Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Wills

Noirtier looked meaningfully at Valentine as soon as Barros had left the room.The girl understood perfectly the meaning of this look, and so did Villefort, seeing his face sombre, and his brows drawn together in irritation.He sat down in a chair and waited for the notary to arrive.Seeing him sit down, Noirtier looked at him with a look of indifference, but she glanced at Valentine, who understood that he was asking her to stay in the room.More than half an hour later, Barros returned with the notary. "My lord," said Villefort, after the exchange of greetings, "it is M. Noirtier who has invited you here. He is paralyzed and unable to speak, and we often have a hard time trying to understand him a little. Meaning." Noirtier cast a beseeching look at Valentine, which was full of anxiety and urgency, and she quickly replied: "Your Excellency, I can fully understand my grandfather's meaning at any time."

"It is true," said Burrows, "that I have told this gentleman as we walked along." "Permit me," said the notary, "who turned first to Villefort and then to Valentine, "permit me to say a word, I am a public official, and the present case, if handled lightly, will inevitably Dangerous liability issues can arise.A necessary condition for notarization to be effective is that the notary must be completely convinced that he has acted faithfully in accordance with the wishes of the client.Now, with a client who can't speak, I can't make sure what he means, because he has lost the ability to speak, and can't clearly express his likes and dislikes to me, so nothing I do here can be considered legal, even if I do is also invalid. "

After speaking, the notary was ready to leave.An imperceptible smile of triumph crossed the prosecutor's mouth, and Noirtier looked at Valentine with a sad expression, so she hastily stopped the notary and prevented him from leaving. "Your Excellency," she said, "the language in which I communicate with my grandfather is very easy to learn. I can teach you in a few minutes, and make you understand him almost as well as I do. Will you Tell me, what are your demands in this regard?" "For a notarization to be effective, I must be able to ascertain unmistakably whether my client agrees or disagrees with certain things. Physical illness does not affect the validity of the contract, but the mind must be absolutely clear."

"Oh, sir, you can be quite sure that my grandfather's mental powers are still very sound from just two signs. M. Noirtier, who cannot speak or walk, always means 'yes' by closing his eyes, and by Wink means 'No. You can talk to Noirtier now. Please try.' Noirtier gave Valentine a look so kind and grateful that even the notary understood it. "Have you heard and understood what your granddaughter just said, sir?" asked the notary.Noirtier closed his eyes for a moment. "Then you agree with what she said—that is, you've always expressed yourself in the way she just said, haven't you?"

"yes." "Are you looking for me?" "yes." "To make your will?" "yes." "Would you like me to go away before I fulfill your original wish?" The old man blinked desperately. "Your Excellency," said the girl, "you understand now, and you are completely at ease?" Before the notary could answer, Villefort took him aside. "Your Excellency," he said, "think about it, would M. Noirtier be in such a physical condition that his brains would not be affected in the slightest?" "I am not worried about that, sir," said the notary, "but that is the difficulty of getting his answer out of his mind."

"You see, too, that it is impossible." Both Valentine and the old man overheard this conversation; Noirtier again looked at Valentine so eagerly that she felt compelled to come forward. "Your Excellency," said she, "this matter may at first appear to be difficult, but you may rest assured. I can read my grandfather's mind and explain it to you, so as to remove all your doubts. I In the six years I have been with M. Noirtier, let him tell you, has there ever been a time during that time that I do not know what was going on in his head. "No." The old man said.

"Well, then, let us try and see what we can do," said the notary. "Would you accept this lady's explanation, Monsieur Noirtier?" The paralyzed old man made an affirmative gesture. "Well, sir, what do you want me to do, do you want to make any papers?" Valentine opened the alphabet again, and when she recited the letter T, Noirtier motioned her to stop with his eyes. "What Monsieur Noirtier wants obviously begins with the letter T," said the notary. "Wait a moment," said Valentine, turning to her grandfather, and continuing her apostasy, "Ta-Te."

The old man stopped her when she heard the second set of letters.Valentine then took the dictionary and turned it over under the notary's eye.She moved her finger slowly over the page line by line, and when she pointed to the word "Testament (will)", M. Noirtier's eyes told her to stop. "The will!" exclaimed the notary. "It is quite clear that M. Noirtier will make his will." "Yes, yes, yes!" said the useless old man. "Indeed, sir, you must admit that this is very curious," said the astonished notary, turning to M. de Villefort. "Yes," said the prosecutor, "I think that the will must be more peculiar, because it seems to me that it could not have been drafted without Valentine's participation, and she has nothing to do with the content of the will." There are urgent interests at stake, so she is not a suitable person to explain her grandfather's vague meaning."

