A New Life

by Dustianna

This takes place fifteen years after the Count leaves Maximilien and Valentine behind. This was a class assignment for my World Literature Class so it's a one shot.

'Jonathan,' called Valentine, looking across the vast backyard. 'Jonathan Morrel get over here right now!'

A young lad with his mother's hair and his father's eyes ran towards his mother after jumping the fence in a discreet place so he wouldn't get into trouble.

'Yes, mother?' asked the boy of twelve, skidding to a stop before Valentine.

'Where are your brother and sisters?'

'Edmond is over at the shore and I don't know where my sisters are,' he shrugged.

'Mother!' called a girl from a distance away. Jonathan winced as his two sisters, Elizabeth, who was 13, and Anna, who was 10, ran up to them.

'Jonathan locked us in the cavern again,' said the younger who had a smudge of dirt on her cheek.

'Jonathan!'

'Edmond told me to,' explained the boy. Valentine sighed.

"That boy should know better," she thought as she shook her head.

'Jonathan, go get your brother, it's time for supper, and be quick about it,' she said aloud.

The boy rushed off to find his brother and Valentine ushered her two daughters inside to clean themselves up for their supper. As the girls ran up the stairs, Valentine caught the attention of the nearest servant.

'Any word from Maximilien?' she asked. The servant shook his head and proceeded on his way to finish setting the dinner table. Valentine wrung her hands in worry.

Ever since they had decided to have the family moved to the Isle of Monte Cristo, Maximilien had seemed to be at work more and more often. Valentine already knew that, to save some money, Maximilien stayed in Treport, near his job in Paris. He was normally gone almost the entire week, returning only to spend the weekend with his wife and family.

Valentine heard the back door open and close. She turned around to see Jonathan and Edmond sneaking up the back staircase that was normally reserved for the servants.

'Boys,' she said in a loud voice. Both boys froze, turned to face their unhappy mother, and offered the most innocent smile they could possess.

'Yes, Mother dear?' said Edmond in a sweet voice.

'Why is it that your sisters claim that Jonathan locked them in a cave?'

'Jonathan pushed a mere couple of rocks in the way; he didn't necessarily lock them in the cave. Plus, they weren't supposed to go by the caves anyway. You have told them that it is too dangerous,' he reminded her.

'Then why did Jonathan claim that you told him to?'

'No, I didn't,' objected Edmond. 'He must have been hearing things.' Valentine frowned and crossed her arms, and began to tap her foot in annoyance. Edmond let out a sigh of defeat.

'They asked for it, they wouldn't stop following me and Jonathan around,' he explained. Valentine paused for a moment, as though she was waiting for her eldest son to add to his pitiful explanation.

'You had better think of a better one to give to your father when he gets home. Don't think that he will not find out about this. Now get upstairs and wash up and change.'

The boys, not wanting to anger their mother again, rushed up the stairs to freshen up. She watched them go up the stairs before turning around to head for the sitting room where she could hear her husband's arrival.

Just as she was sitting down, she heard the door open and close. She stood up and rushed to the doorway, seeing her husband in the entrance hall. She rushed to him and hugged him before he could take off his hat and coat.

'I missed you dearly,' he told her after he gave her a kiss.

'And I did as well.' She stepped back to allow him to take off his hat and coat before saying, 'Edmond and Jonathan locked the girls inside the cave again.'

Maximilien turned to face his wife with a frown on his face.

'Jonathan had said that Edmond had told him to do it,' she finished.

'Where are they now?' Valentine could see a spark of anger in Maximilien's eye. She knew that he may overdue the punishment because of what had happened the last time. Elizabeth ended up with a broken arm trying to climb out of the small hole on the top that the boys had left for them. Had she not done so, the girls would have stayed there throughout the night because the boys had lied and said that the girls were in their room.

"If only he had time to relax and think a more suitable punishment over," she thought.

'All of them are upstairs freshening up for supper. But, deal with them after we eat, Maximilien,' she touched his shoulder with her hand, 'there will be time afterwards.'

