IT WILL BE recollected that the new, or rather old, acquaintances of the Count of Monte Cristo, residing in the Rue Meslay, were no other than Maximilian, Julie, and Emmanuel. The very anticipations of delight to be enjoyed in his forthcoming visits--the bright, pure gleam of heavenly happiness it diffused over the almost deadly warfare in which he had voluntarily engaged, illumined his whole countenance with a look of ineffable joy and calmness, as, immediately after Villefort's departure, his thoughts flew back to the cheering prospect before him, of tasting, at least, a brief respite from the fierce and stormy passions of his mind. Even Ali, who had hastened to obey the Count's summons, went forth from his master's presence in charmed amazement at the unusual animation and pleasure depicted on features ordinarily so stern and cold; while, as though dreading to put to flight the agreeable ideas hovering over his patron's meditations, whatever they were, the faithful Nubian walked on tiptoe towards the door, holding his breath, lest its faintest sound should dissipate his master's happy reverie.
It was noon, and Monte Cristo had set apart one hour to be passed in the apartments of Haidée, as though his oppressed spirit could not all at once admit the feeling of pure and unmixed joy, but required a gradual succession of calm and gentle emotions to prepare his mind to receive full and perfect happiness, in the same manner as ordinary natures demand to be inured by degrees to the reception of strong or violent sensations. The young Greek, as we have already said, occupied apartments wholly unconnected with those of the count. The rooms had been fitted up in strict accordance with Oriental ideas; the floors were covered with the richest carpets Turkey could produce; the walls hung with brocaded silk of the most magnificent designs and texture; while around each chamber luxurious divans were placed, with piles of soft and yielding cushions, that needed only to be arranged at the pleasure or convenience of such as sought repose. Haidée and three French maids, and one who was a Greek. The first three remained constantly in a small waiting-room, ready to obey the summons of a small golden bell, or to receive the orders of the Romaic slave, who knew just enough French to be able to transmit her mistress's wishes to the three other waiting-women; the latter had received most peremptory instructions from Monte Cristo to treat Haidée with all the deference they would observe to a queen.
The young girl herself generally passed her time in the chamber at the farther end of her apartments. This was a sort of boudoir, circular, and lighted only from the roof, which consisted of rose-colored glass. Haidée was reclining upon soft downy cushions, covered with blue satin spotted with silver; her head, supported by one of her exquisitely moulded arms, rested on the divan immediately behind her, while the other was employed in adjusting to her lips the coral tube of a rich narghile, through whose flexible pipe she drew the smoke fragrant by its passage through perfumed water. Her attitude, though perfectly natural for an Eastern woman would, in a European, have been deemed too full of coquettish straining after effect. Her dress, which was that of the women of Epirus, consisted of a pair of white satin trousers, embroidered with pink roses, displaying feet so exquisitely formed and so delicately fair, that they might well have been taken for Parian marble, had not the eye been undeceived by their movements as they constantly shifted in and out of a pair of little slippers with upturned toes, beautifully ornamented with gold and pearls. She wore a blue and white-striped vest, with long open sleeves, trimmed with silver loops and buttons of pearls, and a sort of bodice, which, closing only from the centre to the waist, exhibited the whole of the ivory throat and upper part of the bosom; it was fastened with three magnificent diamond clasps. The junction of the bodice and drawers was entirely concealed by one of the many-colored scarfs, whose brilliant hues and rich silken fringe have rendered them so precious in the eyes of Parisian belles. Tilted on one side of her head she had a small cap of gold-colored silk, embroidered with pearls; while on the other a purple rose mingled its glowing colors with the luxuriant masses of her hair, of which the blackness was so intense that it was tinged with blue. The extreme beauty of the countenance, that shone forth in loveliness that mocked the vain attempts of dress to augment it, was peculiarly and purely Grecian; there were the large, dark, melting eyes, the finely formed nose, the coral lips, and pearly teeth, that belonged to her race and country. And, to complete the whole, Haidée was in the very springtide and fulness of youthful charms--she had not yet numbered more than twenty summers.
Monte Cristo summoned the Greek attendant, and bade her inquire whether it would be agreeable to her mistress to receive his visit. Haidée's only reply was to direct her servant by a sign to withdraw the tapestried curtain that hung before the door of her boudoir, the framework of the opening thus made serving as a sort of border to the graceful tableau presented by the young girl's picturesque attitude and appearance. As Monte Cristo approached, she leaned upon the elbow of the arm that held the narghile, and extending to him her other hand, said, with a smile of captivating sweetness, in the sonorous language spoken by the women of Athens and Sparta, "Why demand permission ere you enter? Are you no longer my master, or have I ceased to be your slave?" Monte Cristo returned her smile. "Haidée," said he, "you well know."
