Chapter 59 of 117
Chapter 59: The Will
14 min read
Chapter 59. The WillAs soon as Barrois had left the room, Noirtier looked at Valentine witha malicious expression that said many things. The young girl perfectlyunderstood the look, and so did Villefort, for his countenance becameclouded, and he knitted his eyebrows angrily. He took a seat, andquietly awaited the arrival of the notary. Noirtier saw him seathimself with an appearance of perfect indifference, at the same timegiving a side look at Valentine, which made her understand that shealso was to remain in the room. Three-quarters of an hour after,Barrois returned, bringing the notary with him.“Sir,” said Villefort, after the first salutations were over, “you weresent for by M. Noirtier, whom you see here. All his limbs have becomecompletely paralysed, he has lost his voice also, and we ourselves findmuch trouble in endeavoring to catch some fragments of his meaning.”Noirtier cast an appealing look on Valentine, which look was at once soearnest and imperative, that she answered immediately.“Sir,” said she, “I perfectly understand my grandfather’s meaning atall times.”“That is quite true,” said Barrois; “and that is what I told thegentleman as we walked along.”“Permit me,” said the notary, turning first to Villefort and then toValentine—“permit me to state that the case in question is just one ofthose in which a public officer like myself cannot proceed to actwithout thereby incurring a dangerous responsibility. The first thingnecessary to render an act valid is, that the notary should bethoroughly convinced that he has faithfully interpreted the will andwishes of the person dictating the act. Now I cannot be sure of theapprobation or disapprobation of a client who cannot speak, and as theobject of his desire or his repugnance cannot be clearly proved to me,on account of his want of speech, my services here would be quiteuseless, and cannot be legally exercised.”The notary then prepared to retire. An imperceptible smile of triumphwas expressed on the lips of the procureur. Noirtier looked atValentine with an expression so full of grief, that she arrested thedeparture of the notary.“Sir,” said she, “the language which I speak with my grandfather may beeasily learnt, and I can teach you in a few minutes, to understand italmost as well as I can myself. Will you tell me what you require, inorder to set your conscience quite at ease on the subject?”“In order to render an act valid, I must be certain of the approbationor disapprobation of my client. Illness of body would not affect thevalidity of the deed, but sanity of mind is absolutely requisite.”“Well, sir, by the help of two signs, with which I will acquaint youpresently, you may ascertain with perfect certainty that my grandfatheris still in the full possession of all his mental faculties. M.Noirtier, being deprived of voice and motion, is accustomed to conveyhis meaning by closing his eyes when he wishes to signify ‘yes,’ and towink when he means ‘no.’ You now know quite enough to enable you toconverse with M. Noirtier;—try.”Noirtier gave Valentine such a look of tenderness and gratitude that itwas comprehended even by the notary himself.“You have heard and understood what your granddaughter has been saying,sir, have you?” asked the notary. Noirtier closed his eyes.“And you approve of what she said—that is to say, you declare that thesigns which she mentioned are really those by means of which you areaccustomed to convey your thoughts?”“Yes.”“It was you who sent for me?”“Yes.”“To make your will?”“Yes.”“And you do not wish me to go away without fulfilling your originalintentions?” The old man winked violently.“Well, sir,” said the young girl, “do you understand now, and is yourconscience perfectly at rest on the subject?”But before the notary could answer, Villefort had drawn him aside.“Sir,” said he, “do you suppose for a moment that a man can sustain aphysical shock, such as M. Noirtier has received, without any detrimentto his mental faculties?”“It is not exactly that, sir,” said the notary, “which makes me uneasy,but the difficulty will be in wording his thoughts and intentions, soas to be able to get his answers.”“You must see that to be an utter impossibility,” said Villefort.Valentine and the old man heard this conversation, and Noirtier fixedhis eye so earnestly on Valentine that she felt bound to answer to thelook.“Sir,” said she, “that need not make you uneasy, however difficult itmay at first sight appear to be. I can discover and explain to you mygrandfather’s thoughts, so as to put an end to all your doubts andfears on the subject. I have now been six years with M. Noirtier, andlet him tell you if ever once, during that time, he has entertained athought which he was unable to make me understand.”“No,” signed the old man.“Let us try what we can do, then,” said the notary. “You accept thisyoung lady as your interpreter, M. Noirtier?”“Yes.”“Well, sir, what do you require of me, and what document is it that youwish to be drawn up?”Valentine named all the letters of the alphabet until she came to W. Atthis letter the eloquent eye of Noirtier gave her notice that she wasto stop.“It is very evident that it is the letter W which M. Noirtier wants,”said the notary.“Wait,” said Valentine; and, turning to her grandfather, she repeated,“Wa—We—Wi——” The old man stopped her at the last syllable. Valentinethen took the dictionary, and the notary watched her while she turnedover the pages.She passed her finger slowly down the columns, and when she came to theword “Will,” M. Noirtier’s eye bade her stop.“Will,” said the notary; “it is very evident that M. Noirtier isdesirous of making his will.”