Their eyes met again and he nodded. He quickly smiled, 'so, what's for dinner?'

They walked to the dining room and were met by their four children. The girls rushed to hug their father. Jonathan and Edmond hung in the background, afraid to approach their father, just incase their mother had told him of their devious deed. Maximilien noticed this quickly and said, 'come on, boys, where are your welcomes to your father? Or are you guilty of something I should know?'

At this the boys rushed to their father, believing that he was totally oblivious to what they had done, telling him 'Welcome home' and 'We missed you dearly, father'.

'Come along,' said Valentine after a few seconds, 'our dinner will become cold ere we have a chance to eat it.'

As the children were heading for their seats, Valentine and Maximilien caught each other's eye and Valentine smiled. Maximilien returned the smile and they sat at their designated seats at opposite ends of the table to enjoy their dinner.

After dinner, the entire family headed for the family room and sat in front of the fire to talk and read their usually bedtime story.

'Boys,' said Maximilien once everyone sat down. The boys gave each other a fearful look, knowing that their previous thought was, in fact, a hope, and slowly approached their father. The father stood up and beckoned them to the corner of the room, away from the rest of the family so he could talk to them without interruption.

'Your mother told me that you locked your sisters in the cave again. What were you all doing over there anyway?' he asked.

'We thought we had seen a man and woman over by the-' Jonathan was elbowed sharply by his brother, signaling him to be quiet. Maximilien raised an eyebrow.

'Describe them,' he said.

'The man was tall and thin and had dark hair. And the woman was beautiful, almost mother's age. She had long dark hair and tanner skin than normal. I think they were foreigners,' said Edmond. Maximilien thought for a moment before he came to a conclusion and he smirked as a very familiar phrase popped into his head. Wait and hope.

'Was there a ship near the shoreline?' he asked.

'I think it was a yacht. It had a white sail,' replied Edmond. Maximilien nodded.

'First of all, if I ever catch any of you near that cavern again, I will have you turned over my knee, understood?' The boys nodded. 'As for the moment, you cannot go to shore with me on the first of the next month.'

Edmond's jaw dropped. He had been looking forward to that trip for ages. 'But father…'

'You know what you did was wrong when you did it,' he told them, 'you must face the consequences.' Maximilien shooed them away with his hand before walking over to the fireplace. Valentine looked up as Maximilien sat down and leaned closer to her.

'I have a feeling that we may have a visitor either tonight or tomorrow,' he whispered.

At nine the next morning, when Maximilien and Valentine were talking in his study, the butler interrupted to inform them that they had a visitor. Maximilien hurried out of his study, followed by Valentine to the entrance hall where two familiar figures and a third less familiar one stood.

'Count,' greeted Maximilien, warmly shaking his friend's hand. 'You haven't changed a bit.'

'Don't lie,' said the Count, 'I've aged. You, on the other hand, have grown into a fine young man.'

'Haydee, it's been too long, my sister,' said Valentine hugging the Grecian Princess, kissing her on each cheek.

'I have missed you so, dear Valentine,' replied Haydee.

It was at this time that they turned to face the young man that stood behind the two. Maximilien looked closer at the man in uniform and recognized something in him, yet couldn't quite figure out who he was.

'You remember Albert de Morcerf?' asked the Count, recognizing Maximilien's look of confusion.

'Albert!' exclaimed Maximilien, 'I hardly recognized you.'

'And I, you,' replied Albert.

'Please, come in,' said Maximilien, 'I am being a poor host for not inviting you in sooner.' This group went into the sitting room and took a seat on the couch or the three plush chairs.

'So, Count, what brings you here?' asked the host.

'News,' he said simply, 'Haydee, Albert, and I were heading back to the Chateau d'If to revisit memories. We noticed this home here and wondered if you had settled here.'

'Of course, dearest friend, why wouldn't we put a magnificent gift to use?' The Count smiled at Maximilien's compliment.

'What news do you wish to know?' asked Morrel.

