
“But,” asked Danglars, in a timid tone, “how did you manage about theother formalities—the contract—the settlement?”
“The contract,” answered Dantès, laughingly, “it didn’t take long to fixthat. Mercédès has no fortune; I have none to settle on her. So, yousee, our papers were quickly written out, and certainly do not come veryexpensive.” This joke elicited a fresh burst of applause.
“So that what we presumed to be merely the betrothal feast turns out tobe the actual wedding dinner!” said Danglars.
“No, no,” answered Dantès; “don’t imagine I am going to put you off inthat shabby manner. Tomorrow morning I start for Paris; four days to go,and the same to return, with one day to discharge the commissionentrusted to me, is all the time I shall be absent. I shall be back hereby the first of March, and on the second I give my real marriage feast.”
This prospect of fresh festivity redoubled the hilarity of the guests tosuch a degree, that the elder Dantès, who, at the commencement of therepast, had commented upon the silence that prevailed, now found itdifficult, amid the general din of voices, to obtain a moment’stranquillity in which to drink to the health and prosperity of the brideand bridegroom.
Dantès, perceiving the affectionate eagerness of his father, respondedby a look of grateful pleasure; while Mercédès glanced at the clock andmade an expressive gesture to Edmond.
Around the table reigned that noisy hilarity which usually prevails atsuch a time among people sufficiently free from the demands of socialposition not to feel the trammels of etiquette. Such as at thecommencement of the repast had not been able to seat themselvesaccording to their inclination rose unceremoniously, and sought out moreagreeable companions. Everybody talked at once, without waiting for areply and each one seemed to be contented with expressing his or her ownthoughts.
Fernand’s paleness appeared to have communicated itself to Danglars. Asfor Fernand himself, he seemed to be enduring the tortures of thedamned; unable to rest, he was among the first to quit the table, and,as though seeking to avoid the hilarious mirth that rose in suchdeafening sounds, he continued, in utter silence, to pace the fartherend of the salon.
Caderousse approached him just as Danglars, whom Fernand seemed mostanxious to avoid, had joined him in a corner of the room.
“Upon my word,” said Caderousse, from whose mind the friendly treatmentof Dantès, united with the effect of the excellent wine he had partakenof, had effaced every feeling of envy or jealousy at Dantès’ goodfortune,—“upon my word, Dantès is a downright good fellow, and when Isee him sitting there beside his pretty wife that is so soon to be. Icannot help thinking it would have been a great pity to have served himthat trick you were planning yesterday.”
“Oh, there was no harm meant,” answered Danglars; “at first I certainlydid feel somewhat uneasy as to what Fernand might be tempted to do; butwhen I saw how completely he had mastered his feelings, even so far asto become one of his rival’s attendants, I knew there was no furthercause for apprehension.” Caderousse looked full at Fernand—he wasghastly pale.
“Certainly,” continued Danglars, “the sacrifice was no trifling one,when the beauty of the bride is concerned. Upon my soul, that futurecaptain of mine is a lucky dog! Gad! I only wish he would let me takehis place.”
“Shall we not set forth?” asked the sweet, silvery voice of Mercédès;“two o’clock has just struck, and you know we are expected in a quarterof an hour.”
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“To be sure!—to be sure!” cried Dantès, eagerly quitting the table; “letus go directly!”
His words were re-echoed by the whole party, with vociferous cheers.
At this moment Danglars, who had been incessantly observing every changein Fernand’s look and manner, saw him stagger and fall back, with analmost convulsive spasm, against a seat placed near one of the openwindows. At the same instant his ear caught a sort of indistinct soundon the stairs, followed by the measured tread of soldiery, with theclanking of swords and military accoutrements; then came a hum and buzzas of many voices, so as to deaden even the noisy mirth of the bridalparty, among whom a vague feeling of curiosity and apprehension quelledevery disposition to talk, and almost instantaneously the most deathlikestillness prevailed.
The sounds drew nearer. Three blows were struck upon the panel of thedoor. The company looked at each other in consternation.
“I demand admittance,” said a loud voice outside the room, “in the nameof the law!” As no attempt was made to prevent it, the door was opened,and a magistrate, wearing his official scarf, presented himself,followed by four soldiers and a corporal. Uneasiness now yielded to themost extreme dread on the part of those present.
“May I venture to inquire the reason of this unexpected visit?” said M.Morrel, addressing the magistrate, whom he evidently knew; “there isdoubtless some mistake easily explained.”
“If it be so,” replied the magistrate, “rely upon every reparation beingmade; meanwhile, I am the bearer of an order of arrest, and although Imost reluctantly perform the task assigned me, it must, nevertheless, befulfilled. Who among the persons here assembled answers to the name ofEdmond Dantès?”
