Monte-Cristo's Daughter
you were installed at the Palazzo Costi and instantly hastened to pay my
respects."
When their cordial greetings were over and they were seated side by side
upon a commodious sofa luxuriously upholstered in crimson silk, the
Count said, abruptly:
"Captain, did you ever hear of a French opera singer named Louise d'
Armilly?"
Again the young man colored deeply, a circumstance that did not escape
the close observation of his companion, who instantly divined that the
famous prima donna counted for more in the reasons that had brought the
Captain to Rome than that gallant warrior was willing to admit.
"Yes," stammered Joliette, "I have heard of her, and report says she is
a remarkably charming lady as well as a great artiste."
"Your tone is enthusiastic, my dear Captain," returned Monte-Cristo,
smiling pleasantly. "Perhaps you are acquainted with Mlle. d' Armilly."
"Well, to confess, Count," said Joliette, with a laugh, "I am acquainted
with her, and, curiously enough, part of my mission here to-day was to
ask you to occupy a box at the performance of 'Lucrezia Borgia' this
evening. Will you accept?"
"With genuine delight," was Monte-Cristo's ready answer. "I desire to
see this mysterious prima donna for more than one reason. In the first
place, her name is dimly familiar to me, though I cannot remember where
I ever heard it, and, in the second place, she flatly refused a visit
from me no later than this morning."
Joliette looked greatly surprised.
"Refused a visit from you, Count! I would not believe it did I not hear
it from your own lips. Mlle. d' Armilly must be mad! She surely cannot
know what an honor it is to receive a visit from the Count of
Monte-Cristo!"
The Count smiled in his peculiar way, and handed the Captain Mlle. d'
Armilly's singular reply to his note. The young man glanced at it in
amazement, reading it again and again; finally he stammered out:
"It is her handwriting, but what can she mean?"
"That is exactly what I would like to know, and I see by your manner and
words that you are powerless to enlighten me. Still, you can tell me who
this Mlle. d' Armilly is, and that will in all probability furnish me
with the key to her rather shabby treatment of me."
"My dear Count, I am acquainted with the young lady, it is true, but,
like yourself, I am in total ignorance so far as her history is
concerned. She is French, that is evident, and she has gone so far as
to admit to me that Louise d' Armilly is only her professional name,
but what her real name is she has more than once positively refused to
disclose to me. She is equally reticent as to the rumors afloat
regarding her. You are, doubtless, aware that she is reputed to be the
daughter of a French banker who mysteriously disappeared. This she
neither denies nor affirms; she merely maintains an obstinate silence
whenever it is mentioned in her presence."
"Your recital interests me greatly, Captain," said Monte-Cristo. "You
are more privileged than myself in that you enjoy the acquaintance of
this eccentric young lady, but she does not seem to repose a greater
degree of confidence in you than in me, for she has told you absolutely
nothing."
"Well," said Joliette, "you will see her to-night, at any rate, despite
her prohibition. She cannot keep you out of the theatre, for the box is
purchased and here are the tickets."
"But she will be angry with you, Captain," said the Count, slyly, "for
bringing such an undesirable auditor. I had better go alone and occupy
some obscure seat. I do not wish you to forfeit Mlle. d' Armilly's
smiles for me."
"Pshaw!" replied Joliette, "there is plainly some mistake. She does not
know you, will not recognize you. She has certainly confounded you with
some one else."
"Perhaps so," said Monte-Cristo; "but women's memories are good, and I
warn you that you are taking a grave risk."
"None whatever, I assure you. It is more than likely that, in answering
your note as she did, Mlle. d' Armilly was influenced solely by caprice.
If she should ask me after the performance who was my companion, I have
only to give you a fictitious name and she will be none the wiser."
That evening Captain Joliette and the Count of Monte-Cristo made their
way through the dense throng in front of the Apollo Theatre, and were
finally shown into a lower proscenium box commanding a full view of the
stage. Monte-Cristo instinctively sought refuge behind the curtains and
drapery of the box, where he could sit unobserved and yet be enabled to
closely scrutinize the mysterious singer who appeared to have such an
intense aversion for him.
Although still early the house was already crowded in every part, and
throngs were unable to gain even admission. The vast audience was made
up chiefly of the best and most fashionable society in Rome. It included
many of the highest nobility, who occupied the boxes they held for the
season. Everywhere the bright colored, elegant toilets of the ladies met
the eye, while the gentlemen were brilliant in fete attire. Fresh young
faces and noble old visages were side by side, the beauty of youth and
the impressiveness of age, and the male countenances were not less
striking than those of the females. Truly, it was a grand assemblage,
one that should delight the heart and flatter the vanity of even the
most capricious of prima donnas.
At first there was a low hum of conversation throughout the theatre,
together with preliminary visits from box to box, but the flutter began
to subside as the musicians appeared, and by the time they were in their
places in the orchestra absolute silence reigned. When the conductor
made his appearance he was greeted with a burst of applause, which he
gracefully acknowledged with a profound bow. Then he grasped his baton,
tapped lightly upon the rack in front of him, and the delightful
overture to Donizetti's great work commenced.
