Monte Cristo appears at the Villefort home, supposedly to remind Villefort and his wife of their promise to attend his dinner. In the process, the count learns of Noirtier’s plan to change his will and of Villefort’s frustration with his father. Villefort is dismayed that neither his daughter, Valentine, nor he will inherit Noirtier’s wealth. All Villefort has to do to change his father’s mind is to not pursue Valentine’s engagement to Franz, but Villefort insists that the marriage will happen.

When the count reminds Villefort of the dinner he is planning, Villefort eventually asks the count where the dinner will take place. When the count gives Villefort the exact address of his country home, Villefort grows a bit faint. It is the same house that his in-laws (from his first marriage) used to own, the house where Villefort was attacked and almost killed, and the house where Villefort buried alive his newborn baby. Despite his emotional reactions to this house, Villefort promises he and his wife will be there at the appointed time.

In the next chapter, the count visits a telegraph station, which is run by a man with simple ambitions. The man’s passion is in keeping a garden. He is paid little to relay telegraphed messages from one tower to the next, but he has no desire for furthering his professional life. He enjoys his job because it gives him time to grow vegetables and fruits.

The count befriends the man; he discusses gardening and gains the man’s confidence. After inspecting the man’s garden, the count asks if he might see the tower where messages are relayed. After discovering how much the man earns each year, the count offers the man an amount of money that is enough for him to retire from his job and buy a house and a large plot of land. The man agrees. In return, the man, who does not know how to read the messages he receives and then relays, telegraphs signals that the count has given him. The message involves false political events that affect the buying and selling of stocks.

Danglars believes the telegraph message and sells a large quantity of stocks for less than they are worth, thinking he has received privileged information. The next day, when the erroneous telegraph message is exposed as fraud, Danglars realizes he has lost almost a million francs.

When the count arrives at his country house, he is pleased with the transformation that has taken place. Bertuccio has carried out the count’s plans perfectly. The front entrance to the house as well as most of the interior has been exquisitely changed. There are only two places that remain the same: a small bedroom and the garden in the back of the house. The count had ordered Bertuccio not to touch either.

Maximilian is the first guest to arrive. He comes on his magnificent new horse, which the count helped him purchase. Maximilian is very much at ease with the count and with the country house; he has no history with the place. Villefort, however, is uncomfortable when he arrives, though he tries not to show it.

When all the guests are assembled and Bertuccio comes to the count to ask how many guests there are, the count tells his servant to go count the guests for himself. Bertuccio is amazed to see that Villefort, the man he thinks he had murdered, is very much alive. But that is not the only shock for Bertuccio, who also recognizes Madame Danglars and identifies her as the woman with whom Villefort had an affair, the woman who was pregnant and whose child Villefort attempted to kill. He is again shocked when he finally sees the young man whom the count refers to as Andrea Cavalcanti; Bertuccio knows him as Benedetto, the baby he saved and the boy he helped to raise.

At the dinner table, the guests are impressed with the exotic food the count has procured. There are fish from Russia and Italy, which the count had shipped to his house from far distances in large vats of water to keep the fish alive.

As the guests eat, the count mentions the one room that has not been redecorated. Some rooms, he tells his guests, cause such strong emotions to be stirred that there is a sense they should not be touched. After dinner, the count directs his visitors to this room.

Villefort and Madame Danglars are visibly agitated. Madame Danglars almost faints. The count describes what he feels when in the room; he hints of the birth that might have once taken place there. He does not discuss specific details. He is merely supposing that this event might have occurred. He opens a door and shows a hidden staircase and imposes the idea that a father might have carried a newborn child down those stairs to the garden. At this, Madame Danglars does faint and must be aroused by the vial of the poisonous concoction that the count had previously given Madame Villefort.

The count then leads the guests to the garden and shows them where a metal box had been found. The box, he says, contained the skeleton of a baby. Madame Danglars again becomes faint. Villefort goes to her side and whispers that they must meet the following day.

As Andrea (Benedetto) goes to his carriage after the dinner, a man dressed as a beggar approaches him. Andrea’s servant attempts to stop the beggar from bothering Andrea, but when the haggard man addresses Andrea as “Benedetto,” Andrea tells his servant to find his own way home. Andrea then allows the beggar to enter his carriage and tell his story.

The beggar is Caderousse. Benedetto used to go to Caderousse’s inn. The old man often fed him. The two of them also spent time in the same prison and became better acquainted. Caderousse explains that since Andrea has obviously gained quite a large amount of wealth, it is time for the young man to repay him. Caderousse insists on a certain monthly sum, and Andrea/Benedetto agrees.