Chapter 51 - Pyramus and Thisbe

Summary

In a secluded vegetable garden behind the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Valentine de Villefort secretly meets with Maximilien Morrel, who has disguised himself as a market gardener to avoid detection by her watchful stepmother and father. The couple discusses their deep affection and the difficulties of their secret relationship, with Valentine expressing her despair over her isolated existence in her father's house and her grandfather Noirtier's silent political sympathies. Their conversation is abruptly interrupted by a servant who announces that a great lord, identified as the Count of Monte Cristo, has arrived as a visitor at the Villefort residence, causing Maximilien to pause in thought as Valentine departs to greet the guest.

Characters

• Valentine (Mademoiselle de Villefort) — Valentine sneaks into a hidden vegetable garden to meet Maximilien, where she confesses her misery and fear of her stepmother Heloise while expressing her love for him. She listens to Maximilien's plans and complaints about her engagement to Franz, before being summoned by a servant to leave the garden and greet the Count of Monte Cristo.
• Maximilien (Monsieur Morrel, Captain) — Maximilien Morrel meets Valentine in the garden disguised as a market gardener, having rented the plot to ensure their privacy. He explains his financial security and devotion to her, laments her indifference toward their future, and is shocked to hear that her father Villefort despises the Bonapartist Morrel family before they are interrupted by the arrival of the Count.