After breakfast, Albert shows the Count his bachelor pavilion. He jokes that a man who sleeps in a grotto does not need luxury, but he still displays every treasure he owns. There are old cabinets, Japanese vases, weapons, paintings, and a piano covered with music. Albert expects to teach the Count about art. Instead, the Count names every artist and object as if he had studied them for years.
In the bedroom Albert points to a portrait of a young woman in Catalan fisher dress. He says it is a fancy costume picture. The Count stops and stares. He knows the face at once. It is Mercédès, Albert's mother, painted years ago when her husband was away. Albert does not notice the Count's shock. He chatters on about family harmony and how his father dislikes the painting.
Albert then brings the Count to meet his parents in the main house. General Fernand de Morcerf enters first, proud and polite. Mercédès follows. She thanks the Count for saving her son in Rome. When she hears his voice, she turns pale. The Count answers with perfect manners and says saving a young man is only simple humanity. Fernand talks about his military career and invites the Count to politics. Albert is delighted. He thinks the visit is a great success.
When the Count leaves, his own splendid carriage waits at the door. Albert's borrowed horses look plain beside it. Mercédès retreats to her room among strong flowers and smelling salts. She asks Albert whether the Count is really what he seems. Albert says he is like a hero from Byron, young, rich, and strange. Mercédès warns him to be careful with new friends. Albert laughs and leaves, proud of his guest. The Count carries away the image of the woman he once loved, now married to the man who destroyed him.
Coming Up in Chapter 42
The Count will settle into the Champs-Élysées house Bertuccio bought, then sign for a country estate at Auteuil, a name that turns his steward's face to ash before anyone explains why.
