Chapter 38. The Rendezvous
The first words that Albert uttered to his friend, on the followingmorning, contained a request that Franz would accompany him on a visitto the count; true, the young man had warmly and energetically thankedthe count on the previous evening; but services such as he had renderedcould never be too often acknowledged. Franz, who seemed attracted bysome invisible influence towards the count, in which terror wasstrangely mingled, felt an extreme reluctance to permit his friend to beexposed alone to the singular fascination that this mysterious personageseemed to exercise over him, and therefore made no objection to Albert’srequest, but at once accompanied him to the desired spot, and, after ashort delay, the count joined them in the salon.
“My dear count,” said Albert, advancing to meet him, “permit me torepeat the poor thanks I offered last night, and to assure you that theremembrance of all I owe to you will never be effaced from my memory;believe me, as long as I live, I shall never cease to dwell withgrateful recollection on the prompt and important service you renderedme; and also to remember that to you I am indebted even for my life.”
“My very good friend and excellent neighbor,” replied the count, with asmile, “you really exaggerate my trifling exertions. You owe me nothingbut some trifle of 20,000 francs, which you have been saved out of yourtravelling expenses, so that there is not much of a score betweenus;—but you must really permit me to congratulate you on the ease andunconcern with which you resigned yourself to your fate, and the perfectindifference you manifested as to the turn events might take.”
“Upon my word,” said Albert, “I deserve no credit for what I could nothelp, namely, a determination to take everything as I found it, and tolet those bandits see, that although men get into troublesome scrapesall over the world, there is no nation but the French that can smileeven in the face of grim Death himself. All that, however, has nothingto do with my obligations to you, and I now come to ask you whether, inmy own person, my family, or connections, I can in any way serve you? Myfather, the Comte de Morcerf, although of Spanish origin, possessesconsiderable influence, both at the court of France and Madrid, and Iunhesitatingly place the best services of myself, and all to whom mylife is dear, at your disposal.”
“Monsieur de Morcerf,” replied the count, “your offer, far fromsurprising me, is precisely what I expected from you, and I accept it inthe same spirit of hearty sincerity with which it is made;—nay, I willgo still further, and say that I had previously made up my mind to ask agreat favor at your hands.”
“Oh, pray name it.”
“I am wholly a stranger to Paris—it is a city I have never yet seen.”
“Is it possible,” exclaimed Albert, “that you have reached your presentage without visiting the finest capital in the world? I can scarcelycredit it.”
“Nevertheless, it is quite true; still, I agree with you in thinkingthat my present ignorance of the first city in Europe is a reproach tome in every way, and calls for immediate correction; but, in allprobability, I should have performed so important, so necessary a duty,as that of making myself acquainted with the wonders and beauties ofyour justly celebrated capital, had I known any person who would haveintroduced me into the fashionable world, but unfortunately I possessedno acquaintance there, and, of necessity, was compelled to abandon theidea.”
“So distinguished an individual as yourself,” cried Albert, “couldscarcely have required an introduction.”
“You are most kind; but as regards myself, I can find no merit Ipossess, save that, as a millionaire, I might have become a partner inthe speculations of M. Aguado and M. Rothschild; but as my motive intravelling to your capital would not have been for the pleasure ofdabbling in stocks, I stayed away till some favorable chance shouldpresent itself of carrying my wish into execution. Your offer, however,smooths all difficulties, and I have only to ask you, my dear M. deMorcerf” (these words were accompanied by a most peculiar smile),“whether you undertake, upon my arrival in France, to open to me thedoors of that fashionable world of which I know no more than a Huron ora native of Cochin-China?”
“Oh, that I do, and with infinite pleasure,” answered Albert; “and somuch the more readily as a letter received this morning from my fathersummons me to Paris, in consequence of a treaty of marriage (my dearFranz, do not smile, I beg of you) with a family of high standing, andconnected with the very cream of Parisian society.”
“Connected by marriage, you mean,” said Franz, laughingly.
“Well, never mind how it is,” answered Albert, “it comes to the samething in the end. Perhaps by the time you return to Paris, I shall bequite a sober, staid father of a family! A most edifying representativeI shall make of all the domestic virtues—don’t you think so? But asregards your wish to visit our fine city, my dear count, I can only saythat you may command me and mine to any extent you please.”
“Then it is settled,” said the count, “and I give you my solemnassurance that I only waited an opportunity like the present to realizeplans that I have long meditated.”
Franz did not doubt that these plans were the same concerning which thecount had dropped a few words in the grotto of Monte Cristo, and whilethe count was speaking the young man watched him closely, hoping to readsomething of his purpose in his face, but his countenance wasinscrutable especially when, as in the present case, it was veiled in asphinx-like smile.
“But tell me now, count,” exclaimed Albert, delighted at the idea ofhaving to chaperon so distinguished a person as Monte Cristo; “tell metruly whether you are in earnest, or if this project of visiting Parisis merely one of the chimerical and uncertain air castles of which wemake so many in the course of our lives, but which, like a house builton the sand, is liable to be blown over by the first puff of wind?”