At its conclusion the curtain slowly rose and the opera began. Mlle. d'
Armilly came forth in due course, and the house fairly rung with
plaudits of welcome. She sang divinely and acted with consummate art,
receiving loud encores for all her numbers. Monte-Cristo who was
passionately fond of music, caught the prevailing enthusiasm and
gradually emerged from the shelter of the protecting curtains and
drapery. He had scanned Mlle. d' Armilly carefully through his
opera-glass and was thoroughly convinced that she was a perfect stranger
to him, although now and then a tone, a gesture or a movement of the
body vaguely conveyed a sense of recognition of some tone, gesture or
movement he had heard or seen somewhere before. The Count, however,
reflected that all women possessed certain points of resemblance in
voice and bearing; he, therefore, passed the present coincidences over
as purely accidental, thinking no more of them.
For a long while Mlle. d' Armilly did not glance at the box occupied by
Captain Joliette and the Count of Monte-Cristo,[5] and it was not until
the former threw her a costly wreath of flowers that she turned her eyes
in that direction. She was about bowing her acknowledgments, when her
gaze rested upon the stately form of the Count. Instantly she paused in
the centre of the stage, turned deadly pale beneath the paint of her
make-up, and, with a loud scream, fell in a swoon. The curtain was at
once rung down, and the director, stating that the prima donna had been
seized with sudden and alarming indisposition, dismissed the audience.
Captain Joliette rushed to Mlle. d' Armilly's dressing-room and the
Count of Monte-Cristo wended his way back to the Palazzo Costi, utterly
bewildered by what had taken place.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A full account of the life of Haydee, will be found in that great
romance "The Wife of Monte-Cristo," published complete and unabridged by
T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
[2] A full account of his life and of Esperance's remarkable career will
be found in that absorbing novel, "The Son of Monte-Cristo," published
complete and unabridged by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
[3] For a full account of the life and career of "Edmond Dantes," one of
the most powerful and thrilling novels ever issued, see "Edmond Dantes,"
published complete and unabridged by T. B. Peterson & Brothers,
Philadelphia.
[4] See "The Son of Monte-Cristo," complete and unabridged edition,
published by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
[5] For a full account of the life and remarkable career of "The Count
of Monte-Cristo," Alexander Dumas' masterpiece, one of the greatest
romances ever written, see the illustrated and unabridged edition of it,
published by T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER II.
A STRANGELY SENT EPISTLE.
Zuleika, Monte-Cristo's daughter, had been for some months in the
convent school conducted by the Sisterhood of the Sacred Heart. She was
not a close student though a rapid learner, and was rather inclined to
romance and adventure than to musty books of history and science. As has
already been stated, she had the early maturity of Greek girls. Besides,
she had attracted the attention of several Roman youths of high and
noble lineage, who had eagerly paid her the homage due to her beauty and
oriental attractiveness. Though but fifteen, she appreciated and felt
flattered by this homage, and naturally was impatient of the restraint
put upon her by the regulations of the convent school, which rigorously
excluded all male visitors save parents or guardians.
In the first rank of her youthful admirers was the Viscount Giovanni
Massetti. He was more ardent than any of the rest and, indeed, was
desperately in love with the fair and bewitching child of the dead
Haydee. He belonged to a family of great antiquity and boundless wealth,
and was reputed to possess a vast fortune in his own right. The Viscount
was only in his twenty-first year, but was exceedingly manly, dashing
and gallant. He was quite handsome and was said to be the soul of
honor, though his ardent temperament and headlong pursuit of whatever he
most coveted not unfrequently involved him in serious troubles, from
which, thanks to his own tact and the vast influence of his family, he
generally came out unscathed.
On Zuleika's arrival in Rome and before she had been placed in the
convent school, the Viscount Massetti had made her acquaintance in a way
that savored of romance and that made a deep impression upon the
inexperienced young girl. In Monte-Cristo's carriage, attended only by a
timid femme de chambre, she was one day crossing one of the two bridges
leading to the Island of San Bartolomeo, when a trace broke and the
horses took fright. The terrified driver lost control of them, and the
mad animals dashed along at a fearful rate, almost overturning the
carriage. Zuleika had arisen in the vehicle, which was an open barouche,
and was wildly clinging to the back of the front seat, her face white
with fear and her long black hair, which had become loosened, streaming
out behind her. Her wide open eyes had in them a look of tearful
supplication most difficult to resist. The young Viscount, who was
riding over the bridge on horseback at the time of the accident, could
not resist it. He sprang from his horse and, as the carriage passed him,
leaped into it. Seizing Zuleika by the waist, and holding her tightly to
him, he then made another spring, alighting safely with her upon the
roadway of the bridge. The flying horses were ultimately stopped and the
occupants of the badly shattered vehicle rescued from their dangerous
situation. This adventure caused the Count of Monte-Cristo to throw open
the doors of his palazzo to the young Italian, and he had been a
frequent visitor there up to the time of Zuleika's departure for the
convent school.