Chapter 13: The Marriage: IV
"There’s still hope," the old man tried to comfort her.
"Hope," Danglars repeated flatly.
"Hope," Fernand whispered, but the word seemed to die on his lips. A muscle in his jaw twitched.
"Good news! Good news!" someone on the balcony shouted. "Mr. Morrel is coming back! Edmond must be free!"
Mercédès and the old man rushed to meet the ship owner at the door. But his face was grave, almost gray.
"What happened?" everyone demanded at once.
Mr. Morrel shook his head sadly. "I’m afraid it’s worse than we thought."
"But he’s innocent!" Mercédès sobbed.
"I believe that," Mr. Morrel said. "But he’s being charged with something serious."
"What?" old man Dantès asked.
"Being a supporter of Napoleon’s return to power."
Everyone knew how dangerous that accusation was in these times.
Mercédès let out a heart-wrenching scream. The old man collapsed into his chair.
Caderousse grabbed Danglars and hissed in his ear, "You lied to me! This was your plan all along! But I won’t let an innocent old man and girl suffer because of you. I’m telling them everything."
Danglars grabbed his arm in a vice grip. "Keep your mouth shut, you fool! Or I can’t guarantee your own safety. What if Edmond really is guilty? His ship did stop at that island where Napoleon was exiled. If they find any incriminating documents on him, don’t you think they’ll go after anyone who supported him?"
Caderousse’s self-preservation instincts kicked in. He looked at Danglars uncertainly, then back at the grieving family. Fear won out over conscience.
"Maybe we should... wait and see what happens," he said weakly.
"Exactly," Danglars nodded. "If he’s innocent, he’ll be released. If he’s guilty, there’s no point in getting caught up in a conspiracy."
"I can’t stay here anymore."
"Fine by me. Let’s get out of here and let things play out."
After they left, Fernand stepped up to comfort Mercédès and escort her home, while Edmond’s friends helped the devastated father back to his house.
News of Edmond’s arrest spread through the city like wildfire.
Later, when Mr. Morrel returned to the port hoping for more information from the prosecutor, he ran into Danglars and Caderousse.
"Can you believe this happened, Danglars?" he asked. "Did you ever suspect anything?"
"Well, like I told you before, I thought it was suspicious when he anchored at that island."
"Did you mention your suspicions to anyone else?"
"Of course not!" Danglars said quickly. Then he lowered his voice. "You know, because of your uncle’s political history and his... opinions about Napoleon, you’re already under suspicion. I didn’t want to put both you and Edmond at risk by sharing my concerns with anyone."
"You’re a good man, Danglars," Mr. Morrel said. "In fact, if poor Edmond had become captain of the ship, I was already planning to promote you."
"Really?"
"Yes, I’d already asked Edmond what he thought of you, whether he’d be comfortable keeping you in your position. I noticed some tension between you two."
"What did he say?"
"He said he thought he might have offended you somehow, but that whoever had the ship owner’s trust would have his support too."
"Hypocrite," Danglars muttered under his breath.
"Poor Edmond," Caderousse sighed. "He really was a good guy."
"Speaking of which," Mr. Morrel continued, "the ship needs a captain."
"Well," Danglars said, "since we can’t leave port for the next three months anyway, hopefully Edmond will be released by then."
"But in the meantime?"
"I’m at your service," Danglars offered. "I can manage the ship just as well as any experienced captain. And it’ll be convenient, when Edmond gets out, we can just go back to our normal positions."
"Perfect. I’m officially putting you in command of the Pharaon. Handle the cargo unloading. We can’t let personal problems interfere with business."
"Don’t worry about that. Do you think we’ll be able to visit poor Edmond?"
"I’ll let you know after I talk to the prosecutor. I’m going to try to get him interested in Edmond’s case. I know he’s a hardcore royalist, but he’s still human. Maybe not such a bad guy."
"Maybe," Danglars replied. "Though I hear he’s pretty ambitious, which could work against us."
"We’ll see. Now get to the ship, I’ll meet you there later."
After Mr. Morrel left, Danglars turned to Caderousse with a satisfied smirk.
"See how things worked out? Still want to defend him?"
"Not really, but it still seems crazy that a stupid joke could lead to this."
"But who made that joke? Not you, not me, Fernand! You know I tossed that paper in the corner. I thought I’d destroyed it."
"No way," Caderousse shook his head. "I saw it lying there, all crumpled up."
"Well then, Fernand must have picked it up and either copied it or had someone else copy it. Maybe he even sent the original letter! Lucky for me, I disguised my handwriting."
"So you knew Edmond was involved in some conspiracy?"
"Not at all! Like I said, I thought it was just a joke. Seems like I accidentally stumbled onto the truth."
"I still wish none of this had happened. It’s going to come back to bite us, Danglars."
"Nonsense! If anyone gets in trouble, it should be the guilty party, Fernand. How are we involved? All we have to do is keep our mouths shut and stay quiet. The storm will pass right over us."
"I hope you’re right," Caderousse said, waving goodbye as he headed home, still muttering to himself about the whole mess.
Danglars watched him go, then smiled to himself. ’So far, everything’s going according to plan. I’m temporarily in command of the ship, and if Caderousse keeps quiet, it’ll be permanent. My only worry is if they release Edmond. But he’s in the hands of the justice system now, and justice... well, justice will take its course.’
He jumped into a boat and had himself rowed out to the Pharaon, where Mr. Morrel was waiting for him.