“I pledge you my honor,” returned the count, “that I mean to do as Ihave said; both inclination and positive necessity compel me to visitParis.”
“When do you propose going thither?”
“Have you made up your mind when you shall be there yourself?”
“Certainly I have; in a fortnight or three weeks’ time, that is to say,as fast as I can get there!”
“Nay,” said the Count; “I will give you three months ere I join you; yousee I make an ample allowance for all delays and difficulties.
“And in three months’ time,” said Albert, “you will be at my house?”
“Shall we make a positive appointment for a particular day and hour?”inquired the count; “only let me warn you that I am proverbial for mypunctilious exactitude in keeping my engagements.”
“Day for day, hour for hour,” said Albert; “that will suit me to a dot.”
“So be it, then,” replied the count, and extending his hand towards acalendar, suspended near the chimney-piece, he said, “today is the 21stof February;” and drawing out his watch, added, “it is exactly half-pastten o’clock. Now promise me to remember this, and expect me the 21st ofMay at the same hour in the forenoon.”
“Capital!” exclaimed Albert; “your breakfast shall be waiting.”
“Where do you live?”
“No. 27, Rue du Helder.”
“Have you bachelor’s apartments there? I hope my coming will not put youto any inconvenience.”
“I reside in my father’s house, but occupy a pavilion at the fartherside of the courtyard, entirely separated from the main building.”
“Quite sufficient,” replied the count, as, taking out his tablets, hewrote down “No. 27, Rue du Helder, 21st May, half-past ten in themorning.”
“Now then,” said the count, returning his tablets to his pocket, “makeyourself perfectly easy; the hand of your time-piece will not be moreaccurate in marking the time than myself.”
“Shall I see you again ere my departure?” asked Albert.
“That depends; when do you leave?”
“Tomorrow evening, at five o’clock.”
“In that case I must say adieu to you, as I am compelled t
o go toNaples, and shall not return hither before Saturday evening or Sundaymorning. And you, baron,” pursued the count, addressing Franz, “do youalso depart tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“For France?”
“No, for Venice; I shall remain in Italy for another year or two.”
“Then we shall not meet in Paris?”
“I fear I shall not have that honor.”
“Well, since we must part,” said the count, holding out a hand to eachof the young men, “allow me to wish you both a safe and pleasantjourney.”
It was the first time the hand of Franz had come in contact with that ofthe mysterious individual before him, and unconsciously he shuddered atits touch, for it felt cold and icy as that of a corpse.
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“Let us understand each other,” said Albert; “it is agreed—is itnot?—that you are to be at No. 27, in the Rue du Helder, on the 21st ofMay, at half-past ten in the morning, and your word of honor passed foryour punctuality?”
“The 21st of May, at half-past ten in the morning, Rue du Helder, No.27,” replied the count.
The young men then rose, and bowing to the count, quitted the room.
“What is the matter?” asked Albert of Franz, when they had returned totheir own apartments; “you seem more than commonly thoughtful.”
“I will confess to you, Albert,” replied Franz, “the count is a verysingular person, and the appointment you have made to meet him in Parisfills me with a thousand apprehensions.”
“My dear fellow,” exclaimed Albert, “what can there possibly be in thatto excite uneasiness? Why, you must have lost your senses.”
“Whether I am in my senses or not,” answered Franz, “that is the way Ifeel.”
“Listen to me, Franz,” said Albert; “I am glad that the occasion haspresented itself for saying this to you, for I have noticed how cold youare in your bearing towards the count, while he, on the other hand, hasalways been courtesy itself to us. Have you anything particular againsthim?”
“Possibly.”
“Did you ever meet him previously to coming hither?”
“I have.”
“And where?”
“Will you promise me not to repeat a single word of what I am about totell you?”
“I promise.”
“Upon your honor?”
“Upon my honor.”
“Then listen to me.”
Franz then related to his friend the history of his excursion to theIsland of Monte Cristo and of his finding a party of smugglers there,and the two Corsican bandits with them. He dwelt with considerable forceand energy on the almost magical hospitality he had received from thecount, and the magnificence of his entertainment in the grotto of theThousand and One Nights.
He recounted, with circumstantial exactitude, all the particulars of thesupper, the hashish, the statues, the dream, and how, at his awakening,there remained no proof or trace of all these events, save the smallyacht, seen in the distant horizon driving under full sail toward Porto-Vecchio.
Then he detailed the conversation overheard by him at the Colosseum,between the count and Vampa, in which the count had promised to obtainthe release of the bandit Peppino,—an engagement which, as our readersare aware, he most faithfully fulfilled.
At last he arrived at the adventure of the preceding night, and theembarrassment in which he found himself placed by not having sufficientcash by six or seven hundred piastres to make up the sum required, andfinally of his application to the count and the picturesque andsatisfactory result that followed. Albert listened with the mostprofound attention.
