So now we see more of the fortunes and misfortunes of Mrs. Danglars, Debray, Mercedes and Albert.

All of them are in the same hotel, with Debray renting the nicer room and Mercedes/Albert renting the dingy and crappy room.

Mrs. Danglars shows Debray her husband's parting letter- where he reams her as a gold-digger, blames her for their financial ruin and says he knows she's got a secret stash- a golden parachute. And she does, as her private investments with Debray have netted over a million francs for each of them. She looks at Debay expectantly- as if she was hoping they could restart their affair or marry? But Debray is all business and it's clear that their love affair is OVER.

(we're supposed to bring out the hankies). Mercedes, sitting in that crappy and cold room, has lost her sparkle. They REALLY are broke. Albert tries to cheer her up, showing her money he'd gotten by enlisting in the army. He's paid her fare to Marseilles, but needs to stick around to get letters of recommendation. They sadly part, as a man watching them wishes that he could help them. Who might that be?

Now we switch over to Andrea. He's being held in "The Lion's Den" where the most vicious prisoners are held. His clothing is shredded*. Andrea is called to the visitor's room- it's Bertuccio! Andrea is being moved into a private cell (someone's paying $$$$). Andrea is still convinced that the Count is his real father, but Bertuccio shoots down that theory. He's here to tell Andrea WHO Daddy is, but Andrea is called before a judge, so Bertuccio will return tomorrow.

Discussion Points:

1. Anyone feeling sorry for Mrs. Danglars? Her hubby abandoned her and her lover isn't interested in anything romantic anymore. She's got money, sure... what SHOULD she do now? Travel? Find a new toy-boy?
2. Speaking of money- look who DOESN'T HAVE any and all they have is misery! And that comes from abandoning their valuables and donating every cent (sou) to charity. Did they think this was the honorable thing to do? Do you agree?
3. Was Albert being stupid and insensitive by telling his mother (who's rightfully concerned about him fighting in Algeria), "Hey, mom- if I'm killed, you can die too and our misfortunes will be at an end." WTF??? What IS he thinking?
4. Andrea! He was tossed among the worst of the worst, but someone pulled some strings and got him into a private cell so the rest of the dregs won't shank him. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger- do you think Bertuccio will come through with the bombshell? How will Andrea react?

* I didn't understand this the first few times either. Was Andrea attacked and his clothing ripped? Was he beaten up? Turns out... no. Another novel set in that era says that it was practice for the jailers to mutilate the prisoner's civilian clothing- so they can be spotted if they escape. They only get jail duds once convicted.