Eighteen months of mourning — then a wedding. Mercédès begged time to grieve for Edmond Dantès, but grief gave way to resignation, and resignation to marriage. The abbé’s voice cuts with irony as he whispers, “Frailty, thy name is woman,” and listens as Caderousse recounts her walk to the altar — through the same church where she was once to have wed Edmond. Passing La Réserve, she nearly fainted, haunted by memory.

Fernand, uneasy in his triumph, hurried his new wife away from Marseilles and the ghosts that lingered there. Years later, Caderousse saw her again in Perpignan, teaching her son — Albert — as Fernand’s fortune grew. With wealth came refinement: she learned music, art, and grace, filling her mind to quiet her sorrow. But even now, as Countess de Morcerf, Caderousse swears she is not happy.

When he sought help in his poverty, Danglars turned him away, Fernand sent money through a servant — but Mercédès, unseen, dropped a purse from her window. The abbé’s face darkens. Compassion endures in her, yet it cannot erase the tragedy she lives behind silk curtains and shuttered blinds.

⸻

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The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily read-along podcast that moves through Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — every day, for four years. Whether you’re starting at the beginning or joining midway, each brief episode serves as a quiet companion to the novel: a page-by-page reading, a steady guide through each chapter, and a deliberate, unhurried way to follow Dantès on his long journey.

For anyone who has ever wished a classic could unfold at the pace of lived experience, this is Monte Cristo in real time.

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