Chapter 66 - Marriage Plans

Summary

Baron Danglars visits the Count of Monte Cristo to discuss his severe financial losses in Trieste and Spain, as well as the arrival of Major Cavalcanti who has drawn a bill on the Count. The Count analyzes Danglars's precarious 'third-class' fortune and subtly encourages the banker's suspicion of his rival Comte de Morcerf by revealing that Morcerf was originally a fisherman named Fernand Mondego connected to the death of Ali Tebelin. Danglars, intrigued by the prospect of scandal, leaves to write to his correspondent in Janina to uncover this secret.

Characters

• Danglars / Baron Danglars (the banker) — Danglars visits the Count of Monte Cristo after a day of financial distress and political agitation, detailing his losses in Spain and a bankruptcy in Trieste involving Jacopo Manfredi. He discusses the credit he opened for Major Cavalcanti's son, Andrea, and engages in a conversation with the Count that shifts from business to the social standing of the Cavalcantis versus the Morcerfs, eventually agreeing to investigate the past of Fernand Mondego.
• Monte Cristo / Count — The Count receives Baron Danglars in his drawing room, categorizing the banker's wealth as a 'third-class fortune' vulnerable to ruin. He uses the conversation to expose Danglars's rivalry with Comte de Morcerf by revealing Morcerf's true identity as Fernand Mondego and hinting at his role in the catastrophe of Ali Tebelin, thereby prompting Danglars to seek proof of this scandal.