'What has happened to Monsieur de Villefort?' the Count began, his eye flickering towards Valentine when he noticed that Maximilien seemed uncomfortable.

'He died almost ten years ago,' said Valentine when Maximilien hesitated too long in hopes that he wouldn't bring up any horrific memories for his wife. 'We had brought him and my grandfather here to live when we had first built this house almost twelve years ago. After my grandfather's death, my father began to refuse any type of care. You see, the only reason he was kept alive was because of my grandfather, he thought that he was a child again. Soon after the death, my father had escaped his nurse, climbed to the highest cliff and…'

'No need to explain,' interrupted the Count, knowing that he had brought up an emotional and difficult subject. 'What about the Baron Danglars? Has he returned to Paris at all?'

'Actually, he has been brought back by the authorities almost a week ago,' said Maximillien, 'he stands trial in three days time for charges that no one knows.'

'So, he is still alive,' muttered the Count, amused. He had, deep down, expected Danglars to have committed suicide, maybe something similar to Villefort's unfortunate fate. Although, the Count wouldn't wish that anymore since had changed from the shock of Edouord Villefort's death.

'How fare Julia and Emmanuel?'

'Very well, they have several children now, and Emmanuel is working well as an accountant for a firm in Paris.'

'That is good to know,' nodded the Count.

'May I asked, 'said Maximillien, 'how you met up with Albert?'

'Certainly,' said the Count, 'Haydee and I were in Spain at the time. Albert had signed up with the army there, as you know, and was somewhat homesick. Once we had seen him there, we began to talk. He mentioned his wish to return to Paris for a week or so, so we offered him a ride home. He asked for leave and came with us.'

'And what of Madam de Morcerf?' asked Valentine. 'How does she fare?'

The Count looked at Albert for an explanation, not knowing what had happened to her himself.

'Her heart gave away at the beginning of this year. She died doing what she loved,' he admitted. The room was suddenly quiet. Almost everyone in that room had known Mercedes and loved her for she was a kind and gentle person. The effect that she had placed on each of their hearts was different, so the announcement of her death caused a differing effect as well.

To Valentine and Maximillien, they had known her only as Albert's mother, meeting her only a few times. They enjoyed her presence whenever they had met. To Haydee, she knew that her lover had feelings for Mercedes. Although, at first, she had been jealous of the woman, but now, she was almost channeling a few of the Count's emotions. To the Count, he felt the pain of regret and depression. He knew that it only came because some of the memories were still clear in his mind; the time he first met Mercedes as a naïve sailor, their marriage feast, and then the last time he had seen her, when they had the argument and where he had finally realized that his love belonged to another woman.

To Albert, it hurt the worst. He had loved his mother dearly, with his only regret in life was when he had signed up for the militia and left his mother with a couple thousand francs. His mother and he had corresponded often, and he had not known that his mother had been ill, having three attacks already before her death. Had he know, he would have contacted the Count in hope that he would save her. But he never knew, and the last letter he received was one from the convent mother, saying that his mother was dead. He had headed for the convent as soon as he possibly could to attend the memorial and burial, only to return the next day to active duty in an attempt to forget his sorrows.

'I was informed,' said the Count, interrupting the uncomfortable and chilling silence, 'that you have a family now.'

'Yes,' answered Maximilien, 'two sons and two daughters.'

'Edmond is fifteen, Elizabeth is thirteen, Jonathan is twelve, and Anna is ten,' added Valentine. Haydee gave Valentine a look that she wished to talk to her in private at this time and it looked almost urgent. Valentine understood and said, 'I will go and show Haydee around the gardens, if she would like to?' Haydee nodded at this offer and both women looked to the men to see their reactions.

Maximilien nodded and Valentine and Haydee left the room, allowing the men to discuss whatever they had wished.

Once they were outside and in the gardens, Haydee said casually, 'the Count and I have been discussing the prospect of a family.'

'Oh, that's wonderful,' exclaimed Valentine.

'We both want children, Valentine, yet we feel as though he may be too old.'

'One is never too old to not enjoy the prospects of children.' Haydee nodded.