"No, no, no!" replied the eyes of the paralyzed old man. "What!" said Villefort, "doesn't Valentine benefit from your will?" "No." "Your Excellency," said the notary, who had been so much interested in the matter, and who had resolved to greatly extend the extraordinary scene, "what I thought to be so improbable an hour ago is now It is very easy to achieve. As long as the will is read out in front of seven witnesses, confirmed by the will, and then sealed by the notary in front of the witnesses, it will be fully effective. As for the time, it will of course take longer than Making two ordinary wills is more time-consuming. There are certain procedures that must be followed to make a will, but those procedures are always the same. As for the details, we can draw up according to the will of the will. In this regard, you have personally handled it before , can no doubt help us. Apart from these, in order to avoid further disputes about formalities, we should make it as accurate as possible, so I should ask a colleague to help me. It is never necessary to make a will. There will be assistance, but this time we might as well make an exception." The notary continued to ask the old man, "Are you satisfied, Your Excellency?"

"Yes," said the old man's eyes, and he was glad that he was understood. "What does he want to do?" thought Villefort, who, in his position, was beyond his power to ask, but he wanted to know his father's mind.He went out and ordered another notary to be sent, but he did not know that Barrois had already found him, because he had heard what the notary said, and had guessed his master's mind.The prosecutor then called his wife.In less than a quarter of an hour, all the people who were called gathered in the room of the paralyzed old man.The second notary also came.The two notaries understood each other in just a few words.They produced a copy of the official will and read it to Noirtier, so that he might have an idea of ​​the general terms of this type of document, and then, to test the competence of a will, the first notary "When a person makes a will, generally speaking, it's always to the benefit or the detriment of a particular person," he said.