"Why do you address me so coldly--so distantly?" asked the young Greek. "Have I by any means displeased you? Oh, if so, punish me as you will; but do not--do not speak to me in tones and manner so formal and constrained."
"Haidée," replied the count, "you know that you are now in France, and are free."
"Free to do what?" asked the young girl.
"Free to leave me."
"Leave you? Why should I leave you?"
"That is not for me to say; but we are now about to mix in society--to visit and be visited."
"I don't wish to see anybody but you."
"And should you see one whom you could prefer, I would not be so unjust"--
"I have never seen any one I preferred to you, and I have never loved any one but you and my father."
"My poor child," replied Monte Cristo, "that is merely because your father and myself are the only men who have ever talked to you."
"I don't want anybody else to talk to me. My father said I was his joy--you style me your love,--and both of you have called me my child.'"
"Do you remember your father, Haidée?" The young Greek smiled. "He is here, and here," said she, touching her eyes and her heart. "And where am I?" inquired Monte Cristo laughingly.
"You?" cried she, with tones of thrilling tenderness, "you are everywhere！" Monte Cristo took the delicate hand of the young girl in his, and was about to raise it to his lips, when the simple child of nature hastily withdrew it, and presented her cheek. "You now understand, Haidée," said the count, "that from this moment you are absolutely free; that here you exercise unlimited sway, and are at liberty to lay aside or continue the costume of your country, as it may suit your inclination. Within this mansion you are absolute mistress of your actions, and may go abroad or remain in your apartments as may seem most agreeable to you. A carriage waits your orders, and Ali and Myrtho will accompany you whithersoever you desire to go. There is but one favor I would entreat of you."
"Speak."
"Guard carefully the secret of your birth. Make no allusion to the past; nor upon any occasion be induced to pronounce the names of your illustrious father or ill-fated mother."
"I have already told you, my lord, that I shall see no one."
"It is possible, Haidée, that so perfect a seclusion, though conformable with the habits and customs of the East, may not be practicable in Paris. Endeavor, then, to accustom yourself to our manner of living in these northern climes as you did to those of Rome, Florence, Milan, and Madrid; it may be useful to you one of these days, whether you remain here or return to the East." The young girl raised her tearful eyes towards Monte Cristo as she said with touching earnestness, "Whether we return to the East, you mean to say, my lord, do you not?"
"My child," returned Monte Cristo "you know full well that whenever we part, it will be no fault or wish of mine; the tree forsakes not the flower--the flower falls from the tree."
"My lord," replied Haidée, "I never will leave you, for I am sure I could not exist without you."
"My poor girl, in ten years I shall be old, and you will be still young."
"My father had a long white beard, but I loved him; he was sixty years old, but to me he was handsomer than all the fine youths I saw."
"Then tell me, Haidée, do you believe you shall be able to accustom yourself to our present mode of life?"
"Shall I see you?"
"Every day."
"Then what do you fear, my lord?"
"You might find it dull."
"No, my lord. In the morning, I shall rejoice in the prospect of your coming, and in the evening dwell with delight on the happiness I have enjoyed in your presence; then too, when alone, I can call forth mighty pictures of the past, see vast horizons bounded only by the towering mountains of Pindus and Olympus. Oh, believe me, that when three great passions, such as sorrow, love, and gratitude fill the heart, ennui can find no place."
"You are a worthy daughter of Epirus, Haidée, and your charming and poetical ideas prove well your descent from that race of goddesses who claim your country as their birthplace. Depend on my care to see that your youth is not blighted, or suffered to pass away in ungenial solitude; and of this be well assured, that if you love me as a father, I love you as a child."
"You are wrong, my lord. The love I have for you is very different from the love I had for my father. My father died, but I did not die. If you were to die, I should die too." The Count, with a smile of profound tenderness, extended his hand, and she carried it to her lips. Monte Cristo, thus attuned to the interview he proposed to hold with Morrel and his family, departed, murmuring as he went these lines of Pindar, "Youth is a flower of which love is the fruit; happy is he who, after having watched its silent growth, is permitted to gather and call it his own." The carriage was prepared according to orders, and stepping lightly into it, the count drove off at his usual rapid pace.