'That's what I have been telling him,' said Haydee, stopping in her tracks. Valentine stopped, concerned that something had happened. They looked at each other. Haydee said in a low voice, 'but what I have not told him is that I carry his child.'

'That's wonderful, for how long?' Valentine smiled, this was good news.

'I'm three month's along. And am beginning to show.'

'You must tell him,' said Valentine, 'he'll understand.'

'But I am afraid that he may force me into miscarriage,' she whispered.

'He wouldn't dare.' Haydee looked away from Valentine's gaze. Valentine noticed something in Haydee's eyes that told her that there was a great possibility of him doing that. Valentine's anger flared up deep inside and she said in a low voice, 'we need to talk to the Count.'

'Please,' pleaded Haydee, 'don't.' But Valentine was already stomping back to the house. Haydee rushed to catch up with her, but Valentine beat her to the sitting room.

After Haydee and Valentine had left, Maximilien, Albert, and the Count had begun a similar discussion.

'Is something wrong Count?' asked the host.

'Haydee has been wanting a child,' he explained.

'And you do not?' asked Albert, surprised. He thought that the Count would welcome any life into this world in recompense for the lives that been taken away during his reign of terror.

'I am too old, I haven't the knowledge or energy for a child.'

'No one is ever too old,' said Maximilien, 'including you.' The Count stood up and went to the fireplace and placed his hand on the mantle and gazed into the fire.

'I fear that if I were to have a child that I could not be able to care for it.'

'Your past is the past,' said Albert, 'this will not reflect on your child. You are a caring man, Count, you have helped both Maximilien and I, as well as our loved ones.'

'Plus, if you or Haydee would ever need help, our home is always opened,' reminded Maximilien, 'we are eternally in your debt.'

They heard the door slam and they turned to look at the doorway to the sitting room and saw Valentine with an unknown fury in her eyes.

'Is something wrong?' asked Maximilien, worried that something had happened when Haydee rushed up behind her.

'Count,' she said in a relatively calm voice. 'Would you like to meet our children? I am sure that they are awake by now. It's almost noon.'

The Count looked at Maximilien for a moment before looking at Valentine and nodded. 'I would be delighted.'

The children were called down and were introduced to the Count. Valentine carefully watched his expressions as he met each child. He kept them, for the most part, concealed in the few wrinkles that had come along with the years. But, out of the ones she could decipher, she could tell that he was almost amused by the four young Morrels; it worried her.

It wasn't too much longer before lunch was served for everyone. The children were to sit in the minor dining room while the adults sat in the grander of the two.

'What do you think of the children?' asked Valentine to the Count.

'They are a lovely bunch of children. Only expected from two parents such as yourselves,' he commented.

'I'm sure that any of yours would be just as wonderful, if not more,' replied Valentine. The Count almost frowned; he knew where this was going.

'I'm too old to have children,' he repeated once again.

'No one is ever too old to have children,' said Maximilien. His eyes met with his wife's and he finally understood. This was the subject that she and Haydee had discussed during the walk.

'Haydee,' said Valentine after a moment, 'is there something that you would like to add to this.' A look of fear and anger flashed in her eyes, she shook her head.

For the next several hours, this group talked, avoiding all discussion of family. After dinner was served, they sat in the sitting room again.

'Please, spend the night, my guests. We have the room,' said Maximilien.

'We would love to,' said the Count, 'but I, on the other hand, must leave for tonight.' Maximilien was shocked, he didn't expect for this to occur. The Count noticed and said, 'I will return in the morning, dear friend, I have business to attend to that cannot be delayed much longer.'

Maximilien nodded, trusting the Count and his excuse.

In less than an hour later, the Count left to his yacht, which left the Island.

Meanwhile, in Marseilles, the Baron Danglars sat in a small cell since he was unable to afford better accommodations. He knew the charges he faced and he feared what would happen to him.

"It was fifteen years ago," he reminded himself, "Luigi Vampa and Dantes had taken my money, the 5,000,000 francs, and returned it to the hospital. I was ruined even then, but the money was returned. Was it not?"

