第204章

"`Every revolution has its catastrophes,' returned M.de Villefort; `your brother has been the victim of this.It is a misfortune, and government owes nothing to his family.If we are to judge by all the vengeance that the followers of the usurper exercised on the partisans of the king, when, in their turn, they were in power, your brother would be to-day, in all probability, condemned to death.What has happened is quite natural, and in conformity with the law of reprisals.' -- `What,' cried I, `do you, a magistrate, speak thus to me?' -- `All these Corsicans are mad, on my honor,'

replied M.de Villefort; `they fancy that their countryman is still emperor.You have mistaken the time, you should have told me this two months ago, it is too late now.Go now, at once, or I shall have you put out.'

"I looked at him an instant to see if there was anything to hope from further entreaty.But he was a man of stone.Iapproached him, and said in a low voice, `Well, since you know the Corsicans so well, you know that they always keep their word.You think that it was a good deed to kill my brother, who was a Bonapartist, because you are a royalist.

Well, I, who am a Bonapartist also, declare one thing to you, which is, that I will kill you.From this moment Ideclare the vendetta against you, so protect yourself as well as you can, for the next time we meet your last hour has come.' And before he had recovered from his surprise, Iopened the door and left the room."

"Well, well," said Monte Cristo, "such an innocent looking person as you are to do those things, M.Bertuccio, and to a king's attorney at that! But did he know what was meant by the terrible word `vendetta'?""He knew so well, that from that moment he shut himself in his house, and never went out unattended, seeking me high and low.Fortunately, I was so well concealed that he could not find me.Then he became alarmed, and dared not stay any longer at Nimes, so he solicited a change of residence, and, as he was in reality very influential, he was nominated to Versailles.But, as you know, a Corsican who has sworn to avenge himself cares not for distance, so his carriage, fast as it went, was never above half a day's journey before me, who followed him on foot.The most important thing was, not to kill him only -- for I had an opportunity of doing so a hundred times -- but to kill him without being discovered --at least, without being arrested.I no longer belonged to myself, for I had my sister-in-law to protect and provide for.For three months I watched M.de Villefort, for three months he took not a step out-of-doors without my following him.At length I discovered that he went mysteriously to Auteuil.I followed him thither, and I saw him enter the house where we now are, only, instead of entering by the great door that looks into the street, he came on horseback, or in his carriage, left the one or the other at the little inn, and entered by the gate you see there." Monte Cristo made a sign with his head to show that he could discern in the darkness the door to which Bertuccio alluded."As I had nothing more to do at Versailles, I went to Auteuil, and gained all the information I could.If I wished to surprise him, it was evident this was the spot to lie in wait for him.The house belonged, as the concierge informed your excellency, to M.de Saint-Meran, Villefort's father-in-law.

M.de Saint-Meran lived at Marseilles, so that this country house was useless to him, and it was reported to be let to a young widow, known only by the name of `the baroness.'

"One evening, as I was looking over the wall, I saw a young and handsome woman who was walking alone in that garden, which was not overlooked by any windows, and I guessed that she was awaiting M.de Villefort.When she was sufficiently near for me to distinguish her features, I saw she was from eighteen to nineteen, tall and very fair.As she had a loose muslin dress on and as nothing concealed her figure, I saw she would ere long become a mother.A few moments after, the little door was opened and a man entered.The young woman hastened to meet him.They threw themselves into each other's arms, embraced tenderly, and returned together to the house.The man was M.de Villefort; I fully believed that when he went out in the night he would be forced to traverse the whole of the garden alone.""And," asked the count, "did you ever know the name of this woman?""No, excellency," returned Bertuccio; "you will see that Ihad no time to learn it."

"Go on."