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Chapter 3 - Mercedes

Danglars and Caderousse sat at a table under a tree. In a house about a hundred metres away, a young girl was at the window.

Her hair was as black as night, and her eyes were as dark and wonderful as the shadow of a forest.

‘Mercedes!’ a voice shouted happily outside the house.

‘Mercedes!’

‘Ah!’ cried the girl. And she ran to the door and opened it.

‘Here, Edmond, here I am!’

Edmond took Mercedes in his arms. The golden sunshine of Marseilles shone on them. They were together, the only two people in the world.

Edmond and Mercedes walked past ‘La Reserve’. Caderousse and Danglars were still there.

‘Hey, Edmond!’ cried Caderousse. He got up from his seat.

‘Are you too proud to speak to your friends?’

‘No, my dear man!’ Dantes replied. ‘I am not proud, but I am happy. I was thinking about Mercedes.’

‘When is the wedding?’ asked Danglars.

‘Soon — tomorrow or the next day, here at “La Reserve”. We hope that you and Caderousse will be there.’

‘Tomorrow or the next day! You are in a hurry, captain,’

said Danglars.

‘I am not a captain yet, Danglars,’ said Dantes. ‘But, yes, we are in a hurry because I must go to Paris.’

‘To Paris! Do you have business there?’

‘It is not my business. Captain Leclerc asked me to finish some work for him.’

‘Yes, yes, I understand,’ said Danglars. And he added, speaking to himself, ‘To Paris - he is taking Marshal Bertrand’s letter there. Ah!

I have an idea. Dantes, my friend, you are not captain of the Pharaoh yet!’ He turned towards Edmond. ‘A good journey!’ he cried.

‘Thank you, my friend,’ said Edmond. And the two lovers continued on their happy path.

‘Boy,’ shouted Danglars, ‘bring me a pen and paper.’

‘It is a strange thought,’ said Caderousse. ‘You can kill a man with a knife, but you can also kill him with that pen!’

‘I will tell you what I am going to do,’ said Danglars. ‘Dantes has just returned from a journey. He stopped at the island ofElba.

We are going to send a letter to an officer of the government. We will write that Dantes is working for Napoleon. He wants to bring Napoleon back as ruler of France.’

Danglars wrote, using his left hand:

A friend of the king has information for the king’s officers.

Edmond Dantes, of the ship Pharaoh, brought a letterfrom Elba to the followers of Napoleon in Paris. You willfind the letter in his coat, or at his father’s house, or in his room on the ship.

He put the letter in an envelope and wrote a name on it: Villefort.

‘So, I have done it,’ Danglars said.

‘Yes,you have done it,’ said Caderousse. ‘But it is a dirty piece of work.’ He put out his hand to take the letter.

The cooks at ‘La Reserve’ prepared a wonderful meal for the wedding. Many of the men from the Pharaoh were there, and other friends of Dantes.

‘Shall we start?’ asked the sweet silvery voice of Mercedes.

‘We must go to the church.’

Everyone in the party stood up and began to form a line.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise. A man knocked on the door and shouted, ‘Open this door, in the name of the law!’

An officer came in. There were four soldiers with him.

‘Where is Edmond Dantes?’

‘That is my name,’ said Edmond. ‘Why?’

‘I can’t tell you. Someone will tell you the reason later.’

‘Don’t be afraid, my good friends,’ said Dantes. ‘They are making a mistake. That is all, I am sure.’

Dantes went into the courtyard with the soldiers.

‘God go with you, my dearest,’ cried Mercedes.

‘And with you, sweet Mercedes. We shall soon meet again.’