This is what confused him the most. He had figured, no, he knew that Dantes had returned the money and didn't keep it for himself. Dantes had money for himself, more than enough to support himself and his lover, Haydee.

But, if he had returned it, why was he in this predicament?

He had asked his jailer why he was here, but the jailer just laughed at him as though he was crazy. Saying that Danglars knew why he was there. But when Danglars insisted that he was ignorant, the jailer had just left him.

Why was he there?

'Baron Danglars,' said the jailer, 'you have a visitor.'

Danglars glanced up and frowned, who would want to visit him. Everyone he had known was gone now.

A dark, familiar shadow came in the doorway.

'Edmond!' he exclaimed when the jailer left

'Old friend,' replied the Count, with a smile. 'I am glad that you are doing all right.'

'You call this doing all right?' he asked, looking around his cell.

'It's better than what I had,' he reminded him. Danglars winced; Dantes came to laugh at him.

'I know what you are thinking,' said the Count, 'and I have paid your bail.'

Danglars gasped.

'Why?'

'No one deserves to be in jail for a crime they didn't commit or know existed.'

'You know what I am in here for?'

'Your wife was murdered soon after you had left,' recalled the Count from what the jailer had told him, 'and you were blamed for it.'

'So…I'm free?'

'Now you are,' smiled the Count, 'I had vouched for your innocence. But do not count on it again.' Danglars crawled on his knees to the Count, grabbed his hands and began to kiss them.

'Thank you, Edmond, thank you.' The Count pulled Danglars off of his knees and took him by the arm, leading out of the jail and into the carriage. Once the carriage began off, he said, 'now, friend, tell me. Where have you been since our last meeting in Rome?'

Danglars looked at the Count and said, clearing his throat, 'I stayed in Rome for a while, before I headed into Italy. And, last year, I returned to France, only to be arrested for the death of my wife.' He paused, finally realizing what he had just said. His wife was truly dead. But why? He asked this question to the Count.

'Your wife was murdered by bandits. She had left with plenty of cash and gems. A group of bandits, not far outside of Paris, spotted her and hijacked the carriage. She refused to give up her riches and was killed,' explained the Count, telling him what the jailer had told him earlier in exchange for a couple of silver coins.

They were quiet for a moment before Danglars asked, 'where are you taking me?'

'I am heading for a house that I had rented before seeing you. You are welcome to accompany and stay with me. I am only residing there for a single night. After that, I am afraid, that you will have to make your choice as whether or not to accompany me or head on your own way.'

That evening, the Count and Danglars spent the night in the house that the Count has rented and, early the next morning, ere dawn, both woke up. During a breakfast that the Count did not eat, he asked Danglars, 'have you decided your path?'

'I will head to Italy, Dantes. I had better luck there with my money than here.' The Count nodded.

'I will not stop you then,' he said, 'but you may accompany Haydee and I on our way.'

'I politely refuse your request,' said the other, 'I cannot intrude on your and Haydee's retreat.'

'Then, I must bid you farewell, old friend,' said the Count, standing up and grabbing his riding coat from nearby, 'I have a ship to catch that had an impatient captain.'

'Farewell, Edmond,' said Danglars, 'and thank you.' The Count smiled and nodded before he left to hurry to his yacht that his old friend, Jacopo, captained. He jumped off the horse he had rented, handing the reigns to a boy near the dock, paying him a couple of coins to return the horse to its owner.

Jacopo waved at the Count and helped him onto the yacht.

A few hours later, the Count headed into the home of the Morrels, being greatly welcomed back by his host. Before Maximilien announced his arrival to the others, he took his old friend off to the side and said, 'I have something to tell you that I am afraid that no one else will say.'

'Go on,' said the Count.

'Valentine told me that Haydee has some news that she is afraid to reveal…' Maximilien's voice trailed off. The Count raised an eyebrow, and felt a pang of fear. Was something horribly wrong?

'What is wrong?'

'She's with child, Count. Your child.'

The Count smiled.