A FAMILY TRAGEDY
The procureur du roi, Villefort, was one of the most respected and
influential men in Paris, and his reputation as district-attorney was
spotless. Married the second time to a handsome and refined lady,
Monsieur de Villefort spent his leisure time in the society of his wife,
a grown daughter by his first marriage, named Valentine, his little son,
Edouard, presented to him by his second wife, and his old father,
Noirtier de Villefort, in an elegant mansion in the Faubourg St. Honore.
The only grief he had was the condition of his father, who had been
stricken with paralysis, which had not only robbed him of the use of his
limbs, but of his speech too. The old man could only make himself
understood by his beloved grandchild Valentine, and by a faithful
servant named Barrois, by the rising and falling of his eyelids.
In the house of this immensely respected man, certain things had
happened within a few months which attracted general attention, though
no one could explain them. The parents of the deceased Madame de
Villefort, who had been staying at their son-in-law's house on a visit,
had died suddenly one after the other, the doctors being unable to
assign any other cause for their deaths than apoplexy. These facts would
not have caused any talk, since the two persons who had died were both
very old, had they not been followed almost immediately by the deaths of
the old servant of Monsieur Noirtier and of Valentine, the blooming
daughter of the procureur du roi, and the bride of a young officer named
Morrel, under circumstances which looked very much like poisoning.
It was a terrible time for Monsieur de Villefort, who saw himself
obliged, in his official capacity, to investigate his own household.
After long observation, he had a terrible suspicion, which was confirmed
by a hundred little things, that his own wife was the four-times
murderess!
The reasons which actuated her to commit these terrible crimes were very
clear. Valentine, the step-daughter, possessed a large fortune which she
had inherited from her dead mother; she was the sole heiress of the
grandparents who had died so suddenly; upon the death of Valentine all
her wealth would revert to Monsieur de Villefort, and his sole heir
would be his son.
Villefort, the husband, struggled terribly with Villefort, the
district-attorney; he tried to ward off the guilt from his wife, but his
efforts were fruitless. It was the same day on which the sensational
case of Prince Cavalcanti, _alias_ Benedetto, was before the Court of
Special Sessions, and Monsieur de Villefort was forced to attend the
sitting in his official capacity as district-attorney. Before he went he
sent for his wife, who wished to attend the trial of a case which caused
great excitement all over Paris.
Madame de Villefort came to his room fully dressed for the street,
being under the impression that her husband would ask her to accompany
him to the court-house. She trembled, however, when she noticed his
face, which was torn by conflicting passions.
"Where do you get the poison from, madame, which you are in the habit of
using?" asked the procureur du roi, in a tone of command.
Madame de Villefort turned deathly pale.
"I do not understand what you mean," she stammered.
"I mean," said the man of the law, "where do you keep the poison with
which you murdered my parents-in-law, Barrois, and my daughter,
Valentine?"
Stunned by this terrible charge Madame de Villefort fell to the floor;
she no longer dared to deny the accusation, and was oppressed by a
feeling of deep despair.
"Every crime, madame," continued the procureur du roi, "has its penalty;
yours will be the scaffold. This expiation, however, would be as
terrible for me as for you. Fate has left you to pay for your deeds by
your own hand. You have, perhaps, still a few drops of poison left,
which will save both you and me the scandal of a public hanging. I am
going to the court-house, and I hope that when I return you will have
expiated your crimes."
With a cry, the unhappy woman became unconscious, while Monsieur de
Villefort, hardly able to collect his thoughts, left the room and rode
to attend the Cavalcanti-Benedetto case.