“Well,” said he, when Franz had concluded, “what do you find to objectto in all you have related? The count is fond of travelling, and, beingrich, possesses a vessel of his own. Go but to Portsmouth orSouthampton, and you will find the harbors crowded with the yachtsbelonging to such of the English as can afford the expense, and have thesame liking for this amusement. Now, by way of having a resting-placeduring his excursions, avoiding the wretched cookery—which has beentrying its best to poison me during the last four months, while you havemanfully resisted its effects for as many years,—and obtaining a bed onwhich it is possible to slumber, Monte Cristo has furnished for himselfa temporary abode where you first found him; but, to prevent thepossibility of the Tuscan government taking a fancy to his enchantedpalace, and thereby depriving him of the advantages naturally expectedfrom so large an outlay of capital, he has wisely enough purchased theisland, and taken its name. Just ask yourself, my good fellow, whetherthere are not many persons of our acquaintance who assume the names oflands and properties they never in their lives were masters of?”
“But,” said Franz, “the Corsican bandits that were among the crew of hisvessel?”
“Why, really the thing seems to me simple enough. Nobody knows betterthan yourself that the bandits of Corsica are not rogues or thieves, butpurely and simply fugitives, driven by some sinister motive from theirnative town or village, and that their fellowship involves no disgraceor stigma; for my own part, I protest that, should I ever go to Corsica,my first visit, ere even I presented myself to the mayor or prefect,should be to the bandits of Colomba, if I could only manage to findthem; for, on my conscience, they are a race of men I admire greatly.”
“Still,” persisted Franz, “I suppose you will allow that such men asVampa and his band are regular villains, who have no other motive thanplunder when they seize your person. How do you explain the influencethe count evidently possessed over those ruffians?”
“My good friend, as in all probability I own my present safety to thatinfluence, it would ill become me to search too closely into its source;therefore, instead of condemning him for his intimacy with outlaws, youmust give me leave to excuse any little irregularity there may be insuch a connection; not altogether for preserving my life, for my ownidea was that it never was in much danger, but certainly for saving me4,000 piastres, which, being translated, means neither more nor lessthan 24,000 livres of our money—a sum at which, most assuredly, I shouldnever have been estimated in France, proving most indisputably,” addedAlbert with a laugh, “that no prophet is honored in his own country.”
“Talking of countries,” replied Franz, “of what country is the count,what is his native tongue, whence does he derive his immense fortune,and what were those events of his early life—a life as marvellous asunknown—that have tinctured his succeeding years with so dark and gloomya misanthropy? Certainly these are questions that, in your place, Ishould like to have answered.”
“My dear Franz,” replied Albert, “when, upon receipt of my letter, youfound the necessity of asking the count’s assistance, you promptly wentto him, saying, ‘My friend Albert de Morcerf is in danger; help me todeliver him.’ Was not that nearly what you said?”
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“It was.”
“Well, then, did he ask you, ‘Who is M. Albert de Morcerf? how does hecome by his name—his fortune? what are his means of existence? what ishis birthplace? of what country is he a native?’ Tell me, did he put allthese questions to you?”
“I confess he asked me none.”
“No; he merely came and freed me from the hands of Signor Vampa, where,I can assure you, in spite of all my outward appearance of ease andunconcern, I did not very particularly care to remain. Now, then, Franz,when, for services so promptly and unhesitatingly rendered, he but asksme in return to do for him what is done daily for any Russian prince orItalian nobleman who may pass through Paris—merely to introduce him intosociety—would you have me refuse? My good fellow, you must have lostyour senses to think it possible I could act with such cold-bloodedpolicy.”
And this time it must be confessed that, contrary to the usual state ofaffairs in discussions between the young men, the effective argumentswere all on Albert’s side.
“Well,” said Franz with a sigh, “do as you please my dear viscount, foryour arguments are beyond my powers of refutation. Still, in spite ofall, you m
ust admit that this Count of Monte Cristo is a most singularpersonage.”
“He is a philanthropist,” answered the other; “and no doubt his motivein visiting Paris is to compete for the Monthyon prize, given, as youare aware, to whoever shall be proved to have most materially advancedthe interests of virtue and humanity. If my vote and interest can obtainit for him, I will readily give him the one and promise the other. Andnow, my dear Franz, let us talk of something else. Come, shall we takeour luncheon, and then pay a last visit to St. Peter’s?”
Franz silently assented; and the following afternoon, at half-past fiveo’clock, the young men parted. Albert de Morcerf to return to Paris, andFranz d’Épinay to pass a fortnight at Venice.
But, ere he entered his travelling carriage, Albert, fearing that hisexpected guest might forget the engagement he had entered into, placedin the care of a waiter at the hotel a card to be delivered to the Countof Monte Cristo, on which, beneath the name of Viscount Albert deMorcerf, he had written in pencil:
“27, Rue du Helder, on the 21st May, half-past ten A.M.”