Every eye was turned towards the young man who, spite of the agitationhe could not but feel, advanced with dignity, and said, in a firm voice:
“I am he; what is your pleasure with me?”
“Edmond Dantès,” replied the magistrate, “I arrest you in the name ofthe law!”
“Me!” repeated Edmond, slightly changing color, “and wherefore, I pray?”
“I cannot inform you, but you will be duly acquainted with the reasonsthat have rendered such a step necessary at the preliminaryexamination.”
M. Morrel felt that further resistance or remonstrance was useless. Hesaw before him an officer delegated to enforce the law, and perfectlywell knew that it would be as unavailing to seek pity from a magistratedecked with his official scarf, as to address a petition to some coldmarble effigy. Old Dantès, h
owever, sprang forward. There are situationswhich the heart of a father or a mother cannot be made to understand. Heprayed and supplicated in terms so moving, that even the officer wastouched, and, although firm in his duty, he kindly said, “My worthyfriend, let me beg of you to calm your apprehensions. Your son hasprobably neglected some prescribed form or attention in registering hiscargo, and it is more than probable he will be set at liberty directlyhe has given the information required, whether touching the health ofhis crew, or the value of his freight.”
“What is the meaning of all this?” inquired Caderousse, frowningly, ofDanglars, who had assumed an air of utter surprise.
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“How can I tell you?” replied he; “I am, like yourself, utterlybewildered at all that is going on, and cannot in the least make outwhat it is about.” Caderousse then looked around for Fernand, but he haddisappeared.
The scene of the previous night now came back to his mind with startlingclearness. The painful catastrophe he had just witnessed appearedeffectually to have rent away the veil which the intoxication of theevening before had raised between himself and his memory.
“So, so,” said he, in a hoarse and choking voice, to Danglars, “this,then, I suppose, is a part of the trick you were concerting yesterday?All I can say is, that if it be so, ’tis an ill turn, and well deservesto bring double evil on those who have projected it.”
“Nonsense,” returned Danglars, “I tell you again I have nothing whateverto do with it; besides, you know very well that I tore the paper topieces.”
“No, you did not!” answered Caderousse, “you merely threw it by—I saw itlying in a corner.”
“Hold your tongue, you fool!—what should you know about it?—why, youwere drunk!”
“Where is Fernand?” inquired Caderousse.
“How do I know?” replied Danglars; “gone, as every prudent man ought tobe, to look after his own affairs, most likely. Never mind where he is,let you and I go and see what is to be done for our poor friends.”
During this conversation, Dantès, after having exchanged a cheerfulshake of the hand with all his sympathizing friends, had surrenderedhimself to the officer sent to arrest him, merely saying, “Makeyourselves quite easy, my good fellows, there is some little mistake toclear up, that’s all, depend upon it; and very likely I may not have togo so far as the prison to effect that.”
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“Oh, to be sure!” responded Danglars, who had now approached the group,“nothing more than a mistake, I feel quite certain.”
Dantès descended the staircase, preceded by the magistrate, and followedby the soldiers. A carriage awaited him at the door; he got in, followedby two soldiers and the magistrate, and the vehicle drove off towardsMarseilles.
“Adieu, adieu, dearest Edmond!” cried Mercédès, stretching out her armsto him from the balcony.
The prisoner heard the cry, which sounded like the sob of a brokenheart, and leaning from the coach he called out, “Good-bye, Mercédès—weshall soon meet again!” Then the vehicle disappeared round one of theturnings of Fort Saint Nicholas.
“Wait for me here, all of you!” cried M. Morrel; “I will take the firstconveyance I find, and hurry to Marseilles, whence I will bring you wordhow all is going on.”
“That’s right!” exclaimed a multitude of voices, “go, and return asquickly as you can!”
This second departure was followed by a long and fearful state ofterrified silence on the part of those who were left behind. The oldfather and Mercédès remained for some time apart, each absorbed ingrief; but at length the two poor victims of the same blow raised theireyes, and with a simultaneous burst of feeling rushed into each other’sarms.
Meanwhile Fernand made his appearance, poured out for himself a glass ofwater with a trembling hand; then hastily swallowing it, went to sitdown at the first vacant place, and this was, by mere chance, placednext to the seat on which poor Mercédès had fallen half fainting, whenreleased from the warm and affectionate embrace of old Dantès.Instinctively Fernand drew back his chair.
“He is the cause of all this misery—I am quite sure of it,” whisperedCaderousse, who had never taken his eyes off Fernand, to Danglars.
“I don’t think so,” answered the other; “he’s too stupid to imagine sucha scheme. I only hope the mischief will fall upon the head of whoeverwrought it.”
“You don’t mention those who aided and abetted the deed,” saidCaderousse.
