The Count of Monte Cristo: Chapters 5-8

(Chapters 1-4 can be found here)

Life is what happens when you’ve made other plans. For Edmond Dantes, fresh off a boat and well on his way to success in his career on the seas and so close to marrying the lovely Mercedes, his elation at being around family means he’s completely oblivious to the conspiracy which will take him away from everything and everyone he holds dear. Things are about to go pear-shaped for the young Frenchman.

At their betrothal feast, during which they will marry (because why wait?), Edmond and Mercedes enjoy their special day, lavishing plenty of attention on Old Dantes, Edmond’s ailing father. Edmond is anxious to get the old man back to health. Meanwhile, Caderousse and Danglars consider their lot in life, seemingly unaware that the third leg of their Tripod of Conspiracy has taken it upon himself to deliver the letter Danglars forged and carelessly threw away to the king’s attorney. So it’s a surprise even to them when Fernand does turn up, followed soon after by some royal guards, who take Edmond into custody without telling him why. It’s only then does it dawn on the two men that Fernand took the bull by the horns. Caderousse and Danglars think it’s in their best interest to say nothing.

We are then introduced to yet another conspirator. Gerard de Villefort is an ambitious prosecutor, acting as assistant to the king’s attorney. He’s having a betrothal feast of his own, due to marry Renee, the daughter of the highly influential Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Meran. Over dinner, it is revealed that Villefort’s father is an infamous supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte, M. Noirtier, but that his son does not share his views and is a staunch royalist. Indeed, his job has required him to sentence a handful of Bonapartists to the guillotine. Renee is horrified that her betrothed’s career requires him to show little mercy, but he promises her to do better when the situation calls for it. Villefort is then called away to deal with a man who’s been brought to his house for examination.

That man is Edmond Dantes, who’s understandably bewildered by what’s happening to him. Villefort is informed of the facts of the matter: that an anonymous letter marked for the attention of the king’s attorney has laid accusations against Edmond, and that he’s in possession of incriminating material that needs to be looked at urgently. When Villefort first sets eyes on Edmond, he’s convinced of the man’s innocence. We would breathe a sigh of relief, but that would only make The Count of Monte Cristo a much shorter book than it actually is. Villefort’s initial examination, however, reveals nothing criminal, just a naive young man taking on the responsibility of another’s mission: the late Captain Leclere.

Then comes the clincher. Just as Edmond is about to be set free, Villefort sees that the letter in Dantes’ possession is addressed to M. Noirtier, Villefort’s father, and he panics. If word of this gets out, his career and life is ruined. So he makes a split second decision: he swears Edmond to secrecy with the false promise of impending freedom; he burns the letter in the fireplace; and places Edmond into custody for a “few hours”. Later that night, Edmond is taken by boat, out through the harbour, past where Mercedes lives, and drops him off at the Chateau d’If, an island fortress that doubles up as a prison. Edmond has nowhere to go but inside, where his jailer awaits with bread, water, and a bed of straw. Subsequent attempts to gain a meeting with the prison governor lands him in the dungeon in a short space of time.