“Yes, yes, yes,” motioned the invalid.“Really, sir, you must allow that this is most extraordinary,” said theastonished notary, turning to M. de Villefort.“Yes,” said the procureur, “and I think the will promises to be yetmore extraordinary, for I cannot see how it is to be drawn up withoutthe intervention of Valentine, and she may, perhaps, be considered astoo much interested in its contents to allow of her being a suitableinterpreter of the obscure and ill-defined wishes of her grandfather.”“No, no, no,” replied the eye of the paralytic.“What?” said Villefort, “do you mean to say that Valentine is notinterested in your will?”“No.”“Sir,” said the notary, whose interest had been greatly excited, andwho had resolved on publishing far and wide the account of thisextraordinary and picturesque scene, “what appeared so impossible to mean hour ago, has now become quite easy and practicable, and this may bea perfectly valid will, provided it be read in the presence of sevenwitnesses, approved by the testator, and sealed by the notary in thepresence of the witnesses. As to the time, it will not require verymuch more than the generality of wills. There are certain formsnecessary to be gone through, and which are always the same. As to thedetails, the greater part will be furnished afterwards by the state inwhich we find the affairs of the testator, and by yourself, who, havinghad the management of them, can doubtless give full information on thesubject. But besides all this, in order that the instrument may not becontested, I am anxious to give it the greatest possible authenticity,therefore, one of my colleagues will help me, and, contrary to custom,will assist in the dictation of the testament. Are you satisfied, sir?”continued the notary, addressing the old man.30175m“Yes,” looked the invalid, his eye beaming with delight at the readyinterpretation of his meaning.“What is he going to do?” thought Villefort, whose position demandedmuch reserve, but who was longing to know what his father’s intentionswere. He left the room to give orders for another notary to be sent,but Barrois, who had heard all that passed, had guessed his master’swishes, and had already gone to fetch one. The procureur then told hiswife to come up. In the course of a quarter of an hour everyone hadassembled in the chamber of the paralytic; the second notary had alsoarrived.A few words sufficed for a mutual understanding between the twoofficers of the law. They read to Noirtier the formal copy of a will,in order to give him an idea of the terms in which such documents aregenerally couched; then, in order to test the capacity of the testator,the first notary said, turning towards him:“When an individual makes his will, it is generally in favor or inprejudice of some person.”“Yes.”“Have you an exact idea of the amount of your fortune?”“Yes.”“I will name to you several sums which will increase by gradation; youwill stop me when I reach the one representing the amount of your ownpossessions?”“Yes.”There was a kind of solemnity in this interrogation. Never had thestruggle between mind and matter been more apparent than now, and if itwas not a sublime, it was, at least, a curious spectacle. They hadformed a circle round the invalid; the second notary was sitting at atable, prepared for writing, and his colleague was standing before thetestator in the act of interrogating him on the subject to which wehave alluded.“Your fortune exceeds 300,000 francs, does it not?” asked he. Noirtiermade a sign that it did.“Do you possess 400,000 francs?” inquired the notary. Noirtier’s eyeremained immovable.“500,000?” The same expression continued.“600,000—700,000—800,000—900,000?”Noirtier stopped him at the last-named sum.“You are then in possession of 900,000 francs?” asked the notary.“Yes.”“In landed property?”“No.”“In stock?”“Yes.”“The stock is in your own hands?”The look which M. Noirtier cast on Barrois showed that there wassomething wanting which he knew where to find. The old servant left theroom, and presently returned, bringing with him a small casket.“Do you permit us to open this casket?” asked the notary. Noirtier gavehis assent.They opened it, and found 900,000 francs in bank scrip. The firstnotary handed over each note, as he examined it, to his colleague.The total amount was found to be as M. Noirtier had stated.“It is all as he has said; it is very evident that the mind stillretains its full force and vigor.” Then, turning towards the paralytic,he said, “You possess, then, 900,000 francs of capital, which,according to the manner in which you have invested it, ought to bringin an income of about 40,000 livres?”“Yes.”“To whom do you desire to leave this fortune?”“Oh!” said Madame de Villefort, “there is not much doubt on thatsubject. M. Noirtier tenderly loves his granddaughter, Mademoiselle deVillefort; it is she who has nursed and tended him for six years, andhas, by her devoted attention, fully secured the affection, I hadalmost said the gratitude, of her grandfather, and it is but just thatshe should reap the fruit of her devotion.”The eye of Noirtier clearly showed by its expression that he was notdeceived by the false assent given by Madame de Villefort’s words andmanner to the motives which she supposed him to entertain.“Is it, then, to Mademoiselle Valentine de Villefort that you leavethese 900,000 francs?” demanded the notary, thinking he had only toinsert this clause, but waiting first for the assent of Noirtier, whichit was necessary should be given before all the witnesses of thissingular scene.Valentine, when her name was made the subject of discussion, hadstepped back, to escape unpleasant observation; her eyes were castdown, and she was crying. The old man looked at her for an instant withan expression of the deepest tenderness, then, turning towards thenotary, he significantly winked his eye in token of dissent.