"Yes," said Noirtier. "Have you an exact figure of the amount of your property?" "some." "I'll give you a few sums, and gradually increase. When I get to the sum of your property, stop me, will you?" "OK." During this conversation, the atmosphere in the room was solemn.Never was the struggle between mind and matter more evident than it is now; and the spectacle deserves to be called, if not sublime, at least strange.They formed a circle around the old man; the second notary sat at a table, ready to take the notes, and his colleague stood in front of the last speaker, ready to ask the question he had just spoken. "Your fortune exceeds three hundred thousand francs, is it not?" said he.Noirtier said yes indeed. "Is it four hundred thousand francs?" asked the notary.Noirtier did not move his eyes. "500,000?" Still did not move. "Six hundred thousand? Seven hundred thousand? Eight hundred thousand? Nine hundred thousand?" Noirtier stopped him when he mentioned the last figure. "So you have nine hundred thousand francs?" asked the notary. "yes." "Is it real estate?" "no." "Securities?" "yes." "Do you have the securities?" "Monsieur Noirtier glanced at Barrois to show that he wanted something, and he knew where to find it. The old servant left the room, and returned at once with a small trunk. "Will you allow us to open this chest?" asked the notary.Noirtier said yes.They opened the box and found a bank deposit certificate for 900,000 francs.The first notary inspected them one by one and handed them to his colleagues.The total matches exactly what Noirtier said. "He's quite right," said the first notary, "that he doesn't seem to be out of his head at all, that's obvious." Then turning to the old man, he said, "Well, you have ninety The original capital of ten thousand francs, according to your investment method, it should be able to generate an income of about forty thousand livres?" "yes." "Who would you like to give this property to?" "Oh!" said Madame de Villefort, "that is perfectly clear. Monsieur Noirtier loved his granddaughter, Mademoiselle de Villefort, who served him for six years and took care of him so dutifully that her grandfather Loved her so much, was almost grateful to her, and it was only fair that she should now enjoy the benefits of filial piety." The expression in Noirtier's eyes clearly showed that he was not deceived by Madame de Villefort's false statement. "Then you intend to bequeath the nine hundred thousand francs to Mademoiselle Valentine Villefort?" asked the notary, who thought he would be able to fill in this entry at once, waiting for Noirtier's approval. , and this must be confirmed in the presence of all witnesses. Valentine had already drawn back when they mentioned her name to escape the unpleasant gazes which were directed at her; her eyes were downcast, and she was weeping.The old man looked at her for a moment with an expression of great kindness, then he turned to the notary, and with a meaningful wink, he expressed his innocence. "What!" said the notary, "you don't want to make Mademoiselle Valentine Villefort your heir, do you?" "yes." "Are you not mistaken?" said the notary, "do you really mean 'not set her up'?" "Yes!" said Noirtier again, "yes!" Valentine looked up, dumbfounded with astonishment.She was not grieved at the loss of her inheritance, but because she could not think of anything that had offended her grandfather to behave in such a way; Noirtier looked on with tender tenderness. She, she understood at once, and exclaimed, "Oh, Grandpa! I understand, you just don't give me your property, but you still give me the love I have always enjoyed. " "Oh, yes, of course!" said the old man's eyes, for Valentine could not have mistaken his expression when they were closed. "Thank you! Thank you!" she said softly. The old man's renunciation of Valentine as his heir aroused Madame de Villefort's hopes.She went up to the old man, and said: "Then, my dear Monsieur Noirtier, you are undoubtedly planning to leave your property to your grandson Édouard Villefort." Her words were answered with a most determined and terrible wink, expressing an emotion that bordered on hatred. "No," said the notary, "then it must be for your son, M. de Villefort?" "No." The old man replied. The two notaries were speechless in astonishment, and looked at each other.At this moment both Villefort and his wife blushed, the former from shame, the latter from hatred. "Then what has we all done wrong, my dear grandfather?" said Valentine. "You seem to love none of us." Then she lingered on Valentine with an expression of unhate affection. "Oh," she said, "if you love me, Grandpa, please show it by your actions at this time. You know me well, and you know that I never thought about your property, and, they Said that I have been rich--too rich, even, since I inherited my mother's fortune. Please explain." Noirtier fixed his intelligent eyes on Valentine's hand. "My hand?" she said. "yes." "Her hand!" everyone yelled. "Oh, gentlemen! You see, all this is wasted; my father is out of his wits," said Villefort. "Ah!" exclaimed Valentine suddenly, "I understand! You mean my marriage, don't you, dear grandfather?" "Yes, yes, yes," said the old man, and cheerfully cast a thankful glance at Valentine for guessing what he meant. "You are angry with us all for this marriage, are you not?" "yes." "Really, it is absurd," said Villefort. "Forgive me, Monsieur," replied the notary; "it seems to me, on the contrary, that Monsieur Noirtier's meaning is so clear that I can easily connect the thoughts in his head." "You don't want me to marry M. Franz d'Epinay?" said Valentine. "I don't want to," said her grandfather's gaze. "That's why you don't leave your inheritance to your granddaughter," continued the notary, "because she married against your wishes, isn't it?" "yes." "So if it wasn't for this marriage, she would have been your heir, right?" "yes." There was a sudden silence in the room.The two notaries gathered together to discuss, Valentine twisted her hands, and looked at her grandfather with a grateful smile; Villefort bit her lips in annoyance; Madame Villefort could not restrain her inner joy, Unconsciously showing a complacent demeanor. "But," said Villefort first, to break the silence, "I consider myself to be the best judge of the good and the bad of that marriage. I am the only one who has the right to decide my daughter's marriage. I want her to marry Fr. Monsieur Lanz d'Epinay, she must marry him!" Valentine fell on a chair weeping. "Sir," said the notary, "if Mademoiselle de Villefort still decides to marry M. Franz, what will you do with your property?" The old man didn't answer. "Surely you want to dispose of it somehow?" "yes." "Was it passed on to someone in your family?" "no." "So, are you going to devote it to charity?" demanded the notary. "yes." "But," said the notary, "you know that the law does not allow a son to be disinherited entirely?" "yes." "Then, are you prepared to give away only that portion of the estate which the law allows you to transfer?" Noirtier made no reply. "Do you still wish to give it all away?" "yes." "But after your death, that will will be disputed." "No." "My father knew me," said Villefort, "and he knew very well that I would carry out his wish holy. I am dead. The nine hundred thousand francs should leave the house and be sent to any hospital." Get rich, I will not give in to the whims of an old man. I will act according to my conscience." Having said this, Villefort and his wife left the room, leaving his father to attend to his own affairs as he pleased.The will was made on the same day, and the notary called the witnesses. After the old man approved it, he sealed it in public and gave it to the family lawyer, Mr. Di Sikang, for safekeeping.