Andrea Cavalcanti arrives at the Count's house with a letter signed Sinbad the Sailor. Monte Cristo welcomes him and says Sinbad is really the rich Englishman Lord Wilmore. Andrea tells a smooth story: he is the son of Major Cavalcanti, kidnapped as a child by a treacherous tutor, educated well despite his troubles, and now sent to Paris to find his father. The Count listens closely, warns him not to tell everyone a wild adventure story, and seems pleased with his manners and confidence.
The Count leaves Andrea with Major Cavalcanti and watches through a hidden panel in the wall. Father and son embrace like actors on a stage, repeating how happy they are after fifteen years apart. As soon as they think they are alone, Andrea asks in Italian how much the major is paid to play his father. They compare the letters each received from Abbé Busoni and from Sinbad the Sailor, read the matching promises of money, and agree that someone else is running the trick. They decide to keep acting anyway and split the rewards.
Monte Cristo returns and plays the helpful host. He tells Andrea his father will allow him fifty thousand francs a year in Paris, with five thousand francs a month paid through Danglars's bank. Andrea is pleased to learn the major will stay only a short time. The Count slips the young man cash for first expenses, then invites both Cavalcantis to dinner at Auteuil on Saturday at half past six. He will introduce Andrea to Baron Danglars, who will handle the payments. He also tells Andrea where to buy plain rich clothes, horses, and a carriage, and tells the major to wear his uniform and medals.
When the two men leave arm in arm, the Count calls them a pair of scoundrels who are not even truly related. He admits that in every fraud someone must be the dupe, then decides to visit the Morrel family because disgust feels worse than hatred. Andrea is now funded, dressed, and scheduled to enter Paris society at the very dinner where the Count's enemies will sit.
Coming Up in Chapter 57
Behind the gate at M. de Villefort's house, Maximilian waits while Valentine arrives late because Madame Danglars and Eugénie prolonged their garden visit. Two women trapped in unwanted marriages will finally speak alone.