“What,” said the notary, “do you not intend making MademoiselleValentine de Villefort your residuary legatee?”“No.”“You are not making any mistake, are you?” said the notary; “you reallymean to declare that such is not your intention?”“No,” repeated Noirtier; “No.”Valentine raised her head, struck dumb with astonishment. It was not somuch the conviction that she was disinherited that caused her grief,but her total inability to account for the feelings which had provokedher grandfather to such an act. But Noirtier looked at her with so muchaffectionate tenderness that she exclaimed:“Oh, grandpapa, I see now that it is only your fortune of which youdeprive me; you still leave me the love which I have always enjoyed.”“Ah, yes, most assuredly,” said the eyes of the paralytic, for heclosed them with an expression which Valentine could not mistake.“Thank you, thank you,” murmured she. The old man’s declaration thatValentine was not the destined inheritor of his fortune had excited thehopes of Madame de Villefort; she gradually approached the invalid, andsaid:“Then, doubtless, dear M. Noirtier, you intend leaving your fortune toyour grandson, Edward de Villefort?”The winking of the eyes which answered this speech was most decided andterrible, and expressed a feeling almost amounting to hatred.“No?” said the notary; “then, perhaps, it is to your son, M. deVillefort?”“No.” The two notaries looked at each other in mute astonishment andinquiry as to what were the real intentions of the testator. Villefortand his wife both grew red, one from shame, the other from anger.“What have we all done, then, dear grandpapa?” said Valentine; “you nolonger seem to love any of us?”The old man’s eyes passed rapidly from Villefort and his wife, andrested on Valentine with a look of unutterable fondness.“Well,” said she; “if you love me, grandpapa, try and bring that loveto bear upon your actions at this present moment. You know me wellenough to be quite sure that I have never thought of your fortune;besides, they say I am already rich in right of my mother—too rich,even. Explain yourself, then.”Noirtier fixed his intelligent eyes on Valentine’s hand.“My hand?” said she.“Yes.”“Her hand!” exclaimed everyone.“Oh, gentlemen, you see it is all useless, and that my father’s mind isreally impaired,” said Villefort.“Ah,” cried Valentine suddenly, “I understand. It is my marriage youmean, is it not, dear grandpapa?”“Yes, yes, yes,” signed the paralytic, casting on Valentine a look ofjoyful gratitude for having guessed his meaning.30179m“You are angry with us all on account of this marriage, are you not?”“Yes?”“Really, this is too absurd,” said Villefort.“Excuse me, sir,” replied the notary; “on the contrary, the meaning ofM. Noirtier is quite evident to me, and I can quite easily connect thetrain of ideas passing in his mind.”“You do not wish me to marry M. Franz d’Épinay?” observed Valentine.“I do not wish it,” said the eye of her grandfather.“And you disinherit your granddaughter,” continued the notary, “becauseshe has contracted an engagement contrary to your wishes?”“Yes.”“So that, but for this marriage, she would have been your heir?”“Yes.”There was a profound silence. The two notaries were holding aconsultation as to the best means of proceeding with the affair.Valentine was looking at her grandfather with a smile of intensegratitude, and Villefort was biting his lips with vexation, whileMadame de Villefort could not succeed in repressing an inward feelingof joy, which, in spite of herself, appeared in her whole countenance.“But,” said Villefort, who was the first to break the silence, “Iconsider that I am the best judge of the propriety of the marriage inquestion. I am the only person possessing the right to dispose of mydaughter’s hand. It is my wish that she should marry M. Franzd’Épinay—and she shall marry him.”Valentine sank weeping into a chair.“Sir,” said the notary, “how do you intend disposing of your fortune incase Mademoiselle de Villefort still determines on marrying M. Franz?”The old man gave no answer.“You will, of course, dispose of it in some way or other?”“Yes.”“In favor of some member of your family?”“No.”“Do you intend devoting it to charitable purposes, then?” pursued thenotary.“Yes.”“But,” said the notary, “you are aware that the law does not allow ason to be entirely deprived of his patrimony?”“Yes.”“You only intend, then, to dispose of that part of your fortune whichthe law allows you to subtract from the inheritance of your son?”Noirtier made no answer.“Do you still wish to dispose of all?”“Yes.”“But they will contest the will after your death?”“No.”“My father knows me,” replied Villefort; “he is quite sure that hiswishes will be held sacred by me; besides, he understands that in myposition I cannot plead against the poor.” The eye of Noirtier beamedwith triumph.“What do you decide on, sir?” asked the notary of Villefort.“Nothing, sir; it is a resolution which my father has taken and I knowhe never alters his mind. I am quite resigned. These 900,000 francswill go out of the family in order to enrich some hospital; but it isridiculous thus to yield to the caprices of an old man, and I shall,therefore, act according to my conscience.”Having said this, Villefort quitted the room with his wife, leaving hisfather at liberty to do as he pleased. The same day the will was made,the witnesses were brought, it was approved by the old man, sealed inthe presence of all and given in charge to M. Deschamps, the familynotary.