"This marriage," added Madame de Villefort, "is quite agreeable to the wishes of M. d'Epinay and his family; besides, he has no relations nearer than an uncle and aunt, his mother having died at his birth, and his father having been assassinated in 1815,—that is to say, when he was but two years old; he can, therefore, follow his own will."
"That assassination was a mysterious affair," said Villefort, "and the perpetrators have hitherto escaped detection; although suspicion has fallen on the head of more than one person." Noirtier made such an effort that his lips expanded into a smile.
"Now," continued Villefort, "those to whom the guilt really belongs, by whom the crime was committed, on whose heads the justice of man may probably descend here, and the certain judgment of God hereafter, would rejoice in the opportunity thus afforded of bestowing such a peace-offering as Valentine on the son of General d'Epinay." Noirtier had succeeded in mastering his emotion more than could have been deemed possible with such a shattered frame.
"Yes, I understand," was the reply contained in his look; and this look expressed a feeling of strong indignation, mixed with profound contempt. Villefort fully understood his father's meaning, and answered by a slight shrug of his shoulders. He then motioned to his wife to take leave.
"Now, sir," said Madame de Villefort, "I must bid you farewell. Would you like me to send Edward to you for a short time?"
It had been agreed that the old man should express his approbation by closing his eyes, his refusal by winking them several times, and if he had some desire or feeling to express, he raised them to heaven. If he wanted Valentine, he closed his right eye only, and if Barrois, the left. At Madame de Villefort's proposition he instantly winked his eyes.
Provoked by a complete refusal, she bit her lip and said:
"Then shall I send Valentine to you?" The old man closed his eyes eagerly, thereby intimating that such was his wish.
M. and Mme. de Villefort bowed and left the room, giving orders that Valentine should be summoned. She had already been advised that she would have to visit him during the day, and, with a color still heightened by emotion, she entered the room just after her parents had quitted it. One look was sufficient to tell her that her grandfather was suffering, and that there was much on his mind which he was wishing to communicate to her.
"Dear grandpapa," cried she, "what has happened? They have vexed you, and you are angry?"
The paralytic closed his eyes in token of assent. "With whom! my father? No, Madame de Villefort? No, with me?"