“Surely,” answered Danglars, “one cannot be held responsible for everychance arrow shot into the air.”
“You can, indeed, when the arrow lights point downward on somebody’shead.”
Meantime the subject of the arrest was being canvassed in everydifferent form.
“What think you, Danglars,” said one of the party, turning towards him,“of this event?”
“Why,” replied he, “I think it just possible Dantès may have beendetected with some trifling article on board ship considered here ascontraband.”
“But how could he have done so without your knowledge, Danglars, sinceyou are the ship’s supercargo?”
“Why, as for that, I could only know what I was told respecting themerchandise with which the vessel was laden. I know she was loaded withcotton, and that she took in her freight at Alexandria from Pastret’swarehouse, and at Smyrna from Pascal’s; that is all I was obliged toknow, and I beg I may not be asked for any further particulars.”
“Now I recollect,” said the afflicted old father; “my poor boy told meyesterday he had got a small case of coffee, and another of tobacco forme!”
“There, you see,” exclaimed Danglars. “Now the mischief is out; dependupon it the custom-house people went rummaging about the ship in ourabsence, and discovered poor Dantès’ hidden treasures.”
Mercédès, however, paid no heed to this explanation of her lover’sarrest. Her grief, which she had hitherto tried to restrain, now burstout in a violent fit of hysterical sobbing.
“Come, come,” said the old man, “be comforted, my poor child; there isstill hope!”
“Hope!” repeated Danglars.
“Hope!” faintly murmured Fernand, but the word seemed to die away on hispale agitated lips, and a convulsive spasm passed over his countenance.
“Good news! good news!” shouted forth one of the party stationed in thebalcony on the lookout. “Here comes M. Morrel back. No doubt, now, weshall hear that our friend is released!”
Mercédès and the old man rushed to meet the shipowner and greeted him atthe door. He was very pale.
“What news?” exclaimed a general burst of voices.
“Alas, my friends,” replied M. Morrel, with a mournful shake of hishead, “the thing has assumed a more serious aspect than I expected.”
“Oh, indeed—indeed, sir, he is innocent!” sobbed forth Mercédès.
“That I believe!” answered M. Morrel; “but still he is charged——”
“With what?” inquired the elder Dantès.
“With being an agent of the Bonapartist faction!” Many of our readersmay be able to recollect how formidable such an accusation became in theperiod at which our story is dated.
A despairing cry escaped the pale lips of Mercédès; the old man sankinto a chair.
“Ah, Danglars!” whispered Caderousse, “you have deceived me—the trickyou spoke of last night has been played; but I cannot suffer a poor oldman or an innocent girl to die of grief through your fault. I amdetermined to tell them all about it.”
“Be silent, you simpleton!” cried Danglars, grasping him by the arm, “orI will not answer even for your own safety. Who can tell whether Dantèsbe innocent or guilty? The vessel did touch at Elba, where he quittedit, and passed a whole day in the island. Now, should any letters orother documents of a compromising character be found upon him, will itnot be taken for granted that all who uphold him are his accomplices?”
With the rapid instinct of selfishness, Caderousse readily perceived thesolidity of this mode
of reasoning; he gazed, doubtfully, wistfully, onDanglars, and then caution supplanted generosity.
“Suppose we wait a while, and see what comes of it,” said he, casting abewildered look on his companion.
“To be sure!” answered Danglars. “Let us wait, by all means. If he beinnocent, of course he will be set at liberty; if guilty, why, it is nouse involving ourselves in a conspiracy.”
“Let us go, then. I cannot stay here any longer.”
“With all my heart!” replied Danglars, pleased to find the other sotractable. “Let us take ourselves out of the way, and leave things forthe present to take their course.”
After their departure, Fernand, who had now again become the friend andprotector of Mercédès, led the girl to her home, while some friends ofDantès conducted his father, nearly lifeless, to the Allées de Meilhan.
The rumor of Edmond’s arrest as a Bonapartist agent was not slow incirculating throughout the city.
“Could you ever have credited such a thing, my dear Danglars?” asked M.Morrel, as, on his return to the port for the purpose of gleaning freshtidings of Dantès, from M. de Villefort, the assistant procureur, heovertook his supercargo and Caderousse. “Could you have believed such athing possible?”
“Why, you know I told you,” replied Danglars, “that I considered thecircumstance of his having anchored at the Island of Elba as a verysuspicious circumstance.”
“And did you mention these suspicions to any person beside myself?”
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“Certainly not!” returned Danglars. Then added in a low whisper, “Youunderstand that, on account of your uncle, M. Policar Morrel, who servedunder the other government, and who does not altogether conceal what hethinks on the subject, you are strongly suspected of regretting theabdication of Napoleon. I should have feared to injure both Edmond andyourself, had I divulged my own apprehensions to a soul. I am too wellaware that though a subordinate, like myself, is bound to acquaint theshipowner with everything that occurs, there are many things he oughtmost carefully to conceal from all else.”
