Some days after the opera, Albert de Morcerf visits the Count of Monte Cristo at his grand house on the Champs-Elysees. Lucien Debray comes with him. The Count quickly guesses that Madame Danglars sent Debray to look around and report back on the Count's strange, expensive way of living.
Albert and the Count talk about Albert's planned marriage to Eugenie Danglars. Albert is not happy about it. His father wants the wedding, but his mother strongly opposes it. Albert says he feels stuck. He does not want to hurt his father, but he also does not want to make his mother miserable. The wedding was delayed once when Albert pretended to be sick, but the new date is only a week away.
While they talk, Debray works on numbers about Haitian bonds. Baron Danglars made a large profit when the price shot up in just a few days. Debray says Madame Danglars is the real gambler in the family. Albert jokes that Debray should scare her with fake political news so she loses money and learns caution. Debray looks embarrassed. He leaves soon after, and the Count speaks to him quietly before he goes.
The Count then tells Albert he is planning a dinner on Saturday at his country house in Auteuil. He wants to invite the Danglars family and the de Villefort family. He does not want to invite the Morcerfs, because Madame de Morcerf might think he is pushing Eugenie's marriage. Albert agrees to skip the dinner and say he is leaving Paris for the seaside with his mother.
Albert asks the Count to dine with him and his mother instead. The Count refuses again. He rings for his servant Baptistin, who repeats the morning order: no visitors after five o'clock except Major Bartolomeo Cavalcanti and his son Andrea. The Count says the major is an old Italian nobleman visiting Paris, and he must host them that evening.
After Albert leaves, the Count calls Bertuccio and orders him to prepare the Auteuil house for Saturday's party. Old tapestries should be replaced, but the bedroom hung with red damask must stay exactly as it is. Bertuccio asks who is coming. The Count answers with an old Roman saying: Lucullus dines with Lucullus, meaning the host will decide everything himself.
Coming Up in Chapter 55
At seven o'clock Major Bartolomeo Cavalcanti arrives just as Baptistin foretold, stepping from a cab in a stiff green coat and an absurd gendarme's hat. The pomaded Italian presents Abbé Busoni's letter while Monte Cristo welcomes a nobleman who looks more like paid casting than ancient blood.
