Chapter 26 - At the Sign of the Pont du Gard

Summary

Edmond Dantès, disguised as an Italian abbé with an unusual accent, arrives at a desolate inn in Provence to find Gaspard Caderousse, now an impoverished innkeeper living with his sickly wife La Carconte. The abbé reveals he is the executor of Edmond Dantès's will, claiming Dantès died in prison, and presents a diamond worth fifty thousand francs that was meant to be divided among Dantès's four surviving friends: Caderousse, Danglars, Fernand, and Mercédès. Initially reluctant due to greed and fear of retribution from his former rivals, Caderousse is goaded by his wife into closing the inn doors to begin his tale.

Characters

• Dantès / Edmond (the abbé, Monsieur l'Abbé) — Arriving at the inn on horseback, the disguised Dantès introduces himself as a priest. He questions Caderousse about his past friendship with Edmond Dantès and reveals a diamond intended as a bequest from his friend. He manipulates Caderousse’s greed and fear, leading the innkeeper to close the door and begin recounting the events of the past.
• Caderousse / Gaspard (the innkeeper, landlord) — Caderousse serves as the innkeeper of the dilapidated establishment, living in poverty with his ill wife. He is initially surprised by the Abbé's arrival but becomes deeply engaged in the conversation about the diamond and his dead friend. Under the Abbé's prompting and his wife's urging, he bolts the door and agrees to recount his past actions, confirming his knowledge of the old man's starvation.
• La Carconte / Madeleine (Madame, the wife) — Sickly and frail, La Carconte listens to the conversation from the staircase. She urges her husband to refuse the Abbé's offer out of fear of retaliation from powerful friends but eventually succumbs to greed when she sees the diamond. She questions if the diamond belongs to them alone and withdraws to the stairs, allowing Caderousse to decide the course of action, after which Caderousse closes the door to ensure the secrecy of the confession.
• margottin (Margottin, the dog) — A large black dog at the inn barks aggressively at the new visitor, revealing its unaccustomedness to receiving company. It rests its scrawny neck on the Abbé's thigh and looks on with a languid eye after the Abbé shares his refreshment with it during the conversation.