“’Tis well, Danglars—’tis well!” replied M. Morrel. “You are a worthyfellow; and I had already thought of your interests in the event of poorEdmond having become captain of the Pharaon.”
“Is it possible you were so kind?”
“Yes, indeed; I had previously inquired of Dantès what was his opinionof you, and if he should have any reluctance to continue you in yourpost, for somehow I have perceived a sort of coolness between you.”
“And what was his reply?”
“That he certainly did think he had given you offence in an affair whichhe merely referred to without entering into particulars, but thatwhoever possessed the good opinion and confidence of the ship’s ownerswould have his preference also.”
“The hypocrite!” murmured Danglars.
“Poor Dantès!” said Caderousse. “No one can deny his being a noble-hearted young fellow.”
“But meanwhile,” continued M. Morrel, “here is the Pharaon without acaptain.”
“Oh,” replied Danglars, “since we cannot leave this port for the nextthree months, let us hope that ere the expiration of that period Dantèswill be set at liberty.”
“No doubt; but in the meantime?”
“I am entirely at your service, M. Morrel,” answered Danglars. “You knowthat I am as capable of managing a ship as the most experienced captainin the service; and it will be so far advantageous to you to accept myservices, that upon Edmond’s release from prison no further change willbe requisite on board the Pharaon than for Dantès and myself each toresume our respective posts.”
“Thanks, Danglars—that will smooth over all difficulties. I fullyauthorize you at once to assume the command of the Pharaon, and lookcarefully to the unloading of her freight. Private misfortunes mustnever be allowed to interfere with business.”
“Be easy on that score, M. Morrel; but do you think we shall bepermitted to see our poor Edmond?”
“I will let you know that directly I have seen M. de Villefort, whom Ishall endeavor to interest in Edmond’s favor. I am aware he is a furiousroyalist; but, in spite of that, and of his being king’s attorney, he isa man like ourselves, and I fancy not a bad sort of one.”
“Perhaps not,” replied Danglars; “but I hear that he is ambitious, andthat’s rather against him.”
“Well, well,” returned M. Morrel, “we shall see. But now hasten onboard, I will join you there ere long.”
So saying, the worthy shipowner quitted the two allies, and proceeded inthe direction of the Palais de Justice.
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“You see,” said Danglars, addressing Caderousse, “the turn things havetaken. Do you still feel any desire to stand up in his defence?”
“Not the slightest, but yet it seems to me a shocking thing that a merejoke should lead to such consequences.”
“But who perpetrated that joke, let me ask? neither you nor myself, butFernand; you knew very well that I threw the paper into a corner of theroom—indeed, I fancied I had destroyed it.”
“Oh, no,” replied Caderousse, “that I can answer for, you did not. Ionly wish I could see it now as plainly as I saw it lying all crushedand crumpled in a corner of the arbor.”
“Well, then, if you did, depend upon it, Fernand picked it up, andeither copied it or caused it to be copied; perhaps, even, he did nottake the trouble of recopying it. And now I think of it, by Heavens, hemay have sent the letter itself! Fortunately, for me, the handwritingwas disguised.”
“Then you were aware of Dantès being engaged in a conspiracy?”
“Not I. As I before said, I thought the whole thing was a joke, nothingmore. It seems, however, that I have unconsciously stumbled upon thetruth.”
“Still,” argued Caderousse, “I would give a great deal if nothing of thekind had happened; or, at least, that I had had no hand in it. You willsee, Danglars, that it will turn out an unlucky job for both of us.”
“Nonsense! If any harm come of it, it should fall on the guilty person;and that, you know, is Fernand. How can we be implicated in any way? Allwe have got to do is, to keep our own counsel, and remain perfectlyquiet, not breathing a word to any living soul; and you will see thatthe storm will pass away without in the least affecting us.”
“Amen!” responded Caderousse, waving his hand in token of adieu toDanglars, and bending his steps towards the Allées de Meilhan, movinghis head to and fro, and muttering as he went, after the manner of onewhose mind was overcharged with one absorbing idea.
“So far, then,” said Danglars, mentally, “all has gone as I would haveit. I am, temporarily, commander of the Pharaon, with the certainty ofbeing permanently so, if that fool of a Caderousse can be persuaded tohold his tongue. My only fear is the chance of Dantès being released.But, there, he is in the hands of Justice; and,” added he with a smile,“she will take her own.” So saying, he leaped into a boat, desiring tobe rowed on board the Pharaon, where M. Morrel had agreed to meet him.