读者一定还记得基督山伯爵那几位住在密斯雷路的新——或说得更确切些，是老——相识吧。莫雷尔、尤莉和艾曼纽。一想到他就要去作一次愉快的访问，一想到将要度过的幸福时光，期待着一束从天堂里射来的光照进他自动陷入的地狱里来，从维尔福走出他的视线时起，他的脸上就露出一种最动人的快乐的表情。阿里听到锣声就赶快跑来了，看到他的脸上闪烁着这样稀有的欢喜的光彩，便又蹑手蹑脚，屏息静气地退了出去，象是生怕惊走了那徘徊在他主人身旁的愉快的念头似的。
此时正值中午，基督山抽出一个钟头的时间来和海黛一起消磨时光。那个郁闷了这么久的灵魂似乎无法一下子享受快乐，所以在接触柔情蜜意之前，必须先作一番准备，正如别人在接触强烈的喜怒哀乐之前得作一番准备一样。我们前面已经说过，那是年轻的希腊美人所住的房间和伯爵的房间是完全隔离开的。那几个房间一律是东方式的布置。也就是说，地板上铺着土耳其产的最昂贵的地毯，墙壁上挂着花色美丽和质地优良的锦丝缎，每一个房间的四壁都装着极奢华的靠背长椅，椅子上放着又松又软，可以随意安排的椅垫。海黛手下有四个女佣人——三个法国人和一个希腊人。那三个法国女人总是呆在一间小小的候见室里，只要听到小金铃一响，就立刻进去侍候，或是由那个希腊女奴从里面传话出来，希腊女奴略懂一点法语，足以向另外三个侍女转达她女主人的命令，基督山吩咐过那三个法国侍女，她们对待海黛必须极其恭谨尊敬，要象侍奉一位王后一样。
那年轻姑娘此时正在她的内室里。那是一间类似妇女休息室的房间，圆形的，天花板由玫瑰色的玻璃嵌成，灯光由天花板上下来，她这时正斜靠在带银点儿的蓝绸椅垫上，头枕着身后的椅背，一只手托着头，另外那只优美的手臂则扶着一支含在嘴里的长烟筒，这支长烟筒极其名贵，烟管是珊瑚做的，从这支富于弹性的烟管里，升起了一片充满最美妙的花香的烟雾。她的姿态在一个东方人眼里虽然显得很自然，但在一个法国女人看来，却未免风骚了一点。她穿着伊皮鲁斯［伊皮鲁斯是古希腊的一个地方。——译注］女子的服装，下身穿一条白底子绣粉红色玫瑰花的绸裤，露出了两只小巧玲珑的脚，要不是这两只脚在玩弄那一双嵌金银珠的小拖鞋，也许会被人误认是用大理石雕成的哩；她上身穿一件蓝白条子的短衫，袖口很宽大，用银线滚边，珍珠作纽扣；短衫外面套一件背心，前面有一处心形的缺口，露出了那象牙般的脖颈和胸脯的上部，下端用三颗钻石纽扣锁住。背心和裤子的连接处被一条五颜六色的腰带完全盖了起来，其灿烂的色彩和华丽的丝穗在巴黎美人的眼里，一定觉得非常宝贵的。她的头上一边戴着一顶绣金镶珠的小帽，一边插着一朵紫色的玫瑰花，一头浓密的头发，黑里透蓝。那张脸上的美纯粹是专属于希腊人的，一双又大又黑的水汪汪的眼睛，笔直的鼻长，珊瑚似的嘴唇，珍珠般的牙齿，这都是她那种民族所特有的。而锦上添花的是海黛正当青春妙龄，她只有十九、二十岁。
基督山把那个希腊侍女叫出来，吩咐她去问一声她的女主人愿不愿意见他。海黛的答复只是示意叫她的仆人撩开那挂在她闺房门前的花毡门帘，这一道防线打开之后，就呈现出一幅美妙的少女斜卧图来。当基督山走过去的时候，她用那只执长烟筒的手肘撑住身子，把另一只手伸给了他，带着一个销魂的甜蜜的微笑，用雅典和斯巴达女子所说的那种音节明快的语言说道：“你进来以前干嘛非要问问可不可以呢？难道你不再是我的主人，我也不再是你的奴隶了吗？”
基督山回报了她一个微笑。“海黛，”他说道，“你知道”
“你称呼我时为什么这样冷淡？”那希腊美人问道。“我有什么地方使你不高兴了吗？要是这样，随便你怎么责罚我好了，但不要这么规规矩矩地对我说话！”
“海黛，”伯爵答道，“你知道我们现在是在法国，所以你已经自由了！”
“自由！”年轻姑娘把那两个字念道了两遍，“自由干吗？”
“自由就可以离开我呀。”
“离开你！为什么我要离开你呢？”
“那就不该由我来说了，但现在我们就快要混到社交界去了，就要去见见世面了。”
