The Count of Monte Cristo is adding more intrigue to his plan of revenge. He meets with a man referred to as Major Cavalcanti. The major seems confused about his past, has no papers to prove his identity, and lacks money though he is supposed to be somewhat wealthy. The count appears to know more about the major than the major knows about himself. In truth, the count has made up a history for the major, and the meeting of the two people is done in preparation for the major to meet with Villefort at the count’s country home in a few days. Although nothing is said about it explicitly, this is a rehearsal of sorts, preparing the major for the role he is to play in front of Villefort.

The count has made everything up as if he has written a script for a play. He gives the major money, tells him how to dress for the dinner, and even supplies the major with appropriate outfits in his trunk. The conversation makes the major seem to know all this information, but in fact the count has made all the arrangements, created the background history for the major, and provided for all the major’s needs. All the major needs to do is remember what the count has told him is his history and his reason for being in France.

The count has also arranged another even more critical portion of the story they will be playing out. The major is to pretend to be looking for his long lost son. The young man who will play the role of his son will be Benedetto, the baby (now grown) that Villefort attempted to bury alive, the child of Villefort’s mistress. Benedetto is using the name of Andrea Cavalcanti.

The count leaves the major and Andrea in the room by themselves so as to acquaint one with the other; he listens to what they say from outside the room. He wants to make sure the two of them will play their parts well.

The story switches to focus on Maximilian Morrel, who is working the garden patch near Valentine’s backyard, hoping to see the young girl whom he loves. Valentine eventually appears, but she is with Eugenie Danglars. The girls walk through the garden and Valentine attempts to send silent messages with her eyes to Maximilian, letting him know that she longs to be talking to him. She must entertain Eugenie first.

The girls talk about marriage. Eugenie prefers to never marry. If she could realize her dream, she would remain single and pursue a career in the arts. Later, after Eugenie leaves, Valentine tells Maximilian that Franz d’Epinay, the young man who met with the count in Italy, is on his way home to France. Valentine is concerned that her parents will force her to marry him when he arrives. This not only displeases Maximilian; Valentine is depressed at the prospects because she loves Maximilian.

Valentine tells Maximilian that she once considered becoming a nun and marrying no one. She gave up her plans of entering the convent when the idea of it depressed her grandfather, Noirtier. She wishes she were not so rich. She will soon inherit her mother’s wealth as well as much of Noirtier’s when he dies. She also stands to inherit a large amount of money from her father. She fears her step-mother is jealous of how rich Valentine will be one day; she will be far richer than her step-mother or her step-brother, who stands to gain very little inheritance.

Morrel asks Valentine to give him permission to tell the count of their love. Morrel senses that the count is somehow looking after his welfare. Valentine does not want him to say anything. She fears that the count will go along with her step-mother and her father in their wishes to have her marry Franz because the count has become a great friend of theirs.

While Valentine is still outdoors, Villefort and his wife enter Noirtier’s room. Noirtier cannot speak, but after Villefort tells the old man about the marriage he is proposing for Valentine, Noirtier expresses his great disappointment with his eyes. After Villefort leaves the room, Valentine enters and immediately notices that her grandfather is very agitated. By signaling with blinks of his eyelids, Valentine helps him spell out words so she can discover what he wants. Eventually she guesses that he wants a notary to help him with his will.

When the notary arrives and discovers that Noirtier is not only paralyzed but also cannot speak, he declares that he cannot partake in the matter legally because he has no way of communicating with Noirtier. Villefort attempts to steer the notary out of the room, telling him that he believes his father’s mental faculties have been impaired by his stroke.

Valentine speaks up and tells the notary that she has devised a means of communicating with her grandfather that she can teach the notary in just a few minutes. She proceeds to do so. Valentine tells the notary that when her grandfather closes his eyes, he means yes. When he blinks his eyes, he means no. If they need to find a word he wants to express, Valentine quickly repeats that letters of the alphabet until her grandfather signals that she should stop.

The letter w is brought up in this way, and they eventually understand that Noirtier is referring to the letter w because he wants to talk about his will. He wants to change his will, the notary is made to understand. The notary then asks Noirtier to tell him how much money his will is worth. By slowly raising the amount of money, the notary eventually reaches the amount of 900,000 francs. Noirtier confirms this is how much he is worth. Noirtier’s servant brings in a locked box, inside of which are stocks worth 900,000 francs, thus proving that Noirtier does indeed retain his ability to remember and to calculate.

Eventually Noirtier conveys is that he is displeased with his son’s insisting that Valentine marry Franz. If the marriage goes through, Noirtier will change his will so all his money is given away to charity. This infuriates Villefort, who leaves the room declaring that Valentine will marry Franz, no matter what.