Maximilian's Avowal — The Count of Monte Cristo

Valentine's collapse sends Villefort racing for d'Avrigny while Morrel hides in the closet, then bolts to Monte Cristo with poison talk from the Saint-Méran night still ringing in his ears. The count receives him calmly, mentions that General Morcerf has just blown his brains out, and listens as Morrel confesses he overheard Villefort and the doctor name poison as the cause of repeated deaths in that house.

When Morrel finally cries that he loves Valentine de Villefort and begs how to save her, Monte Cristo breaks. The avenger who watched punishments like a spectator roars like a wounded lion, then composes himself and promises that if Morrel came at noon, she will not die. He orders the young man home and secretly sends Baptistin to inquire while Villefort and d'Avrigny return to find Valentine still alive.

Noirtier's eyes tell d'Avrigny the truth: brucine in his daily mixture has accustomed Valentine to poison, so the excessive dose shakes but does not kill her. The doctor drinks the prescription himself before treating her while Madame de Villefort plays anxious mother upstairs. That same evening an Italian priest, Il Signor Giacomo Busoni, rents the crumbling house beside Villefort's garden and workmen begin repairs before nightfall.