“我谁也不想见。”
“不，你听我说海黛。在这个繁华的都市里，你可不能老是这样隐居着，假如你遇到了一个心爱的人，别以为我会那么自私自利和不明事理，竟会”
“我从没见过比你更漂亮的男人，我只爱你和我的父亲。”
“可怜的孩子！”基督山说道，“那是因为除了你的父亲和我之外，你根本没跟什么别的人说过话。。”
“好吧！我何必要跟别人去说话呢？我父亲把我叫做他的心肝，而你把我叫做你的爱人，你们都把我叫做你们的孩子！”
“你还记得你的父亲吗，海黛？”
那希腊少女微笑了一下。“他在这儿和这儿，”她一边说，一边指了指她的眼睛和她的心。
“那么我在哪儿呢？”基督山笑着问道。
“你吗？”她大声说道，“到处都有你！”
基督山拿起这年轻姑娘的纤纤玉手，正要把它举到他的唇边，那心地单纯的孩子却急忙把手抽了回去，而把她那娇嫩的脸颊凑了上来。“你现在要懂得，海黛，”伯爵说道，“从现在起，你是绝对的自由了，你是主妇，是女王。你可以自由放弃或保持你故乡的习俗，随你喜欢怎么去做都行，你愿意在这儿呆就在这儿，愿意出去就出去，有一辆马车永远等在那儿听你的吩咐，不管你要到哪儿去阿里和梅多都可以陪你去。我只请你答应我一件事。”
“噢，说吧！”
“关于你的出身，一定要严守秘密。对谁也不要提过去的事情，在任何情形之下，都不要宣布你那威名显赫的父亲或你那可怜的妈妈的名字！”
“我已经告诉过你啦，老爷，我不愿意见任何人。”
“海黛，这样完美的一种隐居生活虽然很符合东方的风俗习惯，但在巴黎，会行不通的。所以，你得竭力使自己习惯这种北方的生活习惯，正如你以前在罗马、佛罗伦萨、梅朗和马德里一样，不论你留在这儿或回到东方去，将来总有一天，这也许会有用的。”
年轻姑娘抬起那双含泪的眼睛望着基督山，以一种伤心真挚的口吻说道：“不论‘我’回不回东方，你的意思是，你不回去了吗，老爷？”
“我的孩子，”基督山答道，“你知道得很清楚，假如我们必须分手的话，那决不是出于我的本意。树是不愿意离开花的，是花离开了树。”
“老爷，”海黛答道，“我决不愿意离开你，因为我知道，没有了你，我决不再能再活下去的。”
“可怜的孩子！十年以后，我就会老的，而你却依旧很年轻。”
“我的父亲活到了六十岁，他的头发已经斑白，可是我对于他的崇拜和爱，远甚于对所有那些我在他的宫廷里所看到的活泼漂亮的青年呀。”
“那么告诉我，海黛，你相信你能过得惯我们现在的这种生活吗？”
“我能见到你吗？”
“每天都能见到。”
“嗯，那么，你何必还要问我呢，我的主人？”
“我怕你会感到孤独的。”
“不，老爷，因为在早晨，我等着你的到来，在晚上，我可以回想你和我在一起时的情形，此外，当我孤独的时候，我又有美丽的往事可以回忆。我好象又看到了广大的平原和遥远的地平线，以及地平线上的宾特斯山和奥林匹斯山，那时，我的心里就会有三种情感，悲伤，感激和爱，决不会再感到什么无聊的。”
“你真不愧是伊皮鲁斯的子孙，海黛，你这种富于诗意的可爱的念头充分证明你是神族［指希腊神话里的神。——译注］的后代，你放心吧，我一定注意照料你，不让你的青春受到摧残，不让它在阴森孤独中虚度过去，因为假如你爱我如父，我也一定爱你如女。”
“老爷不要误会，我对你的爱和对我父亲的感情是大不相同的。他死了以后，我还能继续活下去但要是你遇到了什么灾祸，那我听到噩耗的那一刻，也就是我死的时候到了。”
伯爵带着难以形容的柔情把他的手伸给了那兴奋的少女，后者虔敬而亲热地把手捧到她的嘴边。基督山的大脑经过这一番抚慰之后，已适宜于去拜访莫雷尔家人了，他一边走，一边轻轻地背诵出品达［品达（公元前五二一—四四一），希腊的抒情诗人。——译注］的几句诗句：“青春是一朵花，它为结出爱情的果实。你看着它渐渐地成熟，将它采下，你这采摘者啊，是多么的幸福。”此时马车已遵命准备好了，伯爵轻轻地跨进车厢里，车子便立刻疾驰而去。