sought and obtained leave to go and serve in Greece, still having his name kept on the army roll.
“Some time after, it was stated that the Comte de Morcerf (this was the name he bore) had entered the service of Ali Pasha with the rank of instructor-general. Ali Pasha was killed, as you know, but before he died he recompensed the services of Fernand by leaving him a considerable sum, with which he returned to France, when he was gazetted lieutenant-general.”
“So that now—?” inquired the abbé.
“So that now,” continued Caderousse, “he owns a magnificent house— No. 27, Rue du Helder, Paris.”
The abbé opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then, making an effort at self-control, he said, “And Mercédès—they tell me that she has disappeared?”
“Disappeared,” said Caderousse, “yes, as the sun disappears, to rise the next day with still more splendor.”
“Has she made a fortune also?” inquired the abbé, with an ironical smile.
“Mercédès is at this moment one of the greatest ladies in Paris,” replied Caderousse.
“Go on,” said the abbé; “it seems as if I were listening to the story of a dream. But I have seen things so extraordinary, that what you tell me seems less astonishing than it otherwise might.”
“Mercédès was at first in the deepest despair at the blow which deprived her of Edmond. I have told you of her attempts to propitiate M. de Villefort, her devotion to the elder Dantès. In the midst of her despair, a new affliction overtook her. This was the departure of Fernand—of Fernand, whose crime she did not know, and