The Ball — The Count of Monte Cristo

On a hot July night the Morcerf house throws a grand ball. Music fills the rooms, lanterns light the garden, and guests crowd in to see Mercédès. Madame Danglars almost stays home sick, but Villefort stops her carriage and says she must be seen there. Rumors spread that the police have been asking questions about the Count of Monte Cristo.

Albert hears the same question over and over: will Monte Cristo come? When the Count finally walks in, everyone stares. His pale face and calm manner draw more attention than his fine clothes. Albert introduces Captain Morrel to Madame de Villefort, who answers coldly because she remembers meeting him at the Count's house in Auteuil.

Gossip travels fast. Madame de Villefort tells Albert the Count may really be named Zaccone, a Maltese shipowner's son who found a mine and now runs a water cure. Monte Cristo jokes with Albert about silly Paris celebrities, then tells Danglars that a Frankfurt bank has failed. Danglars turns white because he has already paid a two-hundred-thousand-franc draft drawn on him.

Through all of this Mercédès watches one thing closely. The Count will not eat or drink anything under her husband's roof. She asks Albert to urge him to take at least an ice. He still refuses. Upset and pale, she opens the windows to the cool garden and publicly asks the Count for his arm. Their eyes meet for one long moment. Together they walk down the steps while other guests rush outside behind them.