"She seems overloaded to me," Eugénie observed. "She'd look far better with fewer jewels. Then we could actually see her beautifully shaped neck and wrists."
"Listen to the artist speak!" exclaimed Madame Danglars. "My poor Eugénie, you must hide your passion for the fine arts."
"I simply admire beautiful things," the young woman replied.
"What do you think of the count?" Debray asked. "He's quite handsome, in my opinion."
"The count?" Eugénie repeated, as though she hadn't noticed him before. "Oh, he's so dreadfully pale."
"I completely agree," said Morcerf. "The secret of that extreme paleness is what we're trying to discover. Countess G insists he's a vampire."
"So Countess G has returned to Paris?" asked the baroness.
"Is that her, mother?" Eugénie asked. "Almost opposite us, with all that beautiful blonde hair?"
"Yes," said Madame Danglars. "That's her. Do you know what you should do, Morcerf?"
"Command me, ma'am."
"You should bring your Count of Monte Cristo to us."
