Father and Son — The Count of Monte Cristo

Noirtier bolts the doors and teases Villefort for not looking happy to see him. He calmly admits he is vice-president of the Bonapartist club on the Rue Saint-Jacques. Villefort warns that General Quesnel was found dead in the Seine after visiting that club, and the king himself already knows. Instead of panicking, Noirtier listens as if the story were only mildly interesting.

Father and son argue about politics like two professionals. Noirtier says that in politics there are no men, only ideas and interests, and that removing an obstacle is not murder. Villefort describes the police hunt for a dark man in a blue coat with a Legion of Honor pin. Noirtier admits the description fits him, then shaves his whiskers, changes into Villefort's clothes, and asks whether the police will recognize him now.

Before leaving, Noirtier predicts Napoleon will reach Paris within weeks while royalists still talk about barriers and armies. He tells Villefort to return to Marseilles quietly, enter by the back door, and stay out of sight. Villefort hides the blue coat and cane, then rides south. By the time he reaches Marseilles, Bonaparte is already advancing toward Grenoble and the country is changing